2010 Heisman Hopefuls: A.J. Green, WR, Georgia
The new millennium has been good to the Georgia Bulldogs. In eight of the last nine seasons the Bulldogs have finished the season ranked in the top 25; four times they finished in the top 10 (twice ranked 3rd and once ranked 2nd by the AP Poll).
Success breeds success and the Bulldogs have definitely generated plenty of that with a number of players going on to the NFL. However, one thing that has escaped a member of the Georgia Bulldogs for close to 30 years has been the Heisman trophy. The last Bulldog to win the trophy was Herschel Walker during his junior season in 1982; the only other player to win it was another running back, Frank Sinkwich, back in 1942.
There are some that think there is a player on the 2010 squad that has the talent and potential to compete for the coveted trophy. The only thing working against him is his position, wide receiver; in the history of the Heisman Tim Brown (1987) and Desmond Howard (1991) have been the only wide receivers to win.
Georgia fans think that their man, A.J. Green, has a shot though.
High School
Green came out of high school with many of the physical attributes that any college coach love to see; at 6’4” and 205 pounds he had the frame to be a definite go-to receiver.
A four time All-State player, the accolades began to roll in for Green as early as his sophomore season. His statistics from his freshman year were indicative of a player to watch in the future; he caught 57 passes for 1217 yards and eight touchdowns. The following year EA Sports named him the best sophomore in the nation in 2006 when he accumulated 1422 yards on 75 catches including 16 touchdowns.
Success continued to find him as a junior as well. On the field he caught 60 passes for 1203 yards and 14 touchdowns. Off the field he was recognized as the only junior to be named to USA Today’s first team All-American squad; Rivals.com named him to their All-American Junior team as well.
Green would end up wrapping up his high school career with 5373 receiving yards and 279 receptions, 2nd and 4th in career numbers for a high school receiver according to the National Federation of High Schools.
A top ten prospect according to Rivals.com and Scout.com, Green was one of the most coveted wide receivers in the 2008 high school recruiting class often drawing comparisons to Randy Moss.
College
Green wasted no time in decided what college he was going to attend verbally committing to become a Georgia Bulldog in July of 2006. He made it official two years later in February of 2008 when he signed a letter of intent.
Green did not waste time in making his name known in the SEC. In his fourth game against Arizona State he caught eight balls for 159 yards and one touchdown. The performance got him named the SEC Player of the Week. By the end of his freshman year he would reset the freshman records for receptions, yards, and touchdowns with 56, 963, and eight respectively. His 963 yards would also lead the SEC and become the third highest receiving total for a Bulldog player. While he would be recognized as one of the best in the SEC, he would not be named to any national lists.
As a sophomore his numbers took a slight dip. He was on track to do better, but an injury caused him to miss the last three games of the season. In the 10 he did play he would catch 53 balls for 808 yards and six touchdowns.
The problem he also had with his sophomore season is the one that can be the end of any wide receivers aspirations for individual success—his quarterback. As a freshman he had Matt Stafford throwing the ball to him, a future first round draft pick. Last season he had a first year starter in Joe Cox. How that will work for his 2010 season remains to be seen.
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