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8 • The Red and Black • Wednesday, May 1, 1996
— LLini:—~
SPORTS MIDWEEK
‘He should have been going to the prom tonight Instead of
playing In an SEC game. We re real happy to have him In here."
. Georgia head football coach Jim Donnan on freshman
Michael Usry’s G-Day game performance.
Gridiron
gospel
according
to St. Jim
•
| Spring practice served as a les
son in theology for Georgia foot
ball. It was a 15-day seminar fo
cusing on birth and rebirth. The
revival was led by the newest
Georgia football patron saint Jim
ponnan, whose young men
thrilled huge congregations of
fans three Saturdays this spring
and made believers out of hun
dreds of Georgia faithful.
Loyal disciples of Bulldog
pigskin know Georgia football is a
religion. Donnan is doing his best
to keep the masses happy so they
will continue to hand over their
tithes to the Georgia athletic de
partment
“I’m really looking forward to
upholding the tradition here at
Georgia," Donnan said. “I think
Georgia’s going through some
times now where we’re trying to
re-establish our winning tradi
tion."
That’s the gospel according to
Donnan. Now, it’s up to the team
to shed some light on the future of
the program and perform divine
deeds on the field. Can Robert
Edwards establish himself as the
second-coming of Herschel
Walker, the true Bulldog messi-
ah? Is Mike Bobo blessed with the
God-given talent to propel
Georgia into the upper echelon of
the SEC? Will the Southern me
dia praise the reincarnation of
Bulldog football in the fall?
Odell Collins has experienced
a rebirth in the Bulldog backfield,
and he wants another opportuni
ty to display his backfield offering
before 85,000 on fall Saturday af
ternoons. Meanwhile, Mike
Usry’s development symbolizes
the birth of the next Georgia
quarterback. He came along well
in spring drills and might not be
redshirted in the fall.
Even Georgia’s most devout
followers were tested by/the great
tempest of negative media atten
tion that flooded the Athens cam
pus last season and washed Ray
Goff out into the sea of unem
ployment.
When the great flood had
passed, Donnan had arrived to
lead the Dogs to the football
promised land, which will ulti
mately equal a berth in the Fiesta
Bowl, the Orange Bowl or the
Sugar Bowl. Most will agree it
has been too long since Larry
Munson last said, "Look at the
sugar falling from the sky...".
When Georgia’s most hallowed
cathedral of pigskin worship (oth
erwise known as Sanford
Stadium) reopens for football (its
true calling) in the fall, thousands
of Bulldog brethren will turn
their eyes to the mountains of
northeast Georgia to behold the
born-again Bulldogs.
Nobody expects Donnan to
walk on water and lead the Dogs
to a national championship next
season. However, if miracles can
indeed become reality, maybe
anything is possible. Of course,
such miracles include slaying the
evil genius of the SEC football
powerhouse directly south of
God’s favorite red and black team.
Oh Lord, hear our prayers...
Donnan: the new Dawg in charge
A cure for what ails us?
By NORM WOOD
Staff Writer
F our month* ago, Jim Donnan left the dynasty he created at
Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va. He didn’t know
what to expect from the head football coaching position in
Athena, but he wasn't about to tell Georgia Athletic Director Vince
Dooley to find somebody else for the job when he got the
Christmas afternoon phone call.
The paint has barely dried in his Butts-Mehre Heritage
Hall office, but Donnan has already settled himself for
a long stay at the helm of the Dogs.
“I feel like I’ve been ready to be a head coach
since I graduated college," said Donnan, who
led Marshall to a 64-21 overall record and a
Division I-AA National Championship in six w \
seasons (1990 to 1995) as head coach. “I never
felt like I was grooming for this job. I didn’t go
to Marshall to leave. I felt like I wanted to go
someplace where I could win at a level I was used
to. If I didn’t ever get another job, I’d be very happy
there."
Donnan, 51, is no stranger to the world of Division I-
A football. Outside of his coaching days at Marshall, every
position he held was at the Division I-A level. /
A native of Burlington, N.C., Donnan spent his collegiate
playing days as a three-year starting quarterback at N.C.
State from 1965 to 1967. He personified the modem image
of the student-athlete by being named to the Atlantic Coast
Conference All-Academic team in 1966 and 1967, and also
won the 1967 ACC Player of the Year award from Coach
and Athlete magazine.
Following his illustrious collegiate career, Donnan began a
line of coaching positions that would help build his reputa
tion as one of the leading offensive minds in college football.
From 1969 to 1971, he was quarterbacks coach and offensive I
coordinator at N.C. State. Donnan left his alma mater to take
over the offensive backfield coaching job at Florida State from
1972 to 1973. In 1974, he returned to his home state to become
backfield coach and chief recruiter at North Carolina.
Donnan moved out of the ACC and into the Big Eight,
where the running game rules, in 1978 to become the backfield
coach and administrative assistant at Kansas State. Missouri
brought in Donnan as its quarterbacks and receivers coach
from 1981 to 1984. Finally, he went to Oklahoma to become
Barry Switzer’s offensive coordinator from 1985 to 1989.
Donnan’s philosophy for the running game flourished under
Switzer. In 1985, the Sooners finished third in the nation in
rushing and won the national championship. Oklahoma
would continue its offensive onslaught in 1986, leading the
nation in rushing and scoring. The 1987 Sooner offense went
a step higher, leading the nation in rushing and total of
fense.
Spending five years as Switzer’s right hand man, Donnan developed
a close relationship with one of the most controversial coaches in col
lege football. Though Switzer has also moved on to greener pastures
as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Donnan has nothing but fond
memories of his days at Oklahoma.
