One Old Dawg's Tailgate with George Nowicki

Welcome back to One Old Dawg's Tailgate. This week we're interviewing George Nowicki, a senior and one of four ends in 1964. Pull up a chair as George shares a little about himself and his time on the 1964 University of Georgia football team. 

Tell us how you got started in football and about your high school career?

I started playing Pop Warner football in pads when I was ten years old. I played almost every fall through high school and was second string on my high school team my senior year. That year, Georgia won the SEC Championship behind Hall of Fame quarterback, Fran Tarkenton. They were ranked either number three or number five in the country, depending on which poll you believed. Right after this, I received a phone call from Georgia telling me that they were interested in me as a prospective player. I couldn’t believe they were calling me! I even considered the possibility that the call was from one of my friends, playing a joke on me. A few days later a roundtrip airline ticket was mailed to my home. I figured if this was a joke, someone was going to a lot of trouble and expense. I visited Athens, went to the Georgia-Georgia Tech game in Atlanta, and signed not long after that. Things turned out pretty well for me at Georgia. Counting a red-shirt year, I played five years and lettered three of them. I was named first team Academic All SEC my senior year.

What is your most memorable play from the 1964 season?

My most memorable play my senior year at Georgia, occurred before I got back on the field. We were playing Vanderbilt in Nashville on a Saturday night. I had played every offensive play in the first half. Early in the second half, Jerry Varnado, our sophomore starting left defensive end, had been knocked unconscious. Varnado would go on to start the next two years also. But not on that night! He wasn’t coming back in this game. Erk Russell called me up from the bench to the sideline. He told me that I would be going both ways the rest of the game. His final instructions to me were “don’t mess up my defense.”  I did all right. Vanderbilt never scored and I didn’t  come off the field until the game ended. Defensive back Wayne Swinford, who later played for the San Francisco 49ers, and I were co-captains that night. It was the second game of the year and coach Vince Dooley’s first win of many.

Four Ends, 1964, Barry Wilson, Pat Hodgson, George Nowicki, Jerry Varnado

Preston Ridlehuber, George Nowicki, Jerry Varnado, Pat Hodgson at Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration

Can you remember anything amusing that happened in 1964?

One of the more amusing things that happened in 1964, occurred in spring practice that year. Coach Dooley told the team, “Don’t come out there Monday unless you’re ready to go through the toughest spring practice of your life.”  So, Monday came and went. We thought they were going to gradually make the practices tougher. They never did. Football practice, for me, under Coach Dooley was the most fun practice ever was.

What is one important lesson you learned from your time as a college athlete?

The most important thing I learned as a college athlete was to never give up. During my time on the team, I was everything from sixth string to first string. I sometimes admired the guys who had the guts to quit. I was too afraid to ever do that. It paid off greatly to have stuck it out!

Who were your inspirations or role models in your college career?

My role model at Georgia was Ray Clark, he was our co-captain my sophomore year. He set an example of playing hard on the field and being a gentle person off the field. He also once told me “Never go to the Seagraves Party after Spring Practice.”  He said, “You’ve been hit hard enough in practice, you don’t need to be hit out there. Hide under your bed, go uptown to the movies, don’t go there.”  I never did.

What advice would you give to someone just beginning their college football career?

The advice I would give to back up players is don’t quit or transfer. Sometimes you’re only one play away from being a starter or getting to play regularly. Carson Beck is glad he stayed. Stetson Bennett never gave up, even when he knew he should have been starting earlier in his career.

What are your thoughts on the Dawgs this season?

I think the Dawgs were just one play away (think the missed call on the Alabama dropped pass on fourth down in the SEC Championship game) from having a chance to defend their two consecutive  National Championships. I hope they can be in contention again. Kirby has been incredible!

Speaking of thoughts on the Dawgs, One Old Dawg weighs in this week:

“The week of our open date I focused on Philippians 3:13b-14a: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize…. Paul is referring to the prize of eternal salvation, but the principle he highlights applies across the board. You can’t move forward successfully if you are focused on the past. I sure underestimated Kentucky; we not only failed to cover the line; we were lucky to get out of Lexington with a win – but we did! So, let’s forget it and move on, we have a gauntlet to run.

“Our next seven games include four teams presently in the top ten and three of them are away games. We start Saturday with unbeaten number four Alabama in Tuscaloosa, at night. It will take everything we’ve got, players and fans, to keep our conference regular season win streak going; we’re at twenty-seven. We’re also at forty-two consecutive regular season wins. We have not lost a regular season game since November 7, 2020. In the last three years, we’ve lost two games, both to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. It is time to send the Tide out! Go Dawgs!”

Thanks for reading, and keep check back next week for more of One Old Dawg and his friend's mostly true Bulldog lore.

Who is One Old Dawg?

Jerry Varnado played defensive end at the University of Georgia on Vince Dooley’s first three teams, which included an SEC championship in 1966, placing Georgia fourth in the nation. He helped coach the UGA football team while in law school, and practiced law for over a decade. Later, after a series of tragedies, he gave his life to Jesus Christ. After much soul searching, he left his law practice and has preached the gospel for forty years. He’s still at it every Sunday.

Inducted into the Valdosta/Lowndes County Sports Hall of Fame, he is also the recipient of the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame Fosky Henderson Award for community service. He is a past president of The Athens Touchdown Club and is now the chaplain. He has been an FCA chaplain for the Athens Academy Football Team for ten years.

He is the proud father of four children, and one sweet girl now with Jesus, as well as Bapa to two of the best grandkids ever.

Check in every Wednesday through football season or better yet sign up to receive these posts in your inbox HERE. You don’t want to miss any of his mostly true Bulldog lore.