Your Monday Random Reader Poll: The Best Forgettable UGA Tailback

Georgia is RBU.

This is not up for debate. Sinkwich. Walker. Gurley. The University of Georgia has produced more elite ball carriers than any other college football program. So many in fact that there are actually a ton of elite tailbacks who could have been legends at other schools who we just sort of forget about when discussing the greatest rushers in Red and Black history.

But who is the best running back people forget played in Athens? A few suggestions:

Terrell Davis. Okay, maybe this one isn’t fair. After all, Terrell Davis was only forgotten while he was in Athens. Davis signed with Long Beach State our of high school but transferred to the Georgia when LBSU folded its football program. During his first season in the Classic City Davis backed up Heisman contender Garrison Hearst, rushing 53 times for 388 yards (an eye-popping 7.3 ypc). After Hearst graduated, Davis became the top running back during the 1993 season, and gained a respectable 824 yards on 167 carries. But injuries plagued his senior season, and Davis rushed for only 445 yards on 67 carries in his final season in red and black.

For years rumors circulated about a rift between Davis and head Coach Ray Goff (who allegedly denied pro scouts film of Davis before the 1995 NFL Draft). And Bulldog fans have never let Goff forget Davis’s pro career, which included 3 Pro Bowls, 2 Super Bowl rings, and an NFL MVP award.

Danny Ware. What’s the difference between Rockmart standout Danny Ware and Herschel Walker? One of them started the first game of his freshman year in Athens, and the other is Herschel.

To be fair, Ware was a redshirt freshman when he stepped in for injured starter Kregg Lumpkin. Ware rushed for 135 yards on 18 carries in his first action and finished the year with a team-leading 692 yards. Over the next two seasons Ware would share carries with Lumpkin and Thomas Brown. He decided to declare for the NFL Draft after his junior season to avoid splitting carries again. He would finish his UGA career with 1486 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns then spend seven seasons in the NFL, winning two Super Bowls.

Patrick Pass. Pass came to Georgia in 1996 as a USA Today All-American and rushed for 354 yards on 69 carries while backing up Robert Edwards. It was his most productive rushing season in Athens. But Pass would go on to be drafted in the seventh round by the New England Patriots, and won three Super Bowls during a nine year NFL career.

There are also guys like Olandis Gary, Isaiah Crowell, and Verron Haynes who all had their own moments in red and black.

So choose wisely, Dawg Sports commenters. And....

Go ‘Dawgs!!!