A two-time All-SEC wide receiver (1991-1992) and eight-season NFL veteran (1993-2000) from Morrow, Georgia, Andre Hastings remains arguably the most-touted receiving prospect the Bulldogs have ever signed.

Featured in Sports Illustrated three times while still in high school, including in September of 1989 when selected by the magazine's Dr. Z (Paul Zimmerman) as a projected NFL All-Pro—the lone high-schooler of the 23 selections—Hastings had a standout career at Georgia from 1990-1992 before leaving for the pros a year early. As a Bulldog, he totaled 124 receptions, including 13 touchdowns, for 1,876 yards and more than 1,000 yards on kickoff returns, including one return for a touchdown, while averaging 25.5 yards per return. In his lone season returning punts (1992), he toted back 35 boots, which still ranks as the second-most in school history for a single season.

Yet since the conclusion of his respectable NFL career—including a 10-catch performance for Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX—Hastings had seemingly disappeared from the spotlight, especially when it concerned the Georgia football program.

We discovered “Orlando” in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has made a name for himself not for what he did on the gridiron playing for the Dogs or any other team, but for what he does, ironically, training dogs.

UGASports caught up with Andre Hastings, a fascinating personality. He may have the most unique post-football career of any former Georgia player we've interviewed:

UGASports: So, do you now go by Orlando, or is it still Andre?

Hastings: As far as the business I run, I go by Orlando, but you can call me Andre. My full name is Andre Orlando Damon Hastings. And actually, my last name hasn’t always been Hastings. It was originally Mayes. When my stepfather registered me in school while my mother was off serving in the Army, he registered me with his last name, Hastings. When I was getting recruited during high school, I informed my football coach that my last name was really Mayes—that was even the name listed on my driver’s license—and asked if I should start going by that name. Back then, searching and finding high school prospects wasn’t as easy as it is now, and my coach said that if I suddenly changed my last name, recruiters may not know where to find me. At that point, I officially changed my last name to what I'd been going by for a while: Hastings.

UGASports: Speaking of getting recruited, remarkably, while still in high school, you were forecast as an NFL All-Pro for 1995—just six years after you were to finish high school. Your recruitment was noteworthy, especially for that time period. At the time, did you ever imagine as much in your wildest dreams?

Hastings: Not at all. Born in Griffin, Georgia, I moved to Morrow because of my mom’s career in the military. During my entire childhood, I hardly watched sports—never, in fact. I just played sports: football, then basketball, followed by baseball, track, and then repeat. In junior high, I played tailback and was noticed by Morrow’s high school coach, who suggested I go ahead and play on the high school level, as long as my mom gave permission. My high school career just went from there. I didn’t even realize what was happening. It happened so fast, and I really don’t know how to describe it. I started getting letters early on, which really picked up when I was a junior. Then I was in Sports Illustrated a few times. It was pretty wild.

UGASports: You were recruited by essentially everyone, right? Even Harvard, Yale, and other Ivy League schools?

Hastings: I wasn’t the smartest student book-wise, but I was super competitive. My mom put me in accelerated classes in high school with students who, let’s just say, weren’t the kids I usually hung around. Because of my competitiveness, I got really good grades, and that’s when the Ivy League schools started recruiting me, as well.

UGASports: After narrowing your decision to Georgia, Notre Dame, and Florida State, why did you ultimately decide to become a Bulldog?

Hastings: (Laughing) Actually, I'd made up my mind and decided I was going to Notre Dame. But, when I was walking up to make my announcement, my mom grabbed me by my arm and said, “Baby, I want you to go to Georgia.” Right there, I asked her why she was telling me that just then. I could have chosen Georgia at the very beginning, and wouldn’t have wasted a lot of people’s time in recruiting me. Turns out, she wanted me to make my own decision, but within reason. Some parents want their kids to make the decisions their parents prefer, but the parents want their children to think the decision was their own idea. Anyway, when my mom said she wanted me to go to Georgia, I was like, okay, no problem—done.

UGASports: You were part of three Georgia teams (1990-1992) which went from one extreme to the other: a 4-7 record, followed by 9-3 and 10-2. What was it like to be a part of such a drastic transition?

