Best Kick/Punt Returner You Remember...

Essobee

Essobee

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Skeptic said:
Did not Chapel throw that halfback TD pass (against Auburn, I think), the first and only one ever for Dodd, and ever afterward was known as "One Pass Rhino"?
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I don't know much about Chapel except what I have read at this site:
http://www.georgiatrend.com/January-2008/Family-Tradition/

Here is a teaser from that link but there is much, much more. A fascinating read about an amazing GA Tech family.

...in the collegiate ranks, there never has been anything like the Rhino family: Randy, the only three-time All-American football player (1972-1974) in Georgia Tech history; his father, Chappell, a member of Tech’s baseball hall of fame and a solid defensive back in football for Coach Bobby Dodd; and Randy’s son Kelley, a football Yellow Jacket who may be the only son to break one of his father’s all-time records (season punt return yardage of 441 yards that stood for 29 years). Kelley also logged 1,130 career return yards, beating his father’s career mark by some 400 yards.

Randy’s siblings were athletic as well: brother Danny played in the same defensive backfield at Tech, brother Tim played football at South Carolina, brother Dave played baseball at Florida State University and sister Vicki was a cheerleader at Atlanta’s Henderson High School.

Randy’s father-in-law, Forest (Duck) Smith was a running back and a super baseball player at Tech; his brother-in-law, the late Mike Wysong, was a Tech varsity football letterman.

He (Randy) was selected to every All-American team picked: Football Writers Association of America, United Press International, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, even Playboy magazine. All this and he earned a spot on the Dean’s List, too.
 

Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau

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bartoma said:
Kevin Tisdale, a walk-on IIRC, was pretty electrifying with the 1990 team...

For punts, Charlie Rodgers was the best I remember, with Kelly Rhino a close second - he wasn't fast, but was cat-quick, and could always make the first guy miss...

Honorable Mention: Big Play Gary Lee - for the TD return in the fog bowl... That's about as far back as I go...
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Billy Cannon, Vai Sikahema, Jerry Stovall.
 

Skeptic

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Essobee said:
I don't know much about Chapel except what I have read at this site:
http://www.georgiatrend.com/January-2008/Family-Tradition/

Here is a teaser from that link but there is much, much more. A fascinating read about an amazing GA Tech family.

...in the collegiate ranks, there never has been anything like the Rhino family: Randy, the only three-time All-American football player (1972-1974) in Georgia Tech history; his father, Chappell, a member of Tech’s baseball hall of fame and a solid defensive back in football for Coach Bobby Dodd; and Randy’s son Kelley, a football Yellow Jacket who may be the only son to break one of his father’s all-time records (season punt return yardage of 441 yards that stood for 29 years). Kelley also logged 1,130 career return yards, beating his father’s career mark by some 400 yards.

Randy’s siblings were athletic as well: brother Danny played in the same defensive backfield at Tech, brother Tim played football at South Carolina, brother Dave played baseball at Florida State University and sister Vicki was a cheerleader at Atlanta’s Henderson High School.

Randy’s father-in-law, Forest (Duck) Smith was a running back and a super baseball player at Tech; his brother-in-law, the late Mike Wysong, was a Tech varsity football letterman.

He (Randy) was selected to every All-American team picked: Football Writers Association of America, United Press International, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, even Playboy magazine. All this and he earned a spot on the Dean’s List, too.
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That really is a remarkable family. I knew of the three generation thing, but not much detail and nothing about the corollary lines. You probably wouldn't want to do a family football game against them. I did find stats that show Chappell Rhino did throw one pass in the undefeated 1952 season, 10 yards for a touchdown, and that was the only pass he threw at GT. It was not against Auburn -- that was a Tech blowout -- so I am not sure who it was. But it was a close game and 4th down as I recall the article -- googling doesn't find it -- and Dodd sent in the play. It developed with a belly series look -- triple option -- but was intended as a pitch back from the word go and Rhino suddenly stopped and threw the TD pass. My memory is it won the game but I just don't know. So Rhino career-wise was 1-1, 10 yards, touchdown.
 

Skeptic

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Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau said:
Billy Cannon, Vai Sikahema, Jerry Stovall.
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Not sure but I think the only big return for Cannon was to beat Mississippi late, but there could have been more. Cannon's problem, that didn't seem to hurt him in college, was that he was a straight-ahead runner, eventually moved to tight end in the pros.
 
Essobee

Essobee

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Skeptic said:
Not sure but I think the only big return for Cannon was to beat Mississippi late, but there could have been more. Cannon's problem, that didn't seem to hurt him in college, was that he was a straight-ahead runner, eventually moved to tight end in the pros.
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I recall that one, too. Just about everyone on the Mississippi defense hit Cannon on that run, but no one could stop him. Ole Miss won the rematch in the Sugar Bowl, however.
 

Skeptic

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Skeptic said:
That really is a remarkable family. I knew of the three generation thing, but not much detail and nothing about the corollary lines. You probably wouldn't want to do a family football game against them. I did find stats that show Chappell Rhino did throw one pass in the undefeated 1952 season, 10 yards for a touchdown, and that was the only pass he threw at GT. It was not against Auburn -- that was a Tech blowout -- so I am not sure who it was. But it was a close game and 4th down as I recall the article -- googling doesn't find it -- and Dodd sent in the play. It developed with a belly series look -- triple option -- but was intended as a pitch back from the word go and Rhino suddenly stopped and threw the TD pass. My memory is it won the game but I just don't know. So Rhino career-wise was 1-1, 10 yards, touchdown.
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Found it. It got even better. It was not "One Pass" as I remembered from Furman Bisher's recollections, but "One Play" as it was his only play of the game against Georgia, of all things. Third quarter, fourth and four, Dodd put him in at half back and he hit Buck Martin for 10 yards and the TD. Tech went on to win. Cool.
 

gtwcf

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Kelley took advantage of a rule change, but was fun to watch. I'm not sure I've got the nerve to stand there with someone coming at me at full speed trying to light me up.

Another one that did pretty good with his one year was Jonathan Smith. Didn't he have a game against UNC where he returned a punt for a TD, caught a TD, and passed for a TD?

I think Tarrant was one of the best punt returners we've had on campus. Jamal probably has had the most production, but I'm not sure what happened last year, but he didn't seem as explosive. Orwin did pretty good back there.
 
forensicbuzz

forensicbuzz

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gtwcf said:
Kelley took advantage of a rule change, but was fun to watch. I'm not sure I've got the nerve to stand there with someone coming at me at full speed trying to light me up.

Another one that did pretty good with his one year was Jonathan Smith. Didn't he have a game against UNC where he returned a punt for a TD, caught a TD, and passed for a TD?

I think Tarrant was one of the best punt returners we've had on campus. Jamal probably has had the most production, but I'm not sure what happened last year, but he didn't seem as explosive. Orwin did pretty good back there.
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See Post #22
 

Skeptic

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Essobee said:
I recall that one, too. Just about everyone on the Mississippi defense hit Cannon on that run, but no one could stop him. Ole Miss won the rematch in the Sugar Bowl, however.
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Those were billed as the grudge games between Cannon and the Mississippi fullback, Charlie(?) Flowers, both All-Americans. Not sure if a split settled anything. Flowers signed a shady pro contract while he was playing, and Cannon wound up in prison for some sort of counterfeiting scheme. Cost him the Hall of Fame, to which Flowers was admitted. Whatever happened to those good old days of honest graft?
 
OldJacketFan

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If we're talking all time college football, there's only one that just jumps into my mind immediately, Johnny Rogers at Nebraska! I've can't remember a more electrifying player with the ball in his hands!

Versus Oklahoma 1971

 
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