The newest Bulldog shares that honor with the teammate with whom he shared the stage, Gabe Wright. Dr. Saturday nicely highlights the duality of the moment, though he left out a few pivotal distinctions:
1. Crowell chose Georgia, and Wright chose Auburn. The former classmates will be opposing one another annually in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, and, since one of them plays offense and the other lines up on defense, they will be going up against each other literally rather than metaphorically. Auburn is Georgia's oldest rival, and the team the Bulldogs have played the most frequently; the two teams formed their first squads simultaneously, and both football programs sprang from the same fountainhead: Charles Herty and George Petrie were classmates at Johns Hopkins, where they became familiar with the sport they brought to the Deep South.
2. Mark Richt is a man of faith, character, and integrity who runs a clean program and does not oversign. Auburn is historically the cheatingest program in the SEC (which is saying something) and is currently the subject of an NCAA investigation, and Wright hopes to replace Nick Fairley, the dirtiest player in college football.
3. Crowell knows how to wear a baseball cap. Wright doesn't.
The dichotomy is exquisite, and it could not be more stark. I only wish Isaiah Crowell's bulldog puppy, recalling the famous moment in 1996, had jumped up and tried to bite Wright as soon as he donned the wrong hat.
Go 'Dawgs!
