Geno Atkins happy to take Smart up on his offer
TALLAPOOSA, Ga. - Being that he’s entering his eighth year with the Cincinnati Bengals, five-time NFL Pro Bowl pick Geno Atkins doesn’t get back to Athens as much as he might like.
But when he does, Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart has gone out of his way to make him and other football alumni feel welcome.
“He’s big about having little events, basically when alumni can come back and watch scrimmages,” said Atkins, who served as a guest coach for former teammate Brandon Wood at Wood's inaugural kids football camp on Saturday.
“He’s been very inviting," Atkins continued. "He wants us to come back and mentor the younger Bulldogs, come back and give them the knowledge that we see, take them under our wings when we’re down there. He’s made it clear that he wants us to come back and give back.”
Atkins is happy to do so when he can, and took Smart up on his offer to drop by for G-Day last April.
“It’s been very important, to make all of us feel welcome,” Atkins said. “Coach (Mark) Richt was my coach but it is good to know that Kirby Smart has opened his arms, he wants us back and be involved with Georgia.”
Lending a helping hand is important to Atkins.
As one of the top defensive linemen in the NFL, the native of Pembroke Pines, Florida, takes great pride in helping youngsters back in Cincinnati, and welcomes any opportunity to help out any member of the current Georgia team whatever way he can.
“It’s very important. To have a role model, someone who kids can see that’s done it, gone on the next level, whether it be collegiate, NFL, or just being successful in life is big because they can see that and it can be an influence like hey, I can be like that, or be better if you so desire,” Atkins said. “You’ve walked that walk of life and you can give back that knowledge. If you’re a good model, it inspires people to do better and that’s what I try to do.”
Atkins’ story is certainly one worth emulating.
At 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds when he signed with the Bulldogs in 2006, Atkins was supposedly too small to make it big in the SEC, much less the NFL where he enters the 2017 season with 52 sacks from his defensive tackle position.
“Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do, you control what you want to do. It’s all on you” Atkins said. “Don’t let anyone say you’re too small, not big enough because at the end of the day they can’t measure heart. They can measure size, but they can’t measure heart and if you want it bad enough, you can do it.”
Atkins is proof of that.
“It’s still fun, I love it. Each year is a process, kind of going back to the drawing board,” he said. “But you’ve just got to enjoy the process, trust in the process. Every year, it might seem mundane, but when Sundays kick off, it’s fun. You’re going against the best of the best. Plus, this is a game. Who wouldn’t want to play a game for a living?”
