Georgia football: Richard Seymour, a DGD and now Hall of Famer

Among the four other Georgia football Pro Football Hall of Famers, they all have one thing in common — they are Damn Good Dawgs. Richard Seymour can now call himself both. He was already a legend during his time at Georgia, and now he has the gold jacket making his legend status official.

On Thursday, Seymour was one of eight elected into the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame class and it’s incredible to see someone like him earn this honor. He was such an incredible football player on and off the field, not just in Athens but at New England and later Oakland.

Joining Seymour in this class are Tony Boselli, Cliff Branch, LeRoy Butler, Art McNally, Sam Mills, Bryant Young, and Dick Vermeil.

Former Georgia football defensive tackle Richard Seymour deserves to wear that Hall of Fame jacket.

Seymour is one of the most special football players to me. He played at Georgia from 1997 through 2000, and while I was young, he is one of the first players — outside David Pollack— that made me love this game.

Then he went to New England as a first-round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, which was even better. I enjoy following Georgia players in the league, and the older I got, the more I appreciated Seymour. He was a massive contributor that helped the Pats win three Super Bowls, and those eight years he was in New England were incredible.

The fandom followed to Oakland and stayed until he retired in 2012, ending his career with 57.5 sacks and 496 tackles.

Seymour was one of the first Georgia football players I grew up appreciating, and it wasn’t just in Athens, but his pro career is where I could. There are a lot of football players like Seymour who influenced me and helped me realize sports journalism was my passion, especially Georgia football.

My aunt and grandmother were huge influencers in making sure I knew who to follow when I was that young, and I appreciate that because now I can write this article about Seymour. Since I was four, my grandmother, aunt, mother, and family took me to Sanford Stadium to as many games as I could stand.

In Seymour’s senior year, I was 5-years-old sitting in our seats watching him play, and it was hook-line and sinker for me. I will never forget watching him during his senior season.

Seymour is the walking definition of a Damn Good Dawg, and between both New England and Oakland, he deserves this honor so much. He joins an elite group of Dawgs who are also Hall of Famers in Champ Bailey, Charley Trippi, Fran Tarkenton and Terrell Davis.

That company is as elite as it comes to Georgia football history, and Seymour should be right there with them.

On top of his Pro Football Hall of Fame election, he was named to the Patriots’ 50th Anniversary Team, New England’s All-2000s Team, and Patriots’ Hall of Fame.

He was also an NFL All-Decade Team selection for the 2000s. In 2015, Seymour got inducted into the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame and named one of the “Legends of SEC Football.”

All of those accolades are something he worked for and deserves recognition for because Seymour was a force during his time in the NFL and college football.

Hall of Fame No. 5 for Georgia football is special because it’s Seymour. The Dawgs and New England usually get brought up when you say his name, especially what I think of the most, but the best expression to call him is a Damn Good Dawg.

Seymour and the rest of the 2022 class will have their induction ceremony on Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio.