Getting to Know: Casey Nickels

I like doing these interviews with my teammates because I learn things about them that I didn’t know already. Some people have asked if I’ll write any more essays. I will be posting more essays in the future, but right now I’m focused on classes and September 5!! But in the meantime, I think these interviews are a good way for fans to get to know more about the guys who will be representing Georgia Football this year.

We started with the center, now we’re moving down the O Line. Meet Casey Nickels, a guy who walked on the football team and with hard work earned a scholarship.

Getting to Know: Casey Nickels

1. When is your Birthday? April 12, 1987
2. What High school did you go to? Wagner High School in South Dakota and Washington Wilkes High School in Washington GA.
3. What is your major? Finance
4. What is your favorite restaurant to eat in Athens? Outback Steakhouse
5. What is your favorite color? Blue
6. Do you plan on staying in Georgia after college? I have no idea. I’ll be following the job that offers the best opportunity for career success.
7. What's your favorite vacation spot? Myrtle Beach
8. Who are some of your best friends on the team? Brandon Wheeling, Andrew Johnson, Jamie Lindley, and Ty Frixx.
9. Who inspires you the most? My Pops and my brother
10. What is your favorite song? “Toes” by Zac Brown Band
11. If you could change one thing about yourself physically, what would it be? I want to be about 20 pounds heavier. But I want solid weight, not fat!
12. What is your favorite movie? “The Hangover”
13. What do you like to do for fun? Golf is my latest hobby.
14. What's your favorite meal to eat? It has to be a steak and a baked potato.
15. What size shoe do you wear? 13
16. Why did you choose UGA? When I was little, I heard Larry Munson calling a game on the radio and when I actually got to come to a game, I knew this is where I wanted to be.
17. What's your proudest moment at UGA? My proudest moment is coming in as a walk-on and then earning a scholarship.
18. What cell-phone service do you have? Verizon
19. What's your fondest childhood memory? My favorite memory is of building ramps and ramping bikes with my brother.
20. What other city could you see yourself living? Sioux Falls, South Dakota
21. What is your favorite Dessert? Ice Cream
22. If you could dream up your dream mate who would she look like? Scarlet Johannson
23. What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear would be to lose a child, my future wife or one of my siblings.
24. What is your greatest accomplishment in life? My greatest accomplishment so far is becoming a Christian.
25. Where are the top 3 spring break places you would love to visit? Las Vegas, Mexico, and the Bahamas
26. Who is your favorite male actor? Will Ferrell
27. If there were one woman you could marry, who would it be? Danna Lyda
28. What's your favorite reality show? Rob and Big
29. Top Five All-Time Georgia players? David Pollack, Hershel Walker, John Gurley, Coach T…there are so greats!
30. What are your personal goals for the 2009 season? I want to play in every game and help the team out in some way every week.

Owens, Atkins opposites in terms of volume, but make same noise on field

Owens, Atkins opposites in terms of volume, but make same noise on field
Sound of Success
By Marc Weiszer marc.weiszer@onlineathens.com Story updated at 3:35 pm on 8/27/2009


Kelly Lambert
Georgia’s Jeff Owens, left, and Geno Atkins will provide a force for the Bulldogs at defensive tackle this season. Both are expected to be NFL draft prospects after the season.

Kelly Lambert
Georgia’s Jeff Owens, right, is known for his boisterous, outgoing personality, while Geno Atkins has a quiet demanor.

