'It's just a huge blessing.' Former UGA football coach Mark Richt gets emotional during halftime recognition

Mark Richt stood at midfield before Saturday's game and appeared right at home.

Before leading the 'Calling the Dawgs' cheer in Sanford Stadium about 10 minutes before the Bulldogs kicked off with Missouri, Richt, sporting a black UGA hoodie, smiled wide as the crowd joyously applauded his return.

Soon he was chanting "Goooooo Dawgs, sic 'em," as the smile remained plastered across his face.

Richt spent 15 seasons as the Bulldogs coach and his 145 wins ranks second only to Vince Dooley in all-time victories as a Georgia head coach.

The university recognized him at halftime on Saturday as 40 former captains, including the likes of Jon Stinchcomb, Brandon Boykin, Rennie Curran, Drew Butler and Jarvis Jones, stood with him at midfield.

"It's just a huge blessing," Richt said. "Getting to see the guys, so many former captains showed up just to say hello. The fans have been wonderful. It's just a blessing."

UGA athletic director Josh Brooks presented Richt a football while a highlight reel featuring the coach's five SEC east titles, two SEC championships, Sugar Bowl victory and Hobnail Boot victory at Tennessee rolled on the stadium's jumbo board.

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Richt, with wife Katharyn standing alongside, became emotional as the highlights rolled and the crowd erupted.

"That's why I wore these sunglasses, I had a feeling this was going to happen," said Richt after the halftime presentation. "I didn't want to look too pitiful."

Former players hugged each other and Richt along the sidelines prior to the halftime ceremony. They returned for today, many said, not because of Richt the coach, but Richt the person.

"Any time you talk about coach Richt you're talking about a person who was always more than a coach to everybody," said Boykin, a cornerback and kick returner from 2008-11. "He cared about you even after he left Athens and the University of Georgia."

The Georgia faithful continued to cheer for Richt as he exited Dooley Field and walked underneath the stadium. The emotions returned as he and Curran posed for a photo near the east end zone.

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"You have those coaches you know that it was all about the wins and losses," said Curran, a linebacker from 2007-09. "Those are the ones that you'd run through a brick wall for. The things that he does away from the lights, away from the fans, away from the TVs, to help us as men; there's many of us who saw an example of what marriage looks like and good family values through Coach Richt."

Richt revealed earlier this year that he is battling Parkinson's Disease, which affects his movement and mobility.

While he waved to the crowd and hugged hundreds of people along the sidelines and took photos with fans screaming for his attention from behind the hedges, it's obvious that he ambles a little slower than in days past.

But, Richt said as he walked off of Dooley Field, "I feel good. I feel real good."

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: UGA football honors former coach Mark Richt during Missouri game