A panel of AJC voters chose these players as the top 10 Georgia football players of the 1970s. The players are listed alphabetically.
Ray Donaldson
A star player at East Rome High School, Donaldson lettered at UGA from 1977-79. He began his career as a linebacker before moving to center midway through his sophomore season in 1977. Donaldson earned All-SEC honors at Georgia before being selected by the Baltimore Colts in the second round of the 1980 NFL draft. He played for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys during a 17-year, 244-game pro career.
Credit: AJC archive
Credit: AJC archive
Ray Goff
Goff was captain and quarterback of Georgia’s 1976 SEC championship team. He led the Bulldogs to a 10-2 record while accounting for 1,046 yards and 14 touchdowns, including 724 and 10 TDs rushing. He almost singlehandedly beat Florida that season, leading the Bulldogs from a 27-10 halftime deficit to a 41-27 victory. Goff finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting that season. He succeeded Vince Dooley as Georgia’s coach in 1989 and coached the Bulldogs to a 46-34-1 record over seven seasons.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Andy Johnson
A three-year starter at quarterback from 1971-73, Johnson led the 1971 Bulldogs to an 11–1 record, passing for 341 yards and rushing for 870. Injuries sidelined Johnson for much of his junior season in 1972, but he came back for an All-SEC campaign as a senior. He graduated as one of the best rushing quarterbacks in UGA history, finishing with 1,799 yards. Also a three-year starter at shortstop for the baseball team, Johnson was drafted in the fifth round by the Patriots and played running back for eight seasons.
Willie McClendon
A native of Brunswick, McClendon arrived at UGA in 1975 and set a school record with 1,312 yards rushing while leading the 1978 “Wonderdogs.” He was named SEC offensive player of the year. In 1976, he teamed with Kevin McLee and quarterback Ray Goff to give Georgia one of the best rushing backfields of all time. He finished his career with 2,228 rushing yards before becoming a third-round draft choice of the Chicago Bears in 1979.
Credit: AJC archive
Credit: AJC archive
Kevin McLee
After averaging 8.2 yards per carry on the freshman team, McLee became the varsity starter in 1975 and had 804 yards before a broken leg sidelined at the end of the season. In 1976, McLee had 198 yards in a win over Florida and followed that with 208 yards versus Auburn the next week. As a senior, he surpassed Frank Sinkwich as Georgia’s all-time leading rusher at that time with 2,581 yards.
Rex Robinson
This Marietta native was the second in a line of place-kickers to earn All-American honors for the Bulldogs. Robinson finished his career holding SEC records for single-season field-goal percentage (88.2), career points (269), career field goals (56) and consecutive extra points (101). With six field goals of more than 50 yards, he tied the record established by his All-American predecessor Allan Leavitt. Two of those kicks in one game during the Bulldogs’ 1980 championship season. He nailed 56- and 51-yard field goals in a 13-7 win over South Carolina.
Credit: AJC archive
Credit: AJC archive
Buzy Rosenberg
Folks who saw it still talk about Rosenberg’s performance against Oregon State in 1971. In the season opener, Rosenburg set a punt-return record that still stands, averaging 40.4 yards on five returns, two of which went for touchdowns in a 56-25 victory. Rosenberg remains third on Georgia’s career punt-return list with 946 yards from 1970-72 and second in career TD returns with four. But he was more than just a returner. The Atlanta native was a three-year starter at cornerback.
Ronnie Swoopes
While Dicky Clark will be remembered for his 71-yard interception return for a touchdown in 1975 that turned the tide for the Bulldogs in a win over Mississippi State, what’s largely forgotten is that Swoopes, a defensive tackle from Athens, deflected that pass at the line of scrimmage. Just a sophomore then, it was one of a slew of big plays Swoopes made as a three-year starter. He recorded 92 primary tackles in 1977 and had 169 in his career, unheard of for a down lineman.
Scott Woerner
Woerner’s best work came in 1980 when his prowess as a cornerback and punt returner helped the Bulldogs run down a national championship and earned him All-American status. But Woerner played the majority of his games in the 1970s, earning his way onto the field as a kick returner in 1977 and becoming a starting cornerback in 1978. Woerner’s 303 yards on interception returns remains third in UGA annals, and he ranks sixth with 13 interceptions. He also returned punts and kickoffs for a combined 1,896 yards over four seasons.
Ben Zambiasi
If somebody was making a tackle for Georgia in the years from 1975-77, the odds were that it was Zambiasi (pronounced Zam-BEE-zee). The standout linebacker from Macon led the Bulldogs in tackles for all three of those seasons. He recorded 465 in his career, earning All-SEC honors his sophomore through senior seasons and becoming a consensus All-American in 1976. Georgia went 10-1 that year and won the SEC championship. Zambiasi went on to play 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League and was inducted into UGA’s Circle of Honor.
