UGA scholarship recipient Connor Norman ‘not like a Rudy’
Connor Norman has made his mark at Georgia by playing special teams, but the Bulldogs are going to need his help on defense this fall. (UGA photo)
Note: A version of this story ran in print over the weekend. . . .
ATHENS – When he arrived at Georgia, Connor Norman was just another obscure walkon buried on a roster of 125 players. But that’s not the case anymore.
Norman was one of seven walkons recently awarded grants-in-aid by the Bulldogs’ coaching staff. Not coincidentally, he’s not buried on the depth chart anymore either.
In fact, Norman is among the exclusive group of Georgia players pretty much guaranteed to play in every game. Norman laughed when asked if his new-found scholarship-status had raised his profile around campus.
“No, nothing really has changed,” said Norman, a redshirt sophomore from Duluth. “I have all my same friends and everything’s the same. I got free books [last week] and that was nice. It was weird going in there and just walking out with books.”
Norman – or more accurately, his parents – had been writing checks for books the past two years while he toiled on the Bulldogs’ scout team and special teams. But that won’t be the case this season as the 5-foot-10, 208-pounder figures into Georgia’s plans.
Norman
Norman is currently second-team free safety for the Bulldogs and is expected to see action on at least three of their special teams units. Attrition and depth problems created the opportunity for Norman to earn such significant role on the team. But it’s Norman’s athletic ability that is keeping him there, according to those who know him best.
“I’m not a bit surprised they gave him a scholarship,” said Bill Ballard, who coached Norman at Peachtree Ridge High School. “I’m surprised he didn’t get one before now. His [measurables] were every bit as good as Thomas Brown’s, and I coached both of them.”
Ballard coached Brown, a former Georgia tailback, at Tucker High School. Ballard is now at White County High.
“Very similar size, similar body build, both of them real strong, consummate weight-room guys,” he said of Norman and Brown. “And Connor is just as fast. I tried like crazy to get Division I schools to recruit him. I couldn’t even get I-AA schools to offer him. They wouldn’t do it.”
Norman finally ended up with scholarship offers from Presbyterian and Gardner-Webb. He took the offer from the Blue Hose and spent one season at the FCS school before deciding to come back home and go to school at UGA.
“I transferred to Georgia on my own; I didn’t talk to anybody,” Norman said.” Part of me didn’t even plan on playing football. I just felt like I didn’t fit in at Presbyterian and wanted something different. I just wanted to come here and go to school. Once I got here I just decided to give the walk-on thing a shot.”
Norman had to sit out the 2010 season as per NCAA transfer rules, so he paid his dues on the Bulldogs’ scout team. He started making plays against the No. 1 offense in practice and fairly quickly caught the eye of Georgia’s coaches.
“You evaluate every player when they first come here and he was a guy who always showed up in the right spot,” Grantham recalled. “His first scrimmage last year, he went with the first group and the second group because we had some injuries. So he literally had to play 80 to 90 plays. He played every one of them. The kid hustles, he’s smart, he knows what to do and he’s dependable.”
By the spring of 2011 Norman was getting snaps as a backup defensive back and earned a spot on special teams.
“Early on Coach Grantham didn’t know his name,” said linebacker Christian Robinson, one of Norman’s good friends. “He used to call him ‘Conrad Newman.’ Slowly Coach Grantham has learned his name and now he’s earned a scholarship so, yeah, I’d say he has some talent.”
Norman played in all 14 games last season and led the Bulldogs in special teams tackles with 14. But his play wasn’t limited only to kicking teams. In fact, because of free safety’s suspension for the first game last season, he played in the defensive backfield against Boise State.
Norman currently listed as the first free safety behind Rambo, who’s availability is in question again this season. Georgia has yet to make an announcement regarding Rambo’s status or how many games he might be out due to suspension. Suffice it to say Norman is expected to play on defense this fall.
“He’s earned it,” Grantham said. “He can run. He’s got some quickness and some strength and some instincts. He’s smart and he knows the system, so he’s usually where he needs to be. Therefore he’s able to make some plays.”
Said Georgia secondary coach Scott Lakatos: “He’s one of those guys you want to see people write about. He got here the summer of my first year here and he’s done nothing but work and learn and be a positive guy and continue to get better. When he’s had his opportunities to make some plays, he’s made some. He’s put himself in position to where he had a role on this team and obviously we’re excited about him getting a chance to get a scholarship.”
