Who are Georgia’s Top 10 football players of all time?
Coming up with No. 1 on a list of Georgia's 10 greatest players is easy. But it gets increasingly hard as you move down the list and can produce arguments what will last into the night. (AP Photo)
So as I mentioned on social media yesterday, I’ve been working on a summer project for the AJC in which one of the assignments was to name the 10 “most memorable players” in Georgia football history. Do you have any idea what a maddening and pretty much impossible task that is?
You can say a lot of things about the Bulldogs, but they have produced a lot of great players in their 120-year football history. And I don’t use the term “great” lightly. In all, they’ve had 68 All-Americans and 12 Bulldogs have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Game.
It was so hard to limit to just 10 players that I finally turned to Facebook and Twitter and just kind of threw it out there to get the opinions of Georgia fans. As is usually the case when you present something to the Bulldog Nation, the response was overwhelming and passionate. In the end, the feedback helped me finally whittle down the last few choices. But in other ways it made the whole exercise even more confusing as a couple of names came flying in that I hadn’t considered.
The reality is, when you’re thinking of “great” and “memorable” Georgia football players, you could easily list two dozen without batting an eyelid. But the assignment called for 10, not 24, so here’s what I finally went with:
- Herschel Walker, TB (1980-82): Every conversation about great Georgia players begins and ends with the “Goal-line Stalker” from Wrightsville. All Walker did was come in as a true freshman and rush for 1,616 yards and 15 touchdowns and lead the Bulldogs to their first consensus national championship since 1942. Walker went on to become a three-time consensus All-American and finally won the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 1982. He finished his career with 5,259 yards in just 33 games, an average of 159.4 per contest.
- Charley Trippi, TB (1942, ‘45-46): Trippi is still regarded by many as the greatest all-around athlete to ever play for the Bulldogs. As a senior he led the SEC in scoring and total offense and won the Maxwell Award as the country’s best back and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. A member of both the pro and college halls of fame, he is one of only four UGA players to have his number (62) retired.
- David Pollack, DE (2001-04): After being recruited to Georgia as a fullback, Pollack became a three-time All-American as a defensive end. His most famous play is a caused-fumble and one-handed, mid-air scoop-and-score against South Carolina in the 2002 SEC championship season. He owns the Bulldogs’ record for career sacks.
- Jake Scott, S (1967-68): Though he played for the Bulldogs only two seasons, Scott proved to be one of their most explosive play-makers of all time. He led the SEC in interceptions both seasons and led the league in punt return yardage in 1968. He still holds the UGA record for career interceptions (16) and interception return yardage (315). He went on to a long and productive career with the Miami Dolphins and was named Super Bowl MVP in 1972.
- Champ Bailey, CB/WR (1996-98): Bailey proved to be one of the Bulldogs’ most versatile athletes ever. His junior season he played on both offense and defense while also playing special teams. He logged more than 100 plays in seven games and played more than 1,000 snaps that season. Was named an All-American and won the Bronko Nagurski Award in 1998.
- Garrison Hearst, TB (1990-92): Hearst led the Bulldogs in rushing each of his three seasons, including 1992 when he ran for 1,547 yards and scored 21 touchdowns. His 1,910 all-purpose yards that season was second-best in school history, won him the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best back and led to a third-place finish in Heisman voting.
- Frank Sinkwich (1940-42): Georgia’s first Heisman Trophy recipient (1942) led the Bulldogs to wins in the Orange and Rose bowls and the 1942 national championship. A member of the college football hall of fame, he rushed for 2,771 yards, passed for 2,331 yards and accounted for 60 TDs – 30 rushing and 30 passing in his career. You can’t leave off a Heisman winner.
- Bill Stanfill, DT (1966-68): Stanfill led Georgia to a 25-6-2 record and two SEC championships in his three seasons on the field for the Bulldogs and was team captain, All-American and Academic All-American in 1968. That same year he won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best lineman. He went on to a highly-decorated NFL career with the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins.
- Hines Ward, ATH (1994-97): Ward proved to be one of the most versatile offensive players of all times. During his career, he started at quarterback, tailback and wide receiver while also serving as a kick returner. He set the Georgia bowl record with 469 yards total offense (413 passing) in the 1995 Peach Bowl. He finished his career with 4,788 all-purpose yards (1,965 receiving, 1,063 rushing, 918 passing and 842 in returns).
- Terry Hoage, ROV (1980-83): Former Georgia coach Vince Dooley called Hoage the best defensive player he’s ever coached and “maybe the best I’ve ever seen.” The two-time All-American finished fifth in the 1983 Heisman Trophy balloting. He led the nation with 12 interceptions in 1982 and blocked a field goal against Notre Dame in Georgia’s national championship-clinching Sugar Bowl victory.
