Rivalry is a family affair for Geathers

Kwame Geathers grew up just beyond the eastern end of Interstate 20, but that never stopped him from blowing right past the Columbia exits in favor of Highway 78 in rural Georgia.

On Saturday, the kid from one of South Carolina’s first families of football will return to his home state for what might be the biggest regular-season game of his life.

The junior defensive lineman followed his brother Robert to Georgia and will be making his second trip to Williams-Brice Stadium with the Bulldogs.

“I mean, all the games are the same, but going back to South Carolina is pretty exciting,” Geathers said Monday. “When I went back there my redshirt freshman year, it was kind of it felt to me like it was the loudest game I’d been to at that stadium. This year, I know it’s going to be even crazier.”

The 6-foot-6, 355-pound Carvers Bay alumnus has been a key sub along a very talented Georgia defensive front. In 2011, he played in 12 games and made three starts.

The Geathers family, for all its talent, has sent only one family member to the USC football team. Robert Geathers Sr. went to South Carolina State while his brother Jumpy played at Wichita State. Brother Clifton Geathers was the anomaly, choosing not to follow Robert Jr. to Georgia and instead heading to USC, where he was a sixth-round NFL selection in 2010. Clifton has been giving his little brother an earful about his school choice since the end of the Tennessee game Saturday night.

“(Georgia) was the best school to go to,” Geathers said. “This was (about) following my older brother Robert. When Robert was here and I was a little kid, I was like, man, I want to play for Georgia. I remember thinking, ‘I’m a Bulldog.’ ”

Sure, there is this touted matchup between the consensus No. 5 and No. 6 team in the country. There’s the national television audience, there’s ESPN’s GameDay and there is the game-time atmosphere. But Geathers’ reception at Williams-Brice is another reason his teammates are eager to make the trip.

“I love going to South Carolina with Kwame, because I know they hate him,” senior defensive end Abry Jones said. “I’m ready to hear what they say about him.

“I know a couple of years ago, it was, ‘You should have come here’ and they were talking about his brother and when we ended up losing, it just got worse,” Jones added with a laugh. “Before the game, we were coming out of the tunnel and, Kwame, he’s a hard guy to miss, so they spotted him and were pointing, and you knew they were going to give it to him.”

Carlton Geathers made it two family members at USC, but as a basketball player. The next Geathers in the chute is Robert Geathers III, a nephew.

“But he’s got a long ways to go,” Geathers said.

Georgia, apparently, is his choice for now, but he likely will be among the massive Geathers presence in the Williams-Brice stands on Saturday.

“I have a lot of them calling me for tickets right now,” Geathers said. “I don’t know how I’m going to get everybody a ticket.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2012 at 10:40 PM.