ATHENS -- Georgia coach Kirby Smart doesn’t usually stump for his players to win national awards. “It’s not something we can control,” is his standard response. But he stumped a little Monday for senior Monty Rice, who was named a finalist for the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker.
It has been evident for a while that Rice holds a special place in Smart’s heart. Add to that Rice’s sacrifices this year, which include returning for his senior season and then sticking it out despite in a COVID year in which there have been rampant opt-outs, and it’s understandable why Smart didn’t mind singing the senior’s praises for a minute or two during his weekly Zoom call on Monday.
The head coach’s testimonial was extensive:
“Anytime something comes up for a kid as good as him, that has given as much to a program as he has ours, he has been one of the tremendous leaders in this organization for a while,” Smart said. “He made a decision to come back, which I think was a good decision. He has played really well this year; he has played better this year. He has had to push through some injuries and some pains, but he has done that. You look at the guys at the next level — they have to be tough, they have to be physical, they have to play a 16-game regular season. At inside ‘backer, there is probably no more physical position in terms of contact than that position. He has played it in the best conference, the toughest league, for four years, and he has been a really good player. His whole body of work is impressive.
“As to whether or not he wins that award, I don’t know enough about the other players to speak on that. I certainly know he is the best linebacker we’ve got. He’s a really good football player, and he has played in the best conference. I can’t tell you where he stacks up statistically because I don’t think statistics matter. But, for me, it is not about that. He rotates and plays with some other guys, and I’ll bet you some of those other guys don’t do that. Monty is going to make a great teammate and pro regardless of whether he wins that award or not. He is certainly deserving of the accolades he has received, and I am certainly hopeful he gets an opportunity to win it.”
Rice has a decent shot. The other finalists are Missouri’s Nick Bolton, Zaven Collins of Tulsa, Devin Lloyd of Utah and Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Kormoah. Bolton and Collins have the best numbers, but they’re both seniors on lower-profile teams.
Owusu-Koramoah and Rice are the only two seniors and both play on high-profile teams. The No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish are currently 14th in defense and 12th in points allowed. No. 9 Georgia is 17th and 21st, respectively. The two players have 49 tackles each, and their numbers are almost identical in all other categories, with the Notre Dame player having a slight edge in tackles for loss (9 to 4), while Rice has a scoop-and-score touchdown.
But for the Bulldogs, it’s more about what Rice does and has done on a day-to-day basis for the last four years.
“On the field, he’s an amazing leader,” Georgia sophomore safety Lewis Cine said. “He leads by example. His effort is amazing. He’s one of those guys I look up to just because of the way he carries himself. He grinds on the field. Play by play by play by play, he’s going to give you 100 percent.
“Frankly, he deserves that award. Hopefully it goes his way.”
This year has been particularly challenging for Rice. He has played with injuries all season, grimacing through a painful foot sprain for the entirety of it, then dealing with the resident strains, sprains and bruises that come with playing in the middle of nationally-renown defense against a 10-game SEC schedule.
“None of that matters,” Rice said after Georgia’s 49-14 win over Missouri this past Saturday. “It’s about making tackles, making interceptions, it’s about doing what you’re coached to do.”
Rice is a four-time defensive captain for the Bulldogs. He entered this season with 165 career tackles.
In the meantime, Rice is happy just to reach the season’s 10th game and finally get Senior Day at Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs were supposed to do that Dec. 5 when they were originally supposed to play Vanderbilt, only to have the Commodores cancel the day before.
“I was definitely looking forward to that,” Rice said. “I had, like, 10 people coming to the game. So hopefully we’ll get to do it this Saturday.”
Unfortunately for Rice, he won’t get to be wined and dined at the ESPN postseason awards show like Roquan Smith was when he won the 2017 Butkus Award. Tae Crowder was also a semifinalist last year.
Either way, he is upholding Georgia’s LBU proclamation. And he’s doing so while playing through pain.
While former Bulldog and current New York Giant Tae Crowder was a semifinalist for the collegiate honor in 2019, former Georgia linebacker and current Chicago Bear Roquan Smith won the 2017 Butkus Award.
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