University of Georgia Athletics
Being 'Bone-a-fide'
December 30, 2007 | Football
Georgia's football players battle it out on the field and in the classroom, week in and week out. They do it to win. They do it to graduate. They do it for dog bones and pride.
"You can just tell by looking at a person's helmet what kind of year they've had. You want to get as many bones as you can it's kind of bragging rights on the team, who can get the most bones. And obviously, it just looks great on the helmet," says sophomore cornerback Asher Allen.
Every fan has seen them: the dog bone decals arranged carefully on the players' helmets, signifying some sort of achievement.
Each week during football season, players wait anxiously during "honor roll" to find out how many dog bones they've been awarded. Players hope for both whites bones and black bones, each representing different accomplishments.
"The white bones are for great play on the fieldwhether it's offense, defense, or special teamsand the black bones are for excellence academically," says head coach Mark Richt.
To earn a black bone, the player must get an A or B on an assignment (whether it's a test, project or quiz) that's worth at least 10% of his grade in that class. In some cases, players may qualify for a black bone by participating in forms of community service or making the Dean's List. Academic advisors are always monitoring each player's performance in class by talking to their professors and keeping an eye on their grades. The advisors aren't just checking in on them from afarthey have a strong personal relationship with every football player. And that relationship starts earlier than you may think.
"What a lot of people don't realize is that it begins with the recruitment process. We have breakfast with them, we meet their families. And they actually come over to our building where they learn about our system and how things operate here," says Rhonda Kilpatrick, coordinator for football academics.
Each week, academic advisors correspond with Coach Richt and Wide Receivers Coach John Eason to discuss which players will be rewarded a black bone for academic success. And while reviewing game film, coaches make notes for plays that qualify for a white bone.
At "honor roll," a team meeting held the Monday after each game, Coach Richt reads the names of the players receiving bones that week. For the players getting black bones, he states what the assignment was and what grade the player earned.
"It creates a level of interest, and there's something about that recognition with Coach Richt taking time to read [the names]," says Kilpatrick.
Players keep track of when they think they should be awarded bones each week. They remember every interception, fumble recovery, and big time hit. They certainly don't forget the heart-stopping touchdown passes and the Herschel-esque 50-yard runs. And, undoubtedly, they don't forget the A on the mid-term or the B+ on a daunting project.
"When we actually call out the names for those awards for all the players to hear it, and a player doesn't hear his name when he thinks he should have heard itwhether it's on the field or something academicwe hear about it. They do care about it," says Coach Richt.
Some players go as far as text-messaging their academic advisor the morning of a game because “his helmet didn’t have all of his bones,” according to Kilpatrick.
The dog bones are a testament to the dedication of the University of Georgia's football players, both on the field and off. Nearly every helmet is covered with white and black dog bone decals by the end of each season. For a few of the guys, there isn't room to add more. And according to senior strong safety Kelin Johnson, they don't mind.
"Having a lot of bones is a good problem to have," he says.
