RAY GOFF

Ray Goff was a standout player at Moultrie High, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year at Georgia and the coach who replaced Vince Dooley as head coach of the Bulldogs in 1989 at age 33. At Moultrie, now Colquitt County, Goff helped the Packers to a 19-3 record as the starting quarterback in 1971 and 1972. He passed for 1,571 yards for the 1972 Moultrie team that won the state’s strongest region, reached the semifinals of the Class AAA playoffs and finished 11-1. Goff was also the first player from Moultrie to pass for more than 300 yards in a game. Before switching to quarterback, Goff played in the defensive backfield and made seven interceptions as a sophomore. He was also an outstanding baseball pitcher who once threw a 19-inning shutout in a 1-0 victory in which he had the winning hit. Goff continued his football career at Georgia, where he would lead the Bulldogs to an SEC title and Sugar Bowl berth in 1976 and finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting. Goff transitioned into coaching and was an assistant at South Carolina before returning to Georgia in 1981. He became head coach in 1989 and served for seven seasons. Goff was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2011, and is now a part owner of Zaxby’s franchises and lives in Oconee County.