WALKER: Ray Goff is my pick
This quarterback graduated from Moultrie High School in 1973. After having been recruited by many colleges, including Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Auburn (all of whom met his requirement that he "wanted to stay in the South"), he chose the University of Georgia. It was a good day when Georgia signed this All-State and High School All-American player.
Let's see how Ray did at Georgia, where he lettered in '74, '75 and '76. He scored five touchdowns, three running and two passing, in a winning effort against Florida in 1976.
Ray was captain of Georgia's team in '76. He was All-SEC in '76. And, he was the SEC Player of the Year in '76. To top it off, he was seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Ray is in the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame. And, Ray is in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Let me repeat: It was a good day when Georgia signed Ray in 1973.
At the very young age of 33, when Vince Dooley stepped down, Ray was named the head coach at his alma mater. Ray had a winning record, 46 wins, 34 losses and 1 tie, but not a sterling record by UGA standards. My opinion: There were reasons for this that had nothing to do with Ray's recruiting and coaching ability.
Georgia was still dealing with the "Jan Kemp affair," which, as the UGA faithful know, had to do with academic improprieties involving football players. Georgia, during Goff's seven year tenure, could not sign athletes that other SEC schools could and did. In the super competitive SEC, this was deadly. Nonetheless, Ray's teams defeated Georgia Tech five out of the seven years he coached and, led by Garrison Hearst, defeated Ohio State in the 1993 Citrus Bowl.
Impressive as all of this is, frankly, it's not why Ray Goff is "my pick." Let me explain.
Chuck Byrd, my law partner at the time, and I represented Ray when he was fired by Georgia in 1995. That's when I really started getting to know him. That's really when I began to learn what a fine person it was for whom I was working. But, before I have my say, let me quote a few people who, like me, know Ray very well.
Jim Minter, former sports writer for the Atlanta Journal and later editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "When my newspaper colleague Lewis Grizzard was critically ill in Emory University Hospital, he missed the G-Day game in Athens. (Grizzard) called the head coach ask how the game went. Instead of answering over the telephone, (Ray) got in his car, drove 60-plus miles to Atlanta, and spent two hours visiting Lewis in his hospital room. That was my first inkling of who Ray really is.
Since that time, I've heard and known about Ray's countless visits to his former players and coaches in times of sickness, financial trouble or just bad luck. Ray is a big man with an even bigger heart. And, as my friend and his friend Lewis Grizzard would certainly say, he is 'a Great Georgian', a great American and a damn good Dawg."
Dickie Clark, roommate of Ray's when they both played football at UGA and active with Ray in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes: "He has a heart as big as an ocean. He is a loyal and dependable friend. I've seen him help many former players with whom he played and coached."
Dink NeSmith, a longtime friend of Ray Goff's: "As a member of the athletic board, I was in the room when Ray was offered the head coaching job. We were in Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl. He had to borrow socks for the interview. I was most impressed that he never asked about pay. He just said 'I love the University of Georgia, and would be honored to coach the Bulldogs!" By the way, his starting salary was $90,000 a year.
Larry Walker, Ray's friend: "I never dealt with anyone I thought was a finer person than Ray Goff. He's not perfect, but he treats others — rich, poor, black, white, the powerful and the meek, like you are supposed to treat your fellow man. If you don't like Ray Goff, you just really don't know him."
If you do know Ray Goff, I believe that you will join me in saying, "Ray Goff is my pick," not as a football coach, which is a job he'd now never accept, but as a great and fine human being. And, many thousands of Georgians say, "Yes!"
Larry Walker is a practicing attorney in Perry. He served 32 years in the Georgia General Assembly, and presently serves on the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. Email: lwalker@whgmlaw.com.
This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 2:43 PM with the headline "WALKER: Ray Goff is my pick ."