ATHENS — Azeez Ojulari may have been overlooked for preseason accolades, but at least he’s getting some in-season respect.
The redshirt sophomore from Marietta was named defensive lineman of the week by the SEC on Monday. That’s pretty good considering, Ojulari really is not a defensive lineman — his position is outside linebacker — and, he didn’t get any all-conference mentions before the season started. That seemed a significant oversight considering Ojulari’s impact on Georgia’s top-ranked defense, last year and this one.
None of that matters, of course. And the Tennessee Vols most certainly will endorse Ojulari’s nomination.
Against the Vols, Ojulari recorded five tackles. Those stops included two sacks, two forced fumbles and one recovered fumble as the Bulldogs used a second-half surge to register third straight win, and fourth in a row over Tennessee.
Ojulari had a strip-sack and recovery on the Vols’ opening series of the second half, which began with Georgia trailing 21-17. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker followed that up three series later with another sack that forced the Vols to punt. Georgia scored on the ensuing series to go ahead 30-21.
Credit: UGA Sports
Credit: UGA Sports
Technically, Ojulari plays the “Jack” linebacker position for the Bulldogs. His play led a defensive effort against the Vols that limited them to just 71 yards in the second half, 214 yards in the game and minus-1 yards rushing.
So far this season, Ojulari leads the Bulldogs with three sacks and six tackles for loss totaling negative 49 yards. He’s third on the team with 13 tackles overall. No. 3 Georgia (3-0) travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face No. 2 Alabama (3-0) Saturday (8 p.m., CBS).
One reason Ojulari and a lot of other Georgia defenders get overlooked for individual honors is the Bulldogs rotate so many players. Of their talented outside linebacker corps, Ojulari may be the most versatile, manning the strongside of UGA’s defense on both passing and running downs.
“What stands out is they have a camaraderie about them,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “They take pride in being good. We don’t have a bunch of prima donnas. Everybody’s putting sweat in the bucket.”
Monday’s award marked the first SEC weekly honor for Ojulari in his career. It was the Bulldogs' third weekly honor this season. Punter Jake Camarda was special teams player of the week after the opener against Arkansas and guard Ben Cleveland was named offensive lineman of the week after the Auburn game.
