Top 50 UGA Players of All Time - No. 27 - Richard Seymour
Dawg Post is counting down the Top 50 UGA players of all time through the summer. Keep checking back eat weekday to see who we have next…
No. 27 - Richard Seymour, DL from Columbia, SC
There’s no way to write a “Greatest Bulldogs” list without listing the great Richard Seymour. The dominant defensive tackle played for the Bulldogs from 1997-2000.
They weren’t the best days of Georgia football, but the Bulldogs had a presence on the defensive line thanks to the 6-foot-6 315-pounder. Seymour played little as a freshman in ’97, but started coming into his own as a sophomore. In 1998, Seymour made four starts while totaling 69 tackles and four sacks.
As a junior, Seymour was named 1st-team All-SEC after making 74 tackles, 10 TFLS, and four more sacks. The Bulldogs went 8-4 that season, but Seymour was a national name by the time the season ended.
As a senior in 200, Seymour was named 1st-team All-SEC for the second consecutive season, while also being named a 1st-team All American. Seymour recorded 78 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, and 13 QB pressures. During his four-year career at Georgia, Seymour finished with 223 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 25.5 TFLs and 35 quarterback pressures.
After an outstanding collegiate career, Seymour was selected with the 6th overall pick of the 2001 NFL Draft to the New England Patriots.
The rest was history. Seymour earned more and more playing time as his rookie season went along, and even started at defensive tackle in Super Bowl XXXVI when the Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams. Seymour would go onto win three Super Bowl titles during his 8 seasons with the Patriots before playing his final four seasons with the Raiders.
In his career, Seymour totaled 496 tackles, 57.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and found a way to intercept two passes. Seymour is not only a legend in Athens, Georgia, but is remembered fondly all across New England. Not only was he a dominant defender, but he was a true leader and winner. Seymour is one of the greatest Patriot defensive lineman of all-time, and is a big reason for the Patriots dynasty in the early 2000s.
Seymour was selected to 7 Pro Bowls (2002-2006, 2010, 2011) and was named 3x First-Team All-Pro in his career.