ATHENS, Ga. - Mercer football coach Bobby Lamb's Bears open their 2017 season tonight at home against Jacksonville University, with his Friday slated for video study in order to help his Southern Conference program improve.
Saturday has been reserved for being a full-time father, because that's when son Taylor begins his fourth season as Appalachian State's starting quarterback with the monstrous task of taking on No. 15 Georgia inside Sanford Stadium.
"I'm getting in the car Saturday morning. I'm going to Athens, and my wife's going to tell me what to do," Bobby said earlier this week in a news conference. "I've got a ticket and I've got a parking pass, and that's all I need. Taylor is excited about it, and my only hope and goal for him is that he's standing upright, because it's going to be a big challenge."
There may be as many Lambs inside Sanford as there are Bulldogs and Mountaineers.
Taylor is the grandson of Ray Lamb, who worked as Georgia's director of high school relations from 1993 to 2011 and has known Kirby Smart as a prep prospect, Georgia safety, Bulldogs assistant coach and now head coach. Bobby is beginning his fifth year at Mercer after coaching Furman for nine seasons, and his brother, Hal, coached Taylor at Calhoun High School.
After growing up in a coaching family, Taylor heads into Saturday's game having already determined his vocational path.
"To be honest, that's all I know," he said last month at the Sun Belt Conference's media days. "I'm very passionate about it. I love this game, and it's been good to me so far."
Has it ever.
In his final two seasons at Calhoun, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Lamb threw for 7,193 yards, completed 66.9 percent of his passes and racked up 76 touchdowns while throwing just 16 interceptions. He led the Yellow Jackets to the GHSA Class AA state championship as a junior in 2011, and they were state finalists again in 2012, with their two-year record 29-1.
Though passed over by Southeastern Conference programs during the recruiting process, Lamb has continued to prosper, guiding the Mountaineers to a 21-5 record the past two seasons, which have ended with victories in the Camellia Bowl. Appalachian State took Tennessee into overtime in last year's opener, and now Lamb has an opportunity to topple the SEC program with which he is most familiar.
"I'm very excited," he said. "Obviously it's our first game, and 65 percent of our team is from Georgia, me included. I grew up going to Georgia games, and I know Coach Smart, so we're excited. It's going to be fun."
Only Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield has won more games among active Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks heading into this season, with Lamb poised to rewrite an App State record book that is filled with standards set by Armanti Edwards, who guided the Mountaineers to three consecutive Football Championship Subdivision national titles and a memorable 2007 upset of Michigan.
After redshirting in 2013, Lamb was the Sun Belt's freshman of the year in 2014 and set App State freshman records with 2,381 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. He established a school standard in 2015 with 31 passing touchdowns for an 11-win team, and he enters this season with 7,049 career passing yards and 63 aerial touchdowns.
Lamb also rushed for 505 yards while averaging 5.7 yards per carry last season, reaching the end zone nine times.
"He's from Georgia, so I'm sure he has a chip on his shoulder and wants to show that he could have played here," Georgia senior defensive back Aaron Davis said. "He's a very talented guy who's played in a lot of games and won a lot of games. I expect him to go out and try to have the best game of his career."
Said Bulldogs inside linebacker Roquan Smith: "He's a great guy for that system and what they do."
Smart has stressed the importance of his Bulldogs being patient and intelligent when trying to contain a fourth-year starter so well-versed in the game. Lamb has countered that praise by pointing out that Georgia will be very different from every other team the Mountaineers will face this season.
"When Georgia's D-line gets tired, they run another five-star (recruit) out there," he said.
Lamb nearly helped pull off a monumental upset last year in Knoxville. He had plenty of support from his family then and is expected to have even more Saturday night.
"I just hope he plays well and that they have fun," his father said.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.