Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray earned the starting job in 2010 and went on to become one of the most successful signal-callers in school history. But he almost quit the sport all together during his first year after taking a nasty hit from Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley.
There were multiple instances throughout the game in which Fairley crushed Murray. Some of them were clean, by college rules at the time, and some of them were clearly dirty.
Whether the hits were clean or not, they happened. Fairley was public enemy No. 1 in Athens for quite some time.
One particular hit sticks with Murray to this day. It left a lasting impression, both mental and physical.
If he did that outside the football field, he’d have been in jail for three years […]
That was actually the first time in my life I was like “I don’t know if I want to play football anymore.” I’m not kidding either.
I was on the sideline, and I had six stitches; my jersey’s covered in blood; I had a fractured sternum and can’t feel the left side of my body. I got whiplash in my neck, and I can’t really move my neck. I was like “Is this really worth it? It’s my freshman year, I can quit now and save myself a lot of punishment.”
I had to sit up sleeping the next two weeks. I couldn’t even lay down. It was tough.
— Aaron Murray, via WJOX 94.5 FM’s ‘3 Man Front’
Understandably, Murray’s Georgia teammates were furious with the hit. They wanted revenge on Fairley. who went on to become a first round NFL Draft pick.
Bulldogs center Ben Jones took action. However, he took action against the wrong player.
Jones ripped off one of the Tigers middle linebacker’s dreadlocks and brought it back to the huddle. The middle linebacker had nothing to do with Fairley’s hit.
Ben pulls out a dreadlock and says, “I got you some dreads, Murray.”
He’s trying to hand me dreads. Everyone’s mouth is on the ground…
Like Ben, I got to call a play. So then he stuffs the dreads in his pants, plays the rest of the game with the dreads in his pants.
And it wasn’t even the middle linebacker who who hurt me. It was Fairley, but he ripped the middle linebacker’s dreads out.
— Aaron Murray, via The Players’ Lounge
Jones went on to play four years with the Texans and seven years with the Titans. He is currently a free agent after being released by Tennessee in March.
It is unclear as to whether he still has the middle linebacker’s dreadlock. It is clear that it just means more in the SEC!