A few qualifiers: The numbers don’t reflect a ranking. It’s merely to enumerate and actually reflects the order that I committed to the respective players being on the list; I tried to pay respect to earlier generations of Georgia football but, as you might expect, the list is tilted toward modern football player; and, as you’ll note, there are a lot of truly great players not included.
Here are some that I really struggled with leaving off: CB/PR Scott Woerner, WR A.J. Green, TB Knowshon Moreno, FS Thomas Davis, QB Eric Zeier, QB David Greene, PK Kevin Butler, QB Fran Tarkenton.
So, for better or worse, that’s the list I came up with. I’d love to hear what you guys might have done differently or who you might replace with whom. And who knows, nothing is in print yet. If you can offer a convincing enough argument I might just see if we can get it changed.
Thanks for your input.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
401 comments Add your comment
Joey
July 11th, 2012
9:09 am
Ed, Tarkington “blasts” Richt, not UGA, not the football program . There is a difference. He’s obviously a little embarrassed by the players’ law-breaking, rule-breaking, dismissals, etc, and the losing in every big game the past several season? You aren’t?
And by the way, check the record books – Fran won plenty in the NFL – he made every team he played for, a contender. He didn’t play defense – just one position QB – and played it very well, actually breaking all of Johnny Unitas records and holding them until a guy named Marino, who threw it every down, came along.
mad~catfish
July 11th, 2012
9:10 am
all i can say is the most under estimated player in UGA history…..my hero! Eric Zeier!
Eric Zeier (1991-1994)
Led UGA in passing for 4 straight seasons (1991 through 1994)
All-time leader at UGA for single-season pass completions: 1993 (269)
2nd most career pass completions in UGA history: 838
Has the top 6 best single-game passing yardage performances in UGA history
Has the top 2 best single-season passsing yardage totals in UGA history: 1993 (3,525); 1994 (3,396)
2nd most career passing yards in UGA history (11,153)
2nd best single-season completion percentage in UGA history: 1993 (63%)
Best career completion percentage in UGA history: 60%
Tied for most single-season touchdown passes in UGA history: 1993 (24); 1994 (24) – tied with DJ Shockley (2005)
2nd most career touchdown passes in UGA history: 67
4th highest career pass efficiency rating in UGA history: 137.08
4th best in SEC history in career total offense (10,841 yards)
4th best in SEC history in career passing yardage (11,153 yards)
544 yards passing vs Southern Miss in 1993 (UGA and SEC record for passing yards in a single game)
All-SEC: 1992 (AP 2nd team, Coaches’ 2nd team); 1993 (AP 2nd team, Coaches’ 2nd team); 1994 (AP 2nd team, Coaches’ 2nd team)
All-American: 1994 (AFCA Coaches’, Playboy)
P. Allen
July 11th, 2012
9:11 am
If you consider only what they contributed while at UGA, yours is pretty good list. If the standard is simply how good a player they were, it’s hard to leave out Tarkenton. Not sure who I’d swap out.
CMS
July 11th, 2012
9:12 am
Garrison Hearst should be over Champ Bailey…its funny people forget how good he was. If not top three Bulldawgs of all time he’s definitely top five!
RxDawg
July 11th, 2012
9:14 am
Oh lordy… this will be a go around on the blog today. List looks good to me. I think it’s really hard to leave Thomas Davis and AJ Green off. AJ was our best WR ever and Thomas was our second best safety ever. This will be fun, think I’ll sit back and watch the show.
Joey
July 11th, 2012
9:19 am
Thomas was great and is still knocking heads in the NFL, RxDawg, but Bill is correct, Jake Scott and Terry Hoage were UGA’s best DBs.
My opinion though . . .
Frank Lane
July 11th, 2012
9:21 am
Johnny Rauch, all-American, all time leading passer, followed Trippi, undefeated 1946 team as a sophomore. Illustrious pro career as both a quarterback and a coach.
90s Dawg
July 11th, 2012
9:21 am
YOOOOO!!!! How can you forget about Wilson “The Meat Wagon” Stephano?
Bad Apple Dawg
July 11th, 2012
9:26 am
Issiah Crowell
JB
July 11th, 2012
9:32 am
Wondering when Crowell would show up. He’s on another list.
JB
July 11th, 2012
9:33 am
I want to get back to beating some good football teams.
SimpleDawg
July 11th, 2012
9:34 am
Damn Good List…..
….an the Honorable Mentions aren’t too shabby either.
Logan Walker
July 11th, 2012
9:34 am
I actually like the inclusion of Pollack, though maybe not at 3. I think Tarkenton has to be on this list. It’ll never be perfect, because there are just too many great Dawgs. What they should be making in you do is count down the top 100 Dawgs. 10 a week starting at 100, culminating the week of season kickoff with the top 10.
claytondawg
July 11th, 2012
9:38 am
Wow…just too many to decide. Putting Terry Hoage in the list was the best decision. Like several of you, I also agree with adding David Greene; he won games with his team in mind first– along with his skill, talent, and heart. I think most passionate ‘Dog fans would have to agree.
