Category: UGA Football

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

David Greene ended his great Georgia football career back in 2004, having won more games (42) than any quarterback in NCAA history and thrown for more yards (11,528) than anyone in SEC history. Both of those marks have since been passed — Georgia’s Aaron Murray now holds the SEC passing mark with 13,166 yards, with Greene third all-time — but Greene’s place in Bulldog and SEC history is secure. Few have done it better.

Now a married father of four in the commercial insurance business in the Atlanta area, Greene, who helped lead Georgia to the 2002 SEC championship and was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year that season, still follows the Bulldogs closely. He is also now coaching his sons, passing along what he knows to another generation.

During a Quick Chat this week, Greene talked about his playing days, coaching, his old friend and teammate David Pollack, being out of the spotlight and much more.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: What have the past five months or so been like for you?

Read more

Georgia Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken offered the following comments Tuesday afternoon.

On where he starts when designing a new offense and combining Coach Smart’s goals and the direction he wants to go to launch his offense…
“First off, being three different places the last five years there’s a number of things that we’ve done in the past, So, you start with what you’ve done recently, and then what you’ve done the last few years that you liked and want to carry over. Obviously, the games are different, the NFL compared to college football, there’s different various or, you know, of what you want to accomplish from a tempo standpoint, from a personnel standpoint. But, we are still in the process of building that. We went through the spring and did that—then the summer and we’re continuing to work on that as we speak.”

On what he and Coach Smart envisioned UGA’s offense to look like once he joined the staff…
“Scoring points and not turning it over. I know that’s really simple, but obviously that’s—when we spoke about his vision of the offense, was certainly what I think every coach wants, which is take advantage of your personnel, the players that you can recruit here at the University of Georgia, doing a great job in terms of utilizing those people, putting them in the best position to be successful. Obviously, as coaches we are paid to maximize our players measurable skill sets, so that’s probably the first and foremost—the talent that we get here is finding a way every day to develop those players, and then utilize their skill set to the best of their ability. Obviously, the most important part is moving the football and scoring points, whether that’s running the football or throwing the football. Being explosive and not turning it over—it’s a pretty simple game.”

On whether he feels he has brought any concepts of NFL offense back to the collegiate level/his thoughts on the changes over time between the two levels…
“Well Seth, you’re right. You definitely see changes in the NFL in terms of spreading the field out, athletic quarterbacks, RPOs—that has changed, dramatically. The bottom line is as high school started doing more of that and then colleges did, then the players you are drafting—when you’re drafting certain players that’s what they’re accustomed to doing at quarterback. They’re more comfortable in [shot] gun—more comfortable with that style of system, trying to keep it as simple as you can. Obviously, it’s very difficult, the NFL level against the best in the world just like in this league. So there’s obviously things that we will take from a number of places I have been over the last 10 years, from Oklahoma State to Southern Miss, to the last couple of stops I’ve been in the NFL. There’s a number of things that I liked—the things I’ve done in the past and things that other people did. So, that’s really what you do. You put together what you think is the best way to move the football and score points.”

Read more

Georgia Fain and Bill Slaughter Defensive Coordinator Dan Lanning offered the following comments on Friday afternoon.

Opening Statement
“I hope everybody is having a great day. Excited to be talking about football this time of the year. Obviously, I am very appreciative to our staff, our players, our medical staff, our coaches—coordinating in a unique time. Coach Smart talks about it all the time—having mental agility—is kind of the new phrase in our program. Our guys have handled adjustment extremely well, and really attacked everything that we’re trying to get accomplished in our program.”

On starting his third season with Georgia and the roots he has put down in the program and the community…
“Yeah, absolutely, and really excited to be. You are always talking about being in a place—I’ve got three kids, my wife Sophia and I. You talk about being in a place you would love to raise your family, and Athens [has] truly been that place. Three years, for me in college football, this will be the longest I’ve been anywhere. Sometimes it takes that progression to get you there in your career, and I am very fortunate to be in a place where I could see myself for a long time.”

Read more

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Warren Ericson did not disappoint in his first career start on Georgia’s offensive line, lining up at right guard in the Bulldogs’ Sugar Bowl win over Baylor. The redshirt sophomore also didn’t disappoint during a Quick Chat after practice Wednesday.

The 6-foot-4 and 305-pound Ericson, from Suwanee, Ga., covered a lot of ground in a nine-minute phone interview. He talked about fishing on the Chattahoochee River, his days playing soccer (his brother Peyton played at South Carolina) and lacrosse — which may explain his good footwork — and when asked what kind of meal he’d cook for some teammates, Ericson gave a delicious and highly-detailed answer.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: Have you done anything new or interesting over the past five months?

Ericson: Obviously, being quarantined, it’s a little bit tough to get out and be with friends, which is something I like to do. I would definitely say that getting to spend some good time with my family was really nice. I also got to go and experience a little bit of the outdoors — I live right next to the Chattahoochee River, so I got to fish a little bit there.

Read more