Bulldogs’ Ledbetter has great story to tell at SEC Media Days

“It’s a blessing,” Ledbetter said of being thought of as media-day-worthy. “I’m just glad to be here. I’m glad Kirby has faith in me, and my team has faith in me.

“I have come a long way. I’m grateful that they recognize that, and that they are allowing me to talk on my team’s behalf and represent my guys and the university.”

Kirby?

“I hope that doesn’t get me in trouble when we get back (to Athens); we do have to run at 2:45,” Ledbetter said, employing the wide, frequent smile that appeared even brighter in combination with his pink bow tie.

You go through what Ledbetter and Kirby Smart have been through the last couple of years, then a certain almost familial informality is appropriate.

Following two alcohol-related arrests within four months, Ledbetter was suspended for the first six games of 2016. Beyond punishment, he was given treatment. If he were a lesser player or Smart were more in a mood to send a message, maybe Ledbetter would have erred his way out of the Georgia program.

Instead, the Bulldogs gained an important leader on a rebuilding defense, one whose 66 career tackles, 3.5 sacks and 15 quarterback pressures look a lot better in the context of limited playing time.

They also have a gifted spokesman for the value of compassion, the possibility of reclamation and the unifying power of team. Cynicism courses through college football. Ledbetter is a treatment.

So, sure, call the coach Kirby. Because, as Ledbetter said, “He is family.”

“I view him more as in my family than a head coach. When you step on the football field, it is a deeper bond than me just wanting to play for my coach, wanting to make my coach happy and my team successful. I’m playing for family out here.”

Smart’s take Tuesday on his 6-foot-4, 277-pound end: “He's grown up a lot. He will tell you there were times of immaturity in his youth during the recruiting stages and even leading into his time at Georgia. But sometimes the life you lead and the experiences you encounter, they give you the ability to stand in front of people and talk from experience.

“And I think our players recognize that when he speaks, he speaks from the heart. They see how he works. They see what he's been through. There is no better a person to listen to than a guy who has been through the trials and tribulations he has. When he says it, he says it with passion, and he leads the right way.”

In that vein, when Ledbetter is asked about the remaking of a team that came within overtime of a national championship, and specifically all the losses it had on defense, he doesn’t blink.

“I feel we have just as much talent as we did last year,” he said. “Our leadership is starting to develop. I feel like we’re going in the right direction.”

When asked about the experience of game day – a question a player easily could shrug off, Ledbetter gives the long, lyrical answer of someone who doesn’t take the experience for granted.

You can’t listen to him and not get impatient for the games to get here: “It’s unreal, from waking up in the morning in the Georgia Center hotel. Preparing during the pregame meal. The aura that surrounds the whole day. The level of focus is something you can feel in the room. You get like little butterflies. Your skin starts tingling. You can feel and see the other guys are just as locked in as you. You’re going to go out there and give it everything you have for your brother.”

The substantive value of these media-day appearances is questionable. There are too many predictable responses and too few knowns to make any of this into meaningful preseason intelligence.

The symbolic value, however, can be real.

Just by being here, before he uttered his first word, Ledbetter had made a profound point.

Like his teammate, wide receiver Terry Godwin said, “If a guy gets in trouble, some don’t know how to bounce back. And (Ledbetter) has proven that you may make some bad personal decisions and you can overcome them and become the face of Georgia.”