About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2020)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Saturday, January 4, 2020 3B Bulldogs’ running back Swift puts name in 2020 NFL Draft Georgia running back D’Andre Swift runs the ball against Missouri on Nov. 9 in Athens. Athens Banner Herald D’Andre Swift, who put together back-to-back 1,000- yard rushing seasons in 2018 and 2019, is leaving Georgia for the NFL. The junior, who is draw ing some first round projec tions, announced Friday that he’s giving up his final college season. The expected move comes two days after Geor gia ended the season with a Sugar Bowl win over Baylor. Swift saw limited snaps in both that game and the SEC championship game loss to LSU due to a left shoulder injury but the 5-foot-8, 215- pound Philadelphia native posted nine 100-yard rushing games as a Bulldog. Swift’s 2,884 career rush ing yards ranks seventh all- time in program history. He is one of only five Georgia players ever to have two 1,000-yard rush ing seasons. His 6.56 yards per carry average is the best ever for a Bulldog running back. “My family and I have spent a considerable amount of time determining what’s best for me,” Swift posted on his Twitter account,” I will be forgoing my senior year and I’m excited for what the future holds. I’ll always be a Bulldog!” Swift joins offensive tack les Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson in Georgia underclassmen declaring for the draft. Quarterback Jake Fromm, safety Rich ard LeCounte and others have yet to reveal their decisions. Swift rushed for 1,218 yards and seven touchdowns on 196 carries this season and was fourth on the team with 24 catches for 216 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 1,049 yards and 10 touch downs last season and fin ished with 20 career rushing touchdowns and five receiv ing touchdowns. Georgia loses its top two rushers in Swift and Brian Herrien, but former five-star Zamir White will be two sea sons removed from his sec ond torn ACL injury in 2020. White had his best game as a Bulldog in the Sugar Bowl, rushing for 92 yards on 18 carries. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry as a red- shirt freshman, rushing for 408 yards and 3 touchdowns. Rising junior James Cook (188 yards and 2 TDs on 31 carries) and rising sopho more Kenny McIntosh (174 and 2 TDs on 25 carries) also return and the Bulldogs again will bring in high-end talent at the position. Four-star running back Kendall Milton is an early enrollee who will practice in the spring and Zach Evans from Houston, the nation’s No. 1 running back prospect, may have already signed with Georgia. The Bulldogs were con sidered to be his destination, but he delayed announc ing his choice at the Under Armour All-American game Thursday night, leaving some mystery of how that unfolds. GEORGIA HIT WITH RECRUITING VIOLA TIONS: Georgia football recruits received discounted or free school apparel three times between March 2017 and January 2019, according to an NCAA violations sum mary obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald on Friday in an open records request. The school self-imposed an assortment of penalties and the NCAA hit the school with a $10,000 fine. It also reduced its official visits by four for this recruit ing cycle, took away three weeks of unofficial visits, reduced its evaluation days by nine this coming spring and three this past fall and stopped recruiting the unnamed recruits involved. The school also won’t recruit any prospects at one of the schools involved for two years. Georgia did not identify the recruits or staff mem bers involved and wouln’ say how many recruits JOHN AMIS I The Associated Press were involved. The school reorganized its football staff after the violations. As previously reported, recruiting relations coordi nator Dacia King was fired in April and director of on campus recruiting Lukman Abdulai was suspended and then resigned with sever ance pay in June. Ga. Tech signee who took his life honored with vigil at his S. Florida high school Associated Press They came to mourn, remember and say goodbye to Bryce Gowdy. As several hundred attendees of a candlelight vigil gathered at Deerfield Beach High’s football sta dium Thursday night follow ing the death of the Georgia Tech signee, there also was a resolve that his life and pass ing would create a legacy. Specifically, a move ment to care for those afflicted with mental-health issues and homelessness, forces that appar ently conspired to lead Gowdy to take his life Monday, when he was hit by a freight train. The Broward County medical examiner’s office ruled the death a suicide. “For those of us who loved him and were truly touched by his life, it’s put upon us to