Georgia football: The most underrated player on the 2020 Bulldogs
By John Buhler
Who is the most underrated player on Georgia football entering the 2020 season?
Someone on the vaunted 2020 Georgia football team has to be underrated, right?
Even on a College Football Playoff-contending team like the Georgia Bulldogs, a budding star player or two may fall through the cracks. Because the Dawgs have played in a ton of huge games the last three seasons under head coach Kirby Smart, we’ve gotten to know many of their best players. If you want an underrated player for 2020, how about outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari?
Azeez Ojulari is the most underrated player on the 2020 Georgia Bulldogs.
To reach this conclusion, we have to start crossing off players by process of elimination. If he is often talked about like Jamie Newman at quarterback, Zamir White at running back, Malik Herring in the trenches and Richard LeCounte III in the defensive backfield, he is removed from consideration. Everybody knows who George Pickens is after the Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor.
From there, we’ve arrived at roughly four names: Wide receiver Dominick Blaylock, offensive lineman Ben Cleveland, running back James Cook and Ojulari. Blaylock showed a lot of promise as a true freshman last season. Having a high-profile former NBA star for a father certainly helps, but tearing his ACL late in the year doesn’t make him underrated, but properly rated.
Cleveland is the size of a door frame. Along with center Trey Hill and guard Justin Shaffer, they are the elder statesman of the offensive line. Though right tackle Jamaree Sayler is probably the most talented offensive lineman playing for Georgia, it’s not hard to miss Cleveland starring along the offensive interior. He could have an extraordinary redshirt senior season this year.
As for Cook, he lives in the shadows of his older brother superstar Dalvin Cook of Florida State Seminoles and Minnesota Vikings fame. If there was another player to be most underrated over Ojulari, it would probably be Cook. However, he’s firmly No. 2 behind White on the Georgia running back depth chart. His junior year could be spectacular, but we’ll have to wait and see about that.
The reason Ojulari comes in here as the most underrated is he’s probably the fourth or fifth name you think of when you think of the best players on Dan Lanning’s defense. As a redshirt freshman, the Marietta, Georgia native led the team in sacks (5.5) and quarterback pressures (34). He was named the most improved defensive player on last year’s team. Ojulari has serious star potential.
Georgia was named LBU in ESPN’s Position U 2.0. The reason the Dawgs earned the top spot was because of the sheer number of former Georgia linebackers that were drafted, as well as six First-Team All-American nods by the position group since 2000. In Ojulari, the Dawgs might have their next Leonard Floyd or Lorenzo Carter, possibly as dynamic of a player as Roquan Smith.
He was a former four-star recruit for a reason. With him being a focal point of the position group Lanning coaches at outside linebacker, they can carry each other to new heights. Lanning could be the next former Smart assistant to become a college head coach after Mel Tucker and Sam Pittman. Ojulari can become the next living legend here at LBU. He is their most underrated player.
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