Q&A: Derrick Lott making way back from yet another setback
After yet another setback, defensive end Derrick Lott is no longer wearing green and ready to contribute for the Bulldogs. (UGA photo by Chris Collins)
Q&A WITH DERRICK LOTT
Derrick Lott has had a hard-luck career at Georgia so far. No sooner did he show up from North Cobb High than he had to have ankle surgery that assured a redshirt year. Then Todd Grantham shows up with his 3-4 defense and suddenly he’s a tackle trying to become an end. After playing in just three games last season in what would have to be described as a transition year, Lott had a solid spring and was heading into camp as a legitimate player in the defensive line rotation. Then he sliced his leg open parking his scooter at the Butts-Mehre Building and Lott thought for just moment that his football career was over.
It wasn’t. After being sidellined a month following surgery to repair a 12-inch gash in his lower right leg and suffering a sprained wrist almost as soon as he returned, Lott is back competing on the football field. And, once again, this 6-foot-4, 305-pound sophomore figures in the Bulldogs’ plans on defense. Here’s what Lott had to say recently about the accident that sent his to the hospital by ambulance and his prospects now that he’s back on the field.
Q: Tell us about the accident. How did it happen?
A: “I wasn’t going very fast. As a matter of fact the scooter was off. I was just coasting and looking for somewhere to park. Next thing I know, I looked down and saw a puddle of blood.”
Q: Did you know it was bad right away?
A: “Not until I saw it. When I saw it, I was like, ‘wow.’ I hadn’t seen anything like that in my life. It was like in the he movies and Jason comes through with a knife or Michael Myers slices somebody with a knife and they’re sitting there looking at their guts and everything inside. It was hot; the sheet-metal was thin; it was a clean cut; sliced right through. I didn’t even feel it. I’m getting off the scooter and I felt the wind blowing against. So I kind of reached down and rubbed it and it felt weird. I picked my hand up and saw a pool of blood. Then I looked and it was just bone and muscle and everything.”
Q: Did you yell for help or what?
A: “That was the funniest thing about the whole story. Nobody was outside and I had to get my hand scanned to get inside the building. Then walked through there. Then I started thinking I probably shouldn’t be walking on this, so I started hopping through the building. Then I had to put my hand scan in again. [laughing] Once I got inside I couldn’t take it anymore. I was worried about losing too much blood. So I just started yelling, ‘help, help!’
“Some of the guys in the workout group came and they were like, ‘what’s that?’ Nobody could believe it. I was looking at my teammates’ faces and their eyes were wide open. I thought I was going to pass out, so I just dropped. It was definitely scary. I shed a couple of tears thinking my football career was over. I hadn’t seen anything like that anywhere.”
Q: So you’re back on the field now. Does it affect your ability to play?
A: “They said I was two centimeters away from cutting my nerve. If I had cut that nerve I would’ve had drop foot and don’t think I wouldn’t been able to play football or compete. So I’m lucky it’s not worse than it is. They gave me an Evoshield to cover it. My muscles are still recovering. It’s going to be about two months before they’re fully strong because they were cut. But otherwise I’m fine. I’m running full speed, I’m making cuts from left to right. It’s just a matter of time before everything heals. . . . I’m still getting rehab just to get it stronger and build it back up. I was out for like a month and I didn’t really do any lower body. So I’m starting back with lower body, doing squats, running more and doing more heavy stuff with my legs. But I’m full goI’m ready to go. As far as playing time, I see myself playing in every game. If I put my mind to it and my effort to it, I could see myself starting a few games.”
Q: Do you feel like you can have the same type of impact as before the accident?
A: “I feel as though this is going to be my year. Guys have bad seasons, bad luck. I would compare myself to [Auburn's] Nick Fairley as far as coming from a season where he did OK and played some and then drastically changing over to first-round draft pick defensive lineman. That’s how I see myself, having a cross-over season.
Q: Where are they working you in?
A: “I’m working some with the first team. I’m doing good. The cut was a setback but it wasn’t too big. So I see myself still moving forward. I feel like my fellow defensive line guys believe in me. Coach G [defensive line coach Rodney Garner] has talked to me and said, ‘listen, we need you play this year. You’ve got to work.’ A lot of guys on this team believe in me. They’ve seen me play; they know I can play. So I’ve just got to get out there on the game field and ball out.”
