We don't give out helmet stickers for performance like the mutts and other places do, and I hope that we never do. But I like to take notice of what I believe are special efforts by sa's who mostly, if not always, leave the stadium with their uniform just as clean as when they entered it. To win the Muddy award, the sa has to be a reserve who plays irregularly, if at all, is put into a game in a difficult situation and demonstrates that he has kept his head in the game to the point where he is ready to play and does so to the great benefit of the team.
Previous winners include Godsey, who as the holder, caught and advanced the ball after uga blocked our fg attempt in the 1999 GT-uga game overtime. His heads up play gave us a second chance at the fg, which we made to win the game. A second winner was Suggs in the 2003 GT-uga game. After being benched for the entire season, he came in after Ball (for whatever reason) was taken out, ran the offense effectively, passed for two td's and played his best half in a GT uniform. We lost, but Suggs played his heart out. And yes, I do remember that he also threw a pick-6, but I still think that he deserves the award.
The newest winner is Shaw. With Nesbit hurt in the 4th quarter, the game still undecided, the uga defense fired up and jumping up and down, and the uga crowd raising hell, he came in cold for three plays, including a pitch for a crucial first down on the second play. The first and third plays he went right into the teeth of the uga line and gained yardage while holding on to the ball. For his excellent performance under very difficult circumstances, I award him a Muddy, with all the Rights, Honors, and Privileges appurtenant thereto.
Two things:
First, I am sure that there are other GT sa's who deserve recognition for similar performance under similar circumstances. I am not excluding them, and invite others to recognize them.
Second, I am not trying to create any controversy about who should start at QB or any other position. I am trying to recognize that the role of a reserve is difficult in that it requires you to stay in the game mentally and be ready to go in physically at any moment under any circumstance. When you look at a starter, such as a certain uga running back, who claims glory, but takes himself out of the game whenever he feels like it, you realize that there are reserves on the sideline just waiting for their chance to get and willing to play and get their uniform dirty under any circumstance, including pain and injury. When they get their chance and perform well, I believe they deserve special recognition.
Previous winners include Godsey, who as the holder, caught and advanced the ball after uga blocked our fg attempt in the 1999 GT-uga game overtime. His heads up play gave us a second chance at the fg, which we made to win the game. A second winner was Suggs in the 2003 GT-uga game. After being benched for the entire season, he came in after Ball (for whatever reason) was taken out, ran the offense effectively, passed for two td's and played his best half in a GT uniform. We lost, but Suggs played his heart out. And yes, I do remember that he also threw a pick-6, but I still think that he deserves the award.
The newest winner is Shaw. With Nesbit hurt in the 4th quarter, the game still undecided, the uga defense fired up and jumping up and down, and the uga crowd raising hell, he came in cold for three plays, including a pitch for a crucial first down on the second play. The first and third plays he went right into the teeth of the uga line and gained yardage while holding on to the ball. For his excellent performance under very difficult circumstances, I award him a Muddy, with all the Rights, Honors, and Privileges appurtenant thereto.
Two things:
First, I am sure that there are other GT sa's who deserve recognition for similar performance under similar circumstances. I am not excluding them, and invite others to recognize them.
Second, I am not trying to create any controversy about who should start at QB or any other position. I am trying to recognize that the role of a reserve is difficult in that it requires you to stay in the game mentally and be ready to go in physically at any moment under any circumstance. When you look at a starter, such as a certain uga running back, who claims glory, but takes himself out of the game whenever he feels like it, you realize that there are reserves on the sideline just waiting for their chance to get and willing to play and get their uniform dirty under any circumstance, including pain and injury. When they get their chance and perform well, I believe they deserve special recognition.
