National Signing Day 2010 Open Comment Thread.
by MaconDawg on Feb 3, 2010 12:15 AM EST
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PrintThe big day is finally here. It's that peculiar morning in February when everyone joins the South Carolina Gamecock faithful in preparing for an inevitable run to glory. Except Steve Spurrier, who leaves these things to his assistants and just checks in from the golf course.
Signing Day is sort of emblematic of the diffuse chaos which makes college football so intriguing for some of us. On each of 12 fall Saturdays, there is a winner and a loser on the field. National Signing Day however is a whole different animal, as success is totally subjective, and we won't know who really won until 3 years down the road (when Mark Richt is hoisting a crystal football atop a podium constructed entirely of the broken bodies of Boise St. Broncos who finally got their chance at the bigtime. A man can dream, can't he?).
Announcements of Bulldog interest include:
- Calhoun wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers, who will announce at 9:45 a.m. With this announcement Bulldog Nation will likely either collapse in relief or go into spasms of rage. I suppose that if he doesn't come to Athens we'll just have to throw the ball to that Green kid from Summerville next season. At this point I think we're the underdog in this one, and I'll be pleasantly surprised if he signs with Georgia. If he doesn't, expect Mark Richt to be asked a question about it that he won't respond to, because nothing good could come from answering that question, and Mark Richt knows this.
- Tampa wide receiver Christian Green, by some estimates the top player in the state of Florida, who will decide between Georgia and Florida State around 9:30. Green is almost as highly rated as Rogers, but looks like a lock to Florida State despite his father's protestations to the contrary. I would be both surprised and exhilarated if Green ends up in Athens.
- Stephenson defensive tackle Mike Thornton, making his decision public at 10:30. Thornton may actually be more highly sought after than Warner Robins' Jeff Whitaker, and has Georgia among his 10 finalists. That's right. 10. If I wagered on recruiting (which I don't, because 17 year old boys are far more unpredictable than a skittish, limping gelding at Keeneland ever was) I would bet on Georgia. Thornton has spent a lot of time over in Athens and seems to have bonded well with our solid commitments. If we lose out on him, don't bother to go over to the various message boards. They'll make Kyle and I look like amateurs at the pessimism game.
- Ocala receiver Kadron Boone, who will choose between Georgia, Texas Tech, Louisville and LSU at 4 p.m. Boone visited LSU last weekend and pronounced his trip "perfect." LSU is probably the favorite here, but if Rogers defects up into the hills a Boone commitment would soothe things a little.
- Jordan Akins, a receiver/safety prospect from Union Grove who will choose between Georgia and Central Florida. Akins was under the radar for most of the recruiting cycle, and is very raw as a receiver. But he reminds me a little of Bacarri Rambo, in that he's an option quarterback in high school who has tons of athleticism and just seems to always make plays. I predict he ends up at Georgia, though given his list of suitors many in Bulldog Nation will view it as only a minor recruiting victory.
You're invited to post your predictions, updates, thoughts on the ones we got as well as the ones who got away, and your thoughts on the whole bizarre rakrootin' game here. Just try to keep it civil, and avoid impugning the character of 17 year old kids if possible. Feel free to impugn the character of Urban Meyer to your heart's content, however. Nothing would make me happier. Until the dust settles this evening . . .
Go 'Dawgs!!!
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I’m watching ESPNU (and IMO a very overrated RB in the Auburn commit Dyer) and just saw on the crawl that Rogers has committed to Tennessee. Thought he was a guy who would have an AJ Green like effect so that’s a big blow. Hope it is not true.
by miketag on Feb 3, 2010 2:39 AM EST via mobile reply actions
I thought these were already official.
Rogers = not UGA
C. Green = FSU
I hate not getting them. It sucks that Rogers turned on us to go to the Vols. Green seems like a better kid, so it hurts not getting him.
If the AJC says it, it must be true...
I’m guessing that’s where ESPN got it. I’ve discovered they don’t really do much of their own research (SHOCKED).
"I Run This State." - Washaun Ealey and Caleb King
By the way . . .
. . . a quick “happy birthday!” to vineyarddawg is in order here.
So, happy birthday, vineyarddawg!
Go 'Dawgs!
Not that we should care about such things....
But Rivals has taken Rogers from a soft verbal to still choosing. They have dropped us to #16 in the rankings.
The good news is, that still puts us 40-50 spots ahead of the Big Jowled Genius.
"I Run This State." - Washaun Ealey and Caleb King
Yeah . . .
. . . that ain’t the standard by which I want to be measured.
We’re outrecruiting an obnoxious lout who coaches in the ACC and runs an offense most of these players’ parents aren’t old enough to remember clearly? Well, shouldn’t that be a given?
Auburn. Baton Rouge. Gainesville. Knoxville. Tuscaloosa. These are the yardsticks against which we measure success . . . and not in that order of importance.
Go 'Dawgs!
Given today's likely results, I have to look for the silver lining somewhere.
"I Run This State." - Washaun Ealey and Caleb King
I'm guessing 17-18, maybe pick up another JUCO or something
"I Run This State." - Washaun Ealey and Caleb King
Dirty pool?
The whole Rodgers thing is really suspicious to me. It reeks of manipulation by a non-family member and ultimately stuff like this is what makes recruiting so unsavory. When a school has a wholesale coaching staff change in the 11th hour, it’s usually to the detriment of that school. Not this season. Black is white, up is down and butter is margarine.
All I know is we’ve got some good kids coming to town who want to wear the Red and Black, who want to be Dawgs. I choose to celebrate their arrival.
We’ll be fine.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
by DavetheDawg on Feb 3, 2010 8:16 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Interesting things from Twitter
I’ve been poking around Twitter the last few days. You can actually see who’s following and being followed by other account holders. Rogers had lots of orange-clad hotties all over his, um, twunk? Where are the Georgia Girls? Interesting that such things are public and are, therefore, a mere iceberg tip.
by NCT on Feb 3, 2010 9:55 AM EST up reply actions
Dirty pool?
The whole Rodgers thing is really suspicious to me. It reeks of manipulation by a non-family member and ultimately stuff like this is what makes recruiting so unsavory. When a school has a wholesale coaching staff change in the 11th hour, it’s usually to the detriment of that school. Not this season. Black is white, up is down and butter is margarine.
All I know is we’ve got some good kids coming to town who want to wear the Red and Black, who want to be Dawgs. I choose to celebrate their arrival.
We’ll be fine.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
by DavetheDawg on Feb 3, 2010 8:16 AM EST via mobile reply actions
It's ok....
We’ve got TJ “Crazy Eyes” Stripling
I like 6’6" linebackers.
"I