Waiting for Jeff Owens to arrive for an interview and wondering. Is he in a deep slumber? Dreaming of sacking Tim Tebow?
Inquiring minds want to know after reading his midday Tweet: "It is time for me to take my afternoon nap ttyl!!!!!"
The Georgia defensive tackle shows up on the scene and offers confirmation that his more than 700 followers already knew - that he was indeed catching some zzz's.
"I was taking a nap," Owens said. "That's what it's for, to tell the world."
Owens is a 6-foot-3, 300-pound social network all by himself. He's got his own blog. He's embraced Twitter, even though his teammates might be surprised since he doesn't really seem like a 140-character-or-less type of guy.
"He's a loudmouth. You always hear him," said Kade Weston, Owens roommate the past two years.
Geno Atkins - the other force to be reckoned with at defensive tackle in Georgia's starting lineup next to Owens - is a cell phone turned to silent by comparison.
"I used to tell people he would be home and I didn't even know Geno was there," said his mother, Sandra Atkins. "He has two sisters and it's total opposite with the girls. They are running all over the place."
Florida's star linebacker Brandon Spikes bowed out of a scheduled trip to SEC Media Days - with nearly 1,000 media members in attendance- because he was camera-shy.
Owens went for the second straight year and would probably be fine making an annual appearance.
A few weeks earlier, he greeted reporters in Athens by saying, "You guys want to talk to the QB killer?"
No wonder The Sporting News tabbed Owens as the best personality in the SEC.
"Jeff always keeps you laughing," senior defensive end/linebacker Marcus Washington said. "He's a big ol' clown."
The talk of the town is what his mother calls him, Jeff says.
"I love meeting new people, hanging out with people," Owens said. "I'm a very outgoing guy."
"Jeff's the life of the party," defensive line coach Rodney Garner said. "I know he can be a little bit annoying probably because he talks alllllll the tiiiiiime. I'm sure some people would like to turn down the volume. He could probably get one of those nuisance law tickets that they give out in town."
Over before it started
Owens' volume was turned off last year on the eighth defensive snap of the season against Georgia Southern.
The preseason No. 1 Bulldogs lost arguably their best defensive lineman with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
So after months of rehabbing, Owens is back for a second senior year.
"I appreciate it more," Owens said. "I appreciate the game because it can be taken away from you like this (snapping his fingers), with a blink of an eye."
Atkins, who blew up as a sophomore when he totaled 71/2 sacks, became the player opposing coaches knew they had to stop on the Bulldogs' defensive front. He didn't have a sack last year and his tackles for loss were nearly cut in half, but he still made second-team preseason All-SEC.
Without Owens, the 6-1, 290-pound Atkins drew more double teams.
"Not having his presence really hurt our defense," linebacker Rennie Curran said.
"I missed him," Atkins said. "I missed his personality, I missed his input, his motivational speeches. He gets the teams riled up in the locker room and the meeting room."
Coach Mark Richt considers Owens "a very spirited player, a guy that can rally people around you."
Except it's not easy leading when you're not in the thick of the battle.
"It was tough just watching from the sidelines knowing there's nothing that I can do," Owens said. "I'm helpless. It's hard to motivate people from the sidelines when you're not playing. It was a tough time in my life and I'm happy I'm past that and I can get back out there and play."
Owens made only one road trip last season, watching with teammate Brandon Wood as Florida pummeled Georgia 49-10 in Jacksonville.
"It's a sight to see from the stands," he said.
Owens has read up on players who have returned from ACL injuries, including former Miami running back Willis McGahee.
The injury taught Owens never to take things for granted.
"I think I'm going to be a new-and- improved Jeff Owens," he said. "Going to be more vocal, going to be a big-time leader of this team."
South Florida days
As far as Atkins can remember, the first time he crossed paths with Owens was at a high school track meet when they competed in the shot put and discus.
Owens grew up in Sunrise, Fla., outside of Fort Lauderdale, and Atkins lived about 15 miles away in Pembroke Pines.
"He was really loud and thought he was going to win the meet," Atkins said. "They had some kind of catchphrase that him and his friend were doing every time they would throw."
Atkins bested Owens in both events, including a "50-something (foot) throw" in the shot, an event in which Atkins competes for the Georgia track team.
Owens got the better of Atkins in football in a Broward County matchup. Owens still remembers precisely not only that his Plantation High team beat Atkins' St. Thomas Aquinas team 21-3 in 2003 when Owens was a junior, but the win happened after a storm delay. The next year the game was washed away by Hurricane Frances. Gene Atkins Jr. didn't dedicate himself to football until the ninth grade, even though his father, Gene Sr., was an NFL safety with the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins. "I was big as a kid and would have had to play with bigger kids," Atkins said. "Mom and Dad didn't feel like that was safe." Atkins played offensive guard as a freshman; defensive line and linebacker as a sophomore; middle linebacker as a junior; and defensive tackle as a senior. Georgia, which missed out on some players at the position in recruiting, turned to Atkins late in the recruiting calendar. Miami, Florida and Florida State never had Atkins on their radar.
A year earlier, Owens turned down all three of those schools.
Owens had often gone with his father, Billy Jones, to Miami games.
"For Jeff to come to Georgia, he really had to buck his dad," Georgia defensive line coach Rodney Garner said. "Grandma was probably my hardest sell."
Billy wanted Jeff to go to Florida and Jeff's grandmother, Annie Dozier wanted Florida State. Jeff's mom, Lillie Jones, just wanted whatever her baby wanted, Billy said.
Owens' first official recruiting visit was to Georgia for the Georgia Tech game in 2004.
"The fan base was completely different than Miami," Owens said. "Everybody loved Georgia. I loved Georgia." Owens hosted Atkins the following year.
"I had Jeff take him out," Garner said. "I don't think anybody knew anything about what this kid was thinking. I couldn't tell you at his house a few times what he was thinking."
Sandra Atkins wasn't even sure if her son wanted to play college football.
" 'Well, yeah, if I have the body for it, I might as well do it,' " he told her.
On an information sheet he filled out as a freshman, Atkins wrote down his nickname as "Geno" and that's what he started going by at Georgia.
Two years ago, Owens started calling Atkins "180" because of his 180-degree turn since he got to campus, but most of his noise still comes on the field.
"Sometimes, it's hard to get Geno to talk," said defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, who recruited Atkins. "He's better, though. He smiles now."
Candy money and NFL money
Airheads and Blow Pops.

