The AJC’s top 10 Georgia Bulldogs football players of the 1960s

Dennis Hughes

Hughes might be overlooked on some all-decade lists as his statistical profile doesn’t tower over others. But if toughness is a factor — and it is here — this combination fullback/tight end/wideout must be included. Hughes started at all three positions during his career and was making a name for himself in Georgia’s backfield before injuries sidelined him at the end of his senior season in 1969. As it was, he finished with 1,350 yards and 10 TDs in his career and averaged 4.5 yards per carry that last season. Injuries also cut short a promising NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers after Hughes earned the starting tight end job as a rookie and scoring three touchdowns.

Lynn Hughes

By the time Hughes played on Vince Dooley’s first teams at Georgia, the two-platoon system of football had given way to playing the best players exclusively on offense or defense. But Hughes had the good fortune to star for the Bulldogs on offense and defense. In 1964, he shared QB duties with Preston Ridlehuber and helped lead Georgia to a 7-3-1 mark, it’s first winning season since 1960. The next year, Hughes was switched to safety and played a major role in the turnaround that led the Bulldogs to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1965 and win the 1966 SEC championship and Cotton Bowl on the way to logging a 10-1 mark.

Kent Lawrence

Lawrence hailed from Anderson, S.C., and grew up a fan of the Clemson Tigers. Yet he was plucked from right under the nose of coach Frank Howard — and the South Carolina Gamecocks as well — and spent the next four years reminding his home state of their loss. The Bulldogs never lost to either team during Lawrence’s UGA tenure, and they played both teams all four years of his years (1965-68). Playing tailback and wide receiver at Georgia, Lawrence piled up 1,568 yards of total offense in three varsity seasons. He also used his sub-10-second, 100-yard speed to execute several long punt and kickoff returns.

George Patton

Nicknamed “General” because he shared the name of the famous World War II hero, Patton was one of the more dominant defensive linemen produced by famed defensive coordinator Erk Russell. A converted high school quarterback, Patton was a three-time All-SEC selection as a defensive tackle for the Bulldogs and was captain of the 1966 SEC championship team. Honored as an All-American in both 1965 and ‘66, Patton finally lived out his lifelong dream when Dooley inserted him at quarterback for the final plays of Georgia’s win over SMU in the Cotton Bowl. Patton was inducted in UGA’s Circle of Honor in 2002.

Larry Rakestraw

Rakestraw turned in one of the greatest individual offensive performances in school history in 1963. A quarterback,, Rakestraw singlehandedly destroyed Miami in a regular-season game played at the Orange Bowl. Rakestraw led the Bulldogs on scoring drives of 83, 80, 80, 80 and 76 yards on the way to a 31-14 win over the Hurricanes on Oct. 18, 1963. With 407 yards passing that day, Rakestraw established an Orange Bowl passing record, an SEC single-game record and the UGA single-game passing record. Twice named All-SEC, Rakestraw passed for 3,142 yards in his Georgia career but had 42 interceptions to 19 touchdowns. He played five NFL seasons with the Bears.

Jake Scott

Many still consider Scott the greatest defensive back ever to don the red and black. One of Georgia’s first early departees for professional football (in the Canadian Football League), Scott played only two full seasons for the Bulldogs. Yet, both years he was on the field (1967-68), the safety led the SEC in interceptions, punt returns and punt-return yardage. A consensus All-American in 1968, Scott still holds the UGA record for career interceptions with 16, a record that later would be tied by a safety from Bainbridge named Kirby Smart. Scott’s greatness was validated in the NFL as he started in three Super Bowls for the Miami Dolphins and was named MVP of Super Bowl VII in 1972. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Credit: File

Credit: File

Bill Stanfill

Scott’s good buddy, Stanfill joined him on those great Dolphins teams of the 1970s. Before that, Stanfill played a starring role on the Bulldogs’ SEC championship teams of 1966 and ‘68. A consensus All-American and Academic All-American in 1968, Stanfill was the first Bulldog to land the prestigious Outland Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding lineman. Like Scott, Stanfill enjoyed an All-Pro career with the Dolphins from 1969-76. He played a starring role on the famed “No-Name Defense” that helped Miami secure back-to-back Super Bowl championships in 1972 and ‘73. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

Charles Whittemore

Whittemore has long since been passed on Georgia’s career receiving lists. But at the time that he played, in the late 1960s during the run-first days of Dooley, Whittemore was considered one of the most reliable receivers of that time. He piled up 1,736 yards on 119 receptions while starring for the Bulldogs at the end of that decade. He scored 11 touchdowns during his three varsity seasons, two of which ended in All-SEC recognition. The “had everything but speed” distinction that Whittemore himself perpetuated proved nothing more than a myth as he also returned punts and kickoffs during those years. After a brief flirtation with the NFL, Whittemore spent more than four decades as an assistant football coach and UGA administrator.

Jim Wilson

Wilson was the first standout offensive lineman of the Dooley years. He started at tackle all three seasons and earned Most Valuable Lineman honors when the Bulldogs won the Sun Bowl 7-0 over Texas Tech in El Paso at the end of the 1964 season. That was Georgia’s first bowl victory since the 1960 Orange Bowl. Went on make the All-NFL rookie team with the San Francisco 49ers (1965-66). Also played for the Falcons (1967) and Los Angeles Rams (1968-71). Inducted into UGA’s Circle of Honor in 2005.