DEL.ICIO.USBrannan Southerland returns to Georgia’s lineup
Former Greater Atlanta Christian star has overcome surgeries, rehab from broken bones in foot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Athens — Brannan Southerland thought his rehab from foot surgery was done four months ago. He thought the fractured bone had healed. He thought the doctor was about to clear him for his senior season as Georgia’s fullback.
Instead, the doctor looked at one last CAT scan and delivered maybe the hardest hit of Southerland’s football career:
Brant Sanderlin / bsanderlin@ajc.com
An injured Brannan Southerland had to watch this season’s first practices from the sideline.
The bone somehow was broken anew in a different spot. A second surgery would be required. And, worst, Southerland would miss the first four or five games of his senior season.
Game 6 comes Saturday against Tennessee, and finally Southerland will be back at fullback.
“It’s just a feeling of excitement,” he said. “A feeling of normalcy, really.”
After sitting out Georgia’s first four games, Southerland played on special teams against Alabama. Nice, but not normal. This week, he returns to the position at which he started 25 games the past three years and led Georgia in scoring in 2006 — the only fullback since 1957 (Theron Sapp) to do so.
Running backs coach Tony Ball said Southerland won’t start Saturday “because I don’t want to just throw him back in there and say, ‘OK, boom, let’s go!’” Ball said he’ll play Southerland’s playing time “by ear,” depending partly on how much “rust” he shows.
But while redshirt sophomore Shaun Chapas, who has impressed coaches while filling in for Southerland, will start, Southerland will get an even bigger honor.
“Our coaches have voted him offensive captain [for the game], and he hasn’t even taken a snap offensively this season,” head coach Mark Richt said. “That gives you an indication of how the staff feels about his leadership ability and playing ability.”
Said Richt: “He’s one of the most respected players on the team, arguably the most respected player on the team.”
That made the turn of events on June 4 all the more jolting to the Bulldogs.
In January, Southerland, a Greater Atlanta Christian graduate, had undergone surgery to fix a stress fracture discovered in his left foot near the end of last season. He missed all of spring practice, rehabbing. On that fateful day in June, he expected to be cleared to begin full workouts. Instead, he learned he’d have to do it all over again.
“It was devastating to me,” Ball said. “I can only imagine what it was like to him and his family.
“It caught us all by surprise. The day before, he and I were talking about getting back in the groove and about some things I wanted him to start working on. He was telling me he was feeling great. And the next day he gets hit with that.”
Another fracture.
Another surgery.
Another rehab.
A shortened senior season.
Southerland said the doctors could never really explain the second crack in the bone. And although he had the second surgery two days later, he admits it took a bit longer to come to terms with the disappointment.
“It was very difficult for a week and a half,” he said. “It really kind of set in that this is my last year [at Georgia] and I’m not eligible for another redshirt. This is it. Basically, I had to do everything I could do to get back.”
Said Chapas: “I think he handled it phenomenally… . He really set an example.”
While Chapas and Southerland will share time Saturday, Southerland’s return should bolster the offense if he’s near full form. He has scored 21 touchdowns as a Bulldog (16 rushing, five receiving), as well as being named the SEC’s top blocking back by one publication.
“He has looked very good [in practice this week] and really has looked like he isn’t hesitant about anything,” Ball said. “That’s what I try to look for — any apprehension on his part.”
Southerland said he feels capable of playing however many snaps the coaches want — each one with perhaps a deeper appreciation than ever.
Services »