ATHENS, Ga. — No one commissioned a T-shirt. They don’t go running around loudly proclaiming any new slogan.
But, after two straight disappointing seasons, see if you can spot the common phrase in the following quotes from Georgia football players:
Sophomore cornerback Branden Smith: “We just want to put Georgia back on the map.”
Senior offensive tackle Josh Davis: “If everyone does what they’re supposed to do and what they’re capable of, we will be back on the map.”
Freshman safety Alec Ogletree: “That’s a big task for us, trying to put Georgia back on the map nationally.”
Official or not, the Bulldogs do appear to have a calling as they begin their 2010 season.
It was a rough offseason, notably with nine arrests of Georgia players — the latest on Friday, being Ogletree, who is suspended for today’s opener against Louisiana-Lafayette. There was also the firing of Willie Martinez as defensive coordinator, replaced by Todd Grantham.
None of that has made for putting Georgia back on the map in a good way. Nor have all the mentions, in the lead-up to the season, of coach Mark Richt being on the hot seat.
But Georgia players say they’re determined — though they tend to say it only when asked — to make this the year they return the Bulldogs to glory.
“Some people have begun to be naysayers, say that we’re not the same program that we once were,” senior receiver Kris Durham said. “But, at the same time, I feel like we do have the talent, we do have the ability to put ourselves back up there.”
Two years ago at this time, Georgia was first on the national map. It was the preseason No. 1 in both major polls but failed to fulfill expectations and finished 10-3.
Last year, the Bulldogs started No. 13 but finished 8-5, tied for the fewest wins in Richt’s nine seasons in Athens.
This year, Georgia begins No. 23 in the AP poll, the lowest since Richt’s first year, 2001, when it was unranked.
“We want to earn that respect back,” senior defensive end Demarcus Dobbs said. “Especially for the senior class, we want to go out with a bang. We always said, ever since ’06, that we wanted to be the best class that ever came through Georgia, but we’ve done nothing to prove that. We’re ready to gain our respect back and be at the top, where Georgia once was.”
This is a milestone year for Richt, his 10th at Georgia. Only eight other head coaches in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision have more continuous longevity at their current school, and they have names such as Paterno, Beamer, Brown and Stoops.
Richt began at Georgia for the 2001 season, the same year as five other coaches who remain at the schools that hired them: Ohio State’s Jim Tressel, Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen, Missouri’s Greg Pinkel, Rutgers’ Greg Schiano and Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe.
Tressel is the only one of that group who has a better record than Richt. The Ohio State coach, with one national title in that time and two other Bowl Championship Series game appearances, is 95-21 in his tenure. Richt is 90-27.
Richt, who turned 50 this year, called the 10-year mark “kind of neat,” and marveled at such a milestone.
“I’m very, very comfortable here, but it does seem like it came fast,” Richt said this week. “Sometimes, I’ll see a former player, and they’ll be like, ‘Yeah, that was seven years ago.’ And I’m like, ‘Seven years ago? Wow. That’s a long time.’ But that’s what you always hope for, that you coach for a long enough time to see them as freshmen to seniors.”
One of those seniors is Davis, the starting right tackle. The Bulldogs have gone a combined 29-10 during Davis’ three years of playing — but they also have seen their win totals decrease each year.
“Georgia has a great tradition of being a great team in the country. That hasn’t taken place in the last couple years,” Davis said. “We know as a team what we’re capable of. And, if everyone does what they’re supposed to do and what they’re capable of, we will be back on the map. We will be back to being nationally known and nationally respected.”
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