Lar-ry Lar-ry Lar-ry

If you attended any Georgia football or basketball games in the mid '90s, there is one name you always heard from the crowd. The name Larry as in Larry Brown was a dominant player for both teams. On the gridiron, he was an All-SEC tight end and on the court, he was a force in the post. He later played in the NFL and is now currently coaching. This week I talked to the former two-sport star.

Dave McMahon -- What are you doing now?

Larry Brown -- I am living in Atlanta and teaching 4th grade. I am also helping out a coach in basketball at Southside High School.

DM -- You were a fan favorite in both sports at Georgia... when was the first time you heard the fans chanting... Lar-ry! Lar-ry! Lar-ry!?

LB -- It was in 1995 during my first year playing basketball for Hugh Durham. When I got in my first game, a lot of the football players in the stands got the whole crowd yelling my name. The whole crowd joined in.

DM -- Your last game playing football was in the Peach Bowl, are you going to try to go to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl this year?

LB -- I am going.

DM -- How many football games do you go to each year?

LB -- I usually go to about 2 a year.

DM -- What football memories do you have?

LB -- That last Peach Bowl game you mentioned was great. We were down 21 points and Quincy Carter helped lead the team and we pulled it out. I also remember the big win we had against Florida and I remember another game against Florida I scored a touchdown, but they said it was a delay of game, but then the refs reversed the call and it was a touchdown.

DM -- What are your feelings about the Georgia football team the last few seasons?

LB -- I am really really impressed with the team. The whole program is great. The coaching has been real good and we have been getting a lot of players in the NFL. Georgia is an elite program. We are on the map!

DM -- Switching to basketball, what memories do you have playing basketball for Georgia?

LB -- Playing in the Sweet 16 under Coach Tubby Smith was really special. I also remember getting to the NIT Final 4 under Coach Jirsa. I remember getting a winning basket against Arkansas in the SECs. It was a pass from G.G. Smith and we won. I never had one of those before.

DM -- If it wasn't for a buzzer beater by Syarcuse's John Wallace, Georgia should have made it to the Elite 8 and could have made it to the final 4?

LB -- We could of. That was a great team. The following year we were great, too, but we were stopped by a red-hot UT-Chattanooga team. Also, the assistant principal at the school I am at told me that the 4 years I was at Georgia were part of the most successful class in Georgia basketball history. That is pretty incredible.

DM -- Are you going to this weekend's basketball game in Duluth?

LB -- I want to. I am going to try. I am going to try to do more for the basketball team.

DM -- Talk about your time in the NFL...

LB -- I was picked up as a undrafted free agent by the Chargers. I was released 3-4 months later after an injury. I then started working out with Mo Lewis, another former Dawg. A couple weeks later I got a call to play pro ball in Tennessee under Jeff Fisher. I was 7th on the tight end depth chart in the beginning, but I had a great preseason in which I think I led the team in receptions. I forced the team to carry 4 tight ends on their roster... One big memory in the NFL was that I played in the Super Bowl in the same place where I played my final college game, the Georgia Dome.

DM -- Any catches in the games you played?

LB -- No. I played in 9 games, but played mostly special teams.

DM -- What about all the success by Georgia producing tight ends in the NFL?

LB -- There's a lot of them. Leonard Pope is just getting used to the NFL right now, but the other 3 are really contributing for their teams. They are good.

DM -- Do you ever talk to some of your former Georgia teammates?

LB -- I talk to Robert Edwards, Hines Ward, Corey Allen, Glenn Ford, Lorenzo Hall, Adrian Jones, Michael Chadwick and more. A lot of them live in Atlanta.

DM -- When you were at your height, there was a Larry Brown winning the Super Bowl MVP for the Cowboys and a Larry Brown coaching in the NBA... was everybody Larry Brown?

LB -- That was interesting. It was weird because one was one of the best basketball coaches and the other was a football MVP. I played both sports. I guess I am in the middle.

DM -- Thank you for your time and answers.