2018 Georgia Football team looking to Leadership

Georgia Football will be looking for leadership from many of its players as the season goes on. Mike Stowe gives you his take on why that matters.

Leadership. It’s one of the main pieces of the puzzle in any successful venture.  Whether it be business or sports, for almost any unit to reach its full potential, it must have strong leadership. Amazon has Jeff Bezos and his multi-billion dollar ideas. Facebook has one of the youngest billionaires on Earth, Mark Zuckerberg. The New England Patriots have Bill Belichick. And the Georgia Football team is lucky enough to have a young driven head coach in Kirby Smart who is looking like he will be the next big thing in college football.

These guys are all successful and a big part of that is due to their own personal ideas and how dedicated they are to succeed in their respective fields. They are all really smart guys who genuinely care about the organizations they are leading. That’s a HUGE part of success. To simply care. There is another major thing that all four of these guys have in common. They all know how to get the best out of those that they are leading. The people/personnel you surround yourself with are integral in your success as a leader.

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A common question about this 2018 Georgia football team during the off-season has been, “Who is going to lead?” When I have heard this question, it has been in reference to our players. Last year was a special year. It was one of the best in school history and the best Dawg team I’ve ever seen (don’t remember 1980, was still hitting the sippy cup at the time). It had leaders. On the field generals who had seen almost every on-field scenario imaginable and knew how to keep the younger guys heads in the game when things got tense.

The leadership from the 2017 upperclassmen players was amazing on both sides of the ball. You know the guys I’m talking about.  I’m talking about Nick Chubb. I’m talking about Sony Michel. Isiah Wynn. Javon Wims. Roquan Smith. Davin Bellamy. Lorenzo Carter. These were guys that not only said the right things to keep our young guys focused, but let their energy and passion for the game be infectious. When one of these guys stepped up and made a play, it crunks the rest of the team up and made the Dawgs tough for anyone in the nation to handle.

Those guys are gone now.  They’re not coming back. I’ve even looked into the NCAA laws. I thought about calling Chubb and Michel and trying to see if we could squeeze one more year out of them. It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, Dawg fans. That makes me sad.

But you know what makes me happy? What gives me chills now that season is just 3 weeks away? The words of the late, great Larry Munson in the pregame video they play at Sanford Stadium before the games. “And now a new breed of Bulldog stands ready to take the field of battle.”

These words have never been truer than in 2018. I know what those guys I listed above meant to this football program. I also know what kind of football CEO Kirby is. He has guys in place ready to step up and become the leaders of this 2018 team. He knows. Guys like Jake Fromm. Mecole Hardman. Terry Godwin. D’Andre Swift. On the defensive side of the ball, guys like Deandre Walker, Deandre Baker, Jonathan Ledbetter and  Tyler Clark are chomping at the bit to show that they can lead these young guys on the field. Are any of these guys going to be the “next Roquan Smith”? Are Swift and possibly Zamir White going to be the “next Chubb and Michel”?

Nope. They’ll never be another Roquan. They’ll never be another Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. These guys were amazing once in a lifetime players, so they will never be truly replaced. Players like Swift and Deandre Walker have their opportunity to lead still though. They are both already on their respective ways to becoming the “first D’Andre Swift” and the “first Deandre Walker”. We already know what we have at quarterback.

You would have to be completely oblivious to not have seen the leadership in Jake Fromm in 2017 as a freshman. It was a different team with him on the field. That will continue in 2018. With the recent clearing of transfer Demetris Robertson to play this season, the list of weapons on this offense is spooky for opposing defenses. There is a lot of youth on our defense,  but at the same time, there is more depth and overall talent than perhaps in the history of the program.

I got a feeling we are going to be ok. Leaders like Kirby teach young players how to be leaders on the field. Don’t worry about who the leaders of this team will be in 2018 will be, Dawg fans. They are here and ready. Just sit back and enjoy watching them emerge.