Jeff Owens hawked them to his classmates at Plantation Middle School.
He bought them at the store and sold them even though such activity wasn't permitted.
"We were in class and a lot of kids were eating candy," Owens said. "One of the teachers was like 'Where is the candy coming from? Who's passing out candy?' "
A partner in crime fessed up. That was the end of that ring, which Owens figured brought in about $20 for Christmas presents. At Plantation High, Owens took a turn as John Proctor in "The Crucible." If Owens doesn't turn out to be a sports radio host, he says he may give acting a whirl. Of course, the NFL should come calling for both Atkins - a projected first-round pick - and Owens - a top senior prospect before his injury last season.
Owens' parents advised him after the 2008 Sugar Bowl to enter the draft after his junior season. He came back to Georgia. "Even after the Hawaii game, we were telling him that we thought it was the right time," said Billy Jones, self-employed for 20 years in stucco and plastering. "We thought he would come out graded pretty high, but they never got the paperwork in. ... He changed his mind for some reason and his knee got injured."
Atkins' mother told him during last season that unless he was a likely top-10 overall pick, to come back in 2009 and get the free education.
While Mathew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and Asher Allen left after their junior seasons, Atkins made an early decision to stay put. "We made the right decision," said Sandra Atkins, who works in construction management for the Seminole Tribe of Florida. "We looked at where some of the guys that were ranked ahead of him landed, late second round, why not stay and improve your chances?"

Fish tales for Atkins, Owens

Billy Jones taught Jeff how to fish in the Florida Everglades, where they still try to hook bass, crappie and blue gills.
"I still take him out there and beat him up," Jones said.
Owens and Atkins have their own fish story from three years ago.
It seems that they went night fishing along with Dale Dixson, a former Georgia defensive tackle.
"Small boat," Atkins said. "Size of a tub. We're all big guys. We all sat on a different side of the boat so it wouldn't tip over."
At about 10:30 p.m., they used a flash light to guide them on the lake. "Geno didn't know how to fish," Owens said. "We were out there fishing, shooting the breeze. There were some spiders. Some big long spiders that crawled in the boat. He panicked. I don't know why because the spiders weren't going to mess with him."
Atkins begs to differ. "I don't like spiders, so I'm freaking out," he said.
That turned out to be the least of their problems. A rope used to anchor the boat got tangled up in the motor. "We were stranded out there for 30 or 40 minutes until we got the knot untangled," Atkins said. Atkins says he hasn't gone fishing since.
Potent combo

Owens and Atkins are the only pair of defensive tackles from the same team on the 40-man preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy for the nation's top interior lineman.
"I think we can be one of the top defensive talents in the nation," Atkins said. "Both of us have strong attributes. Jeff is very strong off the ball. He's powerful. He commands a strong double team. I'm quick off the ball, powerful. No team's going to be able to say we're going to gameplan on Jeff solely, because he'll have me right there helping out being destructive."
Garner said teams can't concentrate on "just taking 56 (Atkins) out of the game. You've got to take 95 (Owens) out of the game, too. ... One of them guys is going to be one-on-one. If you're the one that's one-on-one, you've got to win. You've got to be prideful enough to know I've got to win that one-on-one battle." Georgia's defense, a trouble spot in a 10-3 season last year, will look to bounce back with its strength in the middle, which includes Weston in the interior rotation.
"Because we run so well, the nice thing is you want the ball going east and west, you don't want the ball going north and south," Martinez said. "If you're able to do that and push it, then you've got a chance to have success." Every formidable defensive tackle tandem at Georgia will be compared to Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud, who went No. 6 and No. 13 respectively in the 2001 NFL Draft in 2001. Richt used the word "dominating" to describe Atkins play this spring. Garner calls him a "a very, very, very powerful guy," with great leverage and center of gravity who has just scratched the surface. "I think he's really relied on his God-given ability and has not perfected his game like he should," Garner said. "He knows that. He really knows if he really paid attention to the little things and was very detailed (oriented), he could be a special cat." Atkins is gearing up for what he sees as a special season for both him and Owens.
"If we both stay healthy," Atkins said, "we're both going to have a presence where teams are going to have to respect us." Added Owens: "We're going to dominate. We're going to dominate big, the two of us." The outgoing one and the understated one.
"I guess you could say they're like night and day," Marcus Washington said, "but on the field they're like thunder."

