Don’t let Bucky Dilts’ 38.5 career punting average while Georgia’s starting punter from 1974-1976 fool you. Often recognized on all-time “All-Name” teams for the Bulldogs, the left-footed Dilts excelled at Georgia as a hang-time punter, whereby the vast majority of his punts weren’t returned, while a number of those returned were fumbled.
Notably, Dilts is a rarity in that he played for a college national championship one year (1976) followed by playing in the Super Bowl as an NFL rookie the next season (1977)—and both the national title game and Super Bowl were played at the same venue (New Orleans’ Superdome). No former Georgia player has punted more times in the NFL since Dilts had nearly 300 attempts from 1977-1979. Also, including his time on the Bulldog varsity and two seasons with the Denver Broncos—that’s a span of 70 consecutive games and 355 punts—Dilts didn’t have a single punt blocked.
UGASports recently caught up with the former distance-turned-hangtime-turned-directional punter Douglas Riggs “Bucky” Dilts from his home in Louisville, Colorado, located just outside of Boulder:
UGASports: Let’s begin by first asking when and how did you start going by your nickname, “Bucky”?
Dilts: When my older brother, John, was very young, he couldn’t pronounce “Douglas,” but said “Duck” instead. He then started saying “Duck-Buck,” then just “Buck,” which eventually turned into “Bucky.” When it came to football, I thought “Bucky” was a better name. “Bucky” started being used more and more, so I just kept using it. It got to where only my mother called me “Douglas.”
UGASports: How did you start playing football, particularly punting?
Dilts: My dad, who was a Naval pilot, had actually attended Georgia Tech where he was a backup punter. We lived in New York at one point, and we’d go out in the streets and my dad could punt these really nice spirals. Between what he taught me and me practicing a lot, I got to where I could punt the football. When my dad retired from the military, he took the family to Georgia. When I initially played football, it was out of peer pressure between my brothers and my dad, where I kind of felt like I had to play. I sort of felt like playing football was how I could fit in with people. I punted for three seasons at Dykes High School in Atlanta. I was also a blocking fullback and played defensive back.
UGASports: Did you almost attend any other school besides Georgia? In the end, why did you choose UGA?
Dilts: I did make an effort to go to smaller colleges and see if they’d offer a football scholarship, like Presbyterian College and a couple of schools like that. Also, the Naval Academy had a full package for me and everything was set up ready to go—but I just wasn’t that thrilled about attending a military academy. I attended some Georgia practices and thought that I could probably compete at punter. I didn’t have the best grades coming out of high school, so if I went to Georgia, I was going to have to first attend summer school to get in. That meant I couldn’t participate in football until the following spring [of 1973]. No matter, I decided I would go to Georgia, eventually get into school there, and see if I could earn my way onto the football team by walking on.
UGASports: Tell us about when you first went out for the team. And, how did you eventually earn a scholarship?
Dilts: I recall that when we’d practice, there’d be about six or seven punters just walking around. Yet, when it would come time to punt, there’d be only two teams punting, so only a couple of the six or seven players would actually punt. I was one of the ones not punting. To me, it appeared that the only way I was going to punt for Georgia was if I first simply asked if I could punt. A key moment for me was just when it came time to punt during a particular practice, I walked up to Coach Dooley (head coach Vince Dooley) and told him that I’d come out there to show them that I could punt, and I felt like I hadn’t received that opportunity. I then asked him if I could kick with one of the two teams. Coach Dooley gave me this funny look and asked, “What’s your name?” I said, “Bucky Dilts.” He said I could punt with the second team on the next set of reps. So, I got in and punted twice—and I hit two really nice punts. From that point on, I was like the scout-team punter going against the first-team punt-return unit, so that was a great experience for me. Punting against that first-team unit, it kind of started building my resume, so to speak, and, eventually, I was offered a scholarship. If I could say, Coach Dooley gave me the opportunity to punt. He didn’t have to do that. And, soon afterward, Bill Hartman (UGA’s “kicking” coach at the time) became a big advocate for me.
UGASports: What was your relationship with the late Coach Hartman?
