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.
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401 comments Add your comment
GT Mike
July 11th, 2012
9:23 pm
You have to put Scott Woerner on the list over some of the more modern guys. He singlehandlely broke GT’s back with punt returns and defensive play for a couple years.
Dr. John Trotter
July 11th, 2012
9:24 pm
The big Payne kid from Cedar Schoals. What’s was his first name? Jimmy? I’m just thinking about some of my favorite players through the years.
Odell Thurman of Frog Town. What about the linebacker in 2000 through 2002 who later played for the Steelers? Can’t remember his name off the top of my head. Now he would really stop’em at the line!
Tim Worley and Kevin Henderson. Lumberton, N. C. and Cartersville, Georgia. Yes, we can’t forget ole Rodney Hampton and Knowshon Moreno. Jimmy Womack who blocked for Herschel. Timmy Crowe on the defensive line on the 1980 team. Stone Mountain, Georgia.
D. J. Shockley of North Clayton High School. Ben Zambiasi and Johnny Henderson of little Mt. DeSales of Macon. And, of course, Tommy Thurston of Bishop Kinney in Jacksonville, Florida.
Cowboy Parrish who teamed up with Moonpie Wilson to block for Kevin (Philly Red) McLea and Ray Goff. Yes, Ray Donaldson who played center for over a dozen years with the Colts.
Bill Krug, the Rover on the 1976 SEC Championship team who teamed up with Zambiasi to make stops. Richard Tardits, the Frenchman who had the knack for sacks. Big Bill Goldberg who became quite a famous professional wrestler. George Patton of the mid 1960s. The three Super Bowl MVPs, Hines Ward, Terrell Davis, and Jake Scott. No other college team has produced three Super Bowl MVPs.
Hard running Orlandis Gary and the unstoppable Randy McMichael of Fort Valley, Georgia.
Herschel Walker. No other compares. Little Wrightsville, Georgia, single A football…like Garrison Hearst, single A football of Lincolnton, Georgia. Herschel’s roommate, Barry Young, a good fullback out of Swainsboro.
Champ and Boss Bailey. Darrly Jones of Carver High of Columbus who went on to play several years in the NFL with the Packers and another team. Therrell High’s Winford Hood and Thomasville’s Big Guy (Angus) McIntyre who played on several of the 49ers’ World Championshio teams. Troy Sadowski. The Tereshinkis, all four.
Terrence and Robert Edwards of Washington County. Freddie Gilbert, the Griffin Bear. The Stinchcomb Brothers of Parkview High.
Richard Appleby and Gene Washington of the great come-from-behind victory over Florida in 1975. Happy Dicks, the linebacker and now medical doctor. Mike Cavan of Thomaston’s R. E. Lee Institute who quarterbacked the 1968 SEC Championship team and lived in a motel in Wrightsville recruiting Herschel Walker and turned to the other coaches after Herschel ran over Bill Battle in the first game at Tennessee and said, “Don’t ever say anything to me again about Single A football!”
Mike (Jumbo) and Eddie (Meat Cleaver) Weaver. Clarence Kay, a real stud tight end as a freshman on the 1980 team. Charley Dean who quarterbacked Clark Cental to a State Championship against Tift County in the freezing cold on Baxter Street in Athens (I was at that game!) and later intercepted a pass in the beginning of the game against UCLA in 1982 and ran it back for a 80 yard touchdown.
Knox Culpepper at linebacker. I am still trying to remember the linebacker’s name who went on to play for the Steelers. Help me, please. He played two years, I think, for Middle Georgia when it was playing football before coming to Georgia under Coach Donnan. Quincy Carter. We had some great moments with him, espcially the opening game victory of LSU. Reggie Brown of Carrollton High who a little later had a great game against another LSU team.
Willie McClendon and son Bryan McClendon.
Fran Tarkenton and Pat Day of the 1958 SEC Championship Team.
Lindsey Scott. The Jones kid who played about the same time as wide receiver.
Buck Belue of Valdosta. Wayne Johnson of Carver of Columbus who engineered the victory over the Tigers in Auburn, resulting in the hosing scandal after the game. QB Andy Johnson who became a Patriots running back. Matt Robinson who backed up Ray Goff but became a very good Jets QB.
Should I keep going? These are just memories of some of my favorite players and moments.
Hilton Young. Was this his first name? Of Athens. Was he Georgia’s first African American player? Good player.
Greg Blue of Banneker High. Jermaine Phillips of Roswell High (I think). Thomas Davis of Randolph County. Now these cats would hit you! What about the other defensive back who would hit you so hard? Yes, Ben Smith who went on to have an illustrious career at Philadelphia with the Eagles.
It’s the memories that keep us going. The memories and the hopes. So, current Dawg players, please keep this in mind when you are trying to finish the drill in the hot August practices…the eyes of the Bulldog Family are upon you! Woof! Woof! Woof! Sic’em! We’re cheering for you!
danny
July 11th, 2012
9:36 pm
Reggie Ball should be on this list
Dr. John Trotter
July 11th, 2012
9:39 pm
Sorry about the typo, Darryl. That would be Darryl, not Darrly, Jones. He is now a sportscaster out of Columbus, Georgia.
