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2022National
Champions
Edition
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WHAT’S THE WORD
HAMILTON CULPEPPER
DEVIN WILLOCK AND CHANDLER LECROY
WILL FOREVER BE REMEMBERED
PHOTOS VIA INSTAGRAM
Devin Willock and Chandler
LeCroy were two Bulldogs,
two sweet souls, a son and
a daughter with one thing
bringing them together: University of
Georgia football.
Devin, an offensive lineman, and
Chandler, a recruiting analyst, were killed
in a car wreck Sunday, January 15, 2023.
Just hours before the fatal crash, all
seemed right in the Classic City as Red and
Black flooded the streets with jubilation
for the parade that celebrated Georgia’s
second straight national title. Now, the
UGA campus floods with cold rain water
and heavy hearts as we mourn the loss of
two Dawgs.
The first time in the week following the
crash, I walked into my Sport Marketing
course in the Ramsey Center, sat down
and pulled out my computer just like
any other day. I opened this document
to begin writing this story, jotting down
a few thoughts before class started.
Professor Slonaker entered the room and
unlike any other day, he didn’t put the
attendance code on the screen.
Rather, he sat on a stool at the front of
the room and said, “We won’t be taking
attendance this week after the tragedy
a few days ago. We all grieve in different
ways, and if you feel you can’t make it
to class because you knew them or you
simply just need time to take in this
shocking news, I understand.”
In a time like this, a time with
circumstances this University has never
faced, there is grieving. This school needs
time to heal after this loss. In a time like
this, no outcome on the field, no recruit
decommitting, no player transferring or
coach leaving matters. In a time like this,
a football team with two members lost,
multiplies. An entire university becomes
a family and an entire fanbase becomes a
support staff for their direct families and
their even bigger family that wears the “G.”
There were two survivors of the crash,
Warren McClendon, another offensive
lineman, and Tory Bowles, another
recruiting analyst.
The printed version of this magazine is
distributed to the hometowns of these
two survivors: Warren of Brunswick and
Tory of Athens. Many readers of ours
probably know these families. Tory was my
babysitter, drove me home from school
and is always such a light to everyone
around her. So, from the Athens and
Brunswick communities, from the BI family
and from all of Dawg Nation, we send
prayers and well wishes to the Bowles and
McClendon families as well.
In the wake of this tragedy, however, a
few lights have shone through the UGA
student body, not only memorializing
the lives lost but revealing Devin and
Chandler’s loving character while they
walked this earth.
As the Georgia basketball team traveled
to Lexington (on January 17) to take on
Kentucky, Devin’s friend and Georgia
hooper Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Coach
Mike White added a patch to the team’s
jerseys, recognizing the two victims.
Extra Special People (ESP), the studentaffiliated,
non-profit organization that
creates opportunities for disabled
children, posted a picture of Devin with
a few of the kids after a Georgia practice.
The caption says: “Devin Willock was one
of our special buddies. Not only will #77
be remembered for being a champion
on the Georgia football field, but he
was a loving champion for people with
disabilities at ESP. Devin, your warm and
gentle presence will never be forgotten.
Today, our buddies celebrate and honor
you.”
Chandler’s obituary said: “She had a way
of making each and every prospect and
their families feel like her own family. Her
love for the current Georgia football team
didn’t go unnoticed. She would spend
as many hours a day as she could to the
program helping out in any and every
way she could. Her job didn’t stop with
recruiting. She made it her responsibility
to help every single entity in the building,
whether that be defensive and offensive
support staff, nutrition, equipment,
operations and any department that
needed a helping hand. Every department
of Georgia Football lost a member of their
team and she will forever be missed.”
Devin not only gave his heart and soul on
the field, but he gave it back to the people
less fortunate who couldn’t play football
because of their disabilities. Chandler gave
her heart and soul to Georgia football as
well, showing any recruit how Georgia can
be their home just as it has been to her.
Devin and Chandler won’t just be
remembered with two rings on their
fingers; they won’t just be remembered
for being back-to-back champions; they
won’t just be remembered for even being
members of the Georgia football team;
they will be remembered for so much
more: their love for everyone around
them, their care for those who needed
help, their hard work and dedication
to Georgia, and their joy that acted as
a magnet gravitating everyone toward
them.
The two were an unlikely bunch as Devin
was a redshirt sophomore from New
Milford, New Jersey, and Chandler was
a Georgia girl from Toccoa, but Georgia
football brought them together, and just
like everyone they came in contact with,
Georgia football was so fortunate to have
them. Rest in Peace Devin and Chandler.
Your stellar commitment to the Red and
Black will forever be remembered and
celebrated by the Bulldog Nation.
BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED 122 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS EDITION