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SENIORS: Fbrmer players’ speeches remind Bulldogs of tradition
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"It was something that just
happened. We don’t know why It
happened, but we’ve tried to cor
rect it,” wideout Kris Durham
said. "That’s a mistake that we’ve
been working hard on correct
ing.”
The seniors started trying to
find the solution the Sunday
after the Colorado game, meet
ing as a senior class, and decid
ing to “get the train going” and
“lead by example.”
“We all said to ourselves, ‘We
don’t want to go out like this,’”
senior Clint Boling said.
“When things are going bad,
that’s when leadership comes
into play in any equation,” cor
nerback Vance Cuff said.
That Monday, the seniors all
met with Richt, who informed
them they were going to get back
to the basics: Tackling and block
ing.
"We were being what people
would call a soft team, and when
you watch the film, it was true,”
Durham said. “You can’t beat
around the bush. You see what
you see. Anyone can see that,
and so they brought back and
showed us this is the way we won
in the past, and this is how it's
going to be. If you don’t like it,
then you’re not going to play, and
so everybody had to develop a
new mentality and that seems to
be working.”
That started with a full pads
practice the next Monday, some
thing Richt had never done
before on a Monday at Georgia,
and ended later in the week in a
romp of Tennessee.
And the Bulldogs carried the
momentum over and are now
riding a two-game win streak.
South Carolina head coach Steve
Spurrier said in his weekly con
ference Georgia “looked like the
best team in the SEC” against
Vanderbilt. Although the 1-4 start
has put many team goals out of
reach, the last two games have
looked like a different team.
“Well, I think Coach Richt
mentioned the physical nature of
the practices the past couple of
weeks, going live on Tuesday, and
that was different than what we
were doing the first four or five
weeks, and different than what
we did in camp,” senior Shaun
Chapas said. “It’s just been a lit
tle more physical. And getting
back to the way it was. It was
always like that for the first four
years I was here, and it changed
a little bit this past year, and now
we’re getting back to the old
ways.”
That message was only rein
forced the day before both wins
when former players Boss
Bailey first, then Thomas Davis
came back as honorary cap
tains to deliver speeches to the
team, driving home the message
that Georgia needed to get back
to Georgia.
“They told us, ‘This is what we
worked for, this is the reputation
we built, and that’s the reason
you guys came to Georgia,’”
Durham said. “‘You need to con
tinue to have that physical men
tality.’”
“Then Thomas Davis comes
and he’s like, ‘Man things were
different.’ He was like, ‘I was one
of the first recruiting classes of
Coach Richt and we changed
things. We put in work, and we
changed Georgia. Don’t let it go
back. Don’t let it go back,’” Cuff
said. “And you just got to under
stand it’s more than you out
there.”
Now, while some preseason
goals may be out of reach due to
the four straight losses, Georgia
players take comfort in the way
they stuck together as a team.
Through tough times, people
can either split or become closer,
and Georgia players wanted to
be the team that bonded, not the
squad that started passing blame
in midseason.
Redshirt sophomore Sanders
Commings said they knew they
had “too much talent” to be play
ing like they were. So facing
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PHOTOS BY WES BLANKENSHIP !<*., Buns
Senior fullback Shaun Chapas (above, 49) and senior wide receiver Kris Durham (below, 16) both said Georgia’s
performance in the first five games of the season did not uphold the tough Georgia football tradition. Before the
Tennessee game, former Bulldog Boss Bailey gave the players a motivating pep talk, as did Thomas Davis before the
Vanderbilt game both speeches ignited the Bulldogs before they won two straight SEC games.
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increased criticism from thp fan
base and media, the team’s rally
ing mantra became "we’re all we
got.”
“It’s something that we always
say. The guys on the team, how
ever the season goes, it's going to
be on us,” senior Akeem Dent
said.
“I can probably say when
times got hard. I’d be like man.
I’d look at the next guy going
hard and be like 'Man, no! I got
to do this!’” Cuff said. “Because
we got each other. It’s 11. It’s not
FIRST & GOAL
basketball. We got no Leßron
[James], where one guy can
dominate. You need you and the
rest of the team to get together.”
Cuff said he and the rest of
the seniors are not just “focusing
on one game at a time.” The
seniors are hoping that's good
enough to keep the train rolling
for another three SEC games,
while keeping everyone on
board.
After all, Georgia already
knows what happens when it
strays off course.
> • 706-542-3243 Of 800*877-3243
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YOUR SCHEDULE 1197 South Lumpkin Street • Athens, Georgia 30602-3603
Thk Red * Black | Friday, October 22, 2010
SENIOR CITIZENS
V ' y
CLINT BOLING, offensive lineman
• 32 consecutive starts
• Started at right tackle the last
three weeks
• Helped the running game aver
age 150.4 yards per game
SHAUN CHAPAS, fullback
• Has four career touchdowns,
including one this season
• Suffered a sprained ankle early
this season, forcing him to miss
the Arkansas game
IfiL- .... tB
VANCE CUFF, comerback
• Runs a 4.3 40-yard dash
• Has 17 tackles on the season
• Has registered five pass break
ups and one tackle for loss
• Has four starts on the season
AKEEM DENT, linebacker
• Leads Bulldogs with 62 tackles
• Has 4.5 tackles for loss
• Has registered 2.5 sacks on the
season with five quarterback
hurries
KRIS DURHAM, wide receiver
• Leads the wide receivers with
453 yards receiving in 2010
• Averages 20.6 yards per catch
• Caught the Bulldogs' longest
pass of 55 yards
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