I had the pleasure of attending the University of Georgia at the same time Herschel Walker was in school — the undisputed best running back in Bulldog history thus far, and arguably the greatest college player of all time.
Bulldog fans got spoiled rotten. The Junkyard Dawg defense coached by Erk Russell rarely gave up very many points, and it seemed that nobody could stop Herschel in the red zone.
Then again, nobody could really even slow Herschel down for very long, period. He ran by people. Herschel ran through people, and even leaped over them. Mr. Walker simply wore defenses down.
When asked how he could carry the ball thirty five or more times per game, Herschel famously replied, “The ball ain’t heavy.”
You might be wondering if I’ve lost my mind: am I living in the past? What does reminiscing about the past and the great Herschel Walker have to do with the chances that UGA will win a national championship within the next two years?
What gives me confidence to say the Bulldogs can and will win it all under Mark Richt, other than the fact I love our coach and think he’s fantastic?
Well, I can summarize my answer to that question with only two words: Nick Chubb.
If you haven’t noticed, satellite television and TIVO are wonderful inventions.
Several UGA football games recorded from last season remain on my play list to satisfy the occasional urge to watch football between seasons.
One of the recordings I’ve kept was the Auburn game.
Watching the replay this afternoon I was absolutely mesmerized by what I believe to be the most amazing play of 2014 — and that one play is the reason why I believe UGA can and will win it all within the next two years.
Using the slow motion feature of TIVO, you can clearly see every detail of this particular play as it develops. So please allow me set the stage…It’s third and eight, from the Auburn 38-yard-line.
A retreating Hutson Mason throws a middle screen pass that tailback Nick Chubb catches a couple of yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Excellent blocking from the offensive line puts Chubb in the open field as he reaches the Auburn 33, but two defenders appear to have taken an angle that will allow them to make the tackle somewhere around the first down marker. At the same time, a third Auburn player also takes a collision course at Chubb from a few yards downfield.
Apparently Chubb will make the first down before the trio of defenders can stop him, but there doesn’t seem to be much chance that he’ll go any further. After all, there are three guys a couple of yards away, all prepared to take down the ball carrier.
But it seems that young Mr. Chubb has other ideas.
A sudden burst of speed leaves all three defenders in pursuit, including the poor guy who had been several yards downfield of the running back in good position to make the tackle, only a fraction of a second earlier. Finally that last man dives for Chubb’s legs around the Auburn 15, but misses.
By then a fourth Auburn player has materialized on-screen — defensive back Jonathon Mincy is waiting for Chubb at the Auburn 10, while trying to fend off the block of UGA wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. Because of the pursuit, instead of cutting back toward the middle of the field, Nick Chubb runs right through Mincy and knocks the cornerback at least three yards backward.
Then our marvelous running back cuts toward the middle of the field before turning on a dime at the Auburn 5, once again eluding a growing crowd of Auburn players as he scampers into the end zone.
Unfortunately he stepped out of bounds as he ran over Mincy, so the touchdown was called back. It didn’t matter, at that point. Auburn knew they were beaten.
By the time Nick Chubb crossed the goal line, vapidly seven members of Auburn’s defense were also in the picture, trying in vain to stop the unstoppable.
That one particular play was equally as impressive as anything I can remember Herschel doing on the football field, and I saw a lot of incredible things from Mr. Walker during his playing days.
Remember, Nick Chubb was only a true freshman last year. But he’s a warrior. His work ethic is unbelievable, the sort of devotion to improvement that makes great players into legendary ones. While most of his fellow freshmen were partying at the beach over spring break, Chubb was running sprints in a weighted vest, pushing himself like a man on a mission.
Based on that information, I expect to see significant improvement from Nick Chubb over the next two years. Now that’s a pretty scary thought for opposing defenses, isn’t it?
But of course, football is a team sport.
The return of the Junkyard Dawgs under coach Jeremy Pruitt won’t hurt our national championship title hopes, either.
While I like your optimism and hope you are right the primary difference is that Dooley got the most out of the players he had while that can’t possibly be said about Richt. The secondary difference is that Dooley seldom hurt himself with coaching decisions while that can’t possibly be said about Richt. I’m not sorry he’s still the coach but having a good running back isn’t nearly enough any more.