How Georgia's Jake Ganus Pulled off 50-Yard-Line Surprise Proposal

Peyton Thomas walked onto the Sanford Stadium field Saturday night following Georgia's 52-20 win over South Carolina thinking it was linebacker Jake Ganus' night.

After all, Ganus was named "senior of the week" by head coach Mark Richt during the week, and everything they've been through—with the shutdown of the UAB program and Jake's sudden transfer to Georgia earlier this year—he had earned the recognition from his new program after his seven tackles on the night.

Instead, Saturday was Peyton's night.

Ganus took Thomas' hand and told her to walk to the 50-yard line to recreate a picture the couple took when Ganus decided that he was transferring to Georgia following the shutdown.

Ganus had other plans.

"All of these cameras were following us, and I was kinda freaking out because I didn't know what was going on," Thomas told Bleacher Report. "He grabbed my hand and started telling me how much that he loved me, and I started crying because I knew what was happening and it hit me all at once."

After seven years, the two high school sweethearts from Chelsea, Alabama, were engaged at the most improbable place—midfield at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

The proposal, which has been featured all over the Internet and television since Saturday night, needed an enormous amount of planning from not just Ganus but his family and everybody associated with the Georgia athletic department.

It turns out Ganus wasn't "senior of the week."

That award doesn't exist at all.

Ganus purchased the engagement ring toward the end of fall camp and had planned all along to pop the question on the field. The week of the game, the plan came together with a little help from Richt.

The two met on Tuesday afternoon following practice and concocted a fake "senior of the week" award that would allow Thomas and her family to be on the sidelines during the South Carolina game. Step 1 was in the books. 

But to cover all the bases, other parties needed to be involved—specifically Jaicee Brewton.

Brewton, the girlfriend of Bulldogs offensive lineman Kolton Houston, had already been through one "senior" season with Houston, who was listed as a senior in 2014 before being granted a sixth year of eligibility in order to play in 2015.

"I asked her about it, and she said 'Yeah, Kolton was senior of the week last year. It was so fun going out on the field,'" Thomas said. "I thought 'Oh, how cool.'"

With the plan in place, somebody had to hold the ring. 

After all, it's not like Ganus could hide it in his sock during the game.

That responsibility belonged to Ganus' mother, who had it in a box in a backpack during the game.

"It was kind of wedged in there," Janene Ganus told Bleacher Report. "I was really nervous, and throughout the game, I kept reaching in just to make sure it was still in there knowing that it had never left my possession. I was ultra-paranoid."

To make this dramatic proposal work, there had to be a transfer.

"When we got down on the field, she slipped it to him when we all got down there," Thomas said. "I didn't even see the exchange. He was pretty sneaky about it."

She didn't see it, because mother and son had things planned to perfection.

Since Ganus was "senior of the week," a picture with mom seemed natural. So the two took a picture together and made the switch.

"We did the baton toss," Janene Ganus said. "When I put my arm around him, he grabbed it, put it down to his side. We took our picture and then called her out to the 50-yard line."

It was a long-time coming for Thomas and Ganus, who are going through a season of change in a variety of ways.

UAB's sudden shutdown and Ganus' abrupt move to Athens has separated the couple for the first time during their relationship. Dating since they were both 15-year-old sophomores at Chelsea High School, Thomas had planned on both of them finishing up at UAB this year and moving on with their lives together—wherever that took them.

Instead, Thomas—a public relations major—now makes the three-hour drive from Birmingham to Athens to watch Ganus play. 

As it turns out, the drive she took to Athens last weekend for what was supposed to be his special night became one that they'll both remember forever, thanks to a little help from Ganus' new teammates and coaches.

"His family was in on it, my family was in on it, coach Richt was in on it, the players were in on it," Thomas said. "I had no idea."

Now she has to start getting wedding ideas, because come early July, the next step for the high school sweethearts will begin when Thomas walks down the aisle instead of to the 50-yard line.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of CFBStats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.