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