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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Dawgs of the Decade: Player of the Decade

Through a decade of success, there have been plenty of players who have made their mark in a Georgia uniform, and for the next two weeks, The Telegraph will be giving you the chance to vote on your picks for the Bulldogs’ All-Decade team for the 2000s. We’ll go position-by-position, and you’ll pick the winners by going to www.macon.com/decade to vote.

Our 15th and final ballot is for Georgia’s top overall player of the decade. Narrowing the list down to five wasn’t easy, and there are several other prime candidates. But as the voting has shown, a handful of players have truly stood out in the past 10 years, and this was our top five.

(Note: Years as Georgia’s starter in parentheses.)

A.J. Green (2008-present). While there is still much more time left in Green’s career, he has already established himself as perhaps the most skilled receiver in school history after less than two full seasons. As a freshman in 2008, Green earned All-SEC honors by catching 56 passes (a freshman record) and 963 yards (the third-best total in school history) and was named the SEC’s freshman of the year. As a sophomore, he was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award and made his second straight All-SEC team despite missing three of the final four games of the regular season. His 47 catches and 751 yards both led the team and he hauled in six touchdown catches, including a career-long 61-yarder against Vanderbilt. In just 22 career games, Green has already tallied 1,714 yards receiving, 103 catches and 14 touchdowns.

Thomas Davis (2003-2004). Davis didn’t arrive at Georgia with a lot of buzz but once he got onto the field, he made his presence known quickly – and with authority. One of Georgia’s all-time hardest hitters, Davis finished his career with 272 tackles, 10.5 sacks and three interceptions and earned All-SEC honors in both 2003 and 2004. His 272 tackles ranks 17th all-time in Georgia history and his 138 takedowns in 2003 were the most by a Bulldogs defender since Greg Bright in 1996 and marked the 12th-best during any season in school history. As a junior in 2004, Davis earned All-America honors and was drafted in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers.

David Pollack (2001-2004). One of the most decorated athletes in Georgia history, Pollack was a three-time All-American, who holds the school records for sacks with 36 and was named the SEC’s player of the year in 2004. In his career, he had 58 tackles for a loss, made 283 total tackles, holds the single-season record for sacks with 14 in 2002 and his interception of South Carolina quarterback Corey Jenkins in the end zone in a 13-7 win remains one of the signature plays of the decade and helped propel the Bulldogs to an SEC title. He was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

David Greene (2001-2004). Until Texas’ Colt McCoy broke the mark this season, Greene held the NCAA record for most victories by a starting quarterback with 42 in four seasons. His career began as a redshirt freshman the same season Mark Richt arrived in Athens, and he was as much a part of Georgia’s resurgence as anyone. From his “Hobnail Boot” pass to Verron Haynes to beat Tennessee in 2001 to his SEC record 214 pass attempts without an interception to his 2002 SEC title to three straight All-SEC nods, Greene’s career was among the most successful by any quarterback in Georgia history. He holds the school record for completions, attempts, passing yards and touchdowns and ranks third all-time in completion percentage.

Knowshon Moreno (2007-2008). Perhaps no player has made more of an impact in just two seasons in Bulldogs history. Moreno burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2007, rushing for 1,334 yards including a monstrous 33-carry performance in a win over Florida in which he racked up 188 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He was a freshman All-American that season and an All-SEC selection. In 2008, he was a full-fledged starter and turned in an All-American performance, rushing for 1,400 yards (fifth-best in Georgia history) and 16 touchdowns (fourth-best in school history). His 5.49 yards per carry average was the seventh-best mark of any running back in a career at Georgia, and his 19.2 carries per game average was the second best. He is one of just two tailbacks in school history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos.

So, who gets your vote? Go to www.macon.com/decade to cast your ballot or vote in our previous categories, and be sure to pick up a copy of the December 27th issue of The Telegraph to find out the winners.

Don't forget to leave your comments here on the blog. Tell us about why you made your selection and your favorite memories of those players, and your comments could appear in our final results issue of The Telegraph.

And if you want to discuss your thoughts on the Dawgs of the decade or any other UGA-related issues, be sure to stop by our live chat today at noon at Macon.com/UGAchat. No time at noon? Just go there now, leave your question, and check back any time for the answers.

7 comments:

jferg said...

My vote is for Pollack. He had LB stats from DE. He was feared and respected and then double-teamed and HE STILL GOT HIS NUMBERS! He was no longer a surprise after his Fresh year yet he still racked up ridiculous stats.

He was a great public figure to be the face of UGA. He spoke elloquently (enough) and was upbeat and positive to the media. And he backed it up with phenomenal production and a motor that UGA has not seen since (sorry Rennie, your motor runs high, just not that high). He and Greene led our program back to back to National Relevance and for that, he is the Dawg of the decade, IMO.

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong: I've got tons of respect for all of these guys. But in my opinion, it's David Greene ... by a mile.

Paul said...

David Pollack is Georgia's second 3-time All-American. He was SEC POY. He won the Bednarik, Lott, Lombardi and Hendricks (2) awards. He was on the '02 SEC Champs which finished #2 in the country. I don't see how it can't be David Pollack.

MoDawg said...

Pollack, without a doubt is #1 from this list. That guy was a game changer. Knowshon had the ability to change the momentum of a game all by himself and Greene was a steady, reliable field general that represented the university very well. Thomas Davis was great and A.J. may very well unseat Pollack, but no player in this decade had the impact on the program that Pollack had. He was a legitimate game changing player and the other teams just could not stop him. How many times did we hear about how they had to take him out of practice because they could not execute/learn plays with him on the field disrupting everything.
The guy was a stud on the field and was a great "face" for the university off the field. We could use another David Pollack right now!!

Anonymous said...

I respect what every player on this list accomplished. But in the end, it's David Greene. I still get kinda wistful thinking about what he could have accomplished in 2003 if he didn't spend so much of it planted in the turf behind that porous line. If Leonard Pope runs the right route in that '04 Tennessee game...

Ivy said...

Do you know who am I?
Here is a hot news:
With two weeks left in the NFL Draft season, there's still a lot of time left before decisions are made on the league's MVP. USA TODAY's Sean Leahy examines the candidates who could hoist the hardware after Week 17:
The top contenders:
Drew Brees, Saints QB: What a difference a week makes. Last week, Brees appeared to have a clear leg up on the competition. But he and the Saints offense looked anything-but-perfect for too much of their 24-17 loss to the Cowboys on Saturday. Yet one less-than-stellar game doesn't ruin Brees' candidacy. He still leads the league in passer rating (109.4) and his 33 TDs are tied with Peyton Manning for a league high. And the 13-0 run that he helped author can't be forgotten. A strong finish in the final two games will keep Brees at the forefront of the race.
Merry Christmas!And have a good time!

Mista Ashraf said...

Obviously any of the players mentioned would be worthy of winning this award. However, achieving the success David Greene achieved is exceptionally rare. My vote goes to that man.