Ray Donaldson and Nat Hudson Inducted into Rome Sports Hall of Fame

Ray Donaldson and Nat Hudson, two stars from the offensive lines at UGA, were inducted into the Rome Sports Hall of Fame this past week.

Raymond Canute Donaldson was born on May 18, 1958. He played football and baseball at East Rome High School, and was named to the all-state teams. He played at the center position for the Dawgs, making the All-American team.

Ray was selected by the Baltimore Colts with the 32nd pick of the 1980 NFL Draft, and went on to play 244 games over 17 years for the Colts, Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys. Donaldson was selected for the Pro Bowl six times. Ray also played in Super Bowl XXX for the Dallas Cowboys. Donaldson was the first African-American center to play in the NFL. Ray was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Nathaniel Lamar Hudson was born October 11, 1957. Nat played in high school for West Rome, before going to Georgia and starring at offensive guard for the team that led UGA to the national championship. It was Nat Hudson that threw the crucial block that allowed Buck Belue to scramble and find Lindsay Scott over the middle in the epic game against Florida.

Hudson was selected by the New Orleans Saints as pick #139 in the 1981 NFL draft. Nat played for the Saints, Baltimore Colts, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Congrats to Ray and Nat!

My, How You've Grown!

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.