Georgia Bulldogs Countdown to Kickoff: Day 7
You know the usual suspects when it comes to Georgia Bulldogs with jersey number seven. Our staff wrote about Matthew Stafford nonstop during the Rams’ Super Bowl run.
I just wrote a piece about D’Andre Swift. Quay Walker got a ton of NFL Draft coverage as well.
But when I look back at the recent history of Georgia football, and think about the early days of all of this momentum that Kirby Smart built, I can’t help but think about Lorenzo Carter.
I attended a surprise press conference one December 2016 day wondering what the football team had in store for us.
With Kirby Smart at the lectern, four upcoming Georgia football centers strode into the room.
Nick Chubb. Sony Michel. Davin Bellamy. Lorenzo Carter.
They had their football pants on, after a Liberty Bowl practice with the TCU game coming up. But they also had team-issue polo shirts, which was kind of a funny look.
‘These Georgia Bulldogs are coming back,’ Kirby Smart told us. Not going to the NFL Draft. They wanted to start something special
Nick Chubb told us he came back because the loss to Georgia Tech stung too much (so in a way, Dawgs fans, be grateful that the Jackets stole one on ya).
I’ll never forget that when the discussion of this rivalry game – and whether or not the competitive differences should remove it from the schedule – comes up.
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Players in this game like winning the state championship.
They also like winning SEC Championships and Rose Bowls.
The contributions of Carter and Bellamy – wearing football pads and helmets with their football pants, not golf shirts – made all of that possible.
There was the combo demolition day at Notre Dame.
The duo combined for 13 total tackles, two sacks, four quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries
Then there was the SEC Championship game against Auburn, when they assaulted Jarrett Stidham to avenge their only regular-season loss.
But the greatest single play either of them made, was one I couldn’t even see.
The media assemblage I found myself in had to watch the Rose Bowl overtime on the jumbotron from field level
Security flanked the field, and no one could record or catch a glimpse of anything on the field.
But we heard it when Lorenzo Carter blocked an Oklahoma kick in double-overtime.
All Georgia had to do was kick a field goal to win. But a hallmark of the Georgia Bulldogs under Kirby Smart, is that they prefer to leave no doubt.
Sony Michel, also wearing shoulder pads and a helmet instead of a golf shirt, made sure of that.
We heard that, too.
The New York Giants drafted Carter in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, 66th overall. After four years, 153 tackles and 14.5 sacks, he came home to his Atlanta Falcons.
The Dirty Birds are an entirely different experience than Georgia football right now. That is, they are not very good and difficult to watch most of the time.
But I’ll be watching Lorenzo Carter with excitement this season.
This time, there’s no security barrier to stop me like there was in Pasadena.