Dr. John Trotter
July 11th, 2012
9:41 pm
Danny, Reggie did sort of stink it up one game against us. But, in actuality, Reggie Ball of Stephenson High of DeKalb was a heckuva QB in his own right. His brother is also quite a player.
Bull
July 11th, 2012
9:41 pm
Matt Stinchcomb was pretty decorated on and off the field
Dr. John Trotter
July 11th, 2012
9:44 pm
I forgot to put Corey Phillips of Hart County as one of my great memories when, as a back-up QB, he threw for 400 yards in a gun-slinging game against Jared Lorenzen and Kentucky. This 400 passing yard total is still a UGA record from what I understand. Corey is a very successful businessman in the Atlanta area, dealing mainly in structured settlements for Forge Consulting. Corey is also a loyal Lamda Chi. Ha!
the old coach
July 11th, 2012
9:47 pm
Funny that all the keepers played for the dogs 4 years. I would never consider a 3 and out player because yes they might have become one of the top ten.
fan
July 11th, 2012
10:20 pm
how about “the big toe from Cairo”
Dawgforever
July 11th, 2012
10:34 pm
You gotta have Fran Tarkenton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kbatuc
July 11th, 2012
10:39 pm
Buzzy Rosenberg! Absolutely! Also Andy Johnson and Horace King.
DAWGDRUNK
July 11th, 2012
10:45 pm
what about Catfish Smith, not to mention Pulpwood Smith, Wycliffe Lovelace and Isiah Crowell arrghhh…..
jbar500
July 11th, 2012
10:59 pm
I’d say you nailed it pretty good. Thats a tough list to crack.
kbatuc
July 11th, 2012
11:02 pm
How about a top ten Athens, GA Bulldog list from Athens High, Burney Harris, Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals High Schools: Fran Tarkenton, Andy Johnson, Horace King, Richard Appleby, John Kasay, Charlie Dean, Jimmy Payne, Quentin Moses. I know I’m missing a few here too.
Bob
July 11th, 2012
11:09 pm
Ed Pilcher – your an idiot. I’m an old guy and I saw Tark play in 58,59,60. No other qb of any era, was able to do the impossible like Fran. 59 team was a little better than average and would never have won championship w/o him.
He won three NFC Championships with a team well past it’s prime. His opponents were always the favorite in every playoff game, but he won them all. No other quarterback of any era could have accomplished as much with that team.
Bud Grant is correct. He was the greatest, because no other qb ever performed at such a high level week in and week out for as many seasons.
Yes, he bad mouthed MR, and should have kept his mouth shut. But, to leave him off the list is idiocy, both for you and the article’s author.
Bartowdawg
July 11th, 2012
11:33 pm
Bob McWorther
PTCDAWG
July 11th, 2012
11:42 pm
Fran the man should definitely be on the list and Trippi should be #1. He is the greatest all player ever!
Dr. John Trotter
July 11th, 2012
11:51 pm
Fran the Man Tarkenton. I never remember watching him play for UGA (although I saw him play in person but was too young to remember), I sure liked watching him play on Sundays. The Scrambler pull out some miracles while playing for the Giants and the Vikings!
Hiawatha
July 12th, 2012
1:01 am
Hmmmmm….Hello! Remember me?
Marc Klempf
July 12th, 2012
2:24 am
Chip nice article. I think an easier way to cut this Gordian Knot is to split it into two eras: The Modern 1965-2012 and The Classic 1900 -1964. Pick the best 10 players from each respective time periods. Why? Because starting with the 1965 season, the NCAA reinstituted the two platoon system allowing teams to form separate offensive and defensive units as well as “special teams”. The reinstatement of the two-platoon system allowed players to become more specialized by focusing on a limited number of plays and skills related to their specific position. The games in the 1940 season were played differently than in the 1980 season. If Herschel had to play both ways… say linebacker…he may have not become the extraordinary player we all love and respect. The great Charlie Trippi somehow was able to play quarterback, halfback, punter, return specialist, and defense! Amazing. Two different kinds of football, two different kinds of players.
TY
July 12th, 2012
3:34 am
Wow, what ever happened to editing without spell check?
12 Bulldogs have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Game.
ray
July 12th, 2012
7:12 am
i saw pollack his whole carer a fan fav yes top ten never mo lewis was ten times better at same position and where are all the great ol and te at clarence kay ray donaldson guy mcintyre even another db seems allways get forgoten in ben smith
Jimmy Crack
July 12th, 2012
7:37 am
Clarence Kay, Richard Seymour, Lars Tate, Richard Tardits, Rex Robinson, Tony Taylor, Jeff Sanchez…
Dr. John Trotter
July 12th, 2012
8:30 am
Kendall Bell. I believe this is the name I was looking for. Great stopper at linebacker and had good career in the NFL. I see Jimmy talking about Jeff Sanchez. I remember when he and the Harris came into the program in 1982, I believe. Two good DBs. Seymour. yes. I mentioned big Clarence Kay earlier…he was a stud as a freshman and played quite a bit on the National Championship Team of 1980 as a freshman…went on to be drafted by the Broncos. Rex Robinson and Kevin Butler of Stone Mountain. Nate and son Tony Taylor at linebacker.