Westicles
July 11th, 2012
9:39 am
Lists like this are tough, because there are far too many great players to narrow it down to just ten. An “All Time Bulldog Team, ” listing the “greatest” at each position would be an easier task.
But for this list, I’d make one change: I loved watching Garrision Hearst play, and he is one of my all-time favorite Bulldogs. But for the sake f this list, I would have to drop him in favor of Kevin Butler.
Dawg Bite
July 11th, 2012
9:40 am
Chip, you did a great job with your list. I was just a young kid, but did see Trippi play and he was something else. He also played professionally with the old St. Louis Cardinals when they were in the NFL. If I am not mistaken, I think he also played pro baseball for a while with the Cardinals of the National league. I also think that Jake Scott was the best defensive back ever to play for UGA, with all due respects to Terry Hoage. Who else remembers Jakes punt return for 80 against UT in Knoxville in “the Rouser on the Rug”, as SI termed it. Also, believe he took a punt back for a td in the driving rain against the Gators in ‘68. What a athlete he was! I think your list is “spot on”.
Red Pants
July 11th, 2012
9:40 am
Pollack is perfectly placed on this list. Are you guys forgetting how dominant that guys was? He’s one of the 4 or 5 best college defenders of the past 15 years.
It MUST BE said
July 11th, 2012
9:41 am
AJ Green will always be remembered for HURTING UGA far more than he helped UGA.
Bulldawg
July 11th, 2012
9:41 am
Don’t think any stats would support his position as a top ten guy, but Scott Woerner was one of my favorites. Just a gritty player that seemed to come up with a huge play when the Dogs needed it.
Sam
July 11th, 2012
9:42 am
I agree with Reggie Ball… Theron Sapp should be mentioned if only because he is one of four to have his number retired. Also, M. Stinchcomb was a heck of a tackle and believe Jarvis Jones will be mentioned as well when its all said and done. If A.J. Green had not been suspended and didn’t have a different QB every year he might make it as well. Finally how about the DL (Tardis????) that had the sack record before Pollack.
splendid splinter
July 11th, 2012
9:43 am
Shame on all you old guys for not mentioning George Patton. He was the leader in 1965 (?) who beat Steve Spurrier in the Florida game and led Georgia in the Cotton Bowl game.
These are all great players but we tend to forget someof the other players of 40, 50, 60 years ago who had great careers and led Georgia to great seasons. Certainly Rakestraw and Tarkenton belong on the list. And for us true Georgia fans, Sapp will always hold a special place in our hearts. Who can imagine now losing seven straight years to Ga. Tech? Sapp was the drought-breaker.
idiotsavant
July 11th, 2012
9:43 am
You might want to go back and review the stats on Glynn Harrison. Pretty gaudy. Over 8 yards per carry AVERAGE, a genuine greased pig.
Joey
July 11th, 2012
9:46 am
I think we need a Top 3 At Every Position List.
Sorry Chip, I thought I was on the Blawg – I love your picks.
Milledgeville DAWG
July 11th, 2012
9:47 am
Good list. However I believe we should have a list of overachievers. On top of this list would be Timmy Crowe from Stone Mountain. He was a charter Junkyard DAWG and gave it all,on every play. Coach Dooley would agree.
ARdawg
July 11th, 2012
9:47 am
I would argue that Hearst, Bailey and Pollack doesn’t belong on that list
Chip Towers
July 11th, 2012
9:47 am
bdawg: Read closer. It says 2002 SEC championship season.
pbt dawg fan
July 11th, 2012
9:47 am
How do you leave Eric Zeier off this list. I Know people are not going to agree with me on this but David Greene should be considered on this list. He left UGA as the all-time winning OB in college. He never won a national title, but he won 1 SEC title. The same as the Peyton Manning who’s record he broke.
RxDawg
July 11th, 2012
9:50 am
“Good list, but here are some O-linemen who could use a little love….”
Good point egeagle, but don’t forget the Stichcomb bros. Not sure which one was better, I’d guess Jon.
Also on David Greene, if there is one reason he should make this list it’s this. He at one time held the record for NCAA wins by a starting QB. That’s alright in my book.
pbt dawg fan
July 11th, 2012
9:50 am
@ARDawg
Are you Crazy, Hearst is the second best RB in school History, And Bailey is the best all-round player ever to play at UGA.
DirtyDawg
July 11th, 2012
9:51 am
Dawgone beat me to ‘The man that broke the drought.’ – Theron Sapp…then there was the first, big-name, Bulldog I ever saw play – Zeke Bratkowski…and finally my personal, most memorable, Moon Pie Wilso, cause he offered to whip my butt in Uppies’ parking lot one night.
