Dawgs fans raise the ‘Woof’

Published 11:33 pm Monday, April 23, 2007

What — or who — can send hundreds of grown men and women into a barking delirium on an otherwise nondescript spring evening in Dalton?

The sage of the Bulldog Nation, University of Georgia head football coach Mark Richt.

Several hundred rabid Bulldog fans, alumni and former players attended the free “Dawg Days” event at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center on Monday night — even though kickoff of the football season was an excruciating 131 days away — as it was turned into a sea of red and black, down to the red padded chairs lining the floor.

“You’ve got to spread the Bulldog love, man,” Richt said, wearing a red golf shirt emblazoned with the “G” logo. “You’ve got to get everybody fired up and ready to go. It’s just fun to get together with a bunch of Bulldogs and celebrate our football team and our athletic program.”

The event was sponsored by the UGA Athletic Association and hosted by the Whitfield County Bulldog Club. It also featured football announcer Neil Williamson and men’s basketball associate head coach Pete Herrmann, who subbed for head coach Dennis Felton while he attended to recruiting.

The main attraction was clearly Richt, who commanded a line of a few hundred that snaked around the trade center’s main event hall, but the coach played it cool. After a nervous teenage fan posed with his father and Richt for a picture, he requested a photo of “just me.”

Richt quickly backed out of the picture, jokingly offended, saying, “Fine. By yourself.”

The excitement of meeting the football team’s top dog wasn’t lost on Rocky Face resident Ethan Hayes, who proclaimed himself a Georgia fan “since birth.”

“I just love the feeling of meeting him,” said 10-year-old Ethan, who scored a Richt autograph on a football he plans to display in his room.

Since taking over in 2000, Richt has become one of nine head coaches to win 60 or more games in his first six seasons with a 60-17 record, including 34-14 in SEC contests. His teams have played in three SEC championship games, taking two titles. Georgia hopes to rebound — yes, rebound — from an 8-4 season. There were ups (finishing the season with three straight wins over ranked opponents) and downs (losses to Kentucky and Vanderbilt).

When the team finally hits the field at Sanford Stadium on Sept. 1 against Oklahoma State, Richt believes running back Thomas Brown, who blew out his knee in the Vanderbilt game last October, will be ready to play.

“He’s going to be fine,” Richt said. “He’s worked real hard. He’s rehabbing very well right now. Our director of sports medicine Ron Corson is about 100 percent sure he’ll be back in time to play.”

And the backfield will be crowded. With Brown’s return, Georgia also has senior Kregg Lumpkin, senior Jason Johnson, highly-touted redshirt freshman Knowshon Moreno and possibly recruit Caleb King in the mix. That’s OK with Richt, who said the team needs to have at least three running backs “who know what they’re doing.”

Despite the plethora of talent in the backfield, Richt doubts he’ll tinker with any two running back sets.

“The thing about it, only one of them can carry the ball,” Richt said. “It doesn’t matter how many you have in the game. I’d kind of rather have a guy like (fullback) Brannon Southerland leading the way than another tailback who wishes he was carrying the ball.”

Richt offered his thoughts on several other topics.

• On the University of Florida’s recent championship run (two straight basketball titles and this year’s football title):

“I’m not saying it doesn’t help them in the overall recruiting wars, but year in, year out most kids are looking for an opportunity to play and play early.”

• On how recruiting has gained such attention:

“It’s tough for those kids to hear how great they are and still have a realistic view of what’s going to happen when they get there. It puts a lot of pressure on kids that I think is a little bit too much, quite frankly.”

• On the key to a successful season:

“Protect the quarterback. That’d be good. And get some pressure from our defensive ends on the ends.”

• On the favorite to win the conference:

“There are six to eight schools that could win our league. If you win our league, you’ve got a chance to win the national championship.

• On former LSU coach Nick Saban returning to the SEC with the University of Alabama:

“He’s a good coach. I’ve always gotten along with Nick. It doesn’t matter who’s out there. We’re all pretty good, right?”

Brian Cooksey, president of the Whitfield County Bulldog Club, said Dalton was the only host city north of Atlanta.

“Not everybody lives close enough to Athens to see every game, so it’s nice to have the University come here,” Cooksey said. “We’re proud of every sport — football, gymnastics, women’s basketball, tennis, equestrian.”

The local club held a raffle of autographed items from Felton, Richt and longtime radio announcer Larry Munson. Proceeds will be split between the Kevin Brophy Fund (a basketball player who died last year in a car accident) and Michael Lemon (a football player whose mother was killed earlier this year).