Good on Georgia Southern for this:
If UGA isn’t adding its full-throated endorsement to this, shame on us.
Good on Georgia Southern for this:
The push to get Erk Russell into the @cfbhall continues.@WJCLNews has obtained a letter from @georgiasouthern President Dr. Kyle Marrero and Athletic Director @JaredBenko that formally requests a waiver to have Russell eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/M0GDdpJ85w
— Frank Sulkowski WJCL (@TheBigGuyWJCL) August 17, 2022
If UGA isn’t adding its full-throated endorsement to this, shame on us.
Filed under Georgia Football, Georgia Southern Football
“And Georgia fans, don’t be turds. Enjoy this. Soak it up. It’s awesome. If you don’t win this year, it’s still not a failure. It’s a heck of a run. Back-to-back in the Playoff era hasn’t been done. So, to ask for a third I feel like it’s gluttonous. I feel like it’s not OK. But we’ll be in the mix.”-- David Pollack, On3.com, 5/9/23
Just WTF! He is one of ours and should be supported by us for this honor! Winning a National Championship as our Defensive coordinator/inspirational leader will never be forgotten!
What he did at Southern was legendary! From startup program to 3 National Championships as well as playing for several others! Most all of us wish it had been done in Athens but that’s on our administration not him. We need to push UGA to do the right thing!
Erk was a treasure and certainly deserves this honor
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If you don’t have the best of everything, make the best of everything you have.”
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Screw Florida and the mule they rode in on! GATA. TEAM-me. Tuck Fech.
#DGD.
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THANK you EE…made my day right there! Having coffee overlooking the Blanco this AM in Wimberley, TX. For some reason right now the whole river scene is blurry…what a MAN!
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What a great video – thank you for sharing! The thing that stuck out is there were as many offensive players as defensive players who truly loved and appreciated him. Plus a 4-sport college letterman is impressive in any era.
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For those of who aren’t aware, that’s the tribute to Erk that the 1980 Dawgs DVD did.
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Thanks ee.. I met him while a student there several times. The man had the strongest handshake I’ve ever felt! GATA indeed!
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Lots of good memories there!
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The biggest injustice in college football. This man was not only a great coach but a great man to boot. Of my top 5 people I wished I could have meet. Erk is one of them.
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I met him a few times back when he was still at UGA and he was a great guy. Erk had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in the room, even if you were just a peon like me.
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A good friend of mine played for Southern in the late 80s. A few years ago I happened to ask him about Erk. The words he spoke showed such a level of respect and love for Erk that I was a little shocked. He said that other than his father’s and mother’s passing, the only other time in his adult life that he shed a tear on the news of someone’s death was when he learned that Erk has passed away.
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Should have been HC at UGA. He was 59 in 1985 but it would’ve been difficult for him to leave then. He easily could have in 1988 after winning titles, he was 62. Complete travesty and we got stuck with Goff.
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I hear ya, but he was offered the UGA job and he turned it down. He was ready to hang it up.
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Yes but there was more there and the way it was handled was not ideal.
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And he wanted the job and Paul Johnson was on his way to be his OC…again.
The public story is that Erk would only commit to 2 years. The committee wanted a 4 or 5 year commitment.
The truth? Who knows?
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We can agree on Erk but we don’t need to continue ragging on Ray Goff. He was a DGD as a player and busted his ass as a coach, but just didn’t work out.
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Agreed….
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That’s true. I hate to say things negative about Coach Dooley, but the cupboard was bare in 1989-90.
Goff made some of his own mistakes – defensive coordinator hires and not having the team ready to play in cases. He also had his share of just downright bad luck. He did recruit one Kirby Smart.
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Dooley phoned it in after 1985 and Jan Kemp. Our recruiting was pathetic in those last years. But amen to Kirby Smart. Thank you Coach Goff!
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I am not “continuing to rag” on Goff. Simply stating it was a travesty that Erk didn’t get the chance and it was fact we got stuck with Goff who was a very DGD but not qualified for that position.
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The defense that Erk dialed up against the Gators in 1975 should be all that is needed to get him inducted.
Yeah, I’m old. And FTMF.
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I grew up in Harris county Georgia. All I ever heard growing up was war eagle. I believe that is why I bleed red and black. In my humble opinion, Erskine Russell and I-85 are the only 2 good things to ever come out of Lee county Alabama.
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Even though originally from Mobile, you have to include Vince Dooley in this list.
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and George Pickens.
and Hank Aaron and Williams, too.
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I don’t think any of them had ties to Lee County. 😉
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Hell I thought we were on the whole damn state.
Nothing good has ever come out of Lee County, AL. Something worthing worthwhile may have passed through.
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Aw come on. It’s actually pretty nice here. All the bammers have been real quiet since January.
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Ha! I grew up in Opelika. It is a nice town. Got married there. Almost got kicked out of the family (all AU grads) when I went to UGA. 😉 But yeah… they’re all reeeeaal quiet right now.
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AMEN, BROTHER
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I don’t care how many years you coach. If you win three national championships in ANYTHING, you belong in that sport’s hall of fame. Erk’s example is the one that proves the “10-year coaching requirement” is ridiculous.
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Especially since he started that program from scratch! THAT’S got to count for something!
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Erk loved us up on the railroad tracks!
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If you included all of Erk’s post season games at GSU it might add up to a total of 10 seasons. Put him in the HOF!
Their first title game in 1985 when they beat Furman 44-42 was one of the best games I have ever watched as a football fan. Down 28-6 mid 3rd quarter, QB Tracy Ham led them back and tossed the winning TD with 10 seconds left.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_NCAA_Division_I-AA_Football_Championship_Game
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