Herschel Walker was quoted in Vince Dooley's "Tales from the 1980 Georgia Bulldogs" as saying that his success on the gridiron didn't stem so much from his individual running strength, "it was the offensive line. I had the best offensive line in football."
I looked back at the offensive line from 1980, and one thing jumped out at me: The guys from the 80's were tiny compared to the behemoths that man the line today.
1980/ 2009
Wayne Radloff: 245/ Ben Jones: 300
Tim Morrison: 254/ Vince Vance: 320
Nat Hudson: 265/ Clint Boling: 290
Jim Blackwood: 247/ Justin Anderson: 328
Jeff Harper: 245/ Cordy Glenn: 331
If the 2009 line were somehow to lose 300-lb Ben Jones, the 4 remaining players would still outweigh the 5 linemen from UGA's championship team. Of course, what the 1980 group lacked in size (every team was smaller back then), they made up for it with effort.
As Georgia prepares to start the 2009 season, at least one commentator has suggested that we could have the best offensive line in the country. Here's hoping we have a bigger version of the guys who won it all in 1980.
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