All American Craig Hertwig Dies

FOOTBALL

Craig "Sky" Hertwig, a three-year letter winner and 1974 first-team All-American offensive tackle for the Dawgs, died on Wednesday night at St. Mary's Hospital in Athens. Hertwig was 60.

"Certainly we're all saddened by the sudden loss of Craig, who was a great football player, a great fan and a great supporter of all the athletic programs at Georgia," said former Georgia coach and AD Vince Dooley. "Our deepest sympathy goes to his family and friends."

Hertwig was a 6-8, 260-pound native of Macon, Ga., who played at Mark Smith
High School.

"Obviously, Craig was nicknamed 'Sky' because of his height," Dooley said. "During his playing days, he was really tall for a lineman. I actually had gone to see another player on another high school team when I saw this big ole guy jumping around. He was kind of under the radar but that eventually led to us signing Craig."

Hertwig played for the Dawgs during the 1972, '73 and '74 seasons and was named offensive team captain as a senior. He also was tabbed first-team All-SEC by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) in 1974.

Hertwig started on Georgia teams that won the 1973 Peach Bowl and played in the 1974 Tangerine Bowl.

"Because of his size, he was not ready to play as a freshman and we redshirted him," Dooley said. "One of the things I remember most about Craig is how big a fan he was during that season he redshirted. He loved to get in the stands with the students and cheer for the team. I don't know if I ever had a player who was as big of a fan as Craig. He matured and became a great player, ­an All-American,  ­played professionally and came back to Athens. He always continued his support of Georgia football and all Georgia sports in that social way. He was so well known all over Athens and will be missed."

Hertwig was selected in the third round of the 1975 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions and played for the Lions from 1975-77 and for the Buffalo Bills in 1978.

Following his playing career, Hertwig returned to Athens and owned several area nightclubs. "Sky" also was well-known for his daily jogs in Athens' Five Points area and was dubbed the "Giant Jogger" by UGA legend Dan Magill.

44 Dawgs Earn Athletic Director’s Honor Roll

FOOTBALL

Forty-four out of 111 members of the University of Georgia Football team were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the spring of 2012. Student-athletes earn these honors for finishing the semester with a grade point average of 3.00 or better.

Out of the 44 players to earn a spot on the honor roll, six were also named to the Dean’s List as a student that maintained a 3.50 GPA or better while earning at least 14 credit hours for the semester.

The players that earned Dean’s List honors are: Taylor Bradberry (Winder), Luis Capella (Augusta), Austin Herod (Woodstock), Ethan Jackson (Sandersville), Connor Norman (Duluth) and Jeremy Sulek (Dacula). Reuben Faloughi (Martinez) finished the spring semester with a perfect 4.00 GPA.

The other 37 members of the football team that were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the spring of 2012 are:

3.50-3.99 GPA
Faton Bauta (W. Palm Beach, Fla.), Scott Eichler (Oakwood), Ty Frix (Calhoun), John Gazaway (Buford), Richard Lowe (Duluth), Keith Marshall (Raleigh, N.C.), Hutson Mason (Marietta), Aaron Murray (Tampa, Fla.), Lucas Redd (Jefferson), Ben Reynolds (Bainbridge), Dustin Royston (Royston), Dimitrios Vavlas (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) and Wes Van Dyk (Highland Park, Tex.).

3.00-3.49 GPA
David Andrews (Johns Creek), John Bodin (Covington), Brandon Bogotay (San Diego, Cal.), Chris Burnette (LaGrange), Corey Campbell (Hephzibah), Chris Conley (Dallas), Watts Dantzler (Dalton), Zachary DeBell (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), Caleb Drake (Hogansville), Michael Erdman (Merritt Island, Fla.), Adam Erickson (Athens), Cody Johnson (Marietta), Greg Lanier (Clarkesville), James Lindley (Savannah), Arthur Lynch (Dartmouth, Mass.), Rhett McGowan (Calhoun), Greg Mulkey (Fairmount), Geoffrey Rapp (Kennesaw) Blake Sailors (Athens), Garrison Smith (Atlanta), Michael Thornton (Stone Mountain), Xzavier Ward (Moultrie), Hugh Williams (Atlanta), and Chris Young (Hinesville).

The 111 student-athletes that are a part of the football team earned a cumulative grade point average of 2.80 for the spring semester of 2012.

UGA Athletic Board Report

UGA ATHLETICS

A fiscal year 2013 budget of $92,130,725 and three facility-related projects were approved Thursday highlighting the quarterly meeting of the University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors.

The facility-related projects totaling an estimated $2,731,000 include:

1. $1,006,000 to upgrade scoreboards at baseball, softball and soccer. The existing scoreboards at each of these venues have been in service for seven years. The upgrades would replace the video displays which will provide an enhanced game-day experience for fans and student-athletes.

2. $1,350,000 to begin the process of renovations to Foley Field. A segment of the funds will be dedicated to aesthetic enhancements to the facility, which includes a sound system improvement, new landscaping beyond the outfield wall and improvements to Kudzu Hill, which will be completed prior to the 2013 baseball season. A segment of funds will be dedicated to an architect and engineer and construction manager to begin planning for renovations and enhances to the main entry, exterior plaza, concourses, concession stands and rest rooms, and handicapped accessibility throughout the facility, which would include renovations to the press box. A timetable for this segment of the project has not been determined.