Locking down a grant-in-aid means Norman has achieved one of his personal goals. Now he wants to concentrate on helping the Bulldogs meet their team goals.
“I just want to help the team out anyway I can,” he said. “If that’s me playing on the field a certain number of plays or not doesn’t matter. I honestly came to Georgia just to have a role on the team. Now that I have somewhat of a role, I just want to play it to the best of my ability.”
If Norman does happen to get some meaningful snaps on defense this fall, Ballard said it doesn’t think it means the Bulldogs are in trouble. He believes Norman can get the job done.
“We put Connor on Brice Butler when he was at Norcross, before he went to USC, and he held him to two catches and 12 yards for the game,” Ballard said. “He was biting his ankles, but he shut him down. . . . He’s got the speed. I watched him run a 4.3-sometiung in high school on a timing advice. He’s not like a Rudy or anything like that. He’s a very talented athlete.”
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86 comments Add your comment
Notebook: Shorthanded Bulldogs enjoying fewer injuries than usual
August 21st, 2012
5:03 am
[...] Former walkon DB Connor Norman ‘not like a Rudy’ [...]
vince
August 21st, 2012
7:07 am
We gonna get burned by a decent team if this guy is in db
Cobb Dawg
August 21st, 2012
8:03 am
Damn good Dawg!
Destin Dawg
August 21st, 2012
8:38 am
Great TEAM attitude with this group… energy vampires are gone !! we’ll win the SEC Champs THIS year.. Go Dawgs !!
Drewski
August 21st, 2012
8:42 am
You the man, Conner! Most people don’t understand how hard it actually is to earn a legitimate scholarship at a major university. You see, the scholarships are all-or-nothing, meaning they are completely full rides or nothing at all. the FCS is allowed to offer partial scholarships, but not the FBS. So…they don’t just give those things away for the fun of it. They expect you to contribute. This is a HUGE honor, and you should be extremely proud…so CONGRATS!!! P.S. — could you please request a number change?? My poor mother just can’t seem to understand why “Georgia lets Aaron Murray cover kick-offs.”
The Masked Superstar
August 21st, 2012
8:49 am
I love guys like this. Not a superstar; not a primadonna; in Hockey they would call him a Grinder. Not the most talented guy there but he gives 100% every down…
CJJScout
August 21st, 2012
9:00 am
I’ve known this kid his whole life. Couldn’t have happened to a better kid.
RxDawg
August 21st, 2012
9:23 am
Good story Chip.
WDE
August 21st, 2012
9:54 am
Conner best of luck DGD!! Oh and if I remember correctly we had a bunch of walkon’s last year and won 10 games and the SEC East title…so what’s that “you can’t win anything with walkons ” BS all about?
Charlie Hayes
August 21st, 2012
10:04 am
GATA Norman! Keep making those critical special team tackles! DGD!
Bazooka Joe
August 21st, 2012
10:06 am
Sunny…. I didnt realize we played Southern Cal this year ? wow how did I miss that ? You know there is only ONE USC, and they are out in Los Angeles. South Cakalacky, who is dumbo Shaw oing to throw the ball to ? Alshon (I’ll give him his due – awesome receiver) is gone, you didnt really have anyone else.
Charlie Hayes
August 21st, 2012
10:06 am
@ Greg….I think you need to tweak the depth chart for the D….See below:
DE: Abry Jones
NG: John Jenkins
DE: Cornelius Washington
OLB: Jarvis Jones
ILB: Mike Gilliard
ILB: Amarlo Herrera
OLB: Ramik Wilson (Not T.J. Stripling)
CB: Branden Smith
FS: Corey Moore (Not Connor Norman)
SS: Shawn Williams
CB: Malcolm Mitchell
VINCE
August 21st, 2012
10:11 am
WDE, who did we beat that was worth much. What a joke of a comment.
Charlie Hayes
August 21st, 2012
10:27 am
@ The Connor Norman Haters – Why is everyone assuming that he isn’t any good? There are comments about “he didnt have any high school offers from D1 colleges” and “because he is white” and so on. None of those have any bearing on what he brings to the team today. This kid has been grinding for 2 years WITHOUT any benefits (meaning no scholarship or student-athlete benefits) and starting on three of UGA’s special teams. He made countless number of very important tackles on special teams that benefited the dawgs. He might be the strongest of the safeties for all you know?
