Georgia won its Capital One Bowl matchup with Nebraska, but suffered a significant defensive loss in the game’s immediate aftermath.
Shortly after the Bulldogs’ first bowl win since 2009, linebacker Alec Ogletree announced that he will be foregoing his senior season and make himself available for the April NFL draft. Ogletree becomes the first player at his position and the seventh player from the SEC to officially leave early for the NFL since the 2012 regular season ended.
“This is my last game,” Ogletree told reporters. “It’s a tough decision, but I felt like it was the right one for me to do based on just where I may go and the amount of risk it is to come back. I talked to my parents and let God lead me in the right way.”
Despite playing in just 10 of 13 games this season, Ogletree led the Bulldogs in tackles and was second in tackles for loss with 11.5.
Ogletree likely won’t be the Bulldogs’ last loss to early defection. Another UGA linebacker, All-American Jarvis Jones, is expected to officially announce in the coming days that he will cannonball into the NFL draft pool. Jones is widely viewed as a top-five pick in the upcoming draft.
Aaron Murray, another UGA starter who’s considering the NFL, was non-committal following the win over the Cornhuskers.
“The future? I don’t know what’s going to happen,” the quarterback said.