The Countdown 2010: 50 Days to Go

50: Billy Bennett, Kicker #30 (2000-2003)

Billy Bennett, a Damn Good Dawg, is the all time leading scorer in UGA and SEC History. He didn't have to travel very far to start his college kicking career, walking on at Georgia from Athens Academy. As a young Georgia fan, I remember the Kicker position being a big question mark going into the 2000 season. This quickly proved to be the case as starting scholarship kicker Brett Kirouac hooked the ball all over the place and, in my mind, the backup was a midget in 17 states. However, what Billy lacked in height, he made up for in accuracy and grit, making 13-14 field goals as a Freshman. This quickly erased the memory of past Kicker Hap Hines, unfortunately it didn't replace the frustration and memory of Quincy Carter's junior season.

After making the All-SEC Freshman team, Billy struggled with blocked field goals and inconsistency in 2001. However, he set the stage for his last two seasons my making 6 of 6 (another UGA and SEC record) field goals against the North Avenue Trade School, ending three years for futility against the nerds. Bennett's last two seasons cemented his legacy in Athens as he made more field goals over this span (57) than any other Kicker over a two year span in NCAA history. For his career he made 87-110 field goals to amass 409 total points including PAT's, earning multiple All-SEC and All-American honors.

Billy was also one of the great characters, from a fan perspective, on the football team. He was well known to fans for his band and hair, both being mentioned frequently by Larry Munson during radio broadcasts:

A local kid himself, Billy knew his way around the local scene and I was lucky enough, on multiple occasions, to see him around downtown Athens (funny guy). After his playing career, Billy would try out for the Carolina Panthers and make a cameo appearance in the 2006 film "We Are Marshall" before becoming a sound technician with the band MGMT. While being the smallest player on this countdown list, he was "Man Enough" to be a great Georgia Bulldog.

The Countdown 2010: 67 Days to Go

67) Theron Sapp, FB/LB #40 (1956-1958)

Theron Sapp, a Damn Good Dawg, is one of the true old school legends of UGA Football. The 'Drought-Breaker" as he would become known later in his career, was born in Dublin, GA and came to Athens from Macon's Lanier High School. He sat out his first year in 1954 due to a vertebrae injury that doctors told him would never allow him to play football again. His neck eventually healed and he became the starting fullback for Coach Wally Butts in 1957 and 1958, earning All-SEC and Team Captain honors during his senior season.

However, his greatest moment would come during his Junior season (1957) against the hated Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. As it has been well documented, Sapp recovered a fumble during the third quarter of play and then led the Bulldogs down the field, scoring the game's only TD as UGA ended a 8 year fun of futility against the Yellow Jackets. Georgia had not scored a touchdown against Tech since 1953 and the Bulldogs would defeat the Jackets again in 1958, 16-3, behind the legs and will of Sapp. His #40 was retired shortly after his collegiate playing career ended in March of 1959 before a 7 year NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers.

At that point, Sapp was just the third player in UGA history to have his number retired and perhaps the greatest complement on his play and what it meant to UGA fans was summed up by Tech's own Bobby Dodd, "Walker won the national championship for Georgia (1980) and was awarded the Heisman trophy (1982) but to older Bulldogs who suffered through the 1950s, Sapp's breaking the drought was greater. He silenced eight years of bragging from Tech students and alumni. Breaking the drought was a remarkable achievement." Sapp finished his career with only 1,269 yards on 258 carries, but one carry on a cold November afternoon in Atlanta in all Bulldog fans needed to last a lifetime.

The Countdown 2010: 72 Days to Go

72: Kevin McLee, Tailback #39 (1975-1977)

Kevin McLee, a Damn Good Dawg, was one of the dynamic offensive football players in the SEC during the 1970's. McLee came to the University of Georgia in 1974 from Uniontown, PA and wasted no time becoming a force in UGA's run heavy offense, earning 2nd team All-SEC and Newcomer of the Year honors in 1975 while playing with the great Glynn Harrison. He ran for 1,058 yards and 6 touchdowns the next season, helping the Bulldogs to the 1976 SEC Title and the National Championship game. While he didn't have the same type of season in 1977, getting 717 yards, he surpassed Frank Sinkwich as Georgia's all time leading rusher with 2,581 yards.

McLee was a big time player, as evidenced by his 198 yards rushing against Florida in 1976 when the Cocktail Party boasted both teams with top 10 rankings, earning him a place in the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame in 2005. He followed that performance up with 203 yards against Auburn the next week in what was, at the time, the greatest back to back rushing performance in UGA history. Kevin McLee passed away from a stroke in 2007 while living in California and will always be remembered as a great Georgia Bulldog.

The Countdown 2010: 78 Days to Go

78: Leonard Pope, Tight End #81 (2003-2005)

It has been very exciting to write this countdown and today, I have the privilege of not only writing about one of the finest Tight End's UGA has featured, but I get write about one of my hometown hero's and old friends, Leonard Pope. Leonard, like myself, was a graduate of Americus High School, where he led the AHS Panthers to consecutive AA State Championships in 2000 and 2001 playing TE and Free Safety. It made a lot of people very happy and proud to see Leonard commit to the University of Georgia, as our little Southwest Georgia town had not seen one of our own go to Athens to play Football in quite sometime. This pride only grew as Leonard's accomplishments grew, eventually becoming a Damn Good Dawg.

Leonard arrived at UGA in 2003 after spending one year at Hargrave Military Academy. He earned playing time as a Freshman, only catching one pass but was a physical mis-match with his 6' 8" frame and excellend speed. As the starting TE in 2004, his season started slowly and his breakout came in Jacksonville, catching David Greene's first two touchdown passes in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail party. Leonard didn't slow down after that, earning 1st Team All-SEC honors in both 2004 and 2005 by catching 64 passes for 1023 yards and 10 TD's over those two seasons. He bypassed his senior year of college, becoming a 3rd round draft choice of the Arizona Cardinals.

I've known Leonard since elementary school and it has been a pleasure to see him grow both on and off the field. It was always great to see him around campus at UGA and share stories with people at football games about his former exploits on both the basketball court and Finklea-Robinson Field from back home. His hard work and determination got him to UGA when many others would have quit, eventually becoming a major cog for the 2005 SEC Champions.