Following top-ranked Georgia’s 56-7 victory over Charleston Southern, head coach Kirby Smart began his postgame press conference indicating how special this particular Senior Day was to the Bulldog football program: "I’ll start with the seniors. Today was the day to honor them.”
Smart later continued with why today’s Senior Day—an annual affair which was cancelled last season, when Vanderbilt backed out of a scheduled game with Georgia on December 19—perhaps seemed a little bit more special than others which proceeded it.
"I just think they (the seniors) have been through so much. They had a COVID experience, and a lot of them chose to come back because of that,” Smart said. “So, there were guys who didn't get their senior day that came back to get it.”
The first of the senior players to be honored this afternoon was running back Zamir White. White, who rushed for a game-high 83 yards on a mere four carries, became just the sixth Georgia player during the modern era to rush for double-digit touchdowns in back-to-back seasons.
“Going out there, it was crazy running out there to the ‘G,’” White said of the Senior Day ceremony. “The crowd was screaming and clapping.”
Of the approximate 30 seniors “who decided if they are going to walk,” according to Smart, “16-17 have remaining eligibility, and are considering that eligibility.”
One of those senior players with eligibility remaining—fifth-year senior quarterback Stetson Bennett—recalled during the ceremony the moment when every senior received a football and had his picture taken with Smart.
“It was awesome. We had 31 guys out there, and Coach Smart was sprinting up and down the field trying to take pictures with everybody,” said Bennett, who passed for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the blowout win. “It was my whole family, my grandparents from my mom's side. It was cool to have them out there. I hope my brother kept up with my football, because I gave it to him. It was a special moment.”
According to senior defensive lineman Jordan Davis, every Senior Day is special to him because it’s simply “for the seniors.”
“We just wanted to make sure this was really special for the seniors, because we came in here four years ago, some five-six years ago, like ‘Ju,’” said Davis, referring to sixth-year senior Julian Rochester. “And we just wanted to make sure we sent them out the right way. And I can’t thank the team enough. Today was really special.”
Notably, after today’s victory over Charleston Southern, Georgia’s seniors have an impressive 42-7 record the last four years, 55-9 the last five campaigns.
Still, today’s senior ceremony may have been most cherished by linebacker Robert Beal. Beal, a four-star prospect and the No. 177 overall prospect in the 2017 class, played sparingly for Georgia from 2018-2020. Although his playing time had increased this season, he had yet to make a collegiate start—that is, until today.
“[Today’s Senior Day] actually meant a lot to me,” said Beal, who totaled two tackles and a sack in his first collegiate start. “It was actually my mom’s first game here, because she’s been dealing with injuries. It was a good feeling.”
Beal said that because of “injuries” sustained by his mother, including in a bad car accident last year, she had never seen him play as a Bulldog. But that all changed with today’s Senior Day.
“Today’s Senior Day made my day,” Beal said, “because I got the sack, and [my mother] was there.”
