Player Countdown to Kickoff - No. 73

 

Spring Review: Long sat out spring drills as he continued to recuperate from back surgery the season before. The Tennessee native did participate in light drills and Bulldog coaches remain confident that he can become a contributing member of the offensive line.

Fall Preview: It's kind of wait and see on Long, who is expected to be ready for preseason drills. That said, as is the situation with Trinton Sturdivant, coaches will take it easy with Long to let him get back into the flow. Once he does, do not rule Long making an impact in a backup capacity.

Austin Long is the current 73 for the Bulldogs. Last year he had back surgery and sat out the entire season. This season he looks to provide depth at the offensive line position. The Memphis, Tennessee native comes from good football bloodlines as his father played in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers after being drafted in the 3rd round by the Minnesota Vikings in 1985.

Another 73 for the Dawgs hailed from Tennessee. Bernard Williams was also from Memphis, but this big guy stood 6'9" and weighed over 300 pounds. Williams started his career at defensive tackle but switched sides and became a vital cog for Georgia's explosive offense of the early 1990's. In 1993 he was named All-American and in 1994 he was a first round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles. Due to some off the field problems he was banned from the NFL, but after fixing his problem came back and played in the XFL, CFL and the Arena League.

In the late 1990's another offensive lineman wore 73. Steve Herndon lined up at left guard for Jim Donnan's Bulldogs and was named All-SEC in 1999. He later played in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos. Herndon also appeared in a music video with one of his childhood friends Bubba Sparxxx. He is now an addiction counselor living in Atlanta.

None of those  Bulldogs were known for their running, but that is what

Ray Goff did when he was the quarterback for Georgia in the mid 70's. In 1976, he only threw 29 passes, but he ran 128 times. During the

second game of the season against Clemson, the 1976 SEC Player of the Year received the snap and took off and ran for a

73-yard touchdown, his longest of his career as Georgia destroyed the Clemson Tigers 41 to 0.

As mentioned in the Player Countdown to Kickoff 87, the Flea Flicker was one of the biggest plays in Georgia history. Well in 1965 in a game against Alabama, the big play involving

Kirby Moore, Pat Hodgson and Bob Taylor went for you guessed it… 73 yards.

1973 - Georgia Record: 7-4-1

Head Coach: Vince Dooley

Captains: Bob Burns and Mac McWhorter

No one on the Georgia Bulldogs roster currently wears 74, but  many have

in the past, including three that are very big in their own way.

Sky's the limit for this number 74 superstar from the 1970's. Craig Hertwig stood 6'8" and started at right tackle for the Bulldogs from 1973 to 1974 and was an All-American in that final season. He was drafted by the Lions and played three seasons in the NFL. Also, if you are or were a student in Athens you might have visited one of his businesses currently downtown or previously just outside downtown at one point in time or another.

Guy McIntyre was a big-time player that wore 74 for Georgia and after his Bulldog days he played in many big games. Guy was a two-time All-SEC right tackle for the Dawgs back in 1982 and 1983. He later moved

on to the NFL and played in three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and was selected to five Pro Bowls.

In the 2000's another 74 was BIG and played for the Bulldogs. That man was

Max Jean-Gilles. He started at tackle for forty games for Georgia from 2003 to 2005 and was tipping the scales around 340 pounds. He was named All-American in 2005 as well as either first or second team All-SEC in three straight seasons. He has been playing for the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL and recently went through lap-band surgery in order to lose weight.

This player was not nearly as big as the other three players mentioned above in size nor was

he a 74, but he did have a big 74-yard run. Kent Lawrence was the star in the 1966 Cotton Bowl and he got the ball on the game's third play and took off and ran the distance for the touchdown. The Bulldogs ended up winning the game 24 to 9 over the SMU Mustangs. Lawrence was named the game's most outstanding player and finished with a then-school bowl record 149 rush yards.

Another Georgia player had a 74-yard touchdown run in the year 2000. In college football's first ever game in the 21st century, Terrence Edwards and the rest of the Bulldogs trailed 25 to 0 in the 2nd quarter to the Purdue Boilermakers. That is when he and the Dawgs took over. It all started with a 74-yard touchdown run by the wide receiver on a reverse. Edwards led the team in both rushing yards and receiving yards for the game and Georgia would end up winning 28 to 25 in overtime.

1974 - Georgia Record: 6-6

Head Coach: Vince Dooley

Captains: Keith Harris, Craig Hertwig and Abb Ansley

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