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
LakeDawg
July 12th, 2012
5:36 pm
That’s a pretty good list, Chip. I can’t say its wrong. Personally, I would have Tarkenton in the top 10. Replace either Ward or Hearst, but that’s a tough choice. An honorable mention for me would be Andy Johnson. An incredible athlete. He played QB for UGA, but played several years in the NFL as a RB.
LakeDawg
July 12th, 2012
5:38 pm
Enter your comments here
LakeDawg
July 12th, 2012
5:39 pm
O linemen always get left off of these lists. Uga has had several great ones. Two that jump immediately to mind are Royce Smith and “Moonpie” Wilson.
LakeDawg
July 12th, 2012
5:42 pm
Another great player was MLB Ben Zambiasi. Too small for the NFL, but was a terror on the field for the Dawgs. All these great players are flooding my memory now.
LakeDawg
July 12th, 2012
5:57 pm
@Dr. John Trotter
Nice post. Brings back memories.
Felecia Myers
July 12th, 2012
6:52 pm
You made the list Hines. Still proud of you.
Blake
July 12th, 2012
7:17 pm
Gotta put David Greene on that list. Anyone that finishes their career as the NCAA’s all time winning QB needs to be on that list, and not just at number 10 either. Another guy should be Fran Tarkenton.
Blake
July 12th, 2012
7:21 pm
@LakeDawg
The Stinchcomb brothers Matt and Jon weren’t too shabby either.
steverino
July 12th, 2012
7:29 pm
Pulpwood, Musa, Amp, Jimps and Meat Cleaver.
dawg4u
July 12th, 2012
7:57 pm
Let’s not forget about Buck Belue. As great as Herschel was, we would never have beaten Florida in ‘80 without the most unfortgetable play in UGA history. Lindsay Scott was awesome on that play. Also, don’t forget the winning drive against GT in that ‘78 game engineered (hate to use that word) by Buck coming off the bench as a freshman to beat the hated Jackets in a game we were losing 20-0 at one point and ended up winning 29-28 thanks to that great winning drive and successful 2 point conversion.
bananajacket
July 12th, 2012
8:06 pm
Don’t go on Georgia blogs (being a Tech fan), but so many of these guys played high school fb in Georgia that the title of the article really piqued my interest. Having said that, and as an outside observer, I would have to agree with some others on here that Tarkenton absolutely belongs on the list. I would also add that all those on the list were terrific players.
oldschooldog
July 12th, 2012
8:38 pm
Chip, you pretty much nailed it. Of course, many of the others mentioned here are worthy of consideration. But to displace any of the above? No. K. Butler, McIntyre, Sean Jones, Woerner, both Stinches, Tarkenton, T. Davis, B. Bailey, Ray Donaldson would be hard to argue with as a second ten, in no particular order.
DAWG with two bags still over his head
July 12th, 2012
9:12 pm
Bill,
I agree, Herschel is the hands down #1. Terry Hoage should by #2 and Scott Woerner HAS to be in the top ten. Hoage and Woerner both represented the essence of the Dooley “find a way to win” philosophy, instead of our current Richt “find anyway to lose a big game” mentality. Have you forgotten the days when the most important thing that a DAWG fan wanted to know was “who was going to play ROVER this year?” I don’t think Hearst and Ward should even be considered for the list. Neither one could begin to carry any of the other ten’s jock strap.
TechRon
July 12th, 2012
9:19 pm
Sinkwich deserves to be higher. To leave Tarkenton off the list invalidates the whole thing. He should be 4th best, clearly. I saw him play (in fact the first college game I ever saw — Tech vs. UGA 1959). No one like him. Great player.
George Patton was a terrific lineman also.
Law Dawg
July 12th, 2012
9:20 pm
Hines Ward is definitely worthy of the TOP 5 and AJ Green should be on the list. Pollack is not worthy of #3 status. Zeier, Greene, Thomas Davis and Knowshon are definitely on the bubble. AJ was on bad UGA teams but he was incredible.
hosemaze
July 12th, 2012
9:24 pm
Hershal, Sinkwich, Trippi, Champ,Hoage,Jimmie Payne , Guy Mcintyre, Ray Donaldson, Stafford, Hines top ten quit looking at modern day only you said greatest bulldogs Pollack shouldnt be on this list im sorry. Butler lives in Bulldog history great kicker, AJ Green ranks number 12
southgadawg
July 12th, 2012
9:37 pm
Andre “Pulpwood” Smith
InTheKnow
July 12th, 2012
10:09 pm
Terry Hogue? Over Fran Tarkenton????
