7 Best Georgia Bulldogs Football Players

It’s been this way for years now: Football odds favouring the Georgia Bulldogs to win the college football national championship. While they didn’t for this past season, they did the two years prior. 

Even though Georgia didn’t win the national title last season, the Bulldogs were mainstays in college football parlays with all of their success, minus the SEC Championship Game against Alabama. 

Since their first season in 1892, Georgia has won four national titles: 1942, 1980, 2021, and 2022. 

With well over a century of history, the program has produced a number of legendary players. 

Below, I’ve constructed a list of the seven best. 

Let’s check it out. 

7 Best Georgia Bulldogs Football Players

1. Herschel Walker

Walker had a sensational career at Georgia and, still holds the program record for most rushing yards (5,259) and rushing touchdowns (49). Walker also holds the top three spots in single-season rushing records with 1,891 yards in 1981, 1,752 in 1982, and 1,616 in 1980. 

Walker was a member of the Bulldogs’ 1980 national championship-winning team and won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award in 1982. 

He was also a three-time SEC Player of the Year, three-time unanimous All-American, and a three-time first-team All-SEC honoree. 

His No. 34 was retired by the Bulldogs, and he’s in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

2. David Pollack

At the turn of the century, the Bulldogs welcomed Pollack and he went on to record 36 sacks over four seasons,  the most in program history. 

His 14 sacks in 2002 ranks second in a single season. 

He won the Chuck Bednarik Award, Lott Trophy, and Lombardi Award, was a two-time Ted Hendricks Award winner, a two-time Consensus All-American, two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, three-time first-team All-SEC selections, and was the 2005 Outback Bowl MVP. 

3. Frank Sinkwich

Playing halfback in the early 1940s, Sinkwich was the first-ever Bulldogs player to win the Heisman Trophy, doing so in 1942. He was a dual threat, throwing for more than 2,000 yards and also rushing for more than 1,000 yards. He’s eighth in program history in rushing touchdowns with 30 and is sixth in touchdowns responsible for with 60. 

Sinkwich played a big part in Georgia winning its first national title in 1942. 

4. Champ Bailey

The winner of the Bronko Nagurski Award in 1998, Bailey was also a Consensus All-American and was named first-team All-SEC twice. 

Bailey played both cornerback and wide receiver and also excelled on special teams. 

As a receiver, he caught 59 passes across two seasons for 978 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 21 carries for 99 yards. 

In the kick return game, he had 27 total returns for 560 yards. On defence, he intercepted eight passes across three seasons, including a pick-six in 1997. 

5. Charley Trippi

Quarterbacking the 1942 national title team, Trippi had 98 carries for 672 yards and six touchdowns while also throwing for 519 yards and five scores. 

After that season, Trippi had to leave the team for World War II, but he returned in 1945. 

From there, he went on to run for more than 1,100 yards on 195 carries with 18 touchdowns. He also caught 12 passes for 125 yards and four touchdowns. 

He was still involved in the passing game, throwing for more than 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns. 

Trippi was named SEC Player of the Year in 1946 and was a unanimous All-American that year, too.

His No. 62 was retired by the school. 

6. Nick Chubb

Suffering a horrendous knee injury in 2015, Chubb somehow rebounded and had a stellar Georgia career. 

He finished his time with the program with 4,769 rushing yards (second in school history), 44 rushing scores (second), and 5,130 total yards (10th).

Chubb was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2014, second-team All-SEC in 2017, and was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2014. 

7. Roquan Smith 

The winner of the Butkus Award in 2017, Smith was a Unanimous All-American in 2017, and in that same year, was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-SEC. 

Across 38 games, Smith had 252 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles.