ATHENS, Ga. – Former Georgia All-America linebacker Boss Bailey was an honorary captain for Saturday’s game against Tennessee and gave Bulldogs players a lively talk Friday afternoon at the Butts-Mehre athletic complex.
Judging by Georgia’s 41-14 win, it obviously didn’t hurt.
“He pretty much called them out, but he did it in a way that was very compassionate,” Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. “You could tell it was very obvious that he loved Georgia. The thing that stood out the most was the passion and sincerity in his voice.
“There have been a lot of good honorary captain speeches and talks and all those kinds of things, but there was none better than that, because it was what they needed to hear.”
Bailey tallied 114 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss for the 2002 Southeastern Conference championship team, which led the league in scoring defense with 15.4 points per game. The current Bulldogs haven’t led the SEC in much of anything defensively this season but finally showed some pizzazz against Tennessee.
Georgia evoked memories of holding Tennessee to 1 rushing yard in the 2008 matchup at Sanford Stadium by limiting the Volunteers to 9 on Saturday.
“I think a lot of us came out today with a chip on our shoulder,” senior defensive end Demarcus Dobbs said. “Sometimes you’ve got to play that way. We knew we could take advantage of some of their younger guys, but I thought we played fast.”
Georgia’s productive day defensively got off to a quick start, as the Bulldogs forced Tennessee to punt on the opening possession. That snapped a four-game streak in which the Bulldogs allowed opponents to score touchdowns on their initial drives.
Tennessee’s second possession ended when Vance Cuff tipped a Matt Simms pass intended for Justin Hunter and Bacarri Rambo intercepted at the UT 49. Rambo caught the ball just before going out of bounds and wound up hurdling the hedges just behind Georgia’s team benches.
“I didn’t want to mess up those hedges,” Rambo said.
The Bulldogs wound up with eight lost-yardage stops, including four sacks. Senior defensive end Brandon Wood made the first sack by a Bulldogs lineman this season late in the first half.
Outside linebacker Justin Houston had three tackles for loss, while inside linebacker Akeem Dent amassed 12 overall stops.
“I think these guys are pretty relentless,” first-year coordinator Todd Grantham said. “I think these guys work hard. We don’t always do it the way we’re supposed to do it, but they keep playing. I was very proud of their effort today. As we move forward, I look for more success.”
Said Dobbs: “We are physical, and we can play this game. We had to prove something to the nation and to our coaches.”
And to Boss Bailey, too.