For the second time this season, and the first time in Athens, Georgia football welcomes ESPN’s College GameDay for its top-10 showdown against No. 8 Arkansas.
No one anticipated this game to be this big, much less that GameDay would want to be in Athens for it.
I mean, it usually takes coaches more than a year to get their team together. Not for Sam Pittman, though. He has this team bought into the new culture of Arkansas football. From an outsider looking in, it’s incredible to see him pull that energy out of his players.
This week will be the second time GameDay has chosen a Georgia game, with the first being against Clemson for Week 1 of the season.
Most of the time, the relationship between the Dawgs and GameDay isn’t the most stable one, but it’s time to turn a new leaf and stop being so suspicious because so far this season, Georgia is 1-0 with the crew in town.
While I get it, as Georgia fans, we all have PTSD of the years when Lee Corso picked the Dawgs, and it seemed like they lost every time he did.
That curse we all love to blame him for isn’t really true because Corso has a decent record picking the winning team. Before the 2021 season, he had a 64% average when choosing the home team.
With the Arkansas game being the second time GameDay graces our presence, I must say they fell flat with the Kane Brown choice for Clemson.
So I took it upon myself to provide GameDay with the five best choices or give them some kind of options. Some are groups of people, giving the folks who decide more than one name if the first choice isn’t available. From professional golfers, former football Dawgs, singers, and everything in between, we have you covered ESPN.
We hope you choose wisely.
Former Golf Dawgs would make excellent and perfect timing right now
With the Ryder Cup wrapping up last Sunday, one of the most logical choices, at least in my opinion, would have to be Harris English.
He was a rookie on Team USA who won 19-9 over the Europeans, breaking the all-time points scored. English helped get a point with Tony Finau in Friday’s afternoon round and played all three days.
If we could get the entire Team USA on GameDay, my whole life would be made, but I get it there are logistics involved, so I went with Harry.
English knows his football, I’ve interviewed him before about the Georgia/Florida game, and the guy keeps up with it all. I think he would be someone who thought out his choices and would bring just enough energy.
Bubba Watson was the man for the 2013 LSU game in Athens, and that worked out, so he could be a lucky picker. There are also guys like Kevin Kisner, Brendon Todd, and many other PGA Tour golfers who went to Georgia and love the Dawgs.
While I want English the most, Watson would be a fantastic second choice too. Shoot, I bet they would love to be a duo on GameDay, giving the crowd a new flavor of guest picker. Either way, ESPN, you cannot go wrong with incorporating golf and football — it’s two things Southerns love.
Herschel Walker
What might be the most obvious choice is the last Dawg to lead Georgia to a national title in 1980, Herschel Walker. He is an icon among Georgia fans and anyone who loves college football, so that he could be a solid choice.
Not to mention, he is currently and that would give him some good publicity. However, that could also be why he won’t be a choice because there are some things that go along with running for office and being on TV — as in if he is on TV, his opponent could request they get the same time, and that would cause for some boring GameDay picks.
Anyway, no more politics. Let’s focus on why Walker would be a great guest picker.
He is one of the greatest Dawgs ever to don the red and black, Walker is a former Heisman Trophy winner and he is someone that hasn’t been on the show yet.
At the same time, he would provide insight into the game because he played it. I believe his personality would match well with the guys on the show, especially Corso. Walker has that it-factor that screams college football, so why not have him on one of the biggest shows about the sport?
Even though it is a logical choice for ESPN, at the same time, it’s almost too obvious. The Dawgs have a ton of famous alumni, so that they could be looking for someone different. Getting someone out of the box is fine, but they must make sure they are popular.
Sometimes I feel like the Dawgs have gotten the short end of the stick, and other schools get cool guest pickers, so come on, ESPN, show Georgia some better love.
Luke Bryan or Jason Aldean
Being in the south, there is a good chunk of country music fans out there. Two of the industry’s biggest stars are two Georgia boys — Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean.
Not only did these two host a concert together in Sanford Stadium before, but they are also die-heart Dawg fans who keep up with games all the time — queue the American Idol film with Bryan yelling ‘Go Dawgs’ and talking the Florida game.
Bryan appeared on GameDay before in 2018, but it wasn’t for a Georgia game. It was a Notre Dame game. So he should still be on the table. Even though Aldean has the college football song for CBS, he would make a good guest picker. Both these guys know their football and have memories of coming to games in Athens.
In my opinion, this pick would be safe, ESPN, and you could hear some noise from people because not everyone loves country music. So while these two are safer picks, going outside the box would be even cooler to see.
Don’t get me wrong, the Dawgs would be well-represented with either Bryan or Aldean as the guest picker, and I would be thrilled to see them represent our fantastic university.
Todd Gurley
Another solid yet weirdly obvious choice would be Todd Gurley, one of the more recent great running backs to come through Georgia. The former Dawg was in Nashville last week for the game — why wouldn’t he make a top-10 matchup.
Gurley is currently a free agent, so he would have the time to come to the Classic City and be on the show of the current NFL Dawgs.
Not to mention, he has such a great personality and knows his football. Gurley is also young, so he would appeal to the younger crowds.
As one of the most beloved Dawgs, the fans would love to see him on the stage with Corso. I think out of this entire list, maybe outside Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, Gurley would have the most fun with the situation.
Shoot, he could come up with something creative to match Corso’s headgear, and that would be incredibly awesome to watch. Gurley likes to be creative, so I’m sure ESPN would let him play it up big with Corso.
Of the people available, Gurley is a surprise to me. However, being in the NFL is intense, so there isn’t always the time. Well, those circumstances aren’t on the radar right now, so ESPN, this would be an excellent time to test the waters of having a guy like Gurley on the show. If you can have Saquon Barkley on the show, you can have the better running back, Todd Gurley.
Quavo, Jeezy or even Ludacris
The other side of the spectrum would be having another rapper on the show. Quavo from the Migos and Jeezy, an Atlanta rapper, have been on the show and both did an excellent job. They were memorable and entertaining. What more could you ask for in a guest picker?
Quavo joined the show in 2018, and Jeezy was on GameDay in 2019. While he played at G-Day, Ludacris has not gotten invited to be a guest picker, so I would give Luda a shot among the three.
All three guys love the Dawgs and keep up with them passionately. Fans see Quavo all the time at games, and media guys see him in practice. He loves being around the program, and the team embraces him. The DJ at Sanford Stadium loves using his music, so why not.
I would love to see him on the show again, and he would be a solid choice for the young crowd. The same could be said for Jeezy. His “Put-On” song has blasted throughout the Sanford Stadium speakers for years.
However, Ludacris hasn’t been on the show, and he would be someone Dawgs fans young and old would recognize and enjoy. Like so many of the guest pickers, he is articulate and knows his football. I feel like he would definitely bring his A-game and do his homework.
ESPN, all three of these rappers live in Atlanta, and I’m sure they would make the trip and be happy to join the show.
It’s only a matter of time before the guest picker gets announced, so hopefully, one of these guys will get the nod, as I’ve laid out why they’re excellent choices.
So ESPN, I’ve given you plenty of sensational choices to pick from, and while I’m sure none of them will get selected, they should at least be considerations. As I said before, this is the week to get redemption after the flat performance from Kane Brown. Any of these fellas would make an excellent guest-picker.