Dilts: He was just a great guy. You know, before I was coached by Coach Hartman, I punted more so for distance—on a line drive—and I could cover about 45 yards per punt. But, more so than distance punting, Coach Hartman harped on hang time—getting the ball higher—to allow your coverage unit to get down the field. That first summer I was at Georgia, I kicked balls all day, every day—and from that point on, punting for hang time was a big deal for me.
UGASports: In your opinion, how did the Georgia program go from its disappointing 1974 season (6-6 record) to 1975 (9-2 regular season), when the Bulldogs were forecasted to finish towards the bottom of the league, and then onto the championship season of 1976 (10-1 regular season and SEC champs)?
Dilts: First off, I don’t think fans disliked what we were doing in ’74, because it was fun to watch. That season, we had a really dynamic running-passing offense. It just didn’t add up to the best results at the end of the year. I know after the Tangerine Bowl (21-10 loss to Miami of Ohio), Coach Dooley was not happy and, for good reason, because in a lot of ways we weren’t very disciplined, and that was not his style. He declared in that locker room in Orlando that we were not going to be that undisciplined in ’75—and we weren’t. We went back to where we were running the ball much more. By ’76, we could just line up and run on opponents. At the same time, the defense eventually evolved to the legendary “Junkyard Dogs” defensive unit. On special teams, I punted while Allan Leavitt was an All-American placekicker—the best kicker Georgia had ever had at that point. The team's style of play would have maybe caught up to us only if we ever trailed by a significant amount—like, unfortunately against Pitt in the [1977] Sugar Bowl (a 27-3 Georgia loss whereby the Bulldogs trailed 21-0 at halftime).
UGASports: We hate to bring up that Sugar Bowl game. Still, it was said, your punting was one of the very few bright spots for Georgia (47.3 average, 43.0 net, on eight punts).
Dilts: Yeah, although we lost against Pitt, I did get to punt a lot. And, I guess that was good exposure for the NFL.
UGASports: Speaking of the NFL, explain how you were eventually signed by the Denver Broncos.
Dilts: Right after I wasn’t selected in the draft, I got called by five teams to be a free agent, including Denver. At first, I was looking to go where I could best compete for a starting punting job. Then, I decided I’d really like to go out West and see some mountains. So, I signed with Denver although the Broncos had just drafted a punter, Larry Swider of Pitt (seventh round). With Denver, I received $1,000 in cash at the Atlanta airport and signed a $25,000 a year contract. (Laughing) That was big money back then!
UGASports: Again, it looks like the deck was stacked against you, so to speak, in your attempt to try to make a team as its punter.
Dilts: Although Denver had drafted Larry [Swider], I signed thinking I could beat him out. However, after I signed, the Broncos acquired Herman Weaver, nicknamed “Thunderfoot” (Detroit’s starting punter the previous seven seasons), in a swap for a draft pick. So, by the time I got out to Denver for minicamp, there was me, a guy they had drafted (Swider), another guy they had traded for (Weaver), and nine other free agents. That’s initially 12 guys going for one punting job, and everyone assumed the guy winning the job was the one they had traded for (Weaver).
UGASports: How did you eventually win the job?
Dilts: Again, I was really fortunate. When I got to Denver, it was announced that the team would be changing its punting strategy from before. Marv Braden was the Broncos’ first-year special teams coach, and he said, “If you can punt directionally, you can win this job.” Well, at Georgia, my focus was punting for hang time. At Denver, I needed to learn directional punting, including punting to where the ball got as close to the goal line without going into the end zone, and punting for positioning. After minicamp, I went back home and all I did on a daily basis for the next couple of months was directionally punt, trying to hit targets. By the time I returned to Denver, I could kick directionally. The Broncos’ punting job came down to the last exhibition game between Herman, who preferred not to directionally punt, and me. After the game, Coach Braden came up to me and said he didn’t know what to do (deciding between Dilts and Weaver). I was kind of cocky at the time, and said, “Well, coach, I’ll tell you what you should do. You should keep me, and cut him, because I can do what you’re asking me to do (punt directionally).” The next day, I was called into the coach’s office where I honestly thought I was going to get cut. Instead, they had already cut Herman that morning, and I was informed that I was Denver’s punter as a rookie. I couldn’t believe it.
UGASports: In time, the fact that you were a left-footed punter was seen as an advantage, as well, right?
