Jermaine Burton, Trezmen Marshall Excited for Challenge Against Former Team

Burton and Marshall both played in Athens before coming over to Tuscaloosa.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — When Alabama and Georgia meet for the 2023 SEC Championship on Saturday in Atlanta, it will be a reunion for a couple of players.

Wide receiver Jermaine Burton and linebacker Trezmen Marshall both played for the Bulldogs before joining Alabama. Burton played two seasons in Athens from 2020-2021, including a win over the Crimson Tide in the 2021 CFP title in Indianapolis.

Marshall was a member of both of Georgia's national championship teams.

"On the bus ride back from Auburn, I was talking to [Marshall] about it," defensive back Malachi Moore said Monday. "He probably is gonna be a little bit more emotional or something like that for playing against his former team."

Burton has been one of the more emotional players on Alabama's team, for better or worse. Expect him to be at an all-time high at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"I've seen Jermaine grow a lot just from a maturity standpoint," Moore said. "Him trying to be a leader and leading by example and yeah, I've also talked to him about the game. I asked him, 'You ain't ever played against them?' He was like, 'Nah.' He probably kind of gonna be a little hyper-emotional this game, but in the right way, not emotional in a bad way."

"I think Jermaine is always amped for any team, so it doesn’t matter if it’s UGA or whoever," defensive end Justin Eboigbe said Tuesday.

Eboigbe didn't play for the Bulldogs, but Saturday will be a special day for him as well. Eboigbe is from Forest Park, Ga. — less than 15 miles from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"I would say every game means a little bit more," Eboigbe said. "It’s special because you’re going back home, playing in Atlanta, going against the best team in college ball right now to many. It means a little bit more because a lot of those guys recruited me and recruited a lot of guys on our team. So I’m pretty sure it means a lot to us."

"Extremely grateful feeling. Being able to go back home to play a great team to be able to win the SEC and be able to do something that hasn’t been done, they have a lot of things going on their side for their team as UGA, and we have a lot of things going for our side that we look forward to going against them. It’s going to be a great game. Two Goliaths going at it, and we’re going to see who comes out on top."

The Crimson Tide has three impact players with connections to Georgia, but there is little doubt which side they will be giving their all for on Saturday afternoon.

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