Buck Belue is one of the all-time great Georgia Bulldogs. As UGA’s starting quarterback, he went 27-3 as the Bulldogs won two SEC championships and a national title. Here Belue recalls playing with his choice for the greatest Georgia player of all-time, Herschel Walker. From 1980-82, as Georgia went 33-3, Walker gained 5,259 rushing yards, scored 52 touchdowns and had 162 runs of 10 or more yards.
Obviously I never had a chance to see Charley Trippi and Frank Sinkwich play, so it’s hard to have an opinion on that. So I’m more comfortable talking about players that I have seen. I was fortunate to see a lot of Herschel Walker, and I don’t know how you could argue that he’s not the greatest Bulldog of all time.
Just look at his accomplishments: 16 SEC records, 41 Georgia records, 11 NCAA records, three SEC championships in three seasons, played for two national titles, won one of those. I think the Georgia record was 33-3 while he was in school.
So you have individual accomplishment, team accomplishment and representing the University of Georgia. I don’t know anybody could have done that any better than Herschel did it. If those are the elements in deciding who’s the greatest ever, team success, individual success and representation. Herschel’s certainly No. 1 on my list.
At the time, I don’t think 18-, 19-, 20-year-old guys are thinking in that big of terms. You know, “this guy is the greatest player ever.” We just knew we probably had the best player in the game every Saturday. That’s what you were thinking.
I think that Herschel was fortunate, too. His timing was great. That team had everything it needed to be successful but that impact running back. We had some great offensive linemen, a great defense, a great kicker and really good coaches. Then Herschel shows up. He definitely hit it at the right time.
So for all those reasons, I believe Herschel Walker was the greatest Georgia Bulldog of all time. That’s not to disrespect Charley Trippi and Frank Sinkwich and their families. It’s pretty obvious they’re two of the greatest Bulldogs of all time, too. I wish I could have seen them play. I’ve heard the stories about them and read about their accomplishments. But it’s hard for me to pose one against the other.
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