Dilts: There’s a story behind that… When I was at Denver, we had a guy who was more like an intern but whose title was “Assistant Special Teams Coach,” or something like that. This guy started to catch my punts when we practiced. He caught a lot of my punts and was always talking to me. He was interested in the fact that since I was left-footed, the ball spun the other way than when kicked by a right-footed punter. Therefore, it could possibly cause more fumbles since most return men were primarily accustomed to fielding punts kicked by right-footed punters. In time, this intern, Bill Belichick, thought of having a left-footed punter was like having an extra weapon, an added advantage. And, I think if you look at while Belichick has been the head coach at New England, the Patriots have had a lot of left-footed punters. (Indeed, from 2000-2018 with Belichick at New England, the Patriots began all 19 seasons with one of six different punters—all left-footed.)
UGASports: We’re curious since there’s so much media buildup nowadays leading up to the Super Bowl. When you went to the Super Bowl as a rookie in 1977, were you involved in any unique or unusual publicity?
Dilts: Yes, the Super Bowl’s buildup and publicity back then was definitely not like it is now. There was really just one time that the press and I interacted. One day while practicing at the Superdome, the media mentioned how punter Ray Guy (Oakland Raiders) had hit what was called the dome’s “gondola” (a series of TV screens hanging over the middle of the field from the roof’s interior) with one of his punts. I was kind of challenged to do so. So, while the media gathered around, I punted and hit the gondola hanging from the roof several times.
UGASports: After two seasons with Denver and one with the Baltimore Colts, you were out of the league. What happened?
Dilts: Baltimore was not a directionally punting team, so I was already not the best fit there. I was also under contract in which I was paid pretty well. In fact, my contract was somewhat excessive to where if I had stayed with the Colts for the 1980 season, I would have been paid $30,000 more than the two top punters in the league. I got cut by the Colts and soon realized I just needed to go out and get a regular job. Looking back on it, I was given an opportunity to play in the NFL, where I never had the attitude of I should be in the league—but rather I was lucky to be in the league.
UGASports: Where did you go from there?
Dilts: Actually, after I got cut, I thought, well, great, I can go back to Denver. So, I moved back to Denver with my wife to be. I got immediately into sales and have worked in sales/marketing ever since. Currently, my office is in Golden, Colorado, where I’m in commercial real estate. A good portion of my work is associated with non-profit organizations.
UGASports: What’s an example of your involvement with non-profits?
Dilts: In the past, I dealt with mental health issues within my own family, so I’ve really stayed involved trying to help people struggling with mental health—and find solutions for these people. About a year ago, I was asked to get involved with the University of Colorado’s Buffs4Life, an organization that provides mental health support for CU student-athletes and alumni. I assisted them in setting up a helpline for athletes/alumni through the state of Colorado. I'm also a prostate cancer survivor. I've worked with some non-profits raising money and promoting that men should get checked for prostate cancer.
UGASports: Tell us about your family.
Dilts: My wife at the time and I had two children, a son and a daughter. Justin is a tennis instructor at a club nearby in Denver. My daughter, Harper, runs a spa in Southern California.
UGASports: Living in Colorado, it assuredly would be difficult, but are you able to associate yourself with the UGA football program in any form?
Dilts: I could be a better alumni guy. I haven’t made many trips back. I contribute a little bit, but not as much as I should. But, in the coming years, I’m going to really try to get back more. I’m way out here [in Colorado], but I still got to make more trips to Athens. (Note: Bucky played an integral part in the support of Georgia fans in Boulder and the massive UGA tailgate party on the CU campus in 2010 when the Buffaloes hosted the Bulldogs.)
UGASports: Bucky, you’re certainly a rare example of the odds being overwhelmingly stacked against an individual playing football at both the college and NFL level. Yet, given an opportunity, you succeeded at reaching both.
Dilts: Yeah, if I didn’t ask to punt at that Georgia practice many years ago, I still might be on the sideline waiting for my turn (laughing). I am so grateful to the University of Georgia, and Coach Dooley and Coach Hartman for giving me a chance to punt. In the NFL, I could have gone in another direction than going to Denver, but I didn’t. I went to Denver and faced a difficult situation in becoming the team’s punter—but like at Georgia, it worked its way out. I was a lucky guy.
