Defensive MVPs from 2020 Georgia Football Season

Georgia football had another great defense in 2020.

The Bulldogs allowed just 20 points per game, didn’t allow 75 rushing yards per game and ended the 10-game season with a whopping 33 sacks. How was Georgia’s defense so dominant? It helps to have three great players.

Azeez Ojulari, edge

Ojulari was simply dominant in 2020. He ended the season with 12.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 of those were sacks. Keep in mind, Georgia played only 10 games this season. Had the Bulldogs played a full season, Ojulari could have broken Jarvis Jones’s school record for sacks in a single season (14.5).

Ojulari saved his best performance for last, sacking Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ritter three times. The first sack created a fumble, which Georgia recovered deep in Cincinnati territory. The last sack on Ritter was also the last play of his college career. Ojulari nailed Ritter in the end zone for a safety as time expired.

Eric Stokes, cornerback

Opposing quarterbacks didn’t target Eric Stokes very often in 2020. When they did, it was usually a bad idea. Stokes intercepted four passes and returned two for touchdowns.

All year, Stokes matched up with the opponents’ best receivers. More often than not, those receivers struggled to get open. A whole portion of the field was usually off limits because of Stokes.

Nakobe Dean, linebacker

Over the course of the 2020 season, Nakobe Dean evolved as a football player. He started the year as Monty Rice’s complement at linebacker, but when injuries hampered Rice, Dean stepped up to become Georgia’s leader in the middle of the field.

Dean was arguably Georgia’s most consistent player all year. He led the team with 71 tackles and those hits came all over the field. Dean plugged the seams on runs up the middle and he raced to the sidelines to stop receivers. By season’s end, Georgia’s defense revolved around Dean the way it had Rice, Tae Crowder and Roquan Smith before him.

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