3. $375,000 for Sanford Stadium Gate 10 renovations (under the bridge). The project improves the main entrance gate and passageway to include a large arched entry portal and piers, wider pathways, and new campus standard light poles to improve safety features.

The athletic director’s report also included an update on the three-year extension of football coach Mark Richt’s contract. The contract, which is expected to be finalized and signed soon, will provide the potential for performance bonuses to double from the current $400,000 maximum to $800,000. Included will be bonuses for appearances in the SEC Championship game, BCS national championship game, BCS non-championship bowl game, non-BCS bowl games, and top five finish in the national polls. There is also a provision for a team academic performance bonus of $50,000 which was part of his current contract.

Preseason All-Americans

FOOTBALL

Two Dawgs named First Team All-Americans highlight a group of Georgia players featured in Phil Steele’s 2012 College Football Preview edition.

Both junior OLB Jarvis Jones and senior FS Bacarri Rambo have been named preseason First Team All-Americans, making them two of only 28 players nationwide named to the squad.

Jones was an unanimous First Team All-American following the 2011 season after the Columbus native led the Southeastern Conference in both sacks (13.5) and tackles for loss (19.5) in his first season playing for the Dawgs.

Rambo, a native of Donalsonville, was a 2011 Associated Press All-American thanks to registering the second-most interceptions in the country (eight) and tallying 55 tackles. He returned those picks 157 yards, which ranked fourth nationally and third all-time in school history for a single season.

Phil Steele also named senior nose tackle John Jenkins a preseason Second Team All-American. Jenkins shared time with junior Kwame Geathers during Jenkins’ first season with the Dawgs, starting seven of 14 games in 2011 and finishing with 28 tackles, including three sacks, to go with an interception.

The publication also picked four All-SEC teams, which featured eight Dawg defenders. Jenkins, Jones and Rambo were all picked as First Team selections while on offense, junior quarterback Aaron Murray, sophomore tailback Isaiah Crowell and senior receiver Tavarres King were named as All-SEC Second Team selections.

Senior defensive end Abry Jones, junior ILB Alec Ogletree and senior CB Sanders Commings were also included on the All-SEC Third Team as senior ILB Michael Gilliard and senior CB Branden Smith were named to the All-SEC Fourth Team.

The Dawgs kick off the season versus Buffalo in Athens on September 1^st.

Danna Durante Named Head Gymnastics Coach

GYMNASTICS

Danna Durante, who served as head coach at California-Berkeley for the 2012 season and was the 2007 National Assistant Coach of the Year, has been named head gymnastics coach at the University of Georgia, Director of Athletics Greg McGarity announced Wednesday.

Prior to her stint at California-Berkeley, Durante spent nine seasons at the University of Nebraska as the Cornhuskers’ beam coach and choreographer. She joined the Nebraska staff as an assistant coach in 2003, then served as associate head coach from 2007-2011.

Nebraska gymnasts earned a total of 23 All-America honors during Durante’s time in Lincoln, and she helped guide the Cornhuskers to a fourth place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships.

“Danna is ready for this challenge," said McGarity. "She embraces the remarkable accomplishments of our gymnastics program, and we’re very confident she will provide the leadership, passion and experience to be successful at UGA. Danna has excelled at every stop along her journey --- as a student-athlete, a club coach, an assistant, associate and head coach at outstanding institutions, and we are confident this pattern will continue at UGA. I know she is anxious to get started.”

Before joining the Nebraska staff, Durante was an assistant for five years at Washington, where she helped lead the Huskies to the 1999 NCAA West Regional title and a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. She was named the West Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2002. Before joining the Washington program in 1998, Durante spent two years working as a coach with the Arizona Sunrays and Royal (Fla.) Gymnastics Club.

“I want to thank Dr. (Michael) Adams and Greg McGarity for this opportunity,” Durante said. “I could not be more excited to join the Dawg family. With its rich history and amazing success UGA is without a doubt one of the premier programs in the country. The community support for the Gym Dawgs is unparalleled, something I truly look forward to experiencing first hand. We have a very strong, hungry team returning and we are excited to hit the ground running as quickly as possible. It’s important to me that the Georgia alumni understand how much I value their connection to this program. The doors to the gym are open and they are always welcome.

“The decision to leave the University of California was a difficult one, and I want to thank Sandy Barbour for the opportunity at Cal. The support from the administration at Cal and the Berkeley community is strong, and I’m excited about where the program is headed.”

A native of Tulsa, Okla., Durante was a two-time member of the U.S. Gymnastics Federation National team in 1988 and 1990. She qualified for the 1988 Olympic Trials and won top honors in the all-around in 1986 and 1987 at the South African Cup. She competed internationally in Germany, France, Bulgaria and South Africa, and was also a two-time member of the U.S. Gymnastics Federation National Team. In addition, Durante served as a USAG Elite Level Judge from 1996 to 2000.

"Danna has an outstanding background and is highly regarded throughout collegiate gymnastics," said Carla Williams, UGA executive associate athletic director. "We're looking forward to her energy and expertise in leading our program."

Durante graduated from Arizona State in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science/Exercise Wellness. She was an All-Pac-10 gymnast for the Sun Devils from 1992-95, and scored five perfect 10s. Durante and her husband Joe have a daughter, Samantha (12), and two sons, Jaxson (10) and Jordan (9).