Getting to Know Ben Jones...

A lot of people have asked me when I’m going to post again. I figured with the new season only days away, I should start my blog with the guy who gets our offense started….

Getting to Know Ben Jones

1. When is your Birthday? July 2, 1989

2. What High school did you go to? Bibb County High School in Alabama

3. What is your major? P.E./Health Education

4. What is your favorite restaurant to eat in Athens? Rafferty’s

5. What is your favorite color? Black

6. Do you plan on staying in Georgia after college? I’ll go where ever my job takes me.

7. What's your favorite vacation spot? The beach!

8. Who are some of your best friends on the team? Clint, Big Daddy, KP, JD and TK

9. Who inspires you the most? My mother

10. What is your favorite song? Sweet Home Alabama

11. If you could change one thing about yourself physically, what would it be? I’d be taller.

12. What is your favorite movie? Varsity Blues

13. What do you like to do for fun? Hunt and Fish

14. What's your favorite meal to eat? Country fried steak and gravy

15. What size shoe do you wear? 16

16. Why did you choose UGA? I wanted to get away and Georgia was a good fit for me.

17. What's your proudest moment at UGA? My proudest moment had to be when I got my first start at Arizona State.

18. What cell-phone service do you have? AT&T

19. What's your fondest childhood memory? My favorite childhood memory is playing football in the pond.

20. What other city could you see yourself living? Atlanta

21. What is your favorite Dessert? Cheesecake

22. If you could create your dream mate who would she look like? Megan Fox

23. What is your greatest fear? Geno Atkins in a shade

24. What is your greatest accomplishment in life? I’d have to say my greatest accomplishment in life so far is starting for Georgia.

25. Where are the top 3 spring break places you would love to visit? Miami, California, Hawaii

26. Who is your favorite male actor? Denzel Washington

27. If there were one woman you could marry, who would she be? Jenny Finch

28. What's your favorite reality show? Real World

29. Top Five All-Time Georgia players? Herschel Walker, the Stinchcombs, David Pollack, Knowshon Moreno and Matt Stafford

30. What are your personal goals for the 2009 season? My first goal is to help the team in anyway possible. Then, of course, I want to win a national championship. My own personal goal is to be All-SEC.

Senior tackles set tone for UGA defense

ATHENS — Jeff Owens has a friend who insists on playing as Georgia every time the two face off in a game of NCAA Football on X-Box. What’s worse for Owens is, at some point during the rivalry, his friend invented a new defensive scheme that proved to be particularly effective.
Rather than employ the Bulldogs’ typical 4-3 defensive front, Owens’ friend goes uses a three-man line consisting of the computer versions of Kade Weston, Geno Atkins and Owens, himself. He calls it the J-K-G defense, and Owens — the real one — said it’s unstoppable.

“I can’t run on him when he has us three in the game,” Owens said.
As the team’s de facto salesman for all gadget plays, Owens said he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of trying to convince defensive coordinator Willie Martinez to give the J-K-G front a shot in a real game, but Owens is not exactly holding his breath for it to happen either.
Regardless, the video game supremacy is enough to prove a point Owens has hoped to make for four years now. When all three of Georgia’s senior defensive tackles are healthy at the same time, things will be awfully unpleasant for opposing offenses.
“That just goes to show what a dominant force we are in the game,” Owens said. “We’re just going to kill.”

Owens, Atkins and Weston have played a lot of football during their careers at Georgia, but they haven’t played much of it together.
Weston and Owens arrived together in 2005, but Weston settled for a redshirt his first season in Athens. A year later, Atkins made his debut with the Bulldogs but saw minimal playing time. By 2007, however, the three were all key cogs on a defensive line that helped the Bulldogs to a Sugar Bowl victory. It was the only season in which all three — the three amigos, as Owens calls them — earned significant playing time together.

