Words of Wisdom

In 1982 after a 41-year hiatus, Georgia Southern returned to the gridiron led by long-time Georgia Bulldog defensive coordinator Erk Russell. In what has been described as the Miracle of Beautiful Eagle Creek, Russell took a start-up program to a NCAA I-AA national championship only in his fourth year, and led the Eagles to the playoffs five-straight seasons, three more title tilts, and won two more national championships. In his eight seasons, Russell was 83-22-1. More importantly, Erk set the standard for new programs and Statesboro has become a place of pilgrimage for coaches starting programs from the ground up. As hard as it may seem to believe, Russells record at GSU and his accomplishments at UGA, may pale in comparison to his status as one of the legendary storytellers in all of football history. Whether it is the yarns about his junkyard dawgs or memories of his now-famous GATA