Fran Tarkenton HAS to be in the top 10.
InTheKnow
July 12th, 2012
10:11 pm
Someone said David Greene.
I say that guy is CUT OFF !!! NO MORE BEER !!!
InTheKnow
July 12th, 2012
10:14 pm
Sinkwich deserves to be higher. To leave Tarkenton off the list invalidates the whole thing. He should be 4th best, clearly. I saw him play (in fact the first college game I ever saw — Tech vs. UGA 1959). No one like him. Great player
THIS GUY KNOWS….LISTEN TO HIM. TARKENTO WAS ONE OF THE VERY BEST EVER.
PaPaDoc
July 12th, 2012
10:16 pm
Four Best Ever:
Hershel
Sinkwich
Tarkenton
Pollack
Buzz Almond
July 12th, 2012
11:11 pm
Buck Belue for sure.I think Reggie Ball won more games for Georgia than any other quarterback. He should be on list
Buzz 2011
July 12th, 2012
11:26 pm
It must be between Caleb King, I. Crowell or Ray Goff?
Winner gets hashbrowns and red panties for life..
UGA Golfer
July 12th, 2012
11:31 pm
Great job, Chip. Can’t argue about this one. Maybe Ben Zambiasi at LB…may as well expand to Top 12 of all time!
UGA Golfer
July 12th, 2012
11:35 pm
DAWG with two bags still over his head, you are very wrong about Hines and Hearst. They CLEARLY are top 10. Tarkenton? Won one SEC title, that’s it. Great in the NFL though. Where is David Greene if you are going to list Tarkenton? Expand to Top 20 and satisfy everyone on here.
UGA Golfer
July 12th, 2012
11:35 pm
Who is Andy Polus?!
RED DOG 77
July 13th, 2012
1:09 am
Tarkenton ?…………Did you say Tarkenton?………….Are you out of your cotton pickin’ mind? Tarkenton?
DAWG with two bags still over his head
July 13th, 2012
2:20 am
Ward and Hearst were good players on crappy teams. Ward was great in the pros, which is what I think most people remember. The rest were great players on great teams. I stand by my statement UGA Golfer and about Hoage and Woerner having the “find a way to win” mindset.
SEC Football Daily: July 13th | Saturday Down South
July 13th, 2012
5:08 am
[...] Georgia’s list of the top 10 football players of all time is a tough list to make. Obviously, you start with Herschel Walker at No. 1, but it gets harder after that. This writer has Charley Trippi, David Pollack, Jake Scott, Champ Bailey, Garrison Hearst, Frank Sinkwich, Bill Stanfill, Hines Ward and Terry Hoage on his top 10 list. The list does not included David Green, AJ Green or Knowshon Moreno. And only one of those top 10 players (Pollack) was coached by current head coach Mark Richt. [AJC] [...]
Flounder
July 13th, 2012
8:27 am
What about Reggie Ball ?!?
Bama Boy
July 13th, 2012
9:20 am
How can you name 10? Theyve only had 3!Trippi,Hersey and Sandwich not exactly household names in the pro’s either!How about Bamas Namath,Stabler and Leeroy Jordan now those were football MEN!
Statick
July 13th, 2012
10:05 am
I played against Garrison Hearst in high school. I knew the guy was good, but I never knew he would be that good. It’s too bad his NFL career wasn’t as spectacular as his collegiate career.
Dr. John Trotter
July 13th, 2012
10:57 am
@ LakeDawg: Thanks. Correction on my earlier post: I think it is Kendrell Bell instead of Kendall Bell.
Chris Snell
July 13th, 2012
12:08 pm
No way david Greene isn’t on the list.
Bama Boy
July 13th, 2012
12:38 pm
Jan Kemp she made it that you had to be able to spell your name to play at UGA so AJ Green left it was just to hard! Lmao RTR no. 15 your next!
funny...
