Awsome Coach, Better Person!

I was 13 yrs. old when I had my first taste of UGA football in Athens, In 1977. Coach Russell was nearing his peak with our program. At first I thought he was a crazy man during warmups, then I grew up and realized what a treasure we had! As his time went on and he went to build a powerhouse in Statesboro, I came to know a few of his players as good friends. To a man they would run through a brick wall for him, and he would try to do likewise. One morning traveling through Statesboro, I stopped at snookies, (the local waffle house) and sure enough, Erk had 10-12 of his buddies (his age) joking and laughing and I introduced myself as a rabid DAWG fan, and a southern follower, He took time out to ask what kind of family I had and if I'd ever played any college ball, all in all he spent 15 min. with a stranger. A couple of years later, Southern was playing in Athens and we stopped by the piggly wiggly to load up on beer. So did Coach Russell! He stopped and spoke and I recalled the morning in snookies-and the man remembered! Not many people are built like that. Our world could use a lot more of him. God Bless You Coach Russell, And God be with your family. GBNF Ashdawg

Although I never had any in depth conversation with coach Russell, I ran into him several times in my tenure in Statesboro. He would stop and graciously speak and shake hands with anyone who approached him. Snooky's which is owned by ex dawg player Bruce Yawn was his favorite breakfast place. Although I saw him dozens of times while eating between classes, it was always a thrill to be in the same room with a man of his caliber. My cousin tells a story that he and some friends were walking to a game one Saturday afternoon and a pick up truck pulled over to give them a ride to the stadium. Behind the wheel was the old Bald Eagle himself.