Last year, Weston battled through a knee injury that never fully healed, while a torn ACL sidelined Owens after the first game of the year. What appeared to be a bad break, however, now seems like fate. Owens accepted a medical redshirt, allowing him to return for a fifth season. Atkins, who was widely considered a potential first-round selection had he foregone his senior year for the NFL draft, came back, too. Now all three are seniors, and they plan to go out on top.

“It feels like we’ve been here all together through all this stuff, but it’s been hard trying to stay on the field together,” Weston said. “So I think it’s important to go out with a bang.”
For all the success the trio enjoyed two seasons ago, it was just the tip of the iceberg, Weston said. Since then, they have all gotten better, just not healthier.

With Weston playing hurt and Owens on the sideline, the task of dominating the line of scrimmage fell to Atkins. Without Owens or Weston by his side, opponents sent double and triple teams his way. His sack numbers fell from 7.5 to zero, despite starting six more games.
“I think last year when (Owens) got hurt, people were able to more focus on Geno,” defensive line coach Rodney Garner said. “Even though he didn’t get the production, he caused a lot of things out there last year.”

When the Bulldogs kick off the 2009 season, Owens’ knee will be back to full strength and Weston will have had the time off he needed to return to health.
It will be a welcome sight for Atkins, but he’s not taking his success for granted.
“I feel like having Jeff or Kade by my side will up my numbers,” Atkins said, “but basically I’ve got to get after it harder and faster.”

That’s exactly what he has done so far this spring. Head coach Mark Richt said no player on the team has been more dominant than Atkins. Even the best of Georgia’s offensive linemen have trouble blocking him, and during a practice last week, he even returned an interception for a touchdown. Of course, it was only a 6-yard run back, and Weston joked he had to help Atkins off the field afterward.

“It’s really not that fair because, yeah, he’s been dominant, but he’s not really challenged,” Garner said of Atkins’ play this spring. “The sad thing about it is there’s nobody to challenge him on that side of the ball. There’s nobody to challenge him on the other side of the ball.”
That will change when Owens returns to action.
While Atkins suffered through a season without a sack a year ago, Owens has little sympathy. In 2007, while Atkins was racking up that impressive sack total, Owens did the dirty work and his stat line paid the price.

This year, Owens promised, the tables will turn.
Owens had a conversation with another friend last week in which he predicted a high sack total in 2009. When his friend asked for his reasoning, Owens’ answer was simple.
“Because Geno is going to take the load off me,” Owens said. “He’s going to dominate, and they aren’t going to be able to block both of us.”
No matter who collects the sacks, Atkins said it will be up to the three senior tackles to set the tone for the rest of the defense.
“We talked about how we want to set the tempo,” Atkins said. “It starts up front. We determine where the ball’s going to be.”

Where Owens expects the ball to be most often this season is buried in the turf under Georgia tacklers who have just introduced the opposing quarterback to the Bulldogs’ three amigos.
It has been a long time coming, but the chance to finish his career with his two close friends was well worth the wait, Owens said. And when it finally comes to an end, he expects it to have been a performance Bulldogs fans won’t soon forget.
“It’s going to be big,” Owens said. “We have three seniors that have played a lot of football here, and we have the opportunity to do something big — just dominate every game.”

By David Hale - dhale@macon.com

Q and A with Ben Harden

Q and A

1. When is your Birthday? 11/23/87

2. What High school did you go to? Perry High School

3. What is your major? Housing

4. What is your favorite restaurant to eat in Athens? Wow’s

5. What is your favorite color? Blue

6. Do you plan on staying in Georgia after college? If my job allows me to

7. What's your favorite vacation spot? Miami

8. Who are some of your best friends on the team? The whole 406 crew, JD, Wood, Ozimot, Bean, JO and can’t forget Roach

9. Who inspires you the most? My pops

10. What is your favorite song (hip hop/R&B/Soul/Country/Gospel/Jazz)? Hip Hop Gorilla Zoe Dope Boy

11. If you could change one thing about yourself physically, what would it be? Nothing I love myself

12. What is your favorite movie? Scarface

13. What do you like to do for fun? Just hanging out with the boys

14. What's your favorite meal to eat? Chicken Alfredo from Olive Garden

15. What size shoe do you wear? 14

16. Why did you choose UGA? Close to home so the family could come up and watch

17. What's your proudest moment at UGA? Hasn’t happened yet but we working hard towards it this year and that’s winning that National Championship