Just remember. A bunch of 2 star white boys beat the Dawgs last year in the Dome. How? Smart coaching, smart players and clean execution. The Boise State OL was much smaller than the UGA DL. So, how did they handle them? Cut blocks, moving the pocket for short yardage passes and delayed draws. The threw stuff at our D that confused us and kept us from attacking them. None of those Boise State players had major D1 scholarships. But they executed and won the game.
Stars, Color or any other rating that a recruiting database puts on a player can judge the effort within that players heart!
Charlie Hayes
August 21st, 2012
10:30 am
PS- I hope he is a little like Rudy. If you remember at the end of the movie, Rudy sacks the GT QB in a blowout game! I love it when a GT QB gets scaked and especially when UGA blows GT out of a game!
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy! Connor, Connor, Connor, Connor, Connor! Go Dawgs!
Fair n Balanced
August 21st, 2012
10:58 am
I love stories like this! So much better than some we hear! GATA Conner! God give us more like him!
VINCE
August 21st, 2012
11:16 am
I saw enough of special teams play against Fl and LSU to tell me about using walk-ons on special teams
Scotty
August 21st, 2012
11:20 am
These are the type of players a Georgia fan enjoys reading about and are proud that they are on the team. Congratulations Connor; hope to see you make some big plays this year. Keep up the good work!
WDE
August 21st, 2012
11:34 am
@VINCE we beat the defending national champs 45-7 we beat our biggest rivals UT,UF and Bug U stick that in your pipe and smoke it..and don’t cry they weren’t very good they had every chance to be good..we were just better.
kingdaddy
August 21st, 2012
11:42 am
Conner Normam or Conrad Newman, lol, is ADGD! Haters going to hate, don’t lose any sleep about it. Your hard work, determination and infectous attitude are character pluses that was sorely needed at UGA. I look forward to you being awarded “Team Captain” for a game or two this year. Thank you for wanting to be a Georgia Bulldog…
Craig
August 21st, 2012
12:23 pm
This is EXACTLY the type of player we need…….I just wish we had 84 more of him and his commitment!
Joey
August 21st, 2012
2:09 pm
“I just want to help the team out anyway I can,”
**********************************
Boy, wouldn’t it be nice to perform “attitude transplants” with just a shot from a needle? We could have given a dose of Conner’s attitude to Isiah Crowell . . .
Charles
August 21st, 2012
2:09 pm
Great guy, Great family and not surprised. Glad for Pam and Roger and Connor.
Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!!
yamadawg
August 21st, 2012
2:34 pm
I’m hoping the kid is another Terry Hoage…
timthebrave
August 21st, 2012
2:39 pm
I know he has heart and look forward to seeing his skill. Go dawgs!
Joey
August 21st, 2012
2:58 pm
I love this kid too, yamadawg, but that’s shooting a little high.
Terry Hoage – high school All-American from Texas, Concensus All-American at UGA, one of the highest Heisman vote getters ever by a D-back, led NCAA in INTS, then had a stellar, 9 year NFL career as basically the “QB” of Buddy Ryan’s famed “46″ defense.
There was just one Terry Hoage, and yeah, I was a fan.
dawg51
August 21st, 2012
4:52 pm
To (sb)…..TELL IT MY MAN!!! Just because ya dont have diamonds in your ears, or are covered in bling, doesnt mean you cant play. Just keep an eye on this kid folks. Or better yet, forget about him, and he’ll show up when his number is called. You dont have to be an outlaw to play college football!!
