2021 UGA Football: Week Twelve
UGA Instant Analysis
Week 12: W vs. Charleston Southern; 11-0
We didn’t learn much from this week about Georgia’s national title chances, and we probably won’t learn much from next week either. The priority here is staying healthy and it seems like Georgia walked away with minimal damage. What we did learn this week is a little about the young bucks, and some of the new players look special. Xavien Sorey, William Poole, Chaz Chambliss, MJ Sherman, and a bunch of other youngsters balled out this week. Because of the game, I’ll get a chance to talk more of what Odin Development is intended to talk about: leadership in sports.
Watching Jordan Davis score a touchdown was really fun. He gets a lot of attention for his size and strength, and rightfully so. What stands out the most to me is his personality and leadership. I never met him, so I base my character analysis on interviews and how people around him interact, but he really seems like the kind of young man you build teams around. His style of play is so selfless, but you can tell his teammates love him and that means at a minimum he takes care of his guys. One of the most important lessons I teach is the idea that “leaders work for their people, not the other way around”. Your troops, your players, your employees don’t “work for you”; you as the leader work to get them the resources, training, and experience necessary to succeed. And Jordan Davis does that with his effort and presence on the field and in the locker room. I know there are other guys outside of UGA like that, but I don’t know if they are on the same level, and it makes it even cooler because of his position and his lack of recruiting profile. Georgia fans should enjoy his last few games, and the last few games of this entire departing group, because there are a lot of quality young men and not just athletes on this team.
That brings me to the point of today’s analysis: the true beauty of football. A friend asked me why I write these every week and why I care so much about Georgia football. I explained the latter earlier this year, how I don’t know if I’m the man I am today without falling in love with the game. But the first question was a little harder to explain. I enjoy writing, so that’s part of it, and especially when it’s a topic I love such as football. I also do hope to one day, when I hang up a uniform, break into football at some level so this helps me think about it and organize my thoughts and lessons learned. Certainly in the future it would be nice to make some money off this too, although I enjoy it enough I don’t mind writing just for fun. But what ultimately caught my friend’s attention was when I spoke about how special this game is and everything it can do for people. Absolutely the best players and coaches get paid a ton of money, but the vast majority of football players or coaches don’t get rich financially. When it’s done right, we ALL get rich morally, mentally, and physically, and there are so many young men who grow up through football that don’t have a chance otherwise. Think about how many kids grow up through sports who don’t have families to take care of them at home, but they have teammates and coaches who do that instead. How many people can’t afford top-level educations but can get them because of sports? By the way, how many other athletes get to play sports in college or high school because of the ridiculous revenue football brings in? I was one of those in college and have no problem admitting it. It’s a special game, for sure, and unique in our country, but what it does for so many people on and off the field is worth writing about and worth keeping alive. Ultimately I think it’s the biggest reason I love Georgia football, because it is one of the few programs that always does it right, and also why I don’t mind Nick Saban winning all the time because he does it right too. I won’t lie, I really, REALLY want to see Kirby Smart win the title this year. As a fan and a (very) minor booster, it would mean alot. I shed a slight tear when the Braves won the World Series and I will whenever UGA wins it all eventually. But what means so much more and why I’ll never be ashamed of the Dawgs is to see so many quality men of character leave Athens and do special things not only in the league but more importantly in schools and neighborhoods across the country.
All that said, the other thing we learned this week is Ohio State is for real and they are the second best team in the country in my mind.
Top ten after week 12:
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- Cincinnati
- Notre Dame
- Michigan
- Oklahoma State
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Oregon
Go Dawgs!
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