“Boss” is a nickname David Andrews brought with him to Georgia from the Wesleyan School in Gwinnett County. And it’s one that will stay intact as he prepares to leave Athens in just a few short months.
The Bulldogs’ senior center was recently named the permanent captain for the 2014 football team. It’s one of the highest honors a player can receive. And when UGA says it’s permanent, it means it.
Georgia has fielded 120 teams since it began playing football in 1892. And in the Bulldogs’ football media guide and all of the other official annals where team records exist, there is listed a head coach and a captain.
So, just as we know that halfback A.O. Halsey was captain of the 1892 squad and Frank Sinkwich of the 1942 team, we’ll always know that Andrews captained the 2014 Bulldogs.
Deep as all that is, it’s not something the 6-foot-2, 294-pound offensive lineman from Johns Creek is ready to contemplate.
“It was nice to get, I guess,” Andrews said as the Bulldogs prepared for Tuesday’s Belk Bowl matchup against Louisville. “More importantly, I’m just ready to go play football again. The season’s not over.”
Refusing to reflect with work left to do is just one of many qualities that Andrews’ teammates point to when they talk about why they voted him as their permanent captain. It is a tally that is not made public or even shared with the team. But everybody seems certain Andrews won in a landslide.
“I’d be willing to bet he got 85 percent of them,” redshirt junior tackle Kolton Houston said. “Everybody loves David. He’s going to put his teammates first. He’s one of the toughest guys I know. He leads people. That’s exactly what you want with a team captain.”
Said junior tackle John Theus: “He has every characteristic you’d want for a captain. So he deserved that award.”
Asked what makes him so certain, Theus said, “He always kind of keeps us in check, makes sure we’re on the right path, makes sure we know what we’re doing. And I don’t think there’s another person on this team that loves this program and puts their heart and soul into as he does. He’s grown up wanting to be a Georgia Bulldog. It’s been a dream of his, you can tell and he’s never taken it for granted.”
There are also more than a few tangible qualities brings to the table as well. To start with, he’s a really good center.
Andrews enters the last game of his collegiate career having started 39 consecutive games and played in 49. He was a finalist for the Rimington Award, which goes annually to the nation’s top center, and was a second-team All-SEC this season as Georgia rolled up a conference-best 41.7 points per game.
“Anytime you’ve got a center that really knows what’s going on like David does, it allows you to make up for some things,” senior quarterback Hutson Mason said. “He can tell guys what they need to do on every play. Those guys got better every game and I think he had a lot to do with that.”
Andrews said leading is something that always has come naturally to him. He believes it was instilled in him by his parents and by the coaches he has had over the years, starting in youth ball.
“I’ve just kind of tried to be a leader everywhere I’ve played,” Andrews said. “I never thought I’d be permanent team captain, but I wanted to give it a shot here, being a leader, and if I did (become a leader) I’d take advantage of it. My goal coming in was to be the best player I could be, and I think I did that. I earned respect from my teammates, so that means a lot to me that they felt I was their captain. I wanted to give back to this university and I did, I guess.”
Andrews hopes to keep playing football. Though he doesn’t have traditional NFL size, but centers tend to be smaller and Andrews he’s a fan of former Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday, who flourished at less than 300 pounds.
But if that doesn’t work out, Andrews’ coaches and teammates are sure he’ll be successful at whatever he does. They’re certain he’ll still be “Boss.”
“He’s exactly what you want with a team captain,” Houston said. “Getting that award is going to be huge for him down the road. In this world, those are the type of people you want in your operation.”
