At the beginning of each Georgia football practice, head coach Mark Richt tells his players that he wants not a good day from them, but a great one. But on Tuesday when it came time for the team to finish his sentence with “…great day,” Richt called a welcomed audible.
“He was like, ‘No. I want to go to Ramsey!’” said freshman outside linebacker Keyon Brown.
Deciding which Georgia football player to watch during the team’s annual day off at Gabrielsen Natatorium proved to be a tough task. From Hunter Long in swim goggles to a Leonard Floyd-directed splash assault, the entertainment of Ramsey Day was abundant.
Although Mark Richt’s legendary backwards dive may have stolen the show in years past, it was freshmen offensive tackle Dyshon Sims’ turn on the 10-meter platform that got the crowd going.
“Three, two, one!” echoed throughout the natatorium several times, each countdown separated from the other by a loud round of booing for every time Sims inched away from the edge. He had to do it, and you could tell he knew it — it’s the twisted right of passage for a freshman football player at UGA.
It took several rounds of coaxing from his teammates in the water below him before Sims finally took the plunge.
“I knew he was going to have a hard time,” said freshman outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter with a hardy laugh. “He’s not that brave when it comes to heights.”
Carter wasn’t much more courageous, as a small red life jacket accompanied all 237 pounds of him on the way down. Even half an hour later, Carter said he was still shaken up from the 10-meter plummet.
“A life vest can only do so much when you’re jumping off a high dive,” he said. “You’re still going to go down under water.
Program coordinator Bryan Gantt held senior defensive tackle Toby Johnson’s hand as the two jumped together. Sports information director Leland Barrow jumped in his khakis. The football players even convinced a member of the media to get on the high dive.
A good time was had by all, including the freshmen who exchanged a day of practice in 92-degree heat for a lighthearted initiation during which some faced their fears.
But those fears aren’t necessarily conquered. As senior cornerback Damian Swann put it: “I did it my freshman year and I’ll never do it again.”
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