Chip Towers
July 11th, 2012
9:51 am
secdawgs: I agree with you about Boykin. He was somebody I had on my working list but knew pretty quickly I’d have to eliminate to get to 10. But in the long run I think Boykin will go down as one of UGA’s greatest and would make a good argument for a second 10.
Joey
July 11th, 2012
9:51 am
I remember Glynn Harrison, idiotsavant. Wasn’t that during the “tear-away” jersey era? Small, but powerful backs like Harrison WERE “greased pigs” in those days.
Was Dooley running the Veer then?
don bieger
July 11th, 2012
9:52 am
What? No number 11, Jimmy Harper
Jax Falcon/Dog Fan
July 11th, 2012
9:52 am
@splendid splinter – George Patton, now there was a stud. If you recall, Coach Dooley even set him up in the shotgun at quarterback at the end of that Cotton Bowl game and let him throw a couple of passes.
Chip, great job with an impossible task.
Chip Towers
July 11th, 2012
9:54 am
D man: You’re right about Stafford. Had he won an SEC title or even taken Georgia to the championship game, I probably would have included him.
RxDawg
July 11th, 2012
9:54 am
“Jake Scott and Terry Hoage were UGA’s best DBs.”
Jake without a doubt. I’m a 90s-2000s Dawg, so I tend to forget about Terry. I’ll defer to your judgement on Thomas Davis vs Terry Hoage. I went to school with Thomas so I may be slightly biased, but you gota agree that he was one of our greatest defenders in recent memory.
RxDawg
July 11th, 2012
9:56 am
“Wondering when Crowell would show up. He’s on another list.”
lol
Sharkman
July 11th, 2012
9:57 am
You got Hines Ward on there, and Kevin Butler off of it??? Hines was a good Georgia player, Kevin Butler was a great Georgia player. Come on man, my dog Jake can do better research than that.
RxDawg
July 11th, 2012
9:57 am
If anyone doesn’t think David Pollock shouldn’t be on this list, go take a look at the sack records for UGA. If that doesn’t work, go take a look at the sack frecords for the SEC.
NoogaDawg
July 11th, 2012
10:00 am
I agree that Buck should be added. His cool confidence kept the door open for us to win several games in ‘80. I also agree that Andy Johnson should be included; in the ‘71 Teck game, he showed he could pass the ball. And what ever happened to Pulpwood Smith…?
pbt dawg fan
July 11th, 2012
10:00 am
Matthew Stafford doesn’t need to be anywhere near this list. He played for UGA and he was a good player. Stafford won no big games and played with no passion. Please tell me a defining moment in the UGA career of Matthew Stafford.
Realistic fan
July 11th, 2012
10:02 am
Not a big fan of Tarkenton, but having said that HOW can you leave off the list a QB who went to 4 Super Bowls and was/is one of the all time passing yardage leaders in NFL history? Garrison Hearst would drop to number 11 and Tarkenton should be high in this list.
pbt dawg fan
July 11th, 2012
10:04 am
Kevin Butler was a kicker, and hines ward played a produced at 3 different postion. Hines ward should be on this list just because he had the heart to play QB.
Tenaciousd
July 11th, 2012
10:05 am
Dennis Hughes TE ‘69
Look him up. Best TE in UGA history.
NCDOG
July 11th, 2012
10:10 am
Lamar Racehorse Davis
Jax Falcon/Dog Fan
July 11th, 2012
10:11 am
If you don’t think Hines should make this list you never watched him play. How many times did he limp back to the huddle after being mauled trying to sub at quarterback? Talk about taking one for the team. He was one of the toughest, most unselfish players ever strap on a helmet for UGA,
juvenal
July 11th, 2012
10:14 am
#34 should have spots 1 to 9……
artful codger
July 11th, 2012
10:14 am
Just a thought. No doubt Sinkwich and Trippi … even Tarkenton, were great players in their era. But it’s relative to the competition. Total race integration of CFB definitely improved the overall talent level, to the point that the majority of players today are black. Call it the ‘black superior athlete theory’… as many have. I have always wondered how Trippi and others would have fared had they faced totally integrated defenses. Would they have put up those same stats? Or is it more similar to the kind of stats Crowell may well put up at Alabama State..playing lesser competition?
RxDawg
July 11th, 2012
10:14 am
Kevin Butler was a kicker. He was a great kicker, maybe even the greatest. But being a great kicker is a far cry from being a great football player, sorry.
Matt Staford was a great QB. He held or came really close to a lot of passing records at UGA. The problem was he happend to play about the same time that UGA’s defense took a tremendous nosedive in production. I still have nightmares about Bryan Evans.
BG
July 11th, 2012
10:17 am
AJ Green and David Greene.