Nagurski & Outland Watch List Released

FOOTBALL

Georgia football is represented by a pair of players on the 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List and another on the Outland Trophy Watch List.

Senior nose tackle John Jenkins has been included on both the Nagurski and Outland Trophy preseason lists while junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones also got the nod on the Nagurski list.

The Nagurski Trophy is presented to the National Defensive Player of the Year by the Charlotte Touchdown Club and the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). There are 84 players on the list and players may be added or deleted from the Nagurski Watch List during the season.

For the 12th consecutive season, the FWAA will choose a Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week. If a recipient is not on the Watch List, he will be added. The five finalists will be announced on November 15th. The Nagurski Trophy winner is chosen from five finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team. The annual Nagurski Trophy Banquet, presented by ACN, will be December 3rd at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.

NFL All-Pro Champ Bailey, who was a standout on both sides of the ball for Georgia, was awarded the 1998 Nagurski Trophy.

The Outland Trophy is presented to the nation’s most outstanding interior line­man by the FWAA. Seventy-one players, which include only tackles, guards and centers on both sides of the ball, are included for consideration for the award. Of the players on the watch list, 18 defensive tackles occupied spots. The rest of the linemen were on offense.

The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from three finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 25-man team and eventually the three Outland finalists to be named on November 19th. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner.

The winner of the 67th Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn and Kansas at the turn of the century, will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards on December 6th on ESPN. The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on January 10, 2013, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Former Bulldog All-American Bill Stanfill was the Outland Trophy winner in 1968.

A native of Columbus, Jones was a unanimous First Team All-American following the 2011 season after he led the SEC in both sacks (13.5) and tackles for loss (19.5). Last year marked his first season playing for the Dawgs after he transferred from USC and then redshirted the 2010 campaign.

Jenkins, a native of Meriden, Connecticut., made an immediate impact for Georgia in 2011 during his first season in Athens. The 6-3, 351-pound Jenkins played in all 14 games, including starting seven of the last nine, and tallied 28 tackles, three sacks and six tackles for loss. He also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had an interception from his spot in the middle of the Dawg defensive line.

SEC Coaches Preseason All-SEC Selections

FOOTBALL

Two Georgia football players were named First Team selections to highlight eight Dawgs named to the 2012 Southeastern Conference Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team, according to a league announcement on Thursday.

Junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones and senior safety Bacarri Rambo, who were both 2011 All-Americans, were two of 12 players named to the First-Team defense.

The Dawgs had one player on offense and a player on defense named to the preseason Second Team. Junior quarterback Aaron Murray, who finished last season on the All-SEC Second-Team, was again named to the squad while senior nose tackle John Jenkins was named to the defense’s Second-Team as the Meriden, Connecticut, native readies for his second UGA season.

Georgia had another four players named to the Third Team. Sophomore receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who will also be lining up in the defensive backfield in 2012, was the Dawgs’ representative on the Third-Team offense.

On defense, senior defensive end Abry Jones, junior inside linebacker Alec Ogletree and senior cornerback Sanders Commings were voted as Third-Team selections. These mark the first preseason or postseason selections on the Coaches All-SEC Team for this trio.

Georgia starts the season with a home matchup against Buffalo on September 1st in Sanford Stadium. The Dawgs’ first SEC opponent will be Missouri on September 8th in Columbia, Missouri.

Jones Named Preseason POY

FOOTBALL

Georgia junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones has been named to the Blue Ribbon Yearbook’s Preseason All-America Team, according to a recent announcement.

Jones is one of eight players from the Southeastern Conference on the 26-man team. The publication has also named Jones its preseason SEC Defensive Player of the Year and picked the Dawgs to win the SEC’s Eastern Division.

A native of Columbus, Jones was a unanimous First Team All-American following the 2011 season after he led the SEC in both sacks (13.5) and tackles for loss (19.5). Last year marked his first season playing for the Dawgs after he transferred from USC and then redshirted the 2010 campaign.

The Dawgs open against Buffalo in Sanford Stadium on September 1st and begin their SEC slate in an away matchup with Missouri in Columbia on September 8th.

Whittemore & Greene Named To G-F HOF

FOOTBALL

Former University of Georgia football stars Charley Whittemore and David Greene have been named to the Georgia-Florida game Hall of Fame according to an announcement Friday by the City of Jacksonville Sports & Entertainment Office.

These inductees will be recognized at the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on Friday, October 26, 2012, during the festivities surrounding the long-standing football rivalry between UGA and UF. The ceremony celebrates the talents of the players and the inductees are showcased in the Hall of Fame, located in Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, designed to give fans an opportunity to view the exhibit and pay tribute to these athletes.
The University of Florida inductees are Doug Dickey and John L. Williams.

