For those of you who are too young to remember or have short memories, here are the facts about Davis' career at UGA. He transferred in for the 1992 season after Long Beach State dropped its football program. His first season, he was the backup to Garrison Hearst , who was an All-American, the winner of the Doak Walker Award as the nations best RB, and an ESPY winner. Nonetheless, Davis managed 388 yards in that backup role, averaging over 7 yards per carry. The Dawgs had their best season in almost a decade, finishing 10-2 with a win over Ohio State (with Herbstreit at the QB) in the Citrus Bowl. That season, even with Eric Zeier and Andre Hastings, we were more of a running than a passing team, featuring our All-American RB.
The next season, 1993, Hearst and Hastings went to the NFL a year early, but nonetheless, Goff and his OC Wayne McDuffie started the season with the same run-first philosophy, with Terrell Davis as the feature back. In the first five games, Davis, like Hearst the previous season, averaged 20 plus carries, and over 100 yards rushing per game, but there was a problem: The Dawgs were 1-4, Including losses to UT, scu, Ole Miss and Arkansas, and had averaged only 13 points per game in the losses. Offense,, or the lack thereof, was a MAJOR issue.
In response, McDuffie completely changed the offensive philosophy in mid-season, going to a pass-first mode, featuring the Junior QB Zeier. The results of the radical change were pretty stunning. Over the final 6 games, the Dawgs went 4-2 and averaged 37 points per game the rest of the way. Both losses were to top 10 teams (UF and AU), but even in those losses, the Dawgs averaged 27 points per game, compared to 13 in the first 4 losses. The net result of the offensive change, though ,was that Davis had a significantly reduced role, as the Dawgs pretty much ditched the running game. However, AT THE TIME, virtually no one criticized the mid-season move, given its obvious success.
The next season, Goff and McDuffie stuck with the pass-first philosophy, and although the Dawgs were 6-4-1, we were 14th in the nation in points per game, and Zeier was an All-American. Davis was hampered most of the season with an ankle injury, and played in a pass-first offense, but nevertheless led the Dawgs in rushing and was used extensively in the passing game, finishing with 31 receptions for 330 yards.
So, yeah, except for the first 5 games in 1993, when the Dawgs were 1-4 and struggled mightily on offense, Davis didn't run the ball much, but to say he was misused is a myth. The primary problem in those two seasons was the defense--not the alleged underuse of Terrell Davis.
The next season, 1993, Hearst and Hastings went to the NFL a year early, but nonetheless, Goff and his OC Wayne McDuffie started the season with the same run-first philosophy, with Terrell Davis as the feature back. In the first five games, Davis, like Hearst the previous season, averaged 20 plus carries, and over 100 yards rushing per game, but there was a problem: The Dawgs were 1-4, Including losses to UT, scu, Ole Miss and Arkansas, and had averaged only 13 points per game in the losses. Offense,, or the lack thereof, was a MAJOR issue.
In response, McDuffie completely changed the offensive philosophy in mid-season, going to a pass-first mode, featuring the Junior QB Zeier. The results of the radical change were pretty stunning. Over the final 6 games, the Dawgs went 4-2 and averaged 37 points per game the rest of the way. Both losses were to top 10 teams (UF and AU), but even in those losses, the Dawgs averaged 27 points per game, compared to 13 in the first 4 losses. The net result of the offensive change, though ,was that Davis had a significantly reduced role, as the Dawgs pretty much ditched the running game. However, AT THE TIME, virtually no one criticized the mid-season move, given its obvious success.
The next season, Goff and McDuffie stuck with the pass-first philosophy, and although the Dawgs were 6-4-1, we were 14th in the nation in points per game, and Zeier was an All-American. Davis was hampered most of the season with an ankle injury, and played in a pass-first offense, but nevertheless led the Dawgs in rushing and was used extensively in the passing game, finishing with 31 receptions for 330 yards.
So, yeah, except for the first 5 games in 1993, when the Dawgs were 1-4 and struggled mightily on offense, Davis didn't run the ball much, but to say he was misused is a myth. The primary problem in those two seasons was the defense--not the alleged underuse of Terrell Davis.
