Georgia Football goes behind the scenes with equipment team
Kirby Smart, his assistant coaches and the Georgia players get plenty of attention and recognition when it comes to the success of Bulldogs each and every Saturday. But there’s plenty of folks who don’t get recognized when they walk across town that are a part of creating the championship culture too. Those individuals are starting to get some shine from the Georgia Football social media accounts in a series called “Behind the G,” and this week, it’s the equipment staff featured.
Gage Whitten is the Director of Football Equipment. Wil Wells is the Assistant Director of Football Equipment. Together, Whitten, Wells and their team make sure that the Dawgs are ready to roll in every aspect from helmets, jerseys, gloves, pads and cleats to practice dummies on a daily basis.
“We’re basically in charge of everything everyone wears,” Whitten said. “The jerseys, the helmets, the gloves the players wear. That includes Coach Smart and all the coaches on the sidelines. So you’ll see Coach Smart with visor, his polo, his khaki pants, his game shoes. We’re in charge of having that ready every week, getting it back after the games and then making sure it’s ready to go for the next game.”
“We’re also in charge of practice set up,” Wells added. “So all the practice equipment, the cones, the heavy sleds, all that kinds of stuff, we take care of that on a daily basis.”
So we know what their job is, but what does the normal week look like for Whitten and Wells? How do they get it all done?
“Every week is almost the same. You’re doing practice every day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday we load player bags, Friday we’re on the road traveling and Saturday we play the game. Roll into Sunday, you’re taking care of laundry and on Monday’s you’re fixing loose ends from the previous game.”
Just like Scott Sinclair, Georgia’s Director of Strength and Conditioning who was featured on last week’s first edition of Behind the G, the job builds relationships that don’t end when a player leaves Athens. Whitten and Wells make sure of that with a set of care packages that go out to all the NFL Bulldogs.
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“We always say here, we say it, the coaches say it all the time, ‘Once you’re a Dawg, you’re always a Dawg.’ Every year we get a list of every single one of our players that are currently in the NFL and from that list, we make them a care package,” Whitten said. “We have a special Georgia box, we put in all kinds of gear, hats, shirts, shorts, the kind of stuff we know players like. Those go out in August to every single player that’s in the NFL.”
And it’s not just the players that they build relationships with. Whitten and Wells have an army of student managers that also help make sure everything is in order, and those individuals grow and develop just as much as the players do during their time with the team.
“One very rewarding part of the job for me, you get to see these kids come in – players as well but also our student managers – and seeing them grow up, seeing them mature, seeing them become a leader,” Whitten said. “That’s rewarding for me to see them grow up and mature right in front of our eyes.”
“How can we help them? How can we better prepare them, not only for like today’s practice but for life?”
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