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107 comments Add your comment
Falcondawg
August 25th, 2011
5:25 pm
Seriously? What a terrible blog!! Does anyone want to actually talk about sports instead of fueling this idiots fire by responding to him? All you have to do is ignore him!!!!!!!!
steve
August 25th, 2011
5:26 pm
So what did he actually cut his leg on??? 12 inch gash!! They might need to find out what cut him and remove it from the scooter parking area….
Mitch Cumstein
August 25th, 2011
5:26 pm
Again I’m proven right!
Thanks for validating my assumptions nerd!
Mad Dog One
August 25th, 2011
5:31 pm
@ 5 TIMES I have worked in lived & worked in NEB. & I have to say that you are an exception to the rule of the people from your state. Worked with some good men there (and I don’t mean A$$ Ho!#$ like you) so please change your tag and don’t bring down a good state & school with your stupid a$$ remarks.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 25th, 2011
5:42 pm
What sight exists to go and actually talk UGA football? It certainly is no longer the AJC.
Joey
August 25th, 2011
5:43 pm
Chip, stop the madness!!
Joey
August 25th, 2011
5:45 pm
You are so right, Lowcountry. I like a good debate with a real fan of any team. But this mess is idiotic . . .
Bob
August 25th, 2011
5:53 pm
I like his attitude! Just wish these players would forgo scooters and jog or walk to class…another way to be in condition to finish the drill in the fourth quarter.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 25th, 2011
5:55 pm
Debates no longer exist here. It turns into mindless dribble from them.
Bob
August 25th, 2011
5:57 pm
@Lowcountry…with all due respects, I think you’re wrong. This dribble is mindfull.
bad brad
August 25th, 2011
5:58 pm
@ 5 Time,
So you are a hater who has been to Athens, so what. The alley at Butts Mehre where the players park is full of scooters, probably close to a hundred. This kid said he was coasting up probably trying to get as close to the door as possible and hit his leg on either his scooter or someone elses and cut his leg.
BIG DEAL.
Not sure what the comment about sharks on the transit buses has to do with anything. Take your goofy a$$ back to Nebraska. Not going to sling useless insults your way. Nebraska’s best days are behind them.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 25th, 2011
5:59 pm
unfortunately true Bob.
Bob
August 25th, 2011
6:01 pm
Chip, I read your other articles that are not blogs and I think you do a fine job of covering our team. Thanks!
Delbert D.
August 25th, 2011
6:09 pm
Someone has to educate the coaches about the danger of overloading these 50cc scooters. CMR seems to see it only as football player + scooter, and he worries about inconveniencing the players. Wrong idea. My 250cc scooter (requires a motorcycle license) has a curb weight of 370 lbs. and a maximum load capacity of 350 lbs. The little Chinese jobs are nowhere near that.
Vampire Bill
August 25th, 2011
6:13 pm
Best of luck to Derrick
EW
August 25th, 2011
6:14 pm
Nobody actually said how his leg got cut….hello?
Destin Dawg
August 25th, 2011
6:17 pm
Coach Richt… conditioning…. they should ride bikes .. safer.. more exercise.. Go dawgs !! can’t wait
UGA girl
August 25th, 2011
6:17 pm
Okay, first of all, I actually go to UGA and know how chaotic campus is. There’s over 35,000 people in a little town all trying to go to the same place. He cut himself on something while riding his scooter… How does that make him stupid?! He’s obviously not too stupid to be going to such a prestigious school like UGA. Second of all, all of you $h!t talkers are probably unemployed middle aged men with nothing better to do than hate on innocent college students. Real mature.
On a brighter note, glad to hear Derrick is okay. Can’t wait for the season to start! Gooooooo Dawgs! Sic ‘em!
Delbert D.
August 25th, 2011
6:19 pm
Thin sheet metal of the scooter, according to Derrick’s statement.
Destin Dawg
August 25th, 2011
6:19 pm
the trolls will go away after the 1st 2 games… recruits will jump on the band wagon !!
Bob
August 25th, 2011
6:25 pm
Hey Lowcountry, sounds like UGA girl needs a date. Suppose we can fix her up with TampaGator? I think these clowns need to walk, jog, or ride a bike. Their classes are all pretty close to the jock dorm.
gotta go
August 25th, 2011
6:26 pm
Hey, Husker Boy, PLEASE GO HOME and chase some of those corn fed women who are the size of Lott!!! Good grief, what a loser…
UGA girl
August 25th, 2011
6:35 pm
Hey “Bob”, thanks for the concern, but I’m happily in a relationship. And you obviously have never been to Athens or UGA campus. I had classes back to back on opposite sides of campus, which is no where close to walking distance, that I had 15 minutes to get to. It’s not as easy as you think. Not to mention all of the buses are always overflowing with people. But good try!