@ kbatuc: I didn’t know that Appleby. Wow. Good Athens team. Andy Johnson and Fran Tarkenton went to “Athens High School.”
acad1st
July 12th, 2012
8:58 am
How about a different and more meaningful life skill success list? Top ten or twenty who actually graduated college in 6 years or less.
John McEachern
July 12th, 2012
9:05 am
Catfish Smith. I think Guy McIntyre is the best OL to ever play at Georgia. Look at his NFL career.
marion
July 12th, 2012
9:47 am
I believe that Kevin Butler made Hershel Walker’s running better. When Georgia got to the opponent’s 40, and in an obvious passing down for most opponents, the defense had to prepare for a run or pass. Hershel had a better chance than most of making the longer yardage, and if he did not, the dogs still had a really good chance for a field goal. If the defense pulls up to stop the run, then open passing lanes are easier to find.
In warm-ups preceding the aforementioned BYU game. Butler was splitting the center of the goalposts from the 50 and I looked over at the BYU players. All but one group had stopped their drills, watching him nail consecutive kicks.
Many times that Butler was not called upon to kick; he was still an influence in the game.
Robert
July 12th, 2012
10:19 am
Erk Russell would tell you that Lee Daniel (66-69) should be #11.
Art Vandalay
July 12th, 2012
11:04 am
Hershel is the best ever anywhere ! Roll Tide
buckblue
July 12th, 2012
11:18 am
Isiah Crowell……
Isaiah Crowells
July 12th, 2012
11:19 am
Which of Hershel’s personalities?
Steve Superior
July 12th, 2012
11:21 am
I nominate Goff the top coach of alltime.
Steve Superior
July 12th, 2012
11:22 am
marion=Arrogant Kevin Butler
Boom Boom
July 12th, 2012
11:30 am
Theron “The drought breaker” Sapp
billdawg
July 12th, 2012
11:38 am
Let me drop three omissions on you in addition to Tarkington; Dan Edwards, John Carson, Vernon “Catfish” Smith who belong on any “All” lists. Can think of a few others but you didn’t pick any losers.
billdawg
spud
July 12th, 2012
12:10 pm
Herman Archie!
Caleb,Washaun,Carlton, and Isaiah
July 12th, 2012
12:13 pm
Jasper (not a fumble) Sanks
Isaiah's Mommy
July 12th, 2012
1:27 pm
My precious baby boy Isaiah, bless his heart, should be in the Top 10. I don’t know what happened to him, he was always such a good boy. At least until that Coach Richt corrupted him.
Please fire Coach Richt so I can send my boy back to Athens.
Yours truly,
Miz Debbie
wreckmaniac
July 12th, 2012
1:33 pm
Its hard to limit the list to 10 but that’s the job. I would pose Tarkenton and Terrell Davis as possible replacements for #9 and #10.
Reggie Ball....
July 12th, 2012
1:38 pm
Bill, how come I didn’t make your list?!
Red Hat
July 12th, 2012
1:53 pm
“Bill, how come I didn’t make your list?!”
Just because, that’s why.
sldasdf
July 12th, 2012
2:09 pm
Stafford was a number 1 pick. The only reason he didn’t win championships was because Richt didn’t have sense to fire Martinez and give him a decent defense to work with. Stafford had to gamble to win games knowing his defense would let him down time after time.
sldasdf
July 12th, 2012
2:11 pm
For those who would take Greene over Stafford remember how many chances the 2002 defense gave Greene to finally hit Michael Johnson? They were stuffing Auburn the entire 4th quarter while Greene kept giving them the ball back until he hit Gibson on an underthrown ball and finally hit Johnson on 4th down. Stafford didn’t have anything close to the 2002 defense.
sldasdf
July 12th, 2012
2:14 pm
Kevin Butler was still in high school when Herschel had his best season. The last thing on a defense’s mind when trying to bring down Walker was worrying about the kicker. They were much more concerned with Herschel’s thighs than Butler’s and Kevin would be the first to tell you that.
Roger
July 12th, 2012
2:59 pm
Good list. Whatever you do, don’t take Hoage off it. He might be No. 2 on my list. I’d like to see A.J. on there and Fran, but don’t have any suggestion on who to take off for that to happen.
Cobb Dawg
July 12th, 2012
4:08 pm
@sldasdf
July 12th, 2012
2:09 pm
Can’t disagree with your post about Stafford/Richt/Martinez. Richt might very well have vied for at least 2 NC’s had he never hired Martinez. Sometimes loyalty is good. Other times not so much.
Ed
July 12th, 2012
4:52 pm
Who cares? Such a useless article for a day with no baseball.
Michael
July 12th, 2012
4:55 pm
Lindsey Scott?
Ed
July 12th, 2012
4:59 pm
How about “fiddling” Johnny Carson ?
doggoneit
July 12th, 2012
5:01 pm
Tim Worley, Frank Ros, Andy Polus, Buzzy Rosenburg