18. What cell-phone service do you have? AT&T and Sprint

19. What's your fondest childhood memory? Riding go-carts with my brother and my cousins

20. What other city could you see yourself living? Atlanta

21. What is your favorite Dessert? Chocolate Ice Cream

22. If you could dream up your dream mate who would she look like? Gabriel Union

23. What is your greatest fear? GOD

24. What is your greatest accomplishment in life? My scholarship

25. Where are the top 3 spring break places you would love to visit? Miami, Cancun, Mexico, and Hawaii

26. Who is your favorite male actor? Female actress? Denzel Washington and Gabriel Union

27. If there were one woman you could marry, who would it be? Gabriel Union

28. What's your favorite reality show? Don’t really watch them.

29. Top Five All-Time Georgia players? Thomas Davis, David Pollack, Champ Bailey, DJ Shockley, and Garrison Hearst

30. What are your personal goals for the 2009 season? To help the team in anyway possible

Bulldog Nation....

Because I’m from Florida, I grew up around mostly Hurricane fans, Gator fans and Seminole fans. It wasn’t until I came to Georgia did I realize the power of Bulldog Nation. I had no clue that people in Georgia took football so seriously! Football is important in Florida, but there are so many Division I football programs that the fans are all split between different schools. This is not the case in Georgia. By far, I believe the majority of the collegiate football fans cheer for the Dawgs.

After four years at UGA, I know what it means to love the Dawgs. I believe in my heart that Georgia has the best fans in the country. No matter where we travel or how we are doing, we always get support from our fans. I love and appreciate Bulldog Nation for all the support they give us on and off the field. One of the main reasons why I wanted to play for UGA was the fan base…that and the opportunity to win a National Championship! No matter where I go, I always run into someone that loves UGA and the Bulldogs. I can be in any airport and if I’m wearing Georgia gear, there is always somebody that wants to talk about Georgia football or our upcoming season. When I drive from drive Athens to Atlanta I know that I see at least 20 vehicles with some type of Georgia Bulldog logo on them. We consistently sell out home games and we even had fans travel all the way to Arizona to watch us defeat Arizona State last season. Additionally, fan support and donations help keep the team running. For instance, we could not have state-of-the-art practice and academic facilities, if our fans did not support us like they do.

The loyalty and support that we receive from our fans makes it even more exciting to suit up and as I approach my final season, I realize that the rivalries in the SEC and the competition that we face each week are only part of what makes a being a Bulldog so great. As a Bulldog, you are a part of a tradition and that tradition is not only shared between the players. The fans are a huge part of what makes being a Bulldog special.

Most of us never get a chance to tell all of the thousands of fans how much they mean to us and to our success, so I want to take the opportunity to do it now. On behalf of all of the players (past, present, and future), thank you, Bulldog Nation! We couldn’t do this without you.

Q and A with Brandon Wood.......

Q and A

1. When is your Birthday? February 14, 1987

2. What High school did you go to? Haralson County High School

3. What is your major? Housing and Consumer Economics

4. What is your favorite restaurant in Athens? Peaches

5. What is your favorite color? Red

6. Do you plan on staying in Georgia after college? Yes

7. What's your favorite vacation spot? Anywhere there is a beach!

8. Who are some of your best friends on the team? Man, I’d be naming most of the team if I answered this, but I’m usually with Troupe, Wilo, and Sandman.

9. Who inspires you the most? My mother

10. What is your favorite song (hip hop/R&B/Soul/Country/Gospel/Jazz)? Right now, its “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx.

11. If you could change one thing about yourself physically, what would it be? I’d like to have my 6 pack back!

12. What is your favorite movie? All the Fridays!!

13. What do you like to do for fun? Hang out with friends and play video games.

14. What's your favorite meal to eat? Subway

15. What size shoe do you wear? 13

16. Why did you choose UGA? I always wanted to play football for the Dawgs and once I got the opportunity to fulfill my dream, I accepted the scholarship and now I’m playing between the Hedges.

17. What's your proudest moment at UGA? I would have to say playing in the Sugar Bowl. It was a lot of fun.

18. What cell-phone service do you have? Verizon

19. What's your fondest childhood memory? Playing recreation football and baseball for the yellow jackets!

20. What other city could you see yourself living? Miami

21. What is your favorite Dessert? Four layer desserts that my mom makes.

22. If you could describe your dream mate who would she look like? About 5”4, 125 pounds, brownish-blonde hair, brown eyes, pretty white teeth and a nice body.