try to put him and his light and his legacy in a position that it’ll live on,” Deerfield Beach football coach Jevon Glenn said to the crowd that filled the stadium’s stands. “And the way that we can do that, from my heart, is to be able to use the situ ation and what happened with him and his life to try to keep it from happening to as many others as we can.” Those assembled included not only Gowdy’s football teammates, fellow students and school faculty and staff, but also alumni, parents and members of the community, including the mayor of Deerfield Beach. Many did not know Gowdy, the talented wide receiver who was to enroll at Tech and begin classes Monday. “Something like this, with such a young kid, it hurts the whole city,” said Alex Morris, an alumna of Deer field Beach who did not know Gowdy. “It’s not just personal. It affects a lot of people.” Following messages from Glenn, the school principal and a prayer from the team chaplain, mourners gathered at the center of the field for the candle light vigil, circled around Gowdy’s family. Many held aloft their phones lit up with their flash lights. As the crowd stood silent, helium bal loons, some in the shape of hearts and a football, were released from the center of the circle, floating slowly up into the light. Those who knew him remembered him as, among other things, a kind class mate, a respectful and high- achieving student and an encouraging teammate. “Nobody had a bad thing to say about him,” school principal Jon Marlow said. “The kids loved him.” “He had that fire inside of him to do better,” said Jakobi Johnson, who was a track teammate and friend of Gowdy’s. “He always did everything with a smile on his face, and he took his schoolwork really serious. ” Gowdy was an honors student in the rigorous international baccalaure ate program. While a four- star prospect at Deerfield Beach, teammates remem bered him more for their relationships with him and his encouraging style. Aaron Hicks, a sophomore offensive lineman, said that Gowdy called him “Five Star.” “He was telling me, ‘You’re going to be great one day. You’ve got to keep working’ and stuff like that,” Hicks said. “It really touched me. It touched me. It meant a lot coming from somebody like that.” Gowdy led such an admi rable life despite his family living in a state of homeless ness, Glenn said. Gowdy was weighed down by feelings of remorse for leaving his mother Shib- bon Winelle and brothers behind while he would go on to Tech, Glenn said. Glenn believed that torment led him to take his life. “It’s almost like he started to feel like it wasn’t right, that he would be taken care of and not have a worry and she would still have the same worries and all the worries in the world,” Glenn said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Gowdy’s grandfather, Frank Gowdy, joined Glenn in hoping for the attention brought to his grandson’s death be a lever to provide caring and services for oth ers similarly afflicted. “All I know is I lost my grandson, and I’m hurt by it,” he said. “My hope is that this can become something that can help others.” Gowdy Mississippi State fires Moorhead after two seasons Mississippi State fired Joe Moorhead after just two seasons Friday, making the unusual decision to dismiss a coach after a bowl game. The Bulldogs went 14-12 under Moorhead, who was previously the offensive coordinator at Penn State. He was hired after the 2017 season when Dan Mullen left Mississippi State for Florida. This season, with a rebuilding team, Mississippi State (6-7) made it to the postseason with a one-point victory against rival Missis sippi in the regular-season finale. The Bulldogs then lost 38-28 to Louisville in the Music City Bowl. “It is clear the time has come to change the lead ership of our football pro gram,” Mississippi State President Mark Keenum said in a statement. “Coach Moorhead is a good man, and I have nothing but respect for him. I sincerely wish the very best for him and his wonderful family.” Mississippi State sched uled an afternoon news conference. Athletic director John Cohen said associate head coach Tony Hughes will serve as interim head coach while the school searches for a permanent successor. “We look forward to find ing an outstanding leader both on and off the field who connects with our Bulldog student-athletes, coaches and fans to the fullest,” Cohen said in a statement. Keenum said the school is looking for a coach who will “demonstrably reflect our shared expectations for a consistently competitive football team that displays discipline, pride, and prep aration in all facets of the program.” Associated Press Bowl glance Saturday, Dec. 28 Camping World Bowl Orlando, Fla. Notre Dame 33, Iowa State 9 Cotton Bowl Classic