Georgia Football: An Open Letter to Georgia’s Seniors

Even without a natty, this Georgia football senior class is still special.

Three SEC East titles, one SEC Championship, one historic Rose Bowl win, and the first national title game appearance since the 1980s. Those are just a sample of the accomplishments of this senior class for Georgia football.

You guys beat Florida three times, Auburn four, and dominated the east. You’ve been in the playoff conversation every year and controlled your destiny all except this year. You’ve set defensive records and have the chance to become the winningest senior class in UGA history despite several coordinator changes, quarterback controversies, and schedule changes due to COVID 19.

The only marks on your record are losses to Bama and the lack of a national championship. But even without those, the impact you’ve had on the program can’t be measured. You changed the culture.

As Kirby Smart’s first full recruiting class, you embraced his ideas wholeheartedly and lived them out both on and off the field. You lead by example, encouraging one another and never asking anyone to do something you weren’t willing to do yourself. You internalized the examples set by Lorenzo Carter, Davin Bellamy, Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, and the rest of that 2017 senior class and decided that that was what Georgia football should look like and carried it on, setting a standard and passing that legacy on to this year’s freshmen.

You showed that it wasn’t just your actions on the field that made UGA special but the family you created with one another. From setting a precedence for team recruiting with that memorable Christmas recruitment video to consistently pointing to your teammates in postgame interviews, you guys have made it clear that you’re a family who cares first and foremost about one another. You pick each other up and offer encouragement when someone makes a mistake and you celebrate touchdowns and turnovers together no matter who is responsible.

And in this crazy year with Covid-19 and injustices, you’ve once again quietly led by example, making a difference in your community and showing us how we can move forward together. Your discipline and composure in the face of multiple adversities have been admirable and made Georgia a standard by which to compare everyone else.

Your love of the game pushed you to work extra hard and make additional sacrifices to be able to play this season and your heart kept fighting week after week, even when your hopes had been dashed and everyone expected you to give up.

I was re-watching the Rose Bowl the other day and Michel said in his postgame interview that those who don’t finish don’t get remembered. But, I’d have to disagree.

Maybe you won’t be remembered by the media and the history books. But you will remember. We will remember too. And that’s really all that matters.

You took Coach Smart’s words to heart. You proved that pressure is a privilege and became the embodiment of physicality, discipline, and composure. You kept chopping and built the foundation of great things to come. And when they do come, and they will, we won’t forget to thank you for making it possible.

Thanks for the memories.
You’re a bunch of Damn Good Dawgs.