When Kentucky visits Georgia, it always takes me back to October of 1977. That was my official visit to Georgia as a recruit. I got in a small single engine plane in Valdosta late Friday night, after a win over Tift County and flew in the dark north. After I arrived, Ray Goff picked me up at the Athens airport and took me to the Continuing Education Center to check in. That night went by quick. It was an early wake-up call. 
    After a little breakfast, Ray was back to escort me across the street to the Coliseum, where he showed me the facilities and introduced me to some of the coaches. As we walked down the hallway, Ray stopped and introduced me to the LB coach Jim Pyburn. I held my hand out. He just looked at me and walked away. Left me holding. Coach Goff was speechless. Can't say I was shocked, being that his son was a Georgia QB. Were my feelings hurt? No. But it was a little uncomfortable. Ray probably should have skipped that introduction. 
    As the morning went on, I kept going back to that incident to try and make some sense of it. I understood where Coach Pyburn was coming from. He was protecting his turf. But it only made me more determined. I was not going to let that influence my decision. I was not going to be bullied. So what if he refused to shake my hand. Big deal. He was the LB coach anyway. I didn't mention what happened until I got home and told Dad. Man, he was ticked off. 
    Anyway, after that uncomfortable introduction, Ray took me up to meet with the OC/QB Coach Bill Pace. We sat in his office and talked about the 'Dogs offense. They were going thru a transition from the Veer-Option attack to a Pro-Set. Coach Pace was lighting one cigerette with another. He seemed pretty cool, but a little concerned about Kentucky.
    That morning went by fast. It was a beautiful day and kick-off was at 1:00. Prince Charles was at the game that day. I remember a big banner that read: Prince Charles Does It Dawg Style! Kentucky proceeded to bury the 'Dogs that day, 33-0. I was thinking Georgia needs some help...incoming freshmen could get some early playing time in 1978. 
    After the game, Coach Goff took me on to a couple of social gatherings. One house on campus had T. Graham Brown and his band performing. We didn't stay long because it was wild and crazy. We ended up at a FCA function, where he introduced me to one of the cheerleaders, Denise Cummings. She was nice. But lIke every recruiting visit, I wondered if everyone was that nice, or were they just playing the recruiting game?
    Obviously, Coach Pyburn wasn't playing around. But again, that wasn't going to scare me off. The flight back to Valdosta gave me time to think. It sounded like Coach Dooley would let me play baseball too. It would come down to Georgia, Florida State and Tennessee.