Rennie Says Goodbye to Bulldogs

As you're no doubt aware, Rennie Curran announced today that he was leaving school a year early for the NFL. Here are some quotes from Rennie and Mark Richt from today's teleconference to announce the news...

Rennie on the decision...
“It was a very tough decision that took a lot of time. I talked with my family and prayed about it for many days. I asked for advice from many people including Coach Richt and I really just came up with the decision that it would be best for me to go pro. That’s a decision that came with the blessing of my family and teammates.”

Rennie on leaving his teammates...
“That was the hardest thing to look at, the part of the decision that had no right or wrong answer. I felt like if I came back it would have been awesome. If I were to leave, I’d have a lot of opportunities as well. But the main thing was leaving my teammates. Those are like my brothers. It’s hard to know that I’m not going to be there for all the little things and all those memories I’ll miss. That made it that much harder.”

Richt on what Rennie has meant to UGA...
“Rennie’s been nothing but awesome for Georgia since the day he got on campus. He’s been a great teammate. He’s been a great student of the game. He’s really done everything you could ask him to do. He behaved on and off the field. He’s been a blessing to me personally. When you have a guy that shows up every day with a great attitude and comes ready to work and ready to be coach and tries to do it the Georgia way – Rennie always did that.”

Richt on what Rennie can accomplish in the NFL...
“I wish Rennie well and I think Rennie will do well. He’s a tackling machine. He always has been, and I think that will continue no matter what level ball he plays at. He’s going to be that torpedo. He can hit. And he’ll do well. I pray he has a long and healthy career.”

Richt on Rennie's future...
“I would have loved to have him stay. He could have been a great leader for us, been in contention for some of the national awards, moved up the charts of the all-time tacklers and all those things that are exciting for a guy. And I think he could have helped us win a championship. But he made his decision, and I just want to tell him thanks for all the things he did for us.”

Rennie on the biggest factors that led to his decision...
“It was a lot of deciding factors. When most people look at a decision like this, they think it was the money. But it was a lot more than that. For me, the deciding factor was my family. Most people know that I have a daughter. And just the fact that we have a new defensive coach coming in which is a new system to learn and when you’ve lost guys on the defensive line – Jeff Owens, Geno, big Kade. There was a lot of things I had to look at, and those were some of the things I wrote down on my list of pros and cons. And my reasons to go outweighed my reasons to stay, even though I loved Georgia.”

Rennie on his NFL advisory board grade...
“I did get my grade from the advisory board and that was the grade I was kind of expecting and it was good enough for me to consider coming out. I also went out and got other advice from scouts in the league and I had to sit down and consider whether coming back would really raise my stock, consider what my faults were and my strengths.”

Rennie on scouts knocking him for his size...
“I knew it was going to be something I would hear. It’s always been something I’ve had to deal with. But I looked over many NFL rosters and there’s plenty of guys who are about my size that are playing and are very successful in the league. I talked to Dexter Coakley and other guys around the league and my height, I feel is not going to be my issue. It’s going to be my technique – the things that got me to Georgia – that will be the biggest factors. So the things I’m focused on are my strengths, the things I can control, and I think I’ll be fine. Whether I was 6-1 or 6-2, I’d play the same way, I’d still have the love for the game and try to be the first person to the ball. I don’t think my height has anything to do with it. Even though that’s going to be something mentioned, that’s something I’m just going to have to get NFL coaches and scouts to look over and consider.”

Rennie on how difficult the decision was...
“There’s no doubt about it, it’s the toughest decision I’ve had to make in my life. There was no right or wrong answer. There were so many variables, so many unknowns for a big decision like this, and you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Even if do get drafted, I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’m all about being near my family. Even when I came here to Georgia, that was one of the reasons because it was close to home. It’s a total leap of faith and a really tough decision.”

Rennie on whether he wavered in his decision...
“I changed my mind so many times. It’s one thing to say you’re ready to go – that you’re mentally and physically ready. But it’s another thing to have the courage to do it, to say that you’re going to go and not look back. Everybody has been there for me throughout the process, and nobody put any pressure on me at all. Coach Richt and everybody were nothing but helpful to make the best decision possible for me. It was something I really battled with. I talked to teammates, talked to former teammates, and it was really hard for me to decide.”

Rennie on what he wants to say to the fans...
“I loved every second that I was at Georgia, and I hope that they know I didn’t just do this for selfish reasons or just for the money or that I don’t care about the Bulldog Nation because I love them to death. I want them to know that every single down I played for the University of Georgia, every single day, I tried to go out and give my best. I’m not the perfect player, and I never will be, but I hope when they watch the games they saw the love that I have and how much being a Bulldog means to me.”

Rennie on who will take over the defensive leadership next year...
“There’s plenty of guys I feel can take that role. Darryl Gamble, Akeem Dent, a lot of guys who work hard. Justin Houston, all those guys are going to do a great job. Marcus Dowtin. I could go on. And it’s young guys that have a lot of ability. Bacarri Rambo, Brandon Boykin, those guys are going to step it up and do great things for the defense.”

Rennie on what he needs to do before the draft...
“The film doesn’t lie. I’ve got to get better, get the work in, and the biggest thing is going to be how I perform at the combine. If I can run a good 40 time and if show the scouts my quickness and ball skills and everything, as well as my interview. A lot of things are going to be crucial for me. I’m going to have to really knock out the combine. But I feel like the sky is the limit. I just have to get one team to like me and there’s no reason why I can’t go in the first round despite my size.”

Richt on the coaching search and Kirby Smart...
“I’ll tell you what I’ve been saying all along is that I’m not going to make any comment on the search until I’ve got my guy. … I’ll let you know when it happens, I promise.”