“I think the thing about Barry that most people don’t realize is that
he has no ego," Donnan said. “He doesn’t care what people think
about him. He cares about his players and his coaches. Something
he always ingrained in me was that if he told you he was go
ing to do something, you could take it to the bank that he
was going to do it."
In January, Donnan brought six assistant coaches
with him from Marshall in the middle of the
Southeastern Conference recruiting season, perhaps
the most difficult stretch on the coaching calendar.
V The new staff responded to its first challenge by cor-
tf railing one of the consensus best 25 classes in the
nation.
“We’ve got some good players, but so do Tennessee
and Florida, so we’ve got to continue to modify so we
can be successful," Donnan said. “There’s different lev
els (in recruiting) according to who your competition is.
Every coach can paint a rosy picture and talk a kid into com
ing to their school, but the players on your campus are the
biggest salesmen you've got."
Spring practice was an opportunity for Donnan to begin to
install his multiple offense and learn new faces. However, the
transformation of the Georgia football program began the day
Donnan was named the new head coach.
When Kansas head coach Glen Mason reneged on his ap
pointment to the head coaching job, Georgia supporters were
up in arms. After enduring a season of turmoil under former
Georgia head coach Ray Goff, the Mason debacle split Bulldog
boosters into factions of varying support.
Donnan’s arrival effectively brought Georgia fans back un
der the same red and black umbrella. But Donnan will be the
first to say the Dogs have just begun laying the tracks on the
road back to national supremacy.
‘Right now, looking at Georgia, obviously there's some problems
here,” Donnan said. “It’s been 14 years since we’ve won a champi
onship, and the record against some of the better teams in the
league isn’t where it should be.
‘That’s not me talking, that’s fact. The only thing I can say is
that we’ve got to remedy that. If things were so good here, why did
they change?”
At a banquet for the University of Georgia Chapter for the
National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame held April
22, Donnan was the keynote speaker and gave some insight into his
coaching philosophy. In talking about how some coaches try to ratio
nalize defeat, Donnan said, “show me a good loser, and I'll show you a
loser.”
Donnan has issued a new philosophy for a new Bulldog era. Never
one to back down from a challenge, Donnan is primed for his latest.
Photo by QSV1N JtVERIU. too Rod and Slack
Laschinger a leader on and off the tennis court
TATI MACquiEN/The Red and Black
Jamie Laschinger excels In the classroom, as
well as on the tennis court. The senior boasts
a 3.1 GPA in political science.
By C.J. JOHNSON
Staff Writer
He’s the lone senior on a team that is expected to be one
of the top contenders for the NCAA tennis championship.
This year, as team captain, he has led No. 7 Georgia to a
20-3 overall record. He’s a three-time All-American with a
strong chance of becoming one of only four Bulldogs to
achieve the four-time status.
He's Jamie Laschinger, and he’s ready to lead this sea
son’s squad to the National Championship.
“I would have to say it would be a very big disappoint
ment if we didn’t win,” Laschinger said. “Having said that,
it wouldn’t be a very big disappointment because we lost
this year, but because out of the four years here I didn’t
win it, having come so close.”
Georgia went to the finals Laschinger’s freshman year,
only to lose to Southern Cal 5-2 in front of the home crowd
His sophomore year, when the NCAAs were moved to
South Bend, Ind., the Bulldogs were knocked out earlier
than expected by hoat Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.
Last season, when the tournament was moved back to
Athena, could have been the most heartbreaking loss. Ole
Miss defeated Georgia 4-3 in the semifinals when junior
Eddie Jacques began cramping in the second set of the de
ciding match.
Laschinger immediately assumed the role of team lead
er the day after that loss. He told his teammates that as
captain he wasn’t going to stress winning the national ti
tle, as had been the case the previous year. He reiterated
that statement in the captain's meeting at the beginning
of this season.
“I told them that my belief is that we have a team that
can beat any team in the country,” Laschinger said. “The
only possible way we could slip up i* if we don’t stick to
the task at hand and take each match at a time."
The 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pound native of London, Ontario,
Canada, is ranked No. 85 nationally in singles and No. 10
in doubles with teammate Steven Baldaa. In hia four years,
he was ranked as high as No. 24 in singles his sophomore
year and No 6 in doubles last season. In singles, he has
compiled a 102-50 record overall, along with a 114-43 ca
reer doubles mark.
Recently, Laschinger has stepped up his game, winning
12 of his last 14 singles matches.
“He has impressed me to no end the last month to
month-and-a-half,” Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz said.
“He earned a lot of respect this season, and he is as tough
as anyone when the match is on the line He's having a fab
ulous year because of his attitude and his positive frame
of mind.”
One of Laschinger’s defining qualities is his ability to
never give up on the court or in life. The political science
major carries a 3.1 GPA, and he hopes to continue his ca
reer in a court with different surroundings — as a lawyer.
He is one of three ath
letes to be selected to
Leadership UGA, he
was nominated for the
Peach of an Athlete
Award and is in the
running for the
Arthur Ashe Sport
and Leadership
Award.
“You’ll never see
me just let a match
go,” Laschinger said.
“I have too much re
spect for Georgia as an
institution and as a
program. I owe it to
my teammates. I’d
like to be remembered
as someone who truly
respected where I was
and didn’t take any
thing for granted."
THIS WEEK IN
GEORGIA SPORTS
You Don’t Diced lb Leave Home to Work Out!
AMENITIES:
• Private Bath
• Washers/Dryers
• Computer Lab
• Basketball Court
• Softball Field i
• Volleyball Court
• Scenic Jogging TVall
• Lighted Tennis Courts
• Fitness Center
• Swimming Pool
1003 Macon Hwy. • Uhens, GA 30006