Clarke County

Football player injured in Bulldogs game 7 years ago happy to cheer Dawgs to championship

ATHENS, Ga. — Many folks grow up bleeding red and black. Some have to be won over, like Devon Gales. Seven years ago, he was injured playing against UGA.

“I knew we were going to win,” said Gales.

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Devon hasn’t always cheered on Georgia to win, especially not when he was playing football for Southern University against UGA.

During a game in 2015 in Athens, Devon was injured.

Dawg nation came together and took care of him in a way he never saw coming.

“Everyone was supporting me and coming to check on me at the hospital. They checked on my family, so I’ve been a Dawg since day one. Just to see how far they came, it’s a blessing,” said Gales.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was there to see the support from Georgia while Devon lived at the Shepherd Center.

Fernandes was there when they built him a house in Jefferson, near Athens. The house was designed for Devon’s wheelchair, with enough space for his entire family to be comfortable.

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Georgia put their logo everywhere they could and Devon sported Georgia gear made just for him.

“I just had that Georgia Gales hoodie on yesterday going to class. I was like I’m representing today for my Dawgs and to see them come out the way they did, you can’t be more happy for them,” said Gales.

He built a bond with coach Kirby Smart, Georgia players, and the entire Dawg nation.

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UGA gave him a scholarship and he’ll be graduating soon.

“It feels great to finish what I started and know that you have like a year and a half left to graduate and then that’s when the big bucks start coming in,” Gales joked.

Devon said now that Georgia proved they are a championship team, the sky is the limit from here.

He wants to be at Saturday’s parade, but it just happens to be his dad’s birthday so he’ll be watching Channel 2′s coverage on TV instead.

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