There will be a new Dawg patrolling the sidelines between the hedges soon.
According to UGA beat reporter Radi Nabulsi, the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Seth Emerson and other reports, the role of the most famous mascot in college sports is up for grabs.
UGA IX (better known to his friends as “Russ”) will be stepping down this season, and the search is on to see who will fill his shoes…er, collar. Russ, who is 11 years old and getting up in age for an English Bulldog, will be passing the torch to the new UGA sometime this fall, according to the Seiler family, which has bred the beloved line of mascots since the 1950’s.
The school will most likely look for a game around mid-season or later to perform the “passing of the collar” ceremony, after the Georgia heat has subsided a bit.
The leading candidate to take over as UGA X was on hand at Sanford Stadium on Saturday for the annual Countdown to Kickoff event. His name is “Que” (short for “cue-ball”). He is a year-and-a-half old and is Russ’ grandson.
Charles Seiler brought him to the event as a sort of audition.
Seiler said, “We’re training Que to see if he can be the new Uga. We’ve got two others that we can choose from, but it’s his turn first. So this is his first gig.”
The other two pups Seiler spoke of are apparently younger than Que.
“The good thing about being a year-and-a-half, ” Seiler said, “is that we know what he’s gonna look like. The bad thing about puppies is we don’t know what they’re gonna look like. So he’s got a little edge on those other two.”
When asked about his chances to succeed his grandpa, Que reportedly had no comment.
Russ has certainly earned his right to a quiet retirement. He served as an interim mascot off an on from 2009 to 2012, when he received a “battlefield promotion” and took over as UGA IX, after both UGA VII (2008-09) and UGA VIII (2010-11) passed away prematurely.
Whenever he steps away and takes off his jersey and collar for the last time, he will certainly join all the Ugas who preceded him in being remembered around Bulldawg Nation as a “DGD” – Damn Good Dawg.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