July 13th, 2012
12:50 pm
David Greene.
mad~catfish
July 13th, 2012
12:55 pm
bryce hunter
andre hastings
LESD
July 13th, 2012
12:56 pm
I believe Sinkwich should be higher on the list and that David Greene should replace Hines Ward.
Dawgbob
July 13th, 2012
2:06 pm
Good list, but I would put Trippi in the #1 slot. As the late Bobby Dodd said several times, Charley Trippi was the greatest football player that ever played in the south. I saw Sinkwich and Trippi play Tulane in 1942. Sinkwich led UGA to a close lead in the first half. In the second half, Coach Butts turned Trippi loose and he ran wild to lead UGA to a 40-0 score. I don’t remember much about Sinkwich, but every time Trippi got the ball you could hear people gasp with excitement because he was was wild to watch.
Sinkwich was an extremely strong runner that punished tacklers, Walker was an extremely strong and fast runner and the strongest player ever to play for Georgia. Trippii was a strong, extremely fast and elusive runner that couldn’t be cornered or caught. He was also unpredictable even to his on teammates and could run around until everone was spread out and then fly down field. That first game I saw Trippi was his first year of college ball, the same year he made the all-time Rose Bowl Team. Trippi was a terror on defense and the greatest defensive back to play for Georgia. I listened in on a conservation between two UGA players one day at the Varsity when one player was explaining to the other how Georgia beat Florida in 1946. Florida did not have a running game but in the first half they were going wild in their passsing game until Coach Butts put Trippi in and on the next two passing plays, Trippi tackled the receivers so hard they both had to be taken off the field. He said afterward, the Florida receivers would not catch the ball because of Trippi. That is true because I was listening to the game on the radio and vividly remember the announcer describing the plays. Trippi was a very good passer and averaged over 40 yards as a punter. He was selected to participate in the College All Star Pro Champion game in Chicago as a collgege player in 43, 44, 45 (MVP), 47 and with the Cardinals in 48. That is a record five times. Charley was a great baseball player too. In 1947, he player for the Atlanta Crackers AAA team and won the league batting title. Dan McGill reported the Yankees tried sign him and he was going to be the next Joe DiMaggio. Trippi is the only Pro Hall of Fame player to exceed 1,000 yards in three categories, running, passing and receiving.
Walker was great as everybody knows also. He was a terror as a blocked also. I watched him completely knock out big defenders blocking on two different occasions, the both had be revived with smelling salts to be able to wabble off the field. He was so fast to be a big man.
Pitbull
July 13th, 2012
4:03 pm
I would submit Bob Taylor who played for Georgia in the early 1960’s to the list. He was a fantastic player but got injured and had to leave football.
Bubba
July 13th, 2012
4:18 pm
Where’s Buck Belue???
Dr. John Trotter
July 13th, 2012
5:39 pm
@ Bama Boy: I don’t think that I would make fun of any athlete’s academic prowess, if I were you.
Fl. Dog
July 13th, 2012
7:30 pm
Yep, you are right, impossible to pick the top 10!!!!
hind tit
July 13th, 2012
9:50 pm
Jimmy Payne was a very underrated football player. I can hear Munson after every down so and so and Payne the end. Always around the ball.
I C
July 14th, 2012
7:39 am
No list is complete without Herschel 2 (yep me I Crowell)
mark
July 14th, 2012
9:09 am
Would be tougher to come up with a list of the 10 biggest criminals ever to play football at UGA, how would you ever narrow them all down to just 10…and I have family there and am a fan.
Nick
July 14th, 2012
10:13 am
@ John Herring, it doesn’t say during the Championship Game, it says Championship SEASON, and they wouldn’t have been in that game if Pollack doesn’t make that play
billh
July 14th, 2012
12:31 pm
No one could produce a list that would satisfy – and you listed the reasons why correctly. But I can’t see how – even with that handicap – you could do one without Fran Tarkenton.
Dr. John Trotter
July 14th, 2012
8:59 pm
Let’s don’t forget Zippy Morocco!
MCKINNEY
July 15th, 2012
6:07 am
Let’s not forget about Michael Johnson #25. Without that catch he made against auburn, we woouldn’t have had that championship.