One of the great pleasures of my professional life has been interviewing 'Georgia Legends' for our GPB program.

This week, our crew caught up with Sonny Perdue, the 81st Governor of Georgia, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, 14th Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, UGA-trained veterinarian, and former star athlete.

We talked a little football. 

Sonny Perdue poses with a photo of him during his football days.

Credit: Macon Telegraph

"I played QB at Warner Robins," Chancellor Perdue told me with a full laugh, "it was a time when, we weren't winning."

Football culture in the South will always matter. And with a new season only weeks away, I'm in the presence of a former standout signal caller. 

At 79, the first Republican Georgia governor since reconstruction has led a towering life of public service.  Yet today we are chatting of middle Georgia high school football, 60 years ago because it helps define the Perdue political ascension. 

"I did win the passing crown, in Triple A 1965 vs Valdosta, Macon, Lanier," said Chancellor Perdue, "my numbers and record stood for about 17 or 18 years. People said, how did you do that, we had to pass, we couldn’t run the ball."

According to Bobby Pope of the Macon Telegraph, "Even with that Warner Robins dismal record his senior year, Perdue was good enough to earn honorable mention All-State honors from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As a senior, he set a GHSA Region 1-AAA record for passing, exceeding the previous mark by 200 yards. Perdue connected on 88-of-173 passes for a 50.8 completion percentage mark and a total of 1,424 yards. He had 12 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions."

Sonny Perdue was a baller, a quarterback who became governor.

In the final two games of the 1964 season, the teenaged Perdue connected on 22-of-37 for 468 yards and seven touchdowns. 

"I learned a lot about football, had offers out of state, but I wanted to go to veterinary school badly, to get in you had to apply to the state where you lived. I decided to walk on in Athens," recalled the man now in charge of his alma mater.

At UGA, Sonny Perdue was one of 9 freshman quarterbacks, "I was not a D1 athlete.  I teasingly like to say, I was small but slow."

His UGA Freshman class of 1965, included, the great Bill Stanfill and the one and only Billy Payne. 

Coach Dooley famously said, "Had I known you (Perdue) were to become a two-term governor, I would have played you more."

Young Perdue played in all four games for the UGA freshman team of Doc Ayers, then was moved over to the secondary. But football wasn't the Perdue future, the Bonaire native gave up the game after one year and graduated with a veterinary degree in 1971. 

The role of quarterback has defined Chancellor Perdue's entire life. Former high school teammates telling WMAZ television years ago, that Perdue was "the man," he led the huddle and the line of scrimmage, always about leadership. 

Chancellor Perdue looks like a football coach too, Hollywood came a courting a few years ago, when he played East Carolina Head Coach Mike McGee in the 2006 movie, “We Are Marshall."

Sonny Perdue playing East Carolina Head Coach Mike McGee in the 2006 movie, “We Are Marshall."

At an age when most men and women are ready for Lake Burton, Lake Rabun or the Georgia coast, Sonny Perdue is still behind center, taking snaps and leading the offense. 

College football kicks off in less than a month, and fall Saturdays are sacred in the South. This week on Hullinger’s Musings: former QB and political leader Sonny Perdue is still calling plays and leading with purpose.