Arlington, Texas Penn State 53, Memphis 39 Peach Bowl Atlanta CFP Semifinal: LSU 63, Oklahoma 28 Fiesta Bowl Glendale, Ariz. CFP Semifinal: Clemson 29, Ohio State 23 Monday, Dec. 30 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Dallas Western Kentucky 23, Western Michigan 20 Music City Bowl Nashville, Tenn. Louisville 38, Mississippi State 28 Redbox Bowl Santa Clara, Calif. California 35, Illinois 20 Orange Bowl Miami Gardens, Fla. Florida 36, Virginia 28 Tuesday, Dec. 31 Belk Bowl Charlotte, N.C. Kentucky 37, Virginia Tech 30 Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas Arizona State 20, Florida State 14 Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tenn. Navy 20, Kansas State 17 Arizona Bowl TUcson, Ariz. Wyoming 38, Georgia State 17 Alamo Bowl San Antonio Texas 38, Utah 10 Wednesday, Jan. 1 Citrus Bowl Orlando, Fla. Alabama 35, Michigan 16 Outback Bowl Tampa, Fla. Minnesota 31, Auburn 24 Rose Bowl Pasadena, Calif. Oregon 28, Wisconsin 27 Sugar Bowl New Orleans Georgia 26, Baylor 14 Thursday, Jan. 2 Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl Cincinnati 38, Boston College 6 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla. Tennessee 23, Indiana 22 Friday’s game Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise Ohio 30, Nevada 21 Saturday’s game Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas Southern Miss (7-5) vs. Tulane (6-6), 11:30 a.m. (ESPN) Monday’s game Lendingtree Bowl Mobile, Ala. Miami (Ohio) (8-5) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (10-3), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Jan. 13 College Football Championship New Orleans Clemson (14-0) vs. LSU (14-0), 8 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday, Jan. 18 East-West Shrine Classic At St. Petersburg, Fla. East vs. West, 3 p.m. (NFL) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl At Pasadena, Calif. American vs. National, 5 p.m. (FS1) Saturday, Jan. 25 Senior Bowl At Mobile, Ala. North vs. South, 2:30 p.m. FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL Ohio holds off Nevada, 30-21 Ohio quarterback Nathan Rourke is pro jected to be the top quarter back taken in the Canadian Football League draft this spring. He’s pretty good at the American collegiate version, too. Rourke, from Oakville, Ontario, accounted for 231 yards of offense and ran for a touchdown to help Ohio beat Nevada 30-21 on Fri day in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Ohio (7-6) rebounded from a 1-3 start for its fifth straight winning season under coach Frank Solich. The 75-year-old former Nebraska coach received a two-year contract exten sion this week. Nevada (7-6), which dismissed defensive coor dinator Jeff Casteel and two other defensive posi tion coaches at the end of the regular season, didn’t find much of an answer for Ohio’s high-powered offense until the fourth quarter. The Wolf pack also were missing three key defen sive starters, suspended for their participation in a fight in a loss to rival UNLV in the regular-season finale. Rourke, who finished with 144 yards passing and 87 yards rushing along with one touchdown, garnered MVP honors, but was unin terested in talking about it. When asked about his award, he quickly pivoted to talk about the defense and their stand at the end of the game. Later, Rourke apologized for never win ning a MAC championship during his three years at the school. “I love coaching him,” Solich said. “We’ve been blessed to have him and I appreciate everything he’s done for this program. He really thinks beyond himself.” Rourke is also thinking beyond the CFL, hoping to fulfill his dream of playing in the NFL, even if it’s not a traditional route. “I’m used to being over looked,” said Rourke, tied Kareem Wilson’s school career record of 49 rush ing touchdowns. “I took a different path to get here, and I’m not afraid of taking a different path to reaching the NFL.” Rourke might be over looked in the NFL draft, but he finished just one touchdown shy of joining an elite trio of college quar terbacks who threw for 50 or more touchdowns and rushed for 50 or more in their career—Lamar Jack- son, Tim Tebow, and Colin Kaepernick, all of whom made it to the NFL. And Rourke, unlike Tebow and Kapernick, achieved his stats in only three seasons. Ohio raced to a 20-9 lead and scored the first 10 points of the third quarter before holding off Nevada’s late rally. Associated Press NOMINATE NOW UNTIL 01.10.20 NOMINATIONS FOR JANUARY TEACHER OF THE MONTH CONTEST ARE NOW OPEN. Be sure to give a shout-out to your favorite teacher. You can nominate once per day. The winning teacher will receive a plaque and $200 in school supplies. Winner will be recognized in The Times. NOMINATE TODAY AT WWW.GAINESVILLETIMES.COM/TEACHER
