One Old Dawg's Tailgate with Joel Darden

Welcome back to One Old Dawg’s tailgate. We know everyone is still cheering that win over Mississippi State. This week Jerry Varnado is interviewing Joel Darden, another senior on the 1964 team who is celebrating their sixtieth anniversary this year. 

So, lean in for more mostly true Bulldog lore as One Old Dawg interviews Joel Darden. 

Joel, tell us how you got started in football and your high school career?

I’m from Lagrange, Georgia and started as a Little League football player at fullback for my brother Charles. We won the Little League City Championship one year. I played for Coach Oliver Hunnicutt and Al Mariotti in high school. Coach Hunnicutt wouldn’t let us play as sophomores and made us wait until we were juniors to play. I played right tackle on offense and left tackle on defense. We had a good football team and lost one football game to Valdosta in 1960. Rob Hunnicutt who played left guard got hurt, and we had to send in someone else who got called for holding. We were backed up to our one-yard line. We could have taken a safety and won the game. But we punted and the ball wound up going out of bounds on the seventeen-yard line. Coach Bazemore lined everybody up on the lefthand side of the ball and ran a screen pass back to the left. They scored and beat us 14-13. (While researching this article we found Lagrange beat Valdosta 7-0 the year before in 1959. And One Old Dawg realized he’d played for Valdosta when Joel Darden played for Lagrange).

What is your most memorable experience from the 1964 season?

Our defense against Kentucky. Rodger Byrd (who later played for the Oakland Raiders) played for them, and they ran the ball up and down the field on us, but couldn’t score. One time they got it to the four-yard line, but we stopped them. When our defense came off the field, everybody in the stands gave us a standing ovation. I thought that was amazing.

Can you remember anything amusing that happened in 1964?

During Coach Dooley’s first year, we were practicing one day and were on the goal line. One of our seniors hit a freshman with an illegal blow. Coach Dooley lined up the seniors on the concrete wall around the practice field. Coach Dooley said, "People at Georgia don’t expect much of me because this is my first year. All of you seniors have a chance to play, but you must earn your position. But if I ever see another dirty blow like the one we’ve just seen, I’m kicking you off the team." That was pretty plain. (One Old Dawg interjects that he knew a player who was debating whether he would stay on as a UGA football player and this experience with Coach Dooley convinced him to do so, because he was so impressed with Dooley’s leadership).

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

You never give up, do the best you can and play the game as fair and as hard as you can.

In life as in football, you must be a team player and can’t do it on your own. You do your job every play, the best you can.

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

Lynn Hauss was my inspiration. (Lynn Hauss went on to be a center for the Washington Redskins for thirteen years, a five- time Pro Bowl selection). My sophomore year, Brooks Boynton got hurt, and I was moved to center during spring practice. I’d never snapped the ball before in my life and played behind Lynn Hauss. Lynn and I shared the position because we had to play both ways. He was the toughest guy I ever played with.

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

You have to give it your all and do what the coaches say. Be yourself but in a controlled position. Hustle, do your schoolwork, and get your degree.

What are your thoughts on the Dawgs this season?

I think they’re going to be okay. Kirby’s a smart guy and knows how to motivate the players. They practice hard (I don’t know if they practice harder than we did, though. LOL).

Jerry Varnado and Joel Darden at a recent letterman's event.

Thank you so much, Joel for joining us today. Now, One Old Dawg has a few words about this weeks game with Texas. 

"Well, the Big Game has arrived. We travel to Austin this week to face the undefeated Texas Longhorns, the number one team in the nation. We haven’t fared very well with Texas, we’ve only played them five times and got horned in all but one, the 1984 Cotton Bowl which we won 10-9. In our latest meeting, the 2019 Sugar Bowl, we got horned again 28-21.

"For the last two weeks we have been so busy bemoaning the Alabama loss, I’m not sure we fully enjoyed beating Auburn and Mississippi State. Again, I say forget Alabama. Pay attention to Psalm 30: 5, “. . . weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”  I’ve often heard Coach Smart say, “Humility is never more than one game away.” But it is also true that joy is just one game away.

"Now back to those Longhorns, I say enough is enough, it’s time to reintroduce these moo cows to the Bulldawg Bite. So, hunker down Dawg Nation, whether you are on the field, in the stands or at home watching on the tube, give it all you’ve got and just a little bit more, so we can bring home some Longhorn T-Bones and fire up the grill. Take a deep breath, I can smell ‘em cooking now. May it be that joy comes to the Bulldawg Nation next Sunday morning. Gooooo Dawgs! Sic ‘em! Woof, woof, woof!"

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.