By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Long before Drew Bobo signed with Georgia or played his first snap for the Bulldogs, he was just a fan and the son of a coach, who was excited to see his favorite players heading into Sanford Stadium.

“I remember when I was a kid, sitting outside the Dawg Walk and making sure to run up and high-five my dad and high-five Aaron Murray, because he was my favorite player,” Bobo said Tuesday.

Bobo’s dad, of course, is Mike Bobo, Georgia’s  John and Alice Sands Offensive Coordinator and quarterbacks coach, as well as a former Georgia standout quarterback. And Murray is the most prolific passer in program history, with a program- and SEC-record 13,166 career passing yards from 2010-13. Mike Bobo (1994-97) now ranks ninth all-time at UGA with 6,334 yards.

Mike Bobo and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart were teammates for three years and have remained very close ever since. A very young Drew was the ring-bearer when Kirby and Mary Beth Smart got married, though he doesn’t really remember that day.

“I’ve seen pictures and stuff, but I don’t really have any specific memories of it. I know I was probably like three or four years old when I did it,” Drew said.

That little Bobo is now 6-foot-5 and 305 pounds. He’s a redshirt junior center who started a pair of games last season, appeared in all 14, and even completed a nine-yard pass on a fake punt in the fourth quarter of Georgia’s win over Texas in the SEC Championship Game last season. 

The Bulldogs had 13 players selected in the NFL Draft earlier this year, and lost 17 starters from last season’s squad. The group hit the hardest was the offensive line, which lost 115 combined starts following the departures of Dylan Fairchild (24), Tate Ratledge (37), Jared Wilson (12)  and Xavier Truss (42) to the NFL. That doesn’t mean the rebuilt line doesn’t have any experience, however. Drew Bobo, Earnest Greene III, Monroe Freeling and Micah Morris all started games last season.

“I think we need to play better as a whole offense, and the offensive line, it starts with them,” Mike Bobo said last week. “We have some youth up front, but there are some guys that are coming back that haven’t had experience.

“There were injuries (last season), and the offensive line is about cohesion and playing together. And we did not play together well enough last year to be efficient in all areas. And that’s the main thing that we’ve been working on. We’ve got to be one unit up front. I think all offensive lines have a little bit of chip on their shoulder because of who they are and how close they are as a group. And I think this group is doing a good job, even though they’re young, practicing hard and focusing on it day by day.” 

At this point in the preseason, with a couple of weeks still to go before the season opener against Marshall on Aug. 30, the players are both eager for that opening kickoff to get here and eager to keep smoothing out the rough edges before that time comes.

“It’s a little bit of both,” Drew said. “I mean, going through the summer, you’re doing all these player-led practices, all this stuff with no pads on, and you’re getting mad because you can’t grab the defense or hit them. I’m like, let’s put the pads on, I’m ready to go.

“At the same time, there are a lot of things we need to work on, still. We just need to iron out some wrinkles and keep getting better.”

The defense is ready to hit, too, said junior defensive back Joenel Aguero. For him, the hitting is one of his favorite parts of the game.

“I’ve always loved the physicality, and just being about to go play out there with your teammates,” he said Tuesday.

As a boy who used to show up for the Dawg Walk to see his dad and his favorite players, taking part in his first one as a Bulldog back in 2022 was a moment Drew will never forget.

“It’s crazy to think about it now. I got chills going through it, because I was just so excited to do it and be a Georgia Bulldog,” he said. “And then when you run out of the tunnel and everyone’s screaming, or it’s getting loud on third downs, when the defense is out there, it’s awesome. It just makes you play with more energy.”

Playing for his dad is another dream come true for Drew.

“There really haven’t been any speed bumps or anything. I think he’s done a really good job of keeping everything separate, like the father side and the coach side,” Drew said. “I’m happy because I’ve spent so much more time with him. Being a coach, he used to say that he saw his players more than he saw us (his family). …

“Last Saturday, after the scrimmage, I went upstairs and watched film while he graded it. It’s just nice to be able to do that and spend some time with him.”

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.