If his former school had its act together, Jake Ganus would not be where he is today. And he’s kind of thankful for that.
It was only last December that UAB, in a widely-derided move, announced it was ending its football program. Ganus, the team’s leader in tackles the previous two seasons, reacted by transferring to Georgia.
Then UAB, after being told by Conference USA it could not stay around without football, reversed this course last month, announcing it was bringing the program back. It was too late for this season, so the Blazers will be back on the field in 2016, with head coach Bill Clark back on the job.
Ganus was asked about this on Saturday, on a break from signing autographs for Georgia fans.
“I’m extremely happy that they did bring it back. But then again, it’s kind of frustrating because they brought it back five months later (after dropping it),” Ganus said. “That whole thing could have been avoided with better communication. …
“The fight from the boosters and all those guys that were just fighting for it was just amazing. But I was surprised. I didn’t think it was gonna come back that fast.”
Ganus obviously has no regrets about deciding to leave, because he would have had to sit out this season at UAB anyway. Many of his former teammates have left UAB, some for better or equal programs, but others have gone down a level or aren’t on a football roster at all.
“It was best-case scenario for me. It really was,” Ganus said. “I know a lot of my guys (ex-teammates) are happy with where they’re at. But I know a lot of them that aren’t. It was hit-or-miss for some of the guys, but I’m really happy where I’m at.”
Ganus already feels more like a Bulldog than a Blazer, after going through spring practice and summer workouts. He’s competing for playing time at inside linebacker, where juniors Reggie Carter and Tim Kimbrough finished spring as the first-teamers, but Ganus and freshman Natrez Patrick were close behind. All four figure to play, and Ganus feels that in a perverse way the UAB flip-flop helped him.
“I’m happy they got it back. But I’m also really happy I’m here,” he said. “So it worked out for the best for me.”
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