Catching Up With... Andre “Pulpwood” Smith

Coffee County’s Andre "Pulpwood" Smith got his nickname as a child with a knack for hitting home runs into the tops of pine trees beyond an outfield fence. He was the state of Georgia’s 4-A “Back of the Year” in 1982. Originally signing with Texas A&M, he switched to UGA just prior to the start of the 1983 season. Hardly playing as a freshman, Pulpwood stormed onto the scene as a Bulldog in 1984, reminiscent of Herschel Walker from four years before, scoring on touchdown jaunts of 50, 44, 34, and 47 yards in the first half of the year.

For the 1984 season, Pulpwood rushed for a team-high 655 yards, averaged 6.0 yards per carry, and his 12 receptions were more than any other Bulldog running back. His ’84 campaign remains arguably the greatest season ever by a Georgia player who primarily played the fullback position.

Unfortunately for Smith and the Bulldogs, 1984 would be his final season at Georgia. That winter, Pulpwood flunked out of school and, for approximately the next 15 years, lived a life of drugs and crime.

UGASports caught up with Pulpwood Smith from his home in Broxton, Georgia:

UGASports: Pulpwood, your recruiting process was interesting in that you originally signed with Texas A&M. For whatever reason, they released you from your grant-in-aid. You wound up signing with Georgia around the time the fall camp of 1983 started. What was that all about?

Pulpwood: Besides A&M and Georgia, I was also very interested in Florida State and kind of Auburn. But, in all honesty, because of the “Junkyard Dogs,” Herschel Walker and all of that, I really wanted to go to Georgia. However, yes, I first did sign with A&M because, let’s just say there were some “outside influences” and because I had a friend, George Smith, go out there. (Smith was a year older than Pulpwood and had been Coffee County’s fullback while Pulpwood, the tailback, signed with the Aggies in 1982.) Back then, A&M’s academic standards might have been higher than Georgia’s, and [A&M head coach] Jackie Sherrill gave me the opportunity to leave the school when we discussed that I might not make it there academically.

UGASports: You were a highly-touted back, lauded as one who could play tailback or fullback, and it's widely known what you accomplished in 1984 as a sophomore at Georgia. But what happened in 1983 as a true freshman, when you actually appeared in just one game (four rushes for 25 yards vs. Kentucky at tailback)?

Pulpwood: By the Kentucky game in ’83 (played in late October), let’s just say I already had two strikes against me. I was late coming in, and it took me a while to learn the system of an offense that already featured a lot of great backs. (Did it ever: senior Barry Young, junior Scott Williams, sophomores Keith Montgomery and Tron Jackson, and freshman David McCluskey.) But, mostly, I was a troublemaker and was in the coaches’ “dog house." Therefore, especially when competing with great backs, you’re not going to play much if you're causing trouble.

UGASports: If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of trouble were you in?

Pulpwood: The kind of trouble I tell high school kids nowadays not to get in. I got to Georgia and wasn’t being played like I thought I should have been—not getting the attention I thought I deserved—so I ignored all the advice the program was trying to give me at the time. Georgia was actually trying to get me to grow up and be mature, but I took it as them trying to tell me what to do, so I became outspoken and just a troublemaker.

UGASports: If you could give advice to any highly-touted prospect, maybe a young "Pulpwood" from decades ago, what would you say?

Pulpwood: I’ve got some good advice: You’re probably going to have to wait your turn. The coaches know you, they see you practice, and they’re just as anxious as you are—but this is no longer high school. There are few “pats on the back” at the big-time college level. Keep in mind you need to compete, play hard, and do the right thing. And, if you have the talent, you’ll get your time.

UGASports: What was your greatest on-field moment as a player for the Bulldogs?

Pulpwood: Where I’m from, there were a lot of Florida fans, and some Auburn fans, and I had been interested in attending Auburn. So, before the Florida and Auburn games—not the results (Georgia was defeated by both in 1984)—just to be on the same field with those great backs—Neal Anderson, John L. Williams, Lorenzo Hampton (of Florida), Bo Jackson, and Brent Fullwood (of Auburn), was really special to me. But, as far as a memorable game performance for me, I’d have to say when we beat Alabama [24-14] in Birmingham. (Pulpwood rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries.)

UGASports: Who were your best friends on the team while you were at Georgia?

Pulpwood: Lars Tate (tailback, and a year behind Pulpwood), Kenneth Sims (defensive lineman, year ahead), Tron Jackson (tailback, year ahead), Keith Montgomery (tailback, year ahead), and definitely Gary Moss (cornerback, same year). Gary Moss was my best friend.

UGASports: Although some of it may be painful to recall, what happened to you after flunking out of Georgia?

Pulpwood: A lot of people assume I instantly got into trouble with drugs and crime but, in actuality, that came a little later. After Georgia, I had my opportunities to make it in sports (Pulpwood had been selected in the MLB Draft out of high school, as well). I fell in love with a girl back home but left to attend and play football at Western Kentucky. Up there, she was supposed to come visit me while on Christmas break, but didn’t. So I left school—never to go back—and visited her in Atlanta. Once in Atlanta, I got bogged down in the nightlife and the drugs. So many years went by, and so fast. I tried to make it—make it out of the crime and drugs. But, it seemed the harder I tried to get out, the farther I fell down the wrong path—kind of like I was stuck.

UGASports: It took some time, but how did you become “unstuck”?

Pulpwood: I got away from the people who first pointed me into that direction of the “wrong path,” and simply got with a different group. I then had to get well two different ways—well in the body, and well in the mind. After I got well, I started living my life for the Lord. I discovered there are some people who cannot live a good life if they leave the Lord behind—like me. I left the Lord behind in my “rattlesnake” college years, and you see where it took me.

UGASports: Do you have children, and what kind of work do you currently do?

Pulpwood: I got a daughter, Autumn, and a son, Braylon. Autumn is 15 and lives in Atlanta. Braylon is in his mid-20s and attended Alabama A&M. I work for the Sam Monroe Pecan Co. in Douglas [Georgia], while also working as a coach in the Coffee County recreational system. My goal—and I can get there with some more hard work—is to become a teacher, maybe in P.E. and after-school, and coach in the Coffee County school system.

UGASports: What association do you currently have with the Georgia football program?

Pulpwood: Well, I consider myself part of the alumni of UGA. And, I help recruit and advise whenever I can—tell these boys down in South Georgia that they need to become Georgia Bulldogs. The last few years, I’ve also participated in the annual alumni flag football game that is played right before G-Day.