The Countdown 2010: 41 Days to Go

41: Thomas Davis, Safety #10 (2002 – 2004)

During my time at The University of Georgia I had the pleasure of watching one of the hardest hitting players in Georgia history bring the pain against SEC defenses. That player was Thomas Davis, who was originally not offered a scholarship to come to Georgia and play football. But when a member of the Georgia coaching staff saw Davis playing basketball, they knew his athleticism would translate onto the gridiron. The native of tiny Shellman, Georgia, will be remembered as one of the key players of the mid-2000s teams that brought the SEC Championship back to Athens.

Davis redshirted during 2001, spending time at both linebacker and safety. During the Dawgs run to the SEC Championship in 2002, Davis moved up the depth chart and ended up starting four games that year. 2003 would be a breakout season for him and he helped lead Georgia back to the SEC Championship for the second straight year. He was named to the All-SEC squad as he totaled 130 tackles.

During his junior season in 2004, played a major role in the another ten win season for the Dawgs under Mark Richt. One of his signature plays was a huge tackle against LSU’s Jacob Hester. Hester, then a freshman, fumbled on the play. He would not fumble another ball for nearly four years. Despite missing the Kentucky game with an injured knee, he once again led the Dawgs in tackles with 81. He also 5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, and an interception. Here are a look at some of Davis’ career highlights:


Davis left school with one year of eligibility remaining following the 2004 season. For his Georgia career, he made 29 starts in 35 games played. He totaled 272 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions. He was drafted 14th overall in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers and has developed into an All-pro player. He will miss the 2010 season after suffering a torn ACL in spring practice.

LSU: 2004 Edition

I know that we posted this clip prior to the LSU game last year, but it's too good not to post it again. And we won last year after we posted it. Good vibes.

The Georgia D: What’s Missing?

The debate about who is responsible for the demise of the Georgia defense has spread out of control this week. Many are calling for the firing of Willie Martinez (under whom the Georgia defense has seen a steady decline in points allowed per game over the last few years).

Others have claimed that injuries or a failure to develop a serious pass rush from the defensive end position are the culprits for the lack of defensive production. Despite these arguments, I believe the reason Georgia is struggling on defense (particularly in the red zone, where we are allowing touchdowns on 68% of opponents’ possessions as compared to 49% last year), is the lack of a playmaker at the safety position.

Let’s take a quick look back at some of the guys that made the safety position great over the last few years.

Sean Jones
Jones was a vicious hitter but also a great shut down player in the secondary. He was also a key member of the special teams unit (see Auburn 2002 for proof).


Thomas Davis
Davis came to Georgia as a linebacker, but became a breakthrough player as a safety his sophomore year in 2003. Who can forget the huge hits he laid in the destruction of LSU in 2004:


Greg Blue
One of the hardest hitters I have ever seen. Blue wasn’t known for his coverage skills, but SEC teams knew that if they came over the middle he would be there to light them up:


Tra Battle
A walk on who became a star for the Georgia defense. Despite his small size, Battle was a great tackler and also defended well in coverage. The Auburn game in 2006 stamped his name in the Georgia record books:


What do all of these players, along with Jermaine Phillips, Kentrell Curry, and Kelin Johnson, have in common? They all played the safety position with a linebacker mentality. In the current defense that Georgia uses (which is the same basic scheme under Martinez as it was under Van Gorder), we tend to rush four linemen and drop our linebackers into coverage. In the past, one of our safeties has pressed up with the linebackers to help stop the run and shut down passes over the middle. This is evident in guys like Thomas Davis being the team’s leading tackler from the safety position. These guys have also put themselves in positions to make game changing plays. Sean Jones’ 95 yard scoop and score at Tennessee in 2003 and Kelin Johnson’s opening play pick against Auburn in ’07 are great examples.

This year’s team is missing that guy in the secondary who strikes fear in the opponents’ runners and receivers. Rennie Curran seems to be everywhere at the linebacker position, but how often do we see CJ Byrd right there with him? Not very often. Reshad Jones has all of talent in the world to be a head hunter like Greg Blue, but he has proven time and again that he can’t make easy interceptions. And Drew Williams is a good player on special teams, but he does not have any business being our first safety off the bench.

While I am not completely against a change at defensive coordinator, I am aware that a coach can only do so much. If the players don’t step up to the plate and make the plays when they have the chance, the team will look like it has failed. What Georgia needs to do is rally around the team we have and find that swagger that once existed in the Georgia defense. We’ve got two games left in the ’08 season, let’s make them count.

GO DAWGS!!!

Georgia vs. LSU Memories - 2004

Revenge. How sweet was this game? LSU came to town as defending National Champions and had beaten the Dawgs twice in 2003. We took them to the woodshed. David Greene threw for 5 touchdowns as Georgia rolled to a 45-16 victory.

The video below has all of the highlights. Be sure to look for:

(0:58) - David Pollack adds to his legend with a sack.
(2:28) – Thomas Davis hits then freshman Jacob Hester who fumbles. Hester would not fumble again until late in his senior year in 2007.
(2:45) – David Greene to Reggie Brown for an amazing TD catch.
(4:47) – The LSU kick off returner takes a knee at the 1
(5:10) – Daivd Greene’s 5th touchdown of the day to Sean Bailey.