Georgia to Introduce New Mascot Uga X During 2015 Season

There will be a changing of the collars at Georgia this year as the school is set to introduce its newest English bulldog mascot.

Georgia announced Tuesday it would introduce Uga X during a home football game later this year. The new mascot will replace Uga IX, who was also known as "Russ."

"We look forward to celebrating the reign of Russ who has served the University and our sports program in magnificent fashion," UGA President Jere W. Morehead said in a statement on the school's official website. "He has truly endeared himself to fans all over the country.

"At the same time we anxiously await the arrival of the newest in our long-standing line of mascots, Uga X."

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Seth Emerson, the leading candidate to become Uga X is Russ' grandson "Que," who is a year-and-a-half old.

Que made his first appearance at Sanford Stadium last Saturday, July 11, at Georgia's annual Countdown to Kickoff event.

"We’re training Que to see if he can be the new Uga," Charles Seiler, whose family has bred the line of Uga mascots, told Emerson. "We’ve got two others that we can choose from, but it’s his turn first. So this is his first gig."

Seiler told Emerson that Russ turned 11 last month, meaning it was time for him to retire.

Russ had an eventful tenure with the Bulldogs.

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

He was Georgia's interim mascot in 2009 and 2010 after the deaths of Uga VII and Uga VIII. Russ was at every football game in 2011 before being officially promoted as Uga IX during the 2012 season.

The Georgia football team went 44-19 during Uga IX's tenure as the school's official mascot.

According to Emerson, Seiler mentioned Georgia's Nov. 7 home game against Kentucky as a potential date for the official collaring ceremony.

Justin Ferguson is an on-call college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.