Things haven't been easy for Brent Russell since he arrived in Statesboro in 2008. He got the start on the defensive line against Georgia in the '08 season opener and turned some heads, but suffered an injury against the Bulldogs which he didn't fully recover from until the following fall. After sitting out the remainder of the season with a red shirt and bulking up in the weight room, the 6-foot-2, 294-pound then-defensive end started the first game of the season again in 2009, and when the dust settled 11 games later, he was named Football Championship Subdivision Freshman of the Year.