ATHENS — Kendall Milton, Georgia’s leading touchdown scorer, has already indicated that he will participate in the Orange Bowl rather than break away to prepare for the NFL combine and draft.
The No. 6-ranked Bulldogs (12-1) will face an unbeaten No. 5-ranked Florida State (13-0) team determined to prove a point in the Orange Bowl on December 30 at 4 p.m.
“We have one more opportunity to define this 2023 team in the Orange Bowl,” Norvell said in a statement, “and I believe in how our team will respond.”
Milton demonstrated the “togetherness” that Coach Kirby Smart has emphasized with his unwavering determination to participate in a non-CFP bowl game only moments after scoring two touchdowns in the sad 27-24 defeat to Alabama.
“One hundred percent,” Milton said on Saturday night when asked if he would play in a bowl game if the Bulldogs did not make the four-team CFP tournament.
Since the establishment of the CFP, some fans and media have discounted the importance of non-playoff bowl games, but that is not how Smart has treated it, and Milton surely does not believe so.
“I’d never do that.Milton said, “Abandon my brothers.” “I’ve been through hell and back with these boys, so there’s no way that I won’t take every opportunity that I can to be able to play with them.”
Georgia has numerous players anticipated to be taken in the NFL Draft this season.
Some UGA players have previously opted out of non-playoff bowl games due to injury or high first-round grades.
However, the vast majority of Smart’s athletes have chosen to play and improve their NFL draft prospects while completing a project they began, capping their legacy on a good note with teammates.
Milton observed how fellow Georgia studs Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers demonstrated what this UGA team was all about.