DawgDays
August 21st, 2012
6:38 pm
I have to say Fiasco may be right on why Connor didn’t get offers because he’s white, and Skint is a duffus saying he doubts Norman runs a 4-4.5 and isn’t any good without anything to back it up. I’d bet he said that strictly on perception, that Norman is a white defensive back, so he can’t be that fast or that good, or that strong. Now this is not a race card complaint, but reality is in the numbers. Take a look at this excerpt written last year about Norman below:
Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Mississippi State were all evaluating him, but none were willing to extend an offer so Norman ended up signing with Presbyterian. Honestly, at the time of his recruitment, it’s slightly perplexing that more schools didn’t make the decision to give him a closer look.At a 2008 scouting combine in Atlanta, he showcased impressive speed—running a 4.39 forty—and an above average vertical of 37″ (the top corner in the state that year, Branden Smith, whom Georgia did sign, posted a 35″ vertical by comparison).Does that mean Georgia should have given Norman the nod over Smith? Not at all, but it does make you wonder why Army and Presbyterian were the only two programs offering him a scholarship back then.
Reality is that very few white guys get offered at certain positions, ie skill positions. WR, DB, LB… white lineman are even limited to the offensive side of the ball. Name the last white DB that UGA recruited and signed, or when’s the last time UGA signed a white NG, DT, or DE…..Pollack is the lone ranger for quite some time on the D line side.
I’m not trying to make a case that UGA or any other schools are being biased, or that black athletes aren’t better suited for certain positions based on their God given abilities. I am saying that when a white kid comes along that has all the skills playing at DB, perception tends to undervalue the kids ability, and in this case, I am pulling for Norman to prove them all wrong. As far as a comparison to Hoage, Norman has greater athletics skills that Hoage, and similar anticipation skills, which is what made Hoage special. Check out the similarities between Hoage and Norman based on Hoage’s path to UGA.
“By the end of my senior year in high school, where I was a strong safety/quarterback, not a single major college had offered me a scholarship to play football,” says Hoage, a 6′3″, 196-pounder from Huntsville, Texas. “Columbia, Furman and my hometown school, Sam Houston State, were interested, but I wanted to play 70,000-people-in-the-stands kind of football or none at all. I’d just made up my mind to go to Texas and study premed—no walking on in football—when Georgia got a tip from an alumnus who’s head of the political science department at Sam Houston and offered me a scholarship. At first, I was stuck on the specialty teams here. I spent my whole freshman year visualizing a blocked field goal, because I knew I needed to impress the coaches some way.”
Hoage was overlooked by most college recruiters because he doesn’t have the sprinter’s speed necessary to go stride for stride with today’s offensive backs and wide receivers. No matter how you clock him in a straight line—4.75 in the 40. He’s a throwback to the defensive-back-as-centerfielder type, to someone like Jake Scott.
I’m sure there were those that said Terry Hoage is not Jake Scott, and I’m hoping that those that say Connor Norman is no Terry Hoage has to eat their words someday soon. Go Connor Norman, and GO DAWGS!
PRHS
August 21st, 2012
7:34 pm
I taught Connor in high school (just one class,) and I have to agree with all the praise given to him. He was a true student athlete.
Jp
August 21st, 2012
10:46 pm
Greg the loss of tree is no big deal . Take it you did not play any ball in your day . W/ o tree lattimore got 185 on us and he can cover any back out do the backfield . Mizzou averages almost 250 on the ground per game.get A grip . They ran it 60 percent of the time last year with a qb that got 950 on his own . Don’t know who you are listening to but we are a 3 point favorite on a team not ranked in the top 25. And they won all of their home games. Tree is one of our top 2 players on D . I love your attitude but Vegas don’t miss it much
damngoodawg
August 22nd, 2012
9:12 am
The elephant in the room on this story is….ready? If he had been a black kid with dreads, he’d have been offered several scholarships…I’m just sayin”.
dawgs01
August 22nd, 2012
10:53 am
I see this all the time in recruiting. A white running back or defensive back will play hell getting a scholarship ask any coach. I remember when Zack Laskey was at stars mill took them all the way to the state championship and was one of the best running backs in the state of georgia i think three yrs ago bc he will be a sophomore at GT this yr. He was 6′3″ about 205 back then and could run a legit 4.45 easy and was a beast in the weight room. Zack was a 2 star only recruited by the service schools and tech offered him. I told tech fans on here that yall would know this kids name by time he is done. At tech last yr as a 2 star freshmen he played on special teams almost all two stars and three stars are redshirted usually due to size and strength issues and like i said all the coaches were amazed at his speed and how strong he was in the weight room. He is a leader also. Just remember his name. This not only happens to white guy every position has a stereotype and everyone knows it. I dont care what color a kid is if he can play he can play.
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