UGASports is counting down the days until the Bulldogs’ 2024 season opener. For each day in our countdown, we will reveal the best player in Georgia history to wear that particular jersey number.
We selected Herschel Walker as the best Georgia player to wear jersey No. 34.
#34 HERSCHEL WALKER
Position: Tailback
Hometown (High School): Wrightsville, GA (Johnson County)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 222
Lettered: 1980-1982
Stats: 994 rushes, 5,259 yards rushing, 5.3 avg, 49 TD rushes
Career: Choosing this player was a lot easier than choosing some of the other numbers in this countdown. Herschel Walker was the "National Back of the Year" according to Parade Magazine, rushing for 3,167 yards and 45 touchdowns as a senior while leading Johnson County to a state Class A championship. Walker chose Georgia very late in the recruiting process. He did not start his the first game under Vince Dooley in the 1980 season opener at Tennessee, but still made a name for himself in Knoxville. He scored twice including an infamous run over future NFL All-Pro Bill Bates. Each week was a different highlight show as Walker set the school record with 1,616 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns. He led Georgia to a National Championship that season, was named All-American, and finished third in the Heisman Trophy race. The following season in 1981, Walker finished with 1,891 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. He earned All-American status once again and finished second for the Heisman as the Bulldogs were SEC Champions. As a junior, Walker rushed for 1,752 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was named All-American and he became just the second Georgia Bulldog to win the Heisman Trophy. The Dawgs won the SEC but fell short of winning the national title, losing to Penn State. Despite being credited for just 33 games worth of stats (his 237 yards in bowl games do not count), Walker's 5,259 career rushing yards are still tops in the conference. Georgia's record book listed him as having set 41 school records, 16 SEC records, and 11 NCAA records. Walker was also a star on UGA's track team.
Post-UGA Career: Walker started his pro football career in the USFL, playing three seasons with the New Jersey Generals, amassing rushing totals of 5,562 yards and 54 touchdowns. After the USFL folded, he switched to the NFL and played 12 seasons with the Cowboys, Vikings, Eagles, and Giants. Walker was an all-around player, gaining 8,225 yards rushing, 4,859 yards receiving, and 5,084 yards in kickoff returns. As of 2024, Walker still ranked 12th all-time in NFL history in all-purpose yardage.
In 1985, Walker became the fourth Bulldog football player to have his number retired by the University of Georgia. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Walker dabbled in other areas such as bobsledding, MMA fighting, and politics.
#34 Honorable Mention: Jack Griffith, Buddy Milner, Carroll Thomas, Joe Connally, Bob Durand, Carl Manning, Randy Wheeler, Grant Bennati, Buzy Rosenberg, Andy Reid, Larry Raysor, and Chris McCarthy (thanks to UGASports' Patrick Garbin for the list of the other 34s to play football for the University of Georgia).
