New Blood is Old School
Georgia Bulldog fans are out in force tonight, “discussing” the news that Dave Van Halanger is out as Strength and Conditioning coach at UGA and Joe Tereshinski is in. No, not the quarterback, his dad. Joe was an offensive lineman for the Dawgs in the mid-seventies. It was also announced that John Kasay would act as assistant S&C coach. No, not the kicker, his dad. Coach Kasay also played O-line for Coach Dooley back in the mid-sixties. This new blood is definitely old school.
I must say I was very surprised by the news. Most people realize that Coach Van is one of Coach Mark Richt’s closest friends. Now CVH will be working even more closely as his administrative assistant.
Reaction from Georgia Fans runs the gamut
from skeptical to what the hell?
Most fans expected an infusion of new blood. What Coach Mark Richt has done instead is withdraw what can only be described as “cord blood” to this football program. How many times has the DawgNation screamed for the days of Erk Russell. The old school approach to winning football. Hard work, toughness and a junkyard mentality.
Well here you go Dawg fans.
For the first time in recent history, we will have direct descendants of Coach Erk Russell. Men who played for and coached with the man synonymous with what we consider “Georgia Football”. We seem convinced that having each new Uga remain a direct descendant of the original mascots somehow significant. How much more so that “offspring” of our glory days have the opportunity to infuse these young Dawgs with old school work ethic.
This could work Dawg fans. It depends on the players and how much they buy in.
Go Dawgs!
I saw this look more than once while in Athens.
Whatever you think of my career at Georgia,
no man had a bigger impact on me than John Kasay.
Whether short or long term,
nothing but good things can come from his infusion of passion
into a seemingly anemic S & C program.
Is Georgia the Real “Kicker U”?
I was going to post this last year and never did. Now, as of yesterday, I am working the Georgia Kicking Camp next Tuesday June 1st. Dax Langley is running the camp. It will be great to see him.
Ole’ Bill King of Junkyard Blawg fame or infamy depending on who’s posting, was apparently short on material one day. He posed the question that I am sure was on everyone’s mind at the time. Who is the best kicker in Georgia history?
I have no delusions on this one and actually posted a vote. UGA has had it’s share of successful kickers, whether on the college level or in the NFL. But is Georgia the true Kicker U?
I had to know!
Here is my UGA list:
Bobby Etter – Falcons – 1968, 1969
Alan Leavitt -All-America 1976 - Buccaneers – 1978?
Rex Robinson – All American 1979-1980 - Patriots – 1982
Kevin Butler – All American 1983-84 – Bears, Cardinals 1985-1997?
John Kasay – Seahawks, Panthers – 1990-Present – Holy Crap!
Todd Petersen – Giants, Seahawks, Falcons – 1991- 2005?
Billy Bennett – NCAA leader in FG’s (87)
Brandon Coutu – Seahawks – 2008
Blair Walsh – Lou Groza Finalist 2009
Who will be next? We may see him Tuesday.
Any guesses of the other Kicker U? The University of California-Berkeley
Ray Wershing – 49er’s – 1973-1987
Jim Breech- Bengals – 1978-1992
Mick Luckhurst – Falcons – 1981-1987(could have been longer)
Doug Brien – 49ers, Saints, Jets, Bucs, Colts, Bears -1994-2005
Ryan Longwell – Packers, Vikings – 1997-present
That’s a pretty strong group, but a couple of the guys I thought went to UC, Berkeley actually went to other California schools. Frank Corrale went to UCLA. So maybe UGA does out- shine Cal. It has been an amazing run for those who wanted to be a part of a great group of guys at Georgia.
Kickers? Different? Well yeah, you have to be to do what we do. It’s hard to put a finger on what came first. Crazy people being drawn to kick or kicking making them that way. Either way, you have to have a different mindset or you will be cuckoo for cocoa puffs.
As I mentioned earlier, I cast my vote on AJC.com. As much as I love the young guys, Kevin Butler is still the man. But who was the man that made the man, wanna be the man. Hmmm? Yeah, that’s right. lol. If you look, Kevin is still ranked #3 in career field goals and #4 in kick scoring in SEC history, nearly 25 years later!
Tell me what you really think!