23. What is your greatest fear? Spiders

24. What is your greatest accomplishment in life? Becoming a college football player.

25. Where are the top 3 Spring Break places you would love to visit? Panama City, Miami, Costa Rica

26. Who is your favorite male actor? Female actress? Mike Epps and I don’t have a favorite female actress.

27. If there were one woman you could marry, who would it be? Haha….honestly, it would be my ex-girlfriend, Rachel Adams.

28. What's your favorite reality show? Don’t have one

29. Top Five All-Time Georgia players? Hershel Walker, Greg Blue, Thomas Davis, Knoshown, and Matt Stafford

30. What are your personal goals for the 2009 season? To get healthy and stay healthy, get bigger, stronger faster and just be a beast on the field!

My First Day

My first day back on the field since the Georgia Southern game felt really good. For the first time in a very long time, I had butterflies before I started practice. This was my first real test since I had my injury and I didn’t know how well my knee would hold up.

Within seconds, I felt alive being out there. My confidence came back as soon as I put my helmet on. I didn’t realize how much I missed the little things that go into getting prepared for this game. While I was out with my injury, I had the chance to realize how much I really love playing football and how passionate I am about what I love to do. I am so thankful to have this opportunity and blessed to have the ability to play this great game at the collegiate level. I realize now that I took football for granted and I forgot how fast it could all be taken away from you. In the past, ACL injuries would be career-ending, but technology has changed a lot and now I have the opportunity to play my senior year “between the hedges”.

Sitting back and watching 11 on 11 drills, I truly believe that this team will be great. We have a lot of young talent and a lot of guys that want to be great. Former NFL player and coaching great, Tony Dungy, spoke to us and talked about doing things uncommon. Our team is a collection of uncommon men working toward a common goal—having the best season that we can. I believe in the coaches at UGA and what they stand for. To win a championship, a team must be hitting on all cylinders. Watching the first day of practice, I see we have chemistry and the guys are buying into the system. I’m excited about our team’s potential and can’t wait to see how the rest of spring practice goes.

Fatherly advice....

Fatherly advice: Dungy's words hit home for Wilson

By ROGER CLARKSON | roger.clarkson@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 11:23 pm on 3/18/2009

Uga Sports Communications

Former Indianpolis Colts coach Tony Dungy sits beside Georgia coach Mark Richt on Wednesday.

Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy came to Georgia's camp to talk about fatherhood. He found a more than willing listener in Tony Wilson.

Wilson, a junior wide receiver, already has a 2-year-old son and Dungy's words hit him where he lives.

"It dawned on me how important being a father was when I found out my son's mom was pregnant," Wilson said. "I had one of two choices, either man up and take care of my responsibilities or tuck my tail between and run off. Like they say, 'It takes a boy to lay down and make a baby, but it takes a man to raise it.' "

Dungy came to Georgia's football offices to address the team before Wednesday's practice and announce the program All Pro Dads' introduction onto college campuses, beginning with Georgia.

"It's makes a big impact because I grew up without a father in my life," Wilson said. "It was really hard to learn the morals of being a man without a father in your life. When he came in to speak today, he had my undivided attention."

Wilson has a 2-year-old son named Tony Wilson Jr. When Wilson found out about the pregnancy, he spent several sessions talking with Georgia coach Mark Richt about being a father.

"Just about every opportunity Coach Richt has, he brings out guys to talk to us about the importance of being a father," Wilson said. "It may not take effect today or tomorrow, but it will later on down the road. It makes a difference when you hear somebody like Coach Richt or Coach Dungy telling you to take care of your responsibilities and become a man."

Dungy helped launch All Pro Dads in 1997 when he was coaching at Tampa Bay. He saw a need for fathers to spend more time with their children and that football was a good way to do it. The organization has grown to at least 1,200 chapters in 48 states. It has been affiliated almost exclusively with professional football teams but on Wednesday announced its first foray into college ranks starting at Georgia.

"There's something about football that men like," Dungy said. "If we can take this energy, this football fan energy, and channel it into being a better dad, we might have something going."

All Pro Dads and Georgia will hold an event on campus on a date yet to be specified. The event will give fathers a chance to spend time with their kids with football as a backdrop.

"We've grown primarily in NFL cities. We thought that the University of Georgia would be a great place to start," Dungy said. "I've known Coach Richt for a long time. I've worked with him and we feel that this is the ideal place. The University of Georgia has really come on board and their support is tremendous. There are a lot of dads who are interested in college football and it's also important to get on campus because there are a lot of young men who are either contemplating being dads or are dads already and we need to get them some tools to be better fathers."

