One young UGA superfan has found a creative way to spend some of his new-found free time to make others smile, while also displaying his passion for the Bulldogs.

Cole Cochran, a 9-year-old boy from Grayson, Ga., has been making homemade baseball cards of Georgia football players from scratch.

Cole Cochran/Dawgnation)

“I’ve always been a fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, but I really started paying attention much closer attention this past season,” Cochran said in a phone interview with DawgNation.

For every UGA game last fall, Cochran and his father sat together on the couch in Georgia gear to cheer for the Bulldogs on TV. Cole saw that his dad loved the UGA so much, that he wanted to make him some cards. The project actually launched in mid-February, but it accelerated within the last few weeks due to staying around home for the pandemic. The cards have proven to be popular among his siblings and extended family.

“I had NFL cards,” Cole said. “I realized, ‘Hey Dad likes college football,’ so I decided to make cards for him as a surprise.”

Here’s how Cochran’s manufacturing process works: He picks out the players, searches for their pictures on the internet, and then prints them out to cut them out for the cards. He also researches all the info that he writes on the back of the cards.

He has made 10 UGA cards so far, along with some players on other teams such as LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. He plans to make “a lot” more for the Bulldogs.

“I guess I will need to buy some new ink for the printer,” said his father, Brian Cochran, who became a Georgia fan after watching his former high school classmate (quarterback David Greene) play for the Bulldogs.

The younger Cochran says his favorite player is running back D’Andre Swift: “He’s really good. He’s like the Herschel Walker of 2019.”

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/Dawgnation)
/Dawgnation)
/Dawgnation)

And what did he think of last season? “Well, there are some things that could’ve (gone better). I’ve been thinking about that one pass (by quarterback Jake Fromm) in the LSU game to Dominick Blaylock. That one was way off. It could’ve been a big play.

“And in the Georgia Tech game, their defense was good. If our defense wasn’t great, we might’ve lost that game. We had a good season (last year), but it could’ve been better.”

Cole has never been to a Georgia football game, but hopes to do so this upcoming season. “My dad got tickets to a game before, but he took my mom. And she’s a Notre Dame fan.”

Know any other kids who are using their free time to express their passion for UGA football? Please send an email to carvell@ajc.com