In the Georgia locker room following the heartbreaking 35-28 loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game, the mood was decidedly solemn.
There were chunks of silence as the Bulldogs removed their uniforms, with the silence occasionally interrupted by the slamming of a locker in frustration. As the media began to spread out and conduct interviews, players had to relive their 28-14 lead that evaporated against the Crimson Tide and also plead for a berth in the four-team playoff that never materialized.
Senior middle linebacker Natrez Patrick was no different in that regard.
“It’s tough, because I know how much work these guys put in,” Patrick said, “and I know how much these guys wanted this game. Those guys just made one more play than we did.”
Yet Patrick stood apart from his teammates that evening, because the feeling he experienced most was gratitude.
This time last year, the 6-foot-3, 242-pounder from Atlanta was entering an Augusta treatment center after violating probation that stemmed from a marijuana-related arrest in the middle of the season. The October 2017 arrest was the second of his college career, which resulted in a four-game suspension, and by violating probation Patrick was unable to travel with his teammates to the Rose Bowl and did not suit up in January’s national championship game.
When the offseason arrived, Patrick realized he was already on borrowed time in coach Kirby Smart’s eyes but performed what was asked of him and has played in all 13 games this season for the 11-2 SEC East champs.
“It’s been a blessing,” Patrick said. “I want to thank Coach Smart and thank my teammates and thank Dawg Nation and everybody who has anything to do with UGA, because everybody stood behind me. No one gave up on me.
“My coaches never gave up on me. My team never gave up on me. The fans never gave up on me. I feel like I owe everything to them.”
Patrick will enter the Sugar Bowl against Texas on New Year’s night having made 37 tackles and four tackles for loss this season. The Bulldogs have employed a four-man rotation at the two inside linebacker spots, with Patrick and Juwan Taylor having each made eight starts, Monty Rice having made five and Tae Crowder four.
Although Patrick practiced during the spring and in preseason camp, Smart didn’t elaborate much on his status.
Patrick didn’t start the opening 45-0 win over Austin Peay, but he came off the bench and recorded four tackles against the Governors. He was in the starting lineup the following week for the 41-17 victory at South Carolina, reflecting Patrick’s long climb out of his self-made hole was over.
“He isn’t worried what other people think about him,” Smart said during the regular season. “He’s done a good job commanding respect from his teammates.”
Patrick admitted there were “chills all over my body” when he took the field in this year’s opener, and he has added to a career that includes 43 games played, 26 starts, 153 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss. His most productive season occurred in 2016, when the then-sophomore amassed 59 tackles.
A consensus four-star prospect in Mark Richt’s 15th and final signing class in 2015, Patrick played through a coaching transition that was sandwiched by two inconsistent seasons that ended in the TaxSlayer and Liberty bowls. He has since been part of two stout teams that have combined for a 24-4 record, including a 12-0 mark against SEC East counterparts by double-digit margins.
Georgia’s 2018 team did not quite replicate the accomplishments of last year’s squad, but Patrick isn’t looking back with regret, and he already is offering advice to the younger players in the program.
“Keep chopping, because I feel like a standard and an expectation has been set here now,” he said. “Guys aren’t surprised when we’re in the SEC championship anymore, and guys aren’t surprised anymore when we’re winning and beating people the way that we are.
“I feel like there is an expectation, and with that comes a lot. You’re going to win some and lose some, and the losses will hurt.”
The Bulldogs are scheduled to begin their on-campus practices for the Sugar Bowl on Friday.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.