ATHENS — The Georgia football team placed a league-leading 12 representatives on the 2018 Preseason Coaches All-Southeastern Conference teams, according to an SEC announcement on Thursday.
The Bulldogs had a trio of players named to the First Team, including two in the defensive backfield. Senior Deandre Baker, who is also a preseason All-American, and junior J.R. Reed were two of the 12 players on defense while preseason All-American Rodrigo Blankenship, who is UGA’s junior place-kicker, was one of three First Team specialists.
Georgia had a league-best eight named to the Second Team. On offense, junior tight end Isaac Nauta, sophomore offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, senior center Lamont Gaillard, senior receiver Terry Godwin and sophomore tailback D’Andre Swift were voted at their position. On defense, senior defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter and senior outside linebacker D’Andre Walker were included while on special teams, junior returner Mecole Hardman was named to the squad.
Last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year, sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm, was also named to the Third Team.
The SEC begins its 2018 season on Thursday, Aug. 30, when Texas A&M plays host to Northwestern State on the SEC Network.
The Bulldogs, who have been ranked No. 3 and No. 4 in the preseason editions of the AP and coaches’ polls, respectively, will open their season a week from Saturday when they host Austin Peay at Sanford Stadium. A limited number of tickets for the game are still available via georgiadogs.com. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, with Beth Mowins calling the play-by-play, Anthony Becht serving as color analyst and Rocky Boiman handling sideline reporter duties.