Hastings: It was great, yet unusual, to be part of that transition. In 1990, we knew we were talented at several different positions, but it’d just take some time for that to show on the field. We didn’t catch many breaks in ’90, but we did in ’91. In 1992, we were kind of back again to not catching any breaks, like me fumbling against Tennessee. (Trailing by three points and after a 39-yard reception, Hastings lost a fumble at Tennessee’s 33-yard line with 14 seconds remaining.) If I hadn't fumbled, that’s probably one less loss for us. In 1992, we were right on the cusp of being a truly extraordinary team.

UGASports: An early entrant into the 1993 NFL Draft, you were selected in the third round (76th overall pick by Pittsburgh). What’s your feedback regarding coming out early—and were you selected lower than you expected?

Hastings: Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about the NFL until agents and other people suddenly started to talk to me about the league during my junior year at Georgia. People were telling me I was going to be picked here in the first round, or be chosen there in the first round, while telling me about where I stood compared to other receivers. And I'd always been a top prospect, player, talent—whatever. So when people were telling me I was a first-round draft pick, and since I'd always been a top prospect, not being a first-round pick was something I never thought about. So I came out early, thinking I was going to be picked high.

Still, I can look at it that way, or I tend to look at it like this: I might have been picked lower than I thought, but I was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where my position coach was the same one I initially had at Georgia (Bob Harrison), and I was playing for a storied organization. Everything works out for a reason. And you can either be upset about things, or make the most out of the things that are presented before you.

UGASports: Since playing in the NFL, you have kind of disassociated yourself from your football career—at least, when it comes to your current line of work, right?

Hastings: That’s actually one of the reasons why I started going by Orlando. When I started this [dog training] business (Best In Show Training in Gilbert, Arizona, located just outside Phoenix), I wanted people to judge me on who I am and what I do, and not anything I did in the past. And I know I’m probably a little different from other former pro football players. In my home, there is nothing—no photo, trophy, or anything of that nature—on display having to do with football. I have a ring from 1995 (reaching the Super Bowl as AFC Champions), but I keep it at my mom’s house. I’ve had people saying I could get a lot of business if I mention I played. Now if I owned a gym, sure, then maybe I want to be known as former NFL player Andre Hastings. But, why would someone sign up for my dog training just because I played in the NFL? The two don’t correlate.

UGASports: How did you get into dog training as a career?

Hastings: I kind of fell into it. A while back, I was given a dog, a Rottweiler, from a friend of a friend, who was moving to where that breed of dog was not allowed. I looked up in the Yellow Pages—that’s how long ago it was (chuckling)—and I called a couple of different people to come to my house to help me train my dog. One of them came out at first, but then stopped coming after I'd already paid him. Since there are no governmental regulations on dog training, there was no one I could report them to. (We were then informed how easy it would be for us, on a whim, to start “UGASports.com’s School of Dog Training,” although we have no training or certificates earned.). So, I started to study—study how to train exotic animals, aqua conditioning, Pavlov (Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning of dogs)—and attending seminars. I got a second dog, trained it myself, and thought I did a better job than the trainers I'd paid.

UGASports: In your experience, in brief, what does it ultimately take to be an effective dog trainer?

Hastings: You need to have a knack for training dogs. There are plenty of people out there who really love their dog; however, they don’t have that knack—that “feel”—to train it properly.

UGASports: Are you married, and do you have any children?

Hastings: I'm not married. And I don’t have any kids. But, hopefully, I’ll get married in the future, and will then have some little “Georgia Bulldogs,” maybe including one that’s a wide receiver.

UGASports: Do you come back to UGA and associate with the football program?

Hastings: Honestly, I haven’t been back since I left. My old roommate at Georgia was former athletic director Damon Evans, and I had plans to finally come back during the 2010 season, but then Damon left his position before my plans were set in stone. Me not coming back is a case of when every time I think about going back for an event, something pops up. But, I’d love to come back soon.

UGASports: Based on what you personally experienced—or not—what would you suggest to a highly recruited prospect who just signed with a major-college program?

Hastings: Really take the time to stop and look around. I really think that's what’s lacking with collegiate athletes, and not just those playing football. With football, a freshman finally gets to college, and it’s suddenly like they’re on a moving train, which is just going and going. Upon your arrival, you have to take these classes; you have to go here and there; you have to spend the time working out; you have to practice, and then the season starts. As soon as the season is over, you’re back at it, training again. It goes by so fast. Therefore, I’d recommend to any incoming player, whether highly recruited or not, just stop for a second, take a breath, look around, and take it all in—because it is not going to last long.