Spotlight on Gwinnett County: UGA's Rennie Curran

As I've mentioned several times already in previous blogs, Gwinnett County, GA is a tremendous hot bed for big time college prospects who do great in college and move on to the pros.

One such student-athlete is Rennie Curran, a 5'11 222 lb Weak Side Linebacker from Brookwood High School in snellville, GA. Curran exploded on to the scene his Freshman year at Georgia. He appeared in 11 games making five starts with 53 tackles including 9.0 for loss and 3.0 sacks and was named Freshman All-America First Team by Rivals.com, Freshman All-America Second Team by Scout.com and Honorable Mention by Sporting News.

That was just his Freshman year. There was no Sophomore slump in Rennie Curran's game. He was a Butkus Award Finalist in 2008, among other things, many things. If he has the same type of season that he had for the Dogs last year, or is able to eclipse it, he might bolt for the 2010 NFL Draft. No, Bulldog Nation citizens, don't run off the road. I hope like you all that Curran stays all four years between the hedges, but as we all know, especially in this economy, money talks. Here are just some of Curran's accomplishments his Sophomore Year: Honored as the Collegiate Athlete of the Year by the Allied Athlete Group Foundation in Atlanta*Named a Butkus Award finalist *Selected Fourth-Team All-America by Phil Steele*Named to CollegeFootballNews.com’s All-Sophomore First Team*Named First Team All-SEC by SEC Coaches and by Phil Steele, also Second Team All-SEC by Associated Press*Earned the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Player Award*Started all 13 games leading the team in tackles (115), including a team-leading 10.0 TFL and a team-high 3.0 sacks to go along with two forced fumbles*His 115 tackles were the most by a Bulldog since 1998. Named one of Sporting News Magazine’s 20 most indispensable college football players and labeled “the most dominant defensive player in the game."

Curran is just a Junior. I, as are many other Dog fans, am excited to see what Rennie Curran will do during the 2009 campaign. It will be a tough schedule this year for Curran and the Dogs with a visit to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma St., Arizona St. in Athens, and, of course, the rugged SEC schedule. I believe, however, they're up to the task.