Georgia coach Mark Richt has always run a family-friendly program. It's not uncommon to find coaches children roaming the football offices after hours when the team has social gatherings.

"We're dead serious about helping our players," Richt said. "We want our student-athletes to grow into wonderful husbands and wonderful fathers and tremendous citizens in our community. We're constantly plating seeds in young men's lives.

Kicking it with Georgia's Jeff Owens

This is a story I did with Chris Low from ESPN on this past Wednesday.

Georgia's Jeff Owens was like any other Bulldog a year ago. He couldn't wait for the season to begin. Jeff Owens is hoping to bounce back from a torn ACL. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 in the country, and Owens was one of the anchors of the defense from his tackle position. He was primed for a big senior season.
But in the first quarter of the opener against Georgia Southern, his season was over. He tore the ACL in his right knee while running to make a play. He jumped over a player, landed awkwardly on his right knee -- and just like that -- was done for the season. Because Owens hadn't previously redshirted, he was eligible to return to Georgia for the 2009 season and elected to do so rather than test the NFL waters. Projected as a high NFL draft pick before his injury, Owens will team with Geno Atkins to give Georgia the best tackle tandem in the SEC. Owens is still working his way back to full health, but said he's getting close. Here's my conversation with the 6-foot-3, 298-pound senior, who had started in 15 straight games before his injury and will be an integral part of the Georgia defense in 2009:

What percentage are you right now coming off that knee injury?
Jeff Owens: I'd have to say I'm about 75 or 80 percent, around that area. I'm doing close to everything. I'm running now, and that's a big plus. I'm getting my strength back, and everything is coming along well.

How difficult was last season, especially watching the defense struggle at times?
JO: It was rough; your senior year and you get hurt and you know you could have helped your teammates out there. But you've got to bounce back and weather the storm. Injuries always happen. They happen every year, and it unfortunately happened to me. It wasn't just me, either. We had a lot of guys get hurt last year.

When was it the hardest for you?
JO: When they'd get ready to go on the road and I couldn't travel with the team. I'd just have to sit back at home and watch. That hurt me more than you will know. I think it was the lowest point in my life so far. I knew I just had to have the courage to get back out there and work hard. There's nothing fun about rehabbing an ACL tear.

With you and Geno in the middle, what are you guys capable of on the defensive line next season?
JO: I see big things. We've got a lot of potential up front. We're back, and we're going to be 100 percent healthy. We've also got Kade Weston. He's going to be healthy, and don't forget about DeAngelo Tyson. He played a lot last year as a true freshman. We have a lot of talent, and I think there's going to be a lot of competition. Guys are going to compete, and we're going to get better week in and week out.

What's critical for this defense in 2009?
JO: It's still early, but one of the things I'll be looking for is that we just can't give up the big plays like we did last year. We gave up like 38 big plays last year, and that's too many. If you're going to be a great defense, you've got to minimize the big plays.

What are your individual goals, and what areas have you concentrated on?
JO: Just getting healthy and getting back 100 percent mainly. But I want to be better with hand placement and working on my technique and fundamentals and trying to be more of a student of the game.

Was there something in the water with all the injuries Georgia suffered last year?
JO: After one guy went down, it just kept going like it was a cycle. It was like, 'Who's going to be next?' It was like the movie, "Friday the 13th." Who's he going after next?

Will you be stronger as a team because you battled through all those injuries last year?
JO: We know what we have to do. It takes all of us to be successful, all 11 on defense. It can't just be one unit. We all have to be great if we're going to have the kind of success we want.

You recently started a blog -- Jeff Owens: The Real Deal -- that's heavy on Georgia football. You even interview some of your teammates. How did that get started?
JO: I just wanted to let everybody know the truth about Georgia football. Everybody wants to know the insides and outsides, and you always hear rumors about this guy or that guy. I figured I'd let everybody know the truth.

What kind of response have you gotten?
JO: It's been good. I got 1,000 hits in one day. It's important to me to let people know what it means to wear the "G" and the stuff we go through as student-athletes in our daily lives.

What gave you the idea?
JO: I saw one of my friends had one, and that gave me the initial idea. One day after football, I plan on being a sports talk show host like Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN, so this is good training.

With Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno both gone, there won't be the kind of lofty expectations for the Bulldogs next season as there were a year ago. How will that impact the team?
JO: I like being the underdog. When you're the underdog, you're gunning for teams. When you're that team, everybody's gunning for you