Best UGA football players from the 1990s

BULLDOGS

Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a weeklong series of articles that looks at the AJC’s choices for the top 10 Georgia football players in each decade since the 1940s. A panel of AJC voters selected our top 10 players per decade. We hope you’ll enjoy seeing our choices and reading about the players as much as we enjoyed the work to present them to you. Today: The 1990s (players are listed alphabetically).

ExploreHow the AJC chose the top 10 Georgia Bulldogs players per decade

Champ Bailey

The most versatile Georgia player of the modern era, Bailey played on offense and defense and returned kicks throughout his career. He played playing more than 100 plays in seven different games and more than 1,000 in the 1998 season. He compiled 1,077 yards and five TDs as a receiver and another 560 returning kicks. But cornerback was his natural position. He won the Bronko Nagurski Award as the best in college football in 1998 and played there for 15 NFL seasons.

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Mike Bobo

Best known nowadays for his extensive coaching career, Bobo was an exceptional quarterback in his day. He succeeded Eric Zeier as the starter as a sophomore in 1995 and was off to a great beginning before a broken leg cut short his season. He returned to pilot Jim Donnan’s first offense through a difficult 1996 season, then led the Bulldogs to a 10-2 season and monumental upset of Florida in 1997. Georgia’s current offensive coordinator finished his playing career with 6,334 yards passing and 26 touchdowns.

Credit: AP

Robert Edwards

Edwards was a fine cornerback, starting as a freshman in 1994 and recording four interceptions. But the Bulldogs decided to move him to offense in 1995, and Edwards took off from there. He averaged 7.2 yards per carry as Georgia’s starting tailback and scored seven TDs before an injury sidelined him after only two games. Edwards returned to compiled 2,488 yards and 23 TDs the next two seasons. A first-round selection of the New England Patriots, his NFL career also was cut short by injury.

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Randall Godfrey

Godfrey was the crown jewel of Georgia’s highly touted 1992 class, coming to Athens from Lowndes High as the state’s top prospect. He lived up to expectations, becoming the first freshman in school history to lead the team in tackles (114) and was named SEC freshman of the year. Godfrey would lead the team again the next season and was second as junior, giving him 330 tackles in three seasons while earning All-SEC honors. A second-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, Godfrey played 12 NFL seasons.

Credit: bhonarvar@ajc.com

Garrison Hearst

Hearst was a perfect fit for coordinator Wayne McDuffie’s offense, which featured a “scatback.” The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder was the top prospect in the state when he signed with the Bulldogs out of Lincoln County. Hearst finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting and won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top back in 1992. He recorded 1,871 yards of offense and 21 touchdowns that season and finished second on UGA’s career rushing list with 3,232 yards in only three seasons. A first-round pick, he played 10 NFL seasons.

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Brice Hunter

Hunter was the most prolific receiver in Georgia annals when his career ended. He piled up 2,373 yards and 19 touchdowns on 182 catches from 1992-95 and came up just short of 1,000 yards receiving with 970 and nine touchdowns on 76 receptions in 1993. Hunter also returned kicks in 1994 and ‘95, averaging 19.1 yards per return. Drafted in the seventh round by the Miami Dolphins, he played one NFL season. His life was tragically cut short at age 29 when he was shot and killed in Chicago.

Credit: WILLIAM BERRY

Richard Seymour

Seymour was one of the more dominating defensive linemen to don the red and black. He started 25 of 41 games while manning the middle for the Bulldogs from 1997-2000 and managed to lead the team in tackles with 74 in 1999. He finished his UGA career with 223 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 25.5 tackles for losses and 35 quarterback pressures. A first-round pick of the Patriots, the 6-6, 317-pound Seymour played 12 NFL seasons and won three Super Bowls.

Credit: AJC

Matt Stinchcomb

A Parkview High graduate, Stinchcomb was a two-time All-American while playing offensive tackle for the Bulldogs from 1995-98. Captain of the 1998 team, he also was a finalist for the Lombardi Award, a two-time academic All-American, earned the NCAA’s Top Eight Award, was named to the AFCA’s National Good Works, earned a postgraduate scholarship from the National Football Foundation and won the Woody Hayes Scholar-Athlete Award. Stinchcomb played five NFL seasons and is a college football analyst for ESPN.

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Hines Ward

From 1994-97, Ward started games at running back, receiver and quarterback for UGA. Pressed into QB duties in 1995 because of injuries, Ward set Georgia bowl-game records for most passes (59), completions (31) and yards total offense (469) in the Bulldogs’ 34-27 loss to Virginia in the Peach Bowl. Ward came up just 82 yards short of becoming the only 1,000-yard passer (918), rusher (1,063) and receiver (1,965) in Georgia football history. A third-round selection of the Steelers, he played 14 NFL seasons, all as a wide receiver.

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Eric Zeier

Zeier was the must-have recruit early in coach Ray Goff’s tenure, and the Marietta High graduate did not disappoint. Finally overtaking senior Greg Talley as starting quarterback as a freshman in 1991, Zeier led the Bulldogs’ to a resounding upset over No. 5 Clemson that first season. Zeier became one of Georgia’s more prolific passers, finishing his career with 11,153 yards passing, establishing 67 school records and 18 SEC marks. After a six-year NFL career, Zeier has served as color analyst for Georgia football’s radio broadcasts.

ExploreThe AJC’s top 10 Georgia Bulldogs football players from 2000-09