Wednesday Wondering: Most Underappreciated Bulldawg

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Take this in for a second:

There was a recent X post about who is the all-time Kirby team, and Ladd was continuously left off the list. But there are some guys who don’t get plastered on the shit postings that I think back as great Georgia players, maybe because I’m Gen X adjacent, such as:

  • Terry Godwin
  • Orson Charles
  • Musa Smith
  • Robert Edwards
  • Isaac Nauta

And so on. I felt these guys were the energizer bunnies of a team. Not the best, but definitely the guys who could transform a game from good to great. Let me add some more:

  • Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint
  • Bacarri Rambo
  • Tyler Simmons (he was onsides)
  • Dominic Lovett
  • Robert Baker
  • Michael Johnson
  • Kirby Smart
  • Brett Thorson

So these are guys who were good, but maybe not great, but when they were on, they were on.

So what say you? What’s the most underappreciated Georgia player of all time?

45 thoughts on “Wednesday Wondering: Most Underappreciated Bulldawg”

  1. Personally, I will have to go with Robert Baker. Who the hell is Robert Baker…lol?! Seriously, I have zero recollection of this player. What position did he play?

    I am here to state the case for a player who broke records, played with grit and guts, but was unfortunately paired with sub par defenses. I give you Aaron Murray. He deserved better in the way of SEC titles or better. He was an incredible college quarterback, but doesn’t get the praise he deserves. Set all kinds of SEC records and still wasn’t on the list for the best SEC QBs of the 2000’s. Until Stetson came along and won back to back titles, Murray was always my first choice for the Bulldog QB I would choose for my UGA All-Time team.

    • Robert baker the touchdown maker that UGA made famous?

    • Im guessing Deandre Baker? Robert Baker played for Auburn and UGA tried to eat him.

        • Baker was a beast. He was also a consensus first team all American and won the Jim Thorpe award . I don’t think he was underappreciated.

    • That dude WANTED to win! He’s one of my all time favorite Dawgs.

    • My immediate choice. Hell…Murray was actually hated. I can’t name another UGA player who took so much abuse at home and literally at his home. Not sure his teammates stood up for him either. After the Fairly incident if I’m a OL I go to jail for what I’d do to that thug. He’d have left on a stretcher with career ending knee injury and CTE.

    • Zeier was essentially the same statistical player with a far worst supporting cast, but played with far more consistent courage and toughness.

      Sorry, but losing the play clock twice in the second half at Clemson, once leading to burning a TO and once leading to a delay penalty, as a 5th year qb is unforgivable. It fits into exactly what Clowney said about him after the 2012 game:

      “He was scared.”

      (And we scored 7 in that one so blaming the defense for our sole regular season loss in 2012 is a bit much for me.)

      Eric was never scared. Nor was Greene or Stafford or Stetson.

      Aaron certainly had his moments. The 2012 SECCG was a highlight as was the shootout with Mett.

      But he struggled to win big games outside of Sanford. I have him at 3-11 away from Sanford vs top 25 teams. The highlight was a win over No. 3 UF: 17-9. There’s that defense fucking him all up.

      The other 2 were over a No. 25 tech team at Mark Richt Field and vs a middling Nebraska team in a bowl game.

      • Murray wasn’t a warrior at Auburn in 2010 when the defense gave up 49? Or what about 2013 at Auburn when the defense gave up 43 and Murray brought us back after being down 20 in the 4th quarter to take the lead with under 2 mins left?

        • He definitely showed up in some losses. I pointed out one of them that he played big in, save for the last play of the game.

          Those two games in the Palmetto State just really stand out to me.

          To take an undefeated #5 team into a night game in Columbia and not even get off the bus in 2012 and then the next year lose the play clock twice in a big opener the next year, are things I just can’t look past.

          • Derek I don’t totally disagree. You make some valid points. I think youre being maybe a touch too critical but some of it is just true. That night in Columbia was when I became agnostic about Mark Richt. Murray deserves some blame for sure but that was exactly the sort of bed crapping that you could count on from a Mark Richt team.

    • I must’ve had a stroke while writing this because I was thinking about the 96 Auburn game and Corey Allen. Also clutch against Tech. I think.

  2. That is elite breaking combined with elite break away speed. That clip explains why Ladd belongs on that list. He was under appreciated during his time here. It’s hard to shine when sharing the field with Brock Bowers.

  3. Ben Smith. BMFer on Goff’s worst teams. Should have won the Thorpe award.

    • Loved me some Freddie Gibson. The “Human Bobblehead” was a damn good receiver.

      Caught it on his whatchamacallit to beat Bama in Tuscaloosa with the help of Billy Bennett.

    • Thurman’s wallet is identified easily, it has BMFer in big letters.

  7. All good ones. If l remember correctly, Cory Allen had some great catches in some big games!

  8. He got accolades while here, but I never see Rennie Curran’s name mentioned that often. I loved watching him punish people in the middle of a defense.

  10. My list of under appreciated or underrated Dawgs would start with Rodney Hampton. He was lost in the shuffle of Worley and Tate but his moves and toughness always stood out. Remember he and Mo Lewis were the best players on Goff’s first team. His stop and go TD run against Clemmins cow U in 86 or 87 still stands out when he stopped on a sweep causing the entire right side of defense to fall over each other. Also his performance against the vowels in ‘89 when his kneecap kept dislocating but Rodney would have it popped back in place and continued on. Add in Keith Henderson and Mo Lewis just for sheer athleticism.

  11. I’m going to go way, way back. Butch Box, #22 in your program #1 on the “I’ll give a kidney for you” list. That dude was a kamikaze on special teams and would knock dudes on their ass who were 3x the size.

    • Hard to over sell that hard hitting man. There’s a former Clemson QB probably still has nightmares seeing TD flying right at him.

  15. Kris Diesel Durham, just ask Gurley and Marshall who was springing their runs 40 yards down field

  17. As a former offensive lineman….
    Big Ray Donaldson is my pick.

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