The All-Time Underappreciated Georgia Football Team
Center: Len Hauss and Ray Donaldson.
We couldn’t slide a piece of paper between Len Hauss and Ray Donaldson, so we named them both.
Len Hauss left Georgia after the 1963 season having never made an All-SEC team. But Hauss played 14 years for the Washington Redskins, never missing a game, starting 193 consecutive times. A six time All-Pro, he was charged with 2 fumbled snaps in 196 games. The official Redskins website names him one of the Greatest Redskins.
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Ray Donaldson was All-SEC in 1979. Despite receiving little acclaim, he is one of the greatest offensive linemen to play for Georgia and he proved it with a 17-year NFL career that included 12 seasons with the Baltimore Colts, six Pro Bowls and a 1995 Super Bowl win with the Dallas Cowboys.
Donaldson is one of only 32 players to play in 220 NFL games. At the start of Donaldson’s career, racial stereo-typing kept African-American players from the center position. Donaldson is distinguished as the first African-American to play center in the NFL.
Flanking our Underappreciated centers are two pairs of All-Americans.
Offensive Guards: Edgar Chandler and Royce Smith
Edgar Chandler earned All-American honors twice and led the way as Vince Dooley’s ground attack brought the Georgia football program to national prominence. During Chandler’s three years as a starter, Georgia’s record was 23-9, including the 1966 SEC Championship.
Named All-American in 1972, Royce Smith paved the way for sophomore ball carriers Andy Johnson and Jimmy Poulos to rush Georgia to a 11-1 1971 season. Jimmy Poulos famed 1971 last second dive into the Grant Field endzone to beat Tech was over the back of Royce Smith.
Offensive Tackles: Jim Wilson and Ray Rissmiller
Both Ray Rissmiller and Jim Wilson earned All-American honors at offensive tackle in 1964. The bookend All-American blockers pounded opposing defenses for first year head coach Vince Dooley, changing the course of Georgia football history. Drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, Wilson played four years in the NFL. Rissmiller played three years in the NFL after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles.
We make the turn to defense by recognizing the All-Time Underappreciated Georgia kicker and punter.
Next: Specialists