At Georgia, playing linebacker is more than a position; it\u2019s a legacy. And it’s CJ Allen\u2019s turn to be the next great Georgia linebacker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the Bulldogs reloading on defense ahead of the 2025 season, Allen, a junior from Barnesville, Georgia, is expected to step into the lead linebacker role for one of college football\u2019s most dominant units.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are a linebacker at the University of Georgia,\u201d Allen said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. \u201cThat just means a lot to be able to put that \u2018G\u2019 on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen was one of three Georgia players selected to attend SEC Media Days, joining quarterback Gunner Stockton and cornerback Daylen Everette.<\/p>\n
Georgia\u2019s linebacker tradition includes three Butkus Award winners in the last decade: Roquan Smith (2017), Nakobe Dean (2021) and Jalon Walker (2024). All three helped anchor national title-contending defenses and went on to the NFL.<\/p>\n
Allen, a former four-star recruit from Lamar County High School, was ranked among the top five linebackers in the class of 2023. He chose Georgia over offers from Florida, Auburn and Tennessee, and didn\u2019t take long to make his presence known.<\/p>\n
Midway through his freshman season, Allen stepped in for injured starter Jamon Dumas-Johnson. The following week, he delivered a breakout performance with nine tackles and a sack in a win over No. 9 Ole Miss.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI really, honestly think that team success leads to individual success,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n
That performance secured his place in the rotation, and he\u2019s been a consistent contributor since. With Walker, Malaki Starks and Smael Mondon Jr. off to the NFL, Allen is expected to lead a younger Georgia defense this fall \u2014 and he\u2019s already drawing first-round grades from numerous NFL draft analysts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what the young guys are going through,\u201d Allen said. \u201cSo I\u2019m just being there for them. Now, I\u2019m just trying to be that leader for the whole team.\u201d<\/p>\n
He keeps his message simple: focus on the work. It\u2019s a mentality that head coach Kirby Smart has preached throughout his tenure at Georgia.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep the main thing the main thing,\u201d Allen said. \u201cBe where your feet are. You show up on Day One, be on Day One. Don\u2019t think about Day 17.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen believes this year\u2019s unit has the chance to exceed expectations, especially after a season where Georgia\u2019s defense didn\u2019t meet its usual standard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole defense, man, I think we can surprise a lot of people,\u201d he said. \u201cJust playing with each other, getting to know each other on a deeper level.\u201d<\/p>\n
That identity starts with defending Sanford Stadium, where Georgia has won 31 straight games dating back to 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like someone coming into your house,\u201d Allen said. \u201cYou\u2019re not just going to let them come in and take something.\u201d<\/p>\n
The question now is what Allen will do with this opportunity. Georgia linebackers have a track record of leading championship-caliber defenses, and with experience now on his side, Allen has the chance to follow in their footsteps and make his own mark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Georgia, playing linebacker is more than a position; it\u2019s a legacy. And it’s CJ Allen\u2019s turn to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":72892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[8019,13580,43096,31591,51014,51015,13578,44836,1428,13583,43082,13579,11144,1318,31592,31594,4353,43063,3919,44840,24286,15549,51016,24287,51019,51017,9338,20537,44839,1317,11996,12001,11145,1315,1316,1232,43568,11346,51020,51018,11143,2973,44834,31596,31593,31597,31595,62,27063,5540,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-72891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-american-football","9":"tag-american-football-bowls","10":"tag-american-football-competitions","11":"tag-auburn-tigers-football","12":"tag-bulldogs","13":"tag-butkus-award","14":"tag-champion-seasons-in-american-football","15":"tag-cj-allen","16":"tag-college-football","17":"tag-college-football-bowls","18":"tag-college-football-competitions","19":"tag-college-football-conference-seasons","20":"tag-college-football-seasons","21":"tag-football","22":"tag-former-southern-conference-teams","23":"tag-former-southern-intercollegiate-athletic-association-teams","24":"tag-georgia","25":"tag-georgia-u-s-state","26":"tag-georgia-bulldogs","27":"tag-georgia-bulldogs-football","28":"tag-georgia-football","29":"tag-gridiron-football-variants","30":"tag-jalon-walker","31":"tag-kirby-smart","32":"tag-linebacker","33":"tag-nakobe-dean","34":"tag-national-football-league","35":"tag-national-football-league-seasons","36":"tag-national-football-league-teams","37":"tag-ncaa","38":"tag-ncaa-division-i-fbs-football","39":"tag-ncaa-division-i-fbs-football-seasons","40":"tag-ncaa-division-i-fbs-football-teams","41":"tag-ncaa-football","42":"tag-ncaafootball","43":"tag-nfl","44":"tag-ole-miss-rebels-football","45":"tag-quarterback","46":"tag-quarterback-sack","47":"tag-roquan-smith","48":"tag-seasons-in-american-football","49":"tag-sec","50":"tag-sec-media-days","51":"tag-southeastern-conference","52":"tag-southeastern-conference-football","53":"tag-southeastern-conference-football-seasons","54":"tag-southeastern-conference-teams","55":"tag-sports","56":"tag-team-sports","57":"tag-uga","58":"tag-united-states","59":"tag-unitedstates","60":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}