Ganus making new memories as Georgia Bulldog

The moments of reflection don’t come often for Jake Ganus. His schedule is a bit too demanding.

As a senior linebacker at the University of Georgia, the 6-foot-2, 233-pound senior has football games to prepare for during the week. He’s also working his way toward a degree in business management and preparing for a wedding ceremony, even though his contribution to the latter is largely nodding his head and answering “Yes, dear.”

Occasionally, though, he gets the chance to think about a journey that carried him from his childhood home in Georgia to Chelsea High School. He can reminisce about the high school football glory days, when he was often the best player on the field while playing quarterback and safety. He can recall arriving at UAB at 175 pounds, growing into one of the top defenders in Conference USA and landing firmly on his feet when his college football world was turned upside down less than a week after the Blazers reached bowl eligibility with a win at Southern Miss.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Ganus said. “I don’t think anybody would have believed you if you would have said I’d be where I’m at now. I couldn’t be happier to be here because it’s such a great opportunity.”

Questioning Ganus’ college football ability didn’t make much sense after his first three seasons at UAB. He played immediately — skipping a redshirt — and participated in all 36 games with 32 starts. He entered this season with 226 career tackles, including team highs of 93 tackles as a sophomore and 70 tackles as a junior. Ganus was an All-Conference USA selection last season after finishing second in the conference in tackles for loss with 16.5.

What nobody knew, including Ganus, was how he fit into the SEC. He had success in non-conference games against SEC teams, including notching a season high 11 tackles at Arkansas, but facing the week-after-week SEC is a different challenge. 

“I think so,” Ganus said when asked if there was a twinge of self-doubt. “But I always believe in myself. I always believe that if you work hard enough, you can do anything you want. I knew it was going to be a little bit tougher, I was going to have to work a little bit harder, but I was willing to do that to have success.”

Obviously, that’s happened. Ganus looked comfortable in spring practice, moving to the top of the depth chart at linebacker, and solidified his starting role with a strong fall camp. 

“He’s a very smart football player,” teammate Davin Bellamy, a sophomore linebacker, said after a season-opening 51-14 win over Louisiana-Monroe. “He knows the playbook like the back of his hand, and that just shows his preparation. I think the coaches take notice of that, too. He’s also a great football player, very instinctive. It’s good to have him on the team.”

For Ganus, that was a special game, especially with the large crowd on his team’s side instead of rooting against them, like it was when UAB ventured into SEC stadiums. 

“I wasn’t overwhelmed or anything,” Ganus said. “It was just awesome getting them all involved, just seeing how loud it gets, looking at the quarterback where he can’t even hear his alignment. It’s a fun experience and something I’ll definitely cherish.”

The season has already included many more special times. He had his first SEC interception in a win at Vanderbilt and led the team with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery in a miserable afternoon against Alabama. But nothing topped the moments following a win over South Carolina when Ganus led Peyton Thomas, who he’s been dating since high school, to midfield at Sanford Stadium. He got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

It was a plan hatched during fall camp, with permission from head coach Mark Richt, and it took plenty of help from friends, family and teammates. 

“It ended up being pretty perfect,” Ganus said.

Ganus now is seeking a perfect ending to a college football career that took an unexpected twist. He does his best to keep up with his former UAB teammates, but that’s proven to be difficult at times.

“I don’t get to watch them much,” Ganus said. “On Saturdays, I’m worried about my game. I try to keep up with them and see how they did afterward. I talk to them as often as I can.”

One thing he knows for certain, though, is he’s in no hurry to line up opposite bruising former teammate Jordan Howard, now a star running back at Indiana, in a bowl.

“I’ve faced him enough,” Ganus said. “I’m done tackling him, I don’t want to tackle him anymore.”