Three former Georgia players land on All-Time AP All-America team
By Jake Faigus
Published:
College football is right around the corner, and the AP released its All-Time All-America team on Thursday to honor the 100-year anniversary of the annual tradition.
Georgia tied with Alabama and Oklahoma for the most in selections among SEC programs, with 3 players named — 2 on the first team and 1 on the second team. Those players are Brock Bowers, Herschel Walker, and Champ Bailey.
Bowers in 2023 stands alone for the Associated Press as the best tight end of the last 100 years. Bowers had 56 receptions for 714 receiving yards and six touchdowns that year. He also scored one touchdown on the ground. He won the John Mackey Award for the best tight end in the country that season, and then it was all capped off with him winning a national championship with Georgia that season.
Herschel Walker was selected after being a first-team All-American every year from 1980 to 1982. He was joined by fellow Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders. He carried Georgia to the 1980 national championship. He was a three-time SEC Player of the Year, three-time All-America, and won the 1982 Heisman Trophy before declaring for the NFL Draft following his junior year. During college, he had 5,259 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns on 994 carries.
Champ Bailey was a second-team selection at corner. He was a two-way player who was arguably even more effective in that role than Charles Woodson was when he won the Heisman Trophy in 1997. In 1998, he had 52 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 7 PBUs while piling up 1,138 all-purpose yards. He also had 47 catches for 744 yards and five touchdowns at receiver, with another 84 yards coming on 16 carries, returning 12 kicks for 261 yards and four punts for 49 yards.
The Bulldogs had a loaded roster of talent to choose from, but who was picked makes the most sense.
