Who needs Santa’s sleigh when you have the Jenkins’ Mercedes?
Georgia outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins opted for optimism after practice Friday evening when it came to spending Christmas in Charlotte, North Carolina, the site of the Belk Bowl.
Jenkins said he has never visited Charlotte, so spending the holiday in a new place is an upside for him. His family will also be joining him to celebrate Christmas in the team hotel. The presents are coming along, too.
“They’re already loaded up in the Mercedes at home,” he said.
Jenkins didn’t ask for much this Christmas, just a few books he wants to read and some new clothes.
The decision to report to Charlotte on Christmas Eve was not one head coach Mark Richt particularly liked making, but it was one he believed to be necessary. Georgia will play Louisville six days later.
“I don’t think we had a choice,” Richt said. “I don’t think we could have gone there, reported Christmas night, started practicing the next day and truly been as prepared as we need to be.”
Spending the holidays on the road is nothing new to Jenkins and the Bulldogs. Last season they spent New Year’s Eve in a Jacksonville, Florida hotel. The Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl kicked off at noon the next day.
“I haven’t had a New Year’s with my family since my … sophomore year [of high school], since I played in the Rising Seniors Game,” Jenkins said.
He’ll get to ring in the New Year with his family in Hamilton should he choose to in exchange for Christmas in a hotel.
Josh Dawson is a little disappointed to have to report to the bowl site on Dec. 24. But for the defensive end, the holidays aren’t about where you spend them, but with whom you celebrate.
“Christmas is all about spending time with your family,” Dawson said, “but I feel like us as a football team, we’re a family, too.”
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