Now that we’ve given you our all-time Georgia offensive and defensive depth chart, the final stop includes special teamers and coaches. And Georgia’s had some legendary ones.
From starting kicker Kevin Butler, to return specialist Brandon Boykin and to offensive line coach Sam Pittman, this final roster is loaded with strong legs, great athleticism, and masterful minds.
I was going to pick just one head coach, but given what Kirby Smart has done at Georgia in such a short amount of time, it would be an insult to leave him off the list. Though he’s not the “starting head coach” on this list, he very well may wind up as one of the greatest in the history of the sport by the time he retires.
Checkout our all-time Georgia roster consisting of special teamers and coaches:
See Georgia’s all-time offense and all-time defense.
Check out our other College Wire all-time lineups: Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin
Kicker: Kevin Butler
Butler was the first kicker to ever be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He played under Vince Dooley in the 80s and was quite possibly the best college kicker we have ever seen. Butler hit seven game winning field goals in his career, and was 50/56 when inside the 40. Butler went on to win a Super Bowl with Mike Ditka and the Chicago Bears in 1986.
Backup kicker: Rodrigo Blankenship
A First-Team All-SEC and Lou Groza Award winner, Hot Rod started his career at Georgia as a walk-on and left as Georgia’s all-time leader in points scored with 440. He never missed an extra point (200/200) and went 80/97 on field goals, including a long of 55 against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.
Punter: Jake Camarda
A national champion, two-time First-Team All-SEC selection and SEC Special Teams Player of the Year, Camarda finished as UGA’s career leader in punting average with a mark of 45.78, surpassing 2009 Ray Guy Award winner Drew Butler (45.4). He punted 47 times in 2021 for an average of 46.7 yards, with a long of 68 yards vs. Alabama.
Backup punter: Drew Butler
A first team All-American in 2009 and 2010 and winner of the Ray Guy Award, Butler averaged 45 yards per punt throughout his Georgia career. He made a huge impact in terms of flipping the field position and ultimately helping Georgia win a lot of games. Also, has his punt against Oklahoma State in 2009 hit the ground yet (75 yards)?
Kick returner: Brandon Boykin
Boykin played at Georgia from 2008-2011 and finished his career at UGA with nine interceptions. He was a great cornerback, but where he really excelled was a returner. Boykin averaged 24 yards per kick return throughout his career. Eventually teams caught on and just stopped kicking to him. Can you blame them? In 2009 he took 3 kicks to the house.
Punt returner: Isaiah McKenzie
Known as “The Human Joystick,” every time McKenzie touched the ball you knew something special was coming. He had 5 punt returns for a touchdown.
Head coach: Vince Dooley
A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Dooley was Georgia’s head football coach for 25 years. His record of 201-77-10, included SEC Championships in 1966, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1981, and 1982 and the National Championship in 1980.
Head coach 2: Kirby Smart
You can make the case for Kirby Smart as Georgia’s greatest coach ever, but right now that spot belongs to Vince Dooley. Smart, though, has wasted little time to earn the spot as the second greatest coach in UGA history. Since taking over as head coach in 2016, he’s won an SEC championship, a Rose Bowl, an Orange Bowl and a national championship. In total, he’s been to four SEC Championship Games and two national championships. He’s also a two-time SEC Coach of the Year.
Offensive coordinator: Mike Bobo
Bobo, a former Georgia quarterback from 1993-97, worked for the Dawgs from 2001-2014, where he manufactured some incredible offenses and more than a few of the program’s best passers of all-time, including David Greene, D.J. Shockley, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray.
Defensive coordinator: Erk Russell
Happy birthday to the legend! The Great Man. The Best. The incomparable Erk Russell. pic.twitter.com/2SxpshZIxw
— Jeff Dantzler (@jeffdantzlertv) July 23, 2022
In 1964, Russell joined Dooley in Athens as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator. Between 1967-73, Russell’s defenses allowed just 11.7 points per game. His Junkyard Dog defense dominated en route to the 1980 national championship. He left the following year to be head coach at Georgia Southern. GATA!
Assistant coach 1: Dan Lanning (OLB/DC)
Dan Lanning was Georgia’s defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach from 2019-21 and was in charge of some of the best defenses UGA has ever produced. During those three seasons, Georgia finished first in the nation in scoring defense twice and never finished outside of the top-two in rushing defense. It was a short tenure at UGA as Lanning took the Oregon head coaching job at Oregon after his defense guided the Bulldogs to a national championship.
Assistant coach 2: Sam Pittman
Yessir! Sam Pittman is one of the most beloved assistant coaches in Georgia history and produced some great offensive linemen during his four years as o-line coach from 2016-19. It’s not every day that an offensive line coach goes directly to a head coaching job like Pittman did when he took over at Arkansas. His lines guided Georgia to three SEC Championship Games and in 2018 his line was named a finalist for the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in college football
Assistant coach 3: Bryan McClendon (RB/WR/PGC)
Bryan McClendon played wide receiver at Georgia and then coached the Bulldogs in different capacities from 2007-15 and then returned again in 2022. He’s been a graduate assistant, the running backs coach, wide receiver coach, passing game coordinator, interim head coach, and assistant head coach. He’s one of the best recruiters in Georgia football history, reeling in some of the biggest names like Isaiah Crowell, Keith Marshall, Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Lorenzo Carter and more.
Assistant coach 4: Bill Hartman (HBs and kicking)
This is my favorite photo of Dan Magill. (Bill Hartman on the left). pic.twitter.com/GXm8XLXVBO
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) August 24, 2014
An All-American at UGA in the 1930s, Hartman is one of the most legendary individuals in the history of Georgia athletics. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, from 1939 to 1956 he coached Georgia’s backfield, but had to hit pause on his coaching career to serve with the Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps during World War II. He was also a volunteer coach of the Georgia kicking team years later, coaching UGA greats John Kasay, Bucky Dilts, Kevin Butler, Todd Peterson, Allan Leavitt, Rex Robinson, and Mike Garrett.
