![]() Since they were freshmen, we didn’t get to see the five African American players on the varsity that year, but Richard Appleby, Clarence Pope, Horace King, Chuck Kinnebrew and Larry West made history, nonetheless.Īlso new that season was an Astroturf practice field. It was a notable year for Vince Dooley’s program in another way, too, marking the debut of Black playersin Georgia football. … So, it seemed like we had been waiting to see Andy play at UGA for several years, and he didn’t disappoint.” That was, of course, before there were any limitations on the number of visits. I remember that every Sunday we went to McWhorter Hall for lunch, and Andy went with us. Helen Castronis, whose father, the beloved “Coach Mike,” signed Johnson to Georgia, noted that “it seemed like we lived with Andy for several years while he was being recruited. Because of my confidence in Andy, it’s just possible I did not get as fanatical about the ‘71 season as others. Recalls Tom Hodgson, who had grown up playing YMCA football with Johnson: “He was the best athlete I will ever know. ![]() (This was the season Georgia regularly started playing an 11-game schedule, not counting a bowl.) Junior QB James Ray, who had been the starter the previous year before getting hurt, led the second team, dubbed the Jets, who ended up getting plenty of playing time as the Dawgs went unbeaten through their first nine games. (The NCAA didn’t allow freshmen to compete on the varsity in football until the following year.) Those of us who’d grown up in Athens had an additional reason to be excited in 1971, because Andy Johnson, a classmate of mine ever since my junior high school days, took over the quarterback spot as a sophomore, having played on the freshman Bullpups the previous year. In his second year as offensive coordinator, Fred Pancoast had a talented bunch in tight ends Billy Brice and Mike Greene wide receivers Rex Putnal, Lynn Hunnicutt, Bob Burns and Steve White tailbacks Ricky Lake and Jimmy Poulos fullback Robert Honeycutt flanker Jimmy Shirer (also the punter) and offensive linemen Royce Smith, Tom Nash, John Jennings and Mac McWhorter.
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