We have a Countdown to Kickoff thread in our Dawgs Central forum. Every day, we relate the number of days out from kickoff to either a player or play. Today we are 71 days out, and for me the number 71 means George Foster.

George was such a huge part of Georgia's turnaround in the late 90's and early 2000's. His recruiting class was filled with talent, and during his redshirt sophomore year, Georgia ended the drought against Tennessee.

Back in our first season of My God a Podcast, @PowellJohnT and I did an episode about that night when the goalposts came down, and George was nice enough to talk to us about what he remembered from that night:

If you listened, you heard what a unique perspective George has on Georgia football as someone who played for both Donnan and Richt. Coach Donnan really did bring in a lot of talent in the late 90's, and he even had some pretty big moments with those players. But ultimately, it was Richt who took that talent to the next level. Finishing the drill in Knoxville with the "Hobnail Boot" showed his players what could happen if they bought in.

In 2002, when George was a redshirt senior, he was on the first Georgia team to ever win the SEC Championship game. Up until fairly recently I considered that 2002 SEC Championship team to be the gold standard of Georgia teams I'd seen with my own eyes. George also gave us a great moment after that game when he said the victory was so sweet, it was "sweeter than a Cinnabon".

After his college career ended, George went on to be a first round draft pick and played for years in the NFL. George is a DGD and one of "Georgia's Finest", which leads me to my last point. I have a huge stack of "Georgia's Finest" trading cards in my office. I loved collecting those cards as a kid, and I feel players like George deserve to be on one. If there were such a card, it would look something like what you see below. Here's to George Foster, and 71 days until kickoff!