Whether it’s deeper in the history books or in the current Kirby Smart era featuring two national titles, Georgia football’s history is jam-packed with talent.
As a part of the DawgNation newsletter’s Feature Fridays, the DN team answered a question: Who are some great Georgia players people may have forgotten were so good?
We added the caveat that the answer doesn’t automatically have to be pulled from way back when; it could also be a more recent player who we want to refresh the memory of what made them so great for the Bulldogs.
These responses were included in the Oct. 2 installment of the DawgNation newsletter. Each installment of Feature Fridays, the team will answer a prompt, spanning topics from football to tailgating to their favorite moments covering sports.
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Jeff Sentell: “When folks start talking about all-time UGA great running backs, the same names come up. Walker. Chubb. Hearst. Gurley. Michel. The one that doesn’t come up often enough is Rodney Hampton. Hampton ran for 227 yards against Ole Miss in his first start. He filled in for an injured Lars Tate that day. The freshman from Texas broke Herschel Walker’s record for most all-purpose yards in a game (290) for the day. That’s quite a debut.
“Hampton averaged 7.1 yards per carry and ran for 890 yards in his first season. He broke the 1,000-yard mark as a junior on Ray Goff’s first team and was taken in the first round after that season by the New York Giants. He had five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL. While those stats shine, the way Hampton played is what stands out. He was so smooth and a rare blend of speed, power and acceleration. His name needs to come up more on that first tier of all-time ‘RBU’ greats for the Bulldogs.”
Brandon Adams: “My example of a Georgia player who was better than people realize goes back to the early days of the Kirby Smart era. Outside linebacker D’Andre Walker had 13 total sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss during the 2017-18 seasons. That’s a prolific performance that gives Walker among the best stat lines of any defensive player for the Bulldogs in recent history.”
Connor Riley: “There has only been one safety under Smart who was a unanimous First Team All-American. He came up with turnovers in both of Georgia’s national championship wins. In terms of big plays and accolades, he is the best defensive back to play for Georgia under Smart. I am talking, of course, about the great Christopher Smith, who gets lost in the shuffle for not being a 5-star recruit or top draft pick.
“You could realistically get eight or nine names deep from the 2021 defense before remembering to list Smith. But in terms of what he did on the field in his time at Georgia, his resume is as good as it gets.”
Mike Griffith: “Many Georgia football fans hear the name ‘Ray Goff’ and think of a former Bulldogs’ head coach who once produced an SEC all-time leading passer (Eric Zeier) and recruited college football’s preeminent head coach (Smart) to UGA. But Goff was also a great player at Georgia after a Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame career at Moultrie (now Colquitt County).
“Goff is one of only eight Georgia players to have won the SEC Player of the Year award (which existed between 1933 and 2001) after quarterbacking the Bulldogs to an outright SEC championship in 1976. Georgia utilized Goff in its run-heavy veer offense in that era, scoring wins over Florida, Alabama, Clemson, Auburn and Georgia Tech, among others, in a 1976 season that ended with a loss to Pitt in the Sugar Bowl.
“Goff also finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting that season, and his 1,434 career rushing yards ranks as the second-most for a UGA quarterback behind Andy Johnson (1,799, 1971-1973).”
Kaylee Mansell: “This was a tough one, but for my best forgotten player … give me Isaiah McKenzie. Even though McKenzie did not have the most flashy career stats, he was a Swiss army knife that UGA could use in almost every facet of the game.
“To this day, he is still the only UGA player to return a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in the same game and he still holds the UGA records for punts returned for a touchdown and career return touchdowns. The story isn’t necessarily that McKenzie was Georgia’s most statistically dominant receiver.
“It’s that he was one of the most unique weapons of his era. Every time he touched the ball, there was a chance for something explosive and that translated into a long NFL career.”
Sarah Spencer: Wide receiver Chris Conley. Amid so many great pass-catchers (whether at receiver or tight end) over the years, it can be hard to stand out, but Conley is tied for fifth in school history for touchdown receptions in his career with 20 from 2011-2014. He was a weapon and a steady presence for the Bulldogs.
He also has one of my favorite touchdown receptions of that era with this stellar one-handed grab against Tennessee in 2013. Conley wore many hats, also blocking a punt against Buffalo in 2012.
Former Georgia coach Mark Richt told DawgNation: “Chris came to one of our football camps, and he just torched everybody out there the first session. We as coaches talk between sessions, and we decided to try to start matching up the best corners in camp with him, and Chris lit all of them up, too. We were like, ‘We’ve got to get this kid.”
After 10 years in the NFL, Conley announced his retirement in 2025.
