Spring Break
'Unheralded' seniors bolster team
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
| |
|
Even with the great influx of growing young talent that has been crucial to its success, Georgia would not be where it is without a group of mostly unheralded senior players that stepped up when the team was down.
"We've got a great group of seniors, a bunch of guys that have been through some tough times and good times. They've brought us together, and we're playing for them. It's their last go-around," quarterback Matthew Stafford said.
Tailback Thomas Brown and receiver Sean Bailey were probably the most accomplished seniors on Georgia's roster, but there were still questions about both of them.
Brown was almost the forgotten piece of the backfield puzzle when the season started after he returned from a knee injury. Brown has since provided the perfect complement to the emergence of freshman sensation Knowshon Moreno, pounding out 567 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in eight games.
"I came in and the first game I played in I scored a touchdown, and the last game I played in I scored a touchdown. It's been a fun ride," Brown said.
Bailey also came off a knee injury that kept him out of the 2006 season to lead the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches.
When the team needed a lift, it came from guys that had been in the program for awhile but were not necessarily household names.
"I think we thought that just because we're Georgia, we were going to win," linebacker Brandon Miller, a former five-star recruit, said. "We had to play hard, physical, we had to finish the drill. After Tennessee, we (the seniors) really instilled that into the younger guys."
"We've got guys that usually sit back stepping more into the limelight. They're being more vocal and getting more involved. That's what you have to have from the first game on," said safety Kelin Johnson, who had three interceptions in the team's last two games.
Johnson, after backing up greats such as Thomas Davis and Greg Blue, has been the emotional leader of the team. But even Johnson has battled injuries and confidence issues this season.
"He thought at one time his season and his career may be over, and he went in the tank for a bit," head coach Mark Richt said. "He's a highly emotional guy, and he probably overreacts a bit, but his spirits have come around."
Other unheralded seniors such as center Fernando Velasco and right tackle Chester Adams have held together a Bulldog offensive line that has improved greatly throughout the year and has paved the way for a rejuvenated offense.
On defense, Marcus Howard, who never had started a game in his college career, has been a force at defensive end, leading the team with seven-and-a-half sacks this season.
"The coaches believed in me and gave me the opportunity to start this year, and I wanted to play hard for them and my teammates," Howard said.
And that is the way it has been for Georgia. The younger players have followed the lead of the veterans in tough times and are heading to what appears to be a fine finish to the season.
"They told us to keep our heads down and keep trucking, and see where you're at the end of the day," cornerback Asher Allen said.
Though the Bulldogs' journey is not yet over, where they are now is most assuredly better than where they were just a few weeks ago.
- Phillip Kisubika is the First & Goal editor.
Be the first to comment on this story