BIRMINGHAM, AL. — The Southeastern Conference handed out their football awards Wednesday now that their season has ended and a couple of Georgia Bulldogs were announced as winners.
Head Coach Kirby Smart and Tight End Brock Bowers were among the “best-of” winners for 2021.
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Smart was honored as “Coach of the Year” after the Bulldogs ran through the 2021 regular season with a 12-0 record. They ran away with the SEC East, finishing three games ahead of Kentucky. It’s the second time he’s won the award, the first being in 2017 when the Bulldogs won the SEC Championship before losing in the College Football Playoff finals to Alabama.
Georgia lost this years SEC Championship game to the Crimson Tide this past weekend, 41-24. The loss knocked the Bulldogs out of the playoff’s top seed. They’ll enter the playoff seeded third and will face Michigan in the CFP semifinal game which will be held in North Miami at the Orange Bowl.
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Bowers was honored as the SEC Freshman of the Year after having a record breaking debut season. His 11 touchdown catches tied a Georgia record most TD catches in one season and led the SEC for tight ends.
For the season, Bowers proved to be one of the most dynamic playmakers on the field. He caught 47 passes for 791 yards, which led the team and broke the Georgia record for most receiving yards in a season by a tight end.
Other award winners include: Offensive Player of the Year, QB Bryce Young, Alabama, Defensive Player of the Year, DE Will Anderson, Alabama, Special Teams Players of the Year, Jameson Williams from Alabama and Velus Jones Jr. from Tennessee, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Tyler Badie of Missouri and Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner Darian Kinnard of Kentucky.
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