Whittemore currently serves as UGA’s Assistant Athletic Director in charge of facilities. A native of Douglasville, he was an All-State halfback at Douglass County High School and led his team to the AA state championship. He was an All-SEC selection as a sophomore in 1968, honorable mention All-SEC in 1969 and 1970 and was named to the All-South team in 1970. While leading the Dawgs in receiving for three years, he also set school records for most receptions in a career with 114 and most career receiving yards with a 1,680.

Whittemore set a freshman record in 1967, catching 12 passes for 306 yards, and led his run-oriented team in receiving in 1968 with 40 catches for 608 yards as the Dawgs won the Southeastern Conference championship.

The following season in 1970, Whittemore’s 46 receptions and 10 catches against Kentucky set Georgia single season and school records. He finished his career with 11 touchdowns, and was named permanent offensive captain after the 1970 season. Whittemore was also president of the Georgia chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

After a brief stint as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints, Whittemore began his coaching career at Memphis State in 1972 as a wide receivers coach under Fred Pancoast, who served as Georgia offensive coordinator during the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Whittemore followed Pancoast to Vanderbilt in 1975, then returned to Georgia in 1978 and was the receivers coach for 13 years before joining the UGA Athletic Association administrative staff in 1991.

Greene is currently a Client Executive with Seacrest Partners, a privately held insurance brokerage and consulting firm serving a wide range of clients with complex property-casualty, employee benefit and personal insurance needs. He started 52 consecutive games over four seasons (an NCAA record), led the Dawgs to a 42-10 record during that time, four straight bowl games, three straight national top six finishes, two SEC Eastern Division titles (2002 and '03) and the 2002 SEC championship. In 2004, Greene became the winningest Division 1-A quarterback in NCAA history with 42 career victories breaking the old mark of 39 by Tennessee's Peyton Manning. During that time he also led the Dawgs to a remarkable 15-2 record when playing on the opponents' home field.

When he left Georgia he was the owner of numerous passing records including SEC marks for Career Passing Yards (11,528), Career Total Offense (11,270), Most Consecutive Passes Without an Interception (214 breaking his own old mark of 176) and Ratio of Attempts/Interceptions in a Career (1:45.0l, 32 in 1,440). He also set numerous Georgia career records including Passing Yards (11,528), Total Offense (11,270), Pass Attempts (1,440), TD Passes (72), Pass Efficiency Rating (138.3), and Lowest Interception Percentage (2.22%, 32 in 1,440).

As a senior, in addition to his passing records, Greene was named a semi-finalist for the Maxwell Award which goes annually to the nation's top player, a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Award which goes to the nation's top QB, and a finalist the Bobby Bowden Award, which recognizes the Division I-A football player who epitomizes the student-athlete and who conducts himself as a faith model in the community, in the classroom and on the field.

He was named All-SEC second team and was also selected a recipient of the National Scholar-Athlete Award ($18,000 scholarship) from the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He was named National Player of the Week by The Sporting News, ESPN Radio, and The Walter Camp Foundation for his performance in the victory over LSU (10x19, 172 yards and school record five TD passes).

During his career he was one of only 11 Division 1-A players named to the 2003 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Good Works Team for commitment to community service. He was also named the SEC's Offensive Player of the Year in 2002 after leading Georgia to a 13-1 record, SEC Championship, Sugar Bowl victory, and number three final national ranking.

Following his senior season he was elected as the permanent 2004 Team Captain and was drafted in the third round by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2005 NFL draft.

Burrows To Transfer

FOOTBALL

University of Georgia redshirt sophomore inside linebacker Brandon Burrows has decided to transfer to another institution seeking an opportunity for more playing time according to an announcement Thursday by coach Mark Richt.

“I came out of high school playing the defensive end position in a 4-3 defense which is what I truly love,” said Burrows. “The coaching change here led to a 3-4 defense. I have worked with that transition but decided that I want to get back to playing defensive end. I think another program may give me the best opportunity to succeed at that. I’m eternally gratefully for the opportunity Coach Richt has given me at UGA and for the fact that he gave me an unconditional release. I know I’ll be hard-pressed to find a group of coaches and players that will develop into the leaders and friends that I have known here in Athens.”

A graduate of Walton High School in Marietta, Burrows was redshirted as a freshman in 2010 and missed the 2011 season due to a shoulder injury.

“Brandon is an outstanding person, student-athlete and has a wonderful family,” said Richt. “We’ve enjoyed having him as part of our program and will provide whatever assistance we can in his transition. I am completely understanding of his decision and wish him nothing but the best.”