ESPN recently ranked the top 80 college football defenders of the 2000s and, no surprise here, Georgia football is represented well with three selections.
Former Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith (2015-2017) is the first Dawg on the list at No. 36. Before Smith was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the eighth overall pick, he was lightning in a bottle for a Georgia defense that helped the Bulldogs make a title run in 2017. He was named as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-American and earned the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker.