Category: UGA Football

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Georgia running back James Cook is both trying to follow in his famous brother’s footsteps while also working hard to forge his own path.

Dalvin Cook had a great career at Florida State and is now among the top running backs in the NFL, having rushed for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings last season, his third in the league. Through his first two seasons at Georgia, James Cook has 458 total rushing yards on 66 attempts — an average of 6.9 yards per rush — along with a total of 24 receptions for 221 yards, all while serving predominantly as a backup to the likes of D’Andre Swift, Brian Herrien and Elijah Holyfield.

The opportunities to get the ball and make big things happen this season may be more abundant for the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Cook as he and Zamir White are Georgia’s top returning rushers. During a Quick Chat after practice Thursday, Cook talked about having a successful older brother, throwing the shot put, his hometown of Miami, playing the drums and much more.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

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THENS, Ga. — A total of 51 Georgia football alums will begin the 2020 season on NFL rosters.

There are currently 32 Bulldogs on 53-man rosters and an additional 15 on practice squads for 22 NFL teams. Another four Bulldogs are on team reserve lists.

The NFL season begins this week with the Thursday contest between Houston and Kansas City. Receiver/Pro Bowl return specialist Mecole Hardman helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV and extend Georgia’s streak of at least one player in the final game to 19 straight seasons.

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#74 Ben Cleveland | Senior | OL
On what his expectations are for the offensive line…
“I’m definitely very pleasantly surprised where we’ve ended up so far. It was kind of difficult not having a spring ball, and stuff like that. It put a lot of stress on all of us to learn this new offense, and pick up on everything in a lot shorter amount of time than what we would normally have. I think our guys have handled it extremely well. We’ve been progressing every single day. I think we’re way ahead of where most people think we should be.”

On what he makes of his time at Georgia…
“You know, that’s a good question. Parts of me sometimes wish I had taken school a little more serious and stuff like that. Obviously, it has taken me so long to get a degree. I should have had that a couple of years ago. But, the relationships and stuff that have been built—they will never be able to be replaced just with these guys from here. I appreciate all of these coaches and everything that they’ve done for [me] the last five years. It’s really just a lot of good relationships have been made over these last few years, and I’m sure they’ll continue to carry on after this next year is over.”

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Run game coordinator and running backs coach Dell McGee discussed preparations for the upcoming fall 2020 season Wednesday afternoon.

On what he has learned about Coach Smart that he didn’t already know during the pandemic and how they all adjusted to a different type of offseason…
“I wouldn’t say [I have] learned anything new. I would say that we all had to deal with a lot of mental gymnastics with COVID[-19], and just a structure in your normal, everyday life of going through a spring ball season, assessing your players, concluding spring. Then you go to summer workouts and then to fall camp. The biggest thing was just having to adjust our normal practice routine and all of those facets.”

On whether he’s ever had such an overhaul at the running back (RB) position as this season…
“First off, I think we have a great room. All of our guys are very, very talented. They all bring certain qualities to the game of football. Losing D’Andre Swift was a big loss, but we definitely have five guys that are capable and will do a great job this year.”

On how important a rotation at the RB position is…
“It is definitely a good thing. It is a philosophy of ours—we feel like the more guys that we can play keep our running backs fresh. They can be more explosive, have less mental breakdowns. They are able to assess the game, stay involved in the game and execute at a high level when their number is called. It definitely benefits us having a multitude of guys and like I say, ‘Reliability and accountability is a big factor.’ I feel very confident with this group.”

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By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Travon Walker knows a lot about winning. The Georgia sophomore defensive lineman from Thomaston, Ga., was a part of Upson-Lee High School basketball teams that won 71 straight games and back to back state championships.

As a freshman last season, the 6-foot-5 and 290-pound Walker played in 12 games and had 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, and was named to the Freshman All-SEC team. In the Sugar Bowl, he had three tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.

During a Quick Chat after practice Monday, Walker talked about winning, playing the trombone, life as a sophomore, mowing the lawn with his dad and much more. Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: What is it like going through practice now as a sophomore compared to last season when everything was new?

Walker: I’d say mentally it’s gotten a lot better, the college game has gotten a lot slower for me because I know the defensive scheme and I’m more knowledgeable about what’s going on with our whole defense, instead of just knowing my job.

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Georgia defensive players Tyson Campbell and Travon Walker comment on season preparations following Monday’s practice.

#3 Tyson Campbell | Junior | DB
On how he would describe his development throughout his first two years in the program/where he sees himself now as a player…
“I think I’ve matured so much as a player from coming here being young, not really knowing the defense. As the coaches developed us on defense, especially through experience through the game, I’ve been able to mentally — as far as getting my IQ better in football — and also becoming stronger faster, the whole nine yards of becoming a better athlete.”

On his turf toe injury and how he fought through it last season/how he is now…
“Last year was tough, but Mr. Ron [Courson] and his whole training staff have helped me and made sure that, if I was going to be on the field, I was 100 percent ready, and I thank them for that. Now, I’m pain-free and excited for the season coming up.”

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Head coach Kirby Smart comments on the Bulldogs’ scrimmage Saturday afternoon.

Opening Statement…
“Just finished up from the scrimmage a little bit earlier than last Saturday. But, I just wanted to open with a plug for this new ‘Dawgs for Pups’ that our players came up with. I want to give a lot of credit to Cortez Hankton and Josh Brooks for spearheading a lot of it. As we have worked hard with our players, and we’ve been listing to our players—which I spoke to last week. They wanted to do some things in the community. They helped with a food drive, but this ‘Dawgs for Pups’ has really taken off. A lot of the local Athens community, kids in the school system, are struggling to get WiFi. They don’t have it, so this is kind of a hotspot project. Ben Watson, I want to thank him and Todd Gurley. They’ve jumped in. Todd’s foundation, the M.A.D.E. Foundation has jumped right in. Ben Watson pledged $5,000. The Kirby Smart Family Foundation, my family’s foundation, pledged $10,000. There’s going to be a lot of kids in Athens, Ga., getting WiFi, and that’s a direct result of our players in an initiative that they grabbed—about five or six players grabbed it, and Cortez grabbed it. They’ve done a lot. So, it would help us if you guys keep plugging that, and sending that out there to our fan base so we can support those guys.

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