TampaGator
August 25th, 2011
6:51 pm
UGAgirl…….
No worries about Bob’s mindless comments. I am too old for you…..and my happily married wife would not go for it anyway. And the closest I get to a jock dorm smell these days is when I sit in the stands at THE SWAMP on Saturdays…or when Bob walks by me after another whipping in JAX…..and I have to turn my head as he passes to avoid the locker room smell coming from his Dawg crying towel.
o “walk, jog, and ride my bike” near or on Clearwater Beach these days.
Delbert D.
August 25th, 2011
6:51 pm
Someone should send information like this to the athletic department.
Georgia DMV information:
To be classified as a “moped”
-Has an engine that doesn’t exceed 50 cubic centimeters.
-Can’t go faster than 30 mph.
-Cannot be driven on roads with a speed limit above 35 mph.
-Not required to be registered or titled.
-Valid driver’s license is required.
-Helmet is required.
To be classified as a scooter:
-Engine greater than 50cc.
-Horsepower 2 HP or more.
-Can reach speeds of 30 mph or more.
-Must be designed for highway use.
-Requires license as a motorcycle.
-Requires title and registration.
-Requires DOT-approved helmet.
I picked a moped scooter at random on the web:
Price – $549
Weight – 191 lbs.
MAXIMUM LOAD – 200 lbs.
TampaGator
August 25th, 2011
6:53 pm
But the good thing is…….college football is one day closer from being out of summer dreamland and into fall reality.
TampaGator
August 25th, 2011
6:56 pm
So….Delbert D….
My 1800cc deluxe cruiser is not a moped, right?
TampaGator
August 25th, 2011
6:58 pm
Bob……..
Enjoy the rest of your summer. Muschamp is starting to act like Spurrier and Lou Holtz with all his positve camp comments and now…….his, we aren’t very good comments. Keep on thinking, world…..that the Gators aren’t very good. That is what Muschamp wants you to think now…..but don’t believe it. They are very good.
Delbert D.
August 25th, 2011
7:12 pm
Hey, TampaGator. As a matter of fact, a guy rode a 250cc Honda Helix scooter (like mine) in the 1995 Iron Butt Rally over 9,000 miles in 11 days. Not for me; about 50 miles is about all I can handle without an injection of painkiller in the a$$. At 70 mph it is plain scary. I hit that once just to confirm the number.
My wife wouldn’t allow me to get another motorcycle. She says I’m to old to remember how to shift gears. Let’s see…1 down, 4 up.
Delbert D.
August 25th, 2011
7:16 pm
7 days and 15 minutes to game time for the early starters…
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
August 25th, 2011
7:22 pm
Muschamp gets it
Our staff; the only thing they get is win 10 wins thats all and beat Div II GT
Popcorn anyone while you watch another team play for the conference championship
LogicalUS
August 25th, 2011
7:27 pm
“actually talk UGA football”
BS Lowcountry, UGA homers on this site do not want to discuss UGA football, they want a delusional cheerleading session where everyone agrees that UGA is loaded five deep at every position and that no other school in college football have a single players who could make the UGA scout team.
Then when the crappie hits the fan in Sept and the mirrors come crashing down, they will scream and curse about the supermen “beating themselves” and not really loving “UGA”.
ZinoDawg
August 25th, 2011
7:27 pm
Man I don’t understand why you guys let the trolls get under your skin. That is exactly what they want. Ignore them and let’s discuss our Dawgs. GATA!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
August 25th, 2011
7:39 pm
LogicalUS
Actually UGA has been deep with talent at every position, just no one knows how to coach them to play at this level
JDawg1785
August 25th, 2011
7:47 pm
Agreed, Zino. Although I’ll be the first to admit that it’s pretty disturbing to see so much negativity and trash talk on a blog post about a determined young man coming back from a nasty injury.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Derrick! DGD!
