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Column: Just sharing my all-time favorite Georgia Bulldogs football players

The views of the author are not necessarily the views of AllOnGeorgia.

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A certain media outlet that covers Georgia football pretty much year-round just recently posted one of those questions that was sure to drive people to the comments section to offer their opinions.

The question was simply who are your favorite Bulldogs of all-time at each position?

Of course, I couldn’t resist the temptation to think about this at least for a little bit.

After giving it some thought, I looked at what other people were saying and several of my players matched those of others. It was just interesting to see the reasoning behind the answers some of the folks gave.

You could also tell who had maybe been following Georgia football for more than a few decades and who might have just started in more recent years, maybe even who just started following Kirby Smart’s Kennel the last couple of seasons.

Keep in mind this question also went out on Twitter, a social media platform that tends to garner traffic mostly from a younger audience which probably has no clue about Jake Scott, Lindsay Scott or Scott Woerner.

So, the results by no means reflect an accurate consensus from Bulldog Nation. That wasn’t the original intent, mind you. With no games being played and no coaching decisions to question, these are the kinds of things you get in the summertime while we wait for preseason practice to kick off.

The question got the desired result, which was to keep people thinking about Georgia football and to stir their emotions where there beloved Bulldogs are concerned.

All that said, here are my own thoughts in regards to those I consider Damn Good Dogs.

QB – David Greene – I would be happy with him leading my two-minute drill any time. His game-winning pass to Michael Johnson in the corner of the end zone at Auburn in 2002 and the famous Hobnail Boot play at Tennessee are two of my favorite all-time UGA moments.

RB – Todd Gurley – Let me first say that Herschel Walker is the GOAT to carry a football between the hedges. He was one of my childhood heroes and is truthfully my all-time Top Dawg. But for today, let me just note that when No. 3 was healthy, he was fun to watch, with that power and breakaway speed.

WR – Hines Ward – The Pittsburgh Steelers fans loved him, but the Bulldogs faithful loved him first. He played quarterback, running back and receiver for Ray Goff and Jim Donnan.

TE – Orson Charles – This was a tough one, but I went with the Tampa, Fla., native. He was athletic, sure-handed and had a knack for getting open for Aaron Murray.

OL – Matt Stinchcomb – Again, not an easy choice for me, but the oldest of the Stinchcomb brothers to wear Red and Black was an All-American, first-round pick in the 1999 NFL draft and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Guy was good. He’s smart, too.

DL – David Pollack – He’ll be in the College Football Hall of Fame soon. Dude was a beast on the UGA defensive front where he was a three-time All-American – only Georgia player besides Herschel to carry that distinction. His motor ran all the time, and I think his mouth might have, too. I was in Columbia when he batted down and  intercepted that pass in the end zone against South Carolina. What a play! He’s a big-timer on College Game Day now, and I want to get him to Glynn County to speak sometime soon, too.

LB – Roquan Smith – Well, there was Richard Tardits, John Brantley and Jarvis Jones, but now Roquan tops my Mount Rushmore at this position. This year’s Butkus Award winner was a tackling-machine, I tell you. A tackling-machine!

CB – Champ Bailey – Got to go with my man from Folkston. Saw him run wild with the ball in his hands in high school at Charlton County and he was a two-way star in Athens before becoming a lock-down corner in the NFL. He will go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible.

Safety – Terry Hogue – He was a gamer. I can hear Larry Munson now. “Hogue broke it up. He broke it up. Hogue broke it up.”

Special Teams – Scott Woerner – He was a good defensive back, too. He intercepted a pass late in the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame to seal the 1980 national championship. But he was a really dangerous kick and punt returner.

Kicker – Kevin Butler – I was in the upper deck that day when he drilled that 60-yarder to beat rival Clemson. And yes, as Munson so eloquently put it, the stadium was indeed bonkers. Butler was the first kicker ever chosen for the College Football Hall of Fame. And he went on to do the Super Bowl Shuffle with “Da Bears.”

Punter – Drew Butler – Like his old man, he was good. His honors included being an All-American and Ray Guy Award winner. He left Athens with the best all-time punting average and his mark also ranks high in the NCAA record books.

So, there you go. You’ve seen my favorite Dawgs.

Now, let’s see yours. Go!

Kevin Price is a freelance writer for AllOnGeorgia with more than 20 years experience in journalism and communications.

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