Former Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is in that same role this year for Louisville, which will face the Bulldogs in the Belk Bowl.Todd Grantham expressed pride Monday afternoon when asked about his four seasons as Georgia's defensive coordinator.
Then he went back to work recruiting as Louisville's defensive coordinator and preparing for the Bulldogs in the Belk Bowl on Dec. 30. Grantham left Georgia in January to join Bobby Petrino's staff after helping with Bulldogs teams under Mark Richt that went 6-7, 10-4, 12-2 and 8-5.
"When you go back and look, I do feel like we changed a culture and developed a mental and physical toughness there," Grantham said on a conference call. "Going back to when I was hired and maybe the perception of the program to the way it is now, we were able to win two SEC East titles and compete for an SEC championship. We had two 10-win seasons and 22 wins in two years, and then when you go back and look -- playing Florida the last three years we were 3-0.
"When you look at Florida, Tennessee and Auburn the last three years, we were 8-1, and we were 3-0 against Georgia Tech. I think when you start looking at wins and losses and developing the mental toughness of your team, I think we did a tremendous job."
Georgia's 2011 team finished fifth nationally in total defense, and the 2012 Bulldogs came within 5 yards of knocking off Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game and getting a crack at Notre Dame for the BCS championship.
The 2013 Bulldogs, however, yielded 30 or more points a program-record eight times and allowed touchdown passes of 77 yards against Clemson, 73 against Auburn and 99 against Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. Less than two weeks after Georgia's loss to the Cornhuskers in Jacksonville, Grantham was a member of Louisville's staff.
Two of Georgia's defensive backs from last season, Josh Harvey-Clemons and Shaq Wiggins, are sitting out at Louisville and have excelled on the scout team, Grantham said.
Grantham's first go-around in Louisville has been productive, with the Cardinals ranking third nationally in run defense (allowing 93.7 yards per game), sixth in total defense (293.3) and 18th in scoring defense (20.5 points per game). Louisville's scoring defense took a hit in the 42-31 loss to Florida State on Oct. 30, a game the Cardinals led 21-0 late in the first half.
"From what I've seen of them, they've been outstanding," Richt said. "When you look at the statistical data, it's very, very impressive. They do a super job of a lot of things besides just stopping the run."
Grantham was complimentary of Georgia's offense, Bulldogs fifth-year senior quarterback Hutson Mason and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. He added that his successor in Athens, Jeremy Pruitt, has done a good job but that he has not spoken with any of Georgia's assistants since the matchup was announced.
When asked if there was any "extra juice" in facing his former team, Grantham said "not really" and that the Belk Bowl was an opportunity at a 10-win season. Both teams are 9-3 entering the matchup.
Grantham also said "not really" when asked if there would be any vindication in defeating the Bulldogs.
"I've always known I was a good coach and what I was doing," he said. "If you go back and look at the changes we were able to establish and make at the University of Georgia in my time there, we were able to win games and put Georgia back on the map from being relevant. We obviously had a really young team last year and we kind of faced some veteran offenses and some veteran quarterbacks, and because of that, we had to take some shots with those guys, but I think they got better for it.
"They were able to mature, and that's one of the reasons they're able to have some success right now."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.