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 25th, 2011
8:02 pm
Logical is shows how little you know about me being a cheerleader for UGA. I often laugh at the blind homers who think we are going to win it all every year. I am a realist, I understand where UGA is at right now. Does that not mean I would like to see a 9-3 season? Is that actually expecting to much? Surely the talent at UGA can muster a 9-3 regular season when the toughest games do not include Bama and LSU. So is that cheerleading or being a fan that is hoping we actually get some good breaks this year and go to a bowl game to finish 10-3. After the past two seasons I think that is the improvement that needs to be shown.
tide roll / tech fan
August 25th, 2011
8:06 pm
and the nerds shall inheret the earth
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
August 25th, 2011
8:18 pm
I’ll be glad to shut my mouth if we can beat FL 2yrs in a row, or beat them every other year not every 5+ years
I could also deal with 8-4, 9-3 10-2 seasons if those wins came against opponents that you should have lost too.
Say what you want about Dooley, but you could expect his teams to pull off an upset against any team that they should have lost too.
BG
August 25th, 2011
8:19 pm
Good luck this year Derrick. GO DAWGS!
Kramer
August 25th, 2011
8:22 pm
The maturity level on these blogs never ceases to amaze me.
Fed Up
August 25th, 2011
8:34 pm
AJC headline: UGA profs offer course to illegals
This rips it for me. UGA has been a vipers’ pit of scumbag left-wing academics for decades, and now this.
At this point, the people of the State of Georgia are suffering another huge embarrassment from UGA.
Yes, there’s a very good reason why decent people know UGA as THE CESSPOOL OF THE SOUTH.
Mobile Dawg
August 25th, 2011
8:35 pm
Some of these posters are among the lowest class human beings living. I would bet that karma has already made their lives a living, miserable nightmare.
Mobile Dawg
August 25th, 2011
8:38 pm
I’m waiting on the practice report that Big John and Samuel are back and contributing.
JAWJeRDAWG
August 25th, 2011
9:09 pm
He just did, and in even more detail. .. Go Dawgs!
Paddy
August 25th, 2011
9:11 pm
DawginLex…….I like the stuff you say most of the time. but I believe you have lost your way today. Take a break and come back refreshed. Go Dawgs
WalterEgo
August 25th, 2011
9:46 pm
per “5 time national champion NEBRASKA,
“What does needing a scooter on the UGA campus have to do with the inability to safely park a scooter? That’s like justifying wrecking your car because you need one to drive to work.
Again, welcome to UGA”
…
You just highlighted that Lott had a scooter accident driving on campus much like others have a car accidents driving to work and you highlighted how that makes him somehow ignorant. Does that make everybody that wrecks a car going to work (or wherever) ignorant? I mean it is your analogy comparing scooter and car accidents. How exactly is (a teenager) having a motor vehicle accident evidence of anything other than “accidents happen”.
Motor vehicle accidents happen all day, every day. The difference is that the same accident on a scooter injures MUCH more severely. Had Lott been in a car (not possible on the UGA campus) he would have been unscathed. Wrecking wasn’t his problem. I’m sure Mr. “Nebraska” has wrecked. His scooter analogy went head-on into a car for example. While Mr. “Nebraska” appears ignorant for this reason it does not stand that all who wreck are.
The problem was being ON A SCOOTER in the first place.
Dawg Whisperer
August 25th, 2011
10:13 pm
Fed Up… if you are overwrought with a UGA football player injuring his leg on a motorcycle and somehow relate that as an embarrassment to the State of Georgia… well, let’s just say your priorities may need re-evaluating.
Let me guess, you’re not a fan of UGA? Not surprisingly, all the Rhodes scholars that UGA has produced over the past few years somehow doesn’t deserve your attention and how about UGA’s standing as a top public state university? Not worthy of comment either, huh? Nebraska, on the other hand, doesn’t enjoy the same academic standing as UGA. The only cess pool I see is the collection of mindless, asisine comments from folks that choose to hate on these blogs.
ca dawg
August 25th, 2011
10:14 pm
@nebraska: pathetic and beyond classless to call a kid stupid for having an accident that almost ended his career. why don’t you let derrick know what you think of him next time you’re in athens, tough guy?
@lowcountry: you’re no blind homer, i can vouch for that. you’re one of the few people on here who consistently makes sense.
@mobile dawg: samuel ran some drills recently, i think, but they’re really being careful with him because we’re gonna need him in 9 days. 9 days!
ca dawg
August 25th, 2011
10:16 pm
chip: you’re doing a great job on the UGA beat. really enjoy your reports. KIU, brother.
jocrazy
August 25th, 2011
10:26 pm
why would children of the corn be worried about bulldawgs