Sometimes when I'm in the car by myself, I wind up having conversations with myself — really an exercise in thinking out loud.
I know I'm not alone in this, and I'll go a step further and say I'm not alone in the fact that I often ponder things about Georgia football when I'm driving up and down I-985 as I commute to and from work.
One rabbit hole I've found myself diving into recently is: Who is the best Bulldog football player I've seen in person?
I'm too young, unfortunately, to have seen Herschel (no last name needed) in person, so the choice isn't quite as obvious for me.
Then it begs the questions. How do I measure the "best" player? Is it the best player on a championship team? The best overall athlete? The most productive in college?
I narrowed it down, but nobody seemed to fit seamlessly into every category (like Herschel does, for you older folk).
Was it Todd Gurley? He might have been the best physical specimin I ever had the privilege of laying my own two eyes one. He was also highly productive (3,285 yards, 36 touchdowns), and very nearly led Georgia to the 2012 SEC Championship. (Side note: I used to see him every day, since we had classes fairly close to each other, and would walk the same route. His leg muscles looked even bigger when he wasn't wearing pads.)
Was it Champ Bailey? Mr. Iron Man was, perhaps, the best athlete I ever saw suit up in the Red and Black. He played offense, defense and special teams, utilizing his lockdown cover skills as a cornerback, great hands at receiver and blazing speed as a returner. It's a shame his talents were wasted in such a "meh" time for Georgia football.
Was it David Pollack? This fellow Snellville-ian (he went to Shiloh, I went to South Gwinnett) remains Georgia's career sack leader with 36, and became only the second three-time All-America in school history. (You can probably guess the first.) Oh, and he helped lead Georgia to its first SEC Championship in two decades in 2002. He would almost certainly fit the bill of "best pure player at his position" of my lifetime, and it's hard to believe he didn't even start his career as a defensive end.
Was it Aaron Murray? He certainly would rank among the most productive players Georgia has ever had, shattering the SEC passing record (set by Pollack's teammate David Greene), amassing 13,166 yards and 121 touchdowns (Greene's in second with 72). If not for one tipped pass, he may well have led the Bulldogs to a national championship in 2012.
As you can tell, I'm a child of the '90s, so my "Glory Days" happened in the early 2000s, when Greene, Pollack, Terrence Edwards, Musa Smith, Thomas Davis and Sean Jones were terrorizing the SEC. Then of course there was the energy and excitement that was the 2007 season, and the good runs of 2011-12.
Then there's a lot of ho-hummery in between.
I'll throw in a few honorable mentions, then let you have a silent debate with yourself about which players you've laid eyes on.
- Hines Ward
- Nick Chubb
- Jarvis Jones
- Knowshon Moreno
- A.J. Green
- Thomas Davis
- Robert Edwards
