Georgia football is so heavily stacked at pretty much every position that it becomes difficult for fans to appreciate the play of guys who may get lost in the box score or even the in-game commentary.
Georgia has played eight games this season, winning seven of them, and there have been two guys that I think have been under-appreciated to this point in the season.
On offense, there’s a clear player that has been underrated maybe not by Georgia fans, but by the national media as a whole.
That’s backup running back Brian Herrien, a senior out of Douglasville, Georgia. This Saturday will mark Herrien’s 48th game playing in the red and black.
Currently, Herrien is the team’s second leading rusher with 60 carries for 324 yards and five touchdowns.
In the receiving game, Herrien has caught nine passes for 70 yards including this big one against Florida.
Georgia fans understand Herrien’s value, but the national media should catch on. A big game vs Florida and a potential big game vs Auburn or Alabama/LSU in the SEC Championship could put the country on notice about Herrien’s raw talent.
He runs angry on every player, is the hardest work you’ll ever see and always makes time for the fans.
Next: Defense
Georgia’s most underrated player on defense this season might be linebacker Tae Crowder, who coincidentally also used to play running back before switching to linebacker.
If you remember, Crowder was a three-star running back recruit out of Harris County in Hamilton, Georgia who possessed one of the nastiest stiff arms I’ve ever seen from a high school ball carrier.
After the 6-3, 220 pound Crowder made the switch to linebacker, it took some time to adjust. He’s appeared in many games now as a linebacker, but last season is when we really saw the position-change pay off; Crowder tallied 53 tackles, which was fifth best on the team.
This season, Crowder has started all eight games. Currently, he is tied for second on the team in total tackles at 36 with safety J.R. Reed. At No. 1 is linebacker Monty Rice, who was another candidate for the most underrated defensive player.
I’m not going to go all out and say Crowder gets no appreciation from Georgia fans or America, seeing as how he was recently announced as one of 12 semi-finalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to the best linebacker in all of college football.
But his real value has often gone undervalued. He is big, strong, fast, is always in the right spot and has great instincts for the position.
If there’s one play that stands out to me as the greatest play of his career, it’s without question his special team catch he made as Oklahoma tried to attempt a squib kick before the half ended in the Rose Bowl.
Crowder quickly reacted, snagged the ball at midfield and allowed Rodrigo Blankenship to bomb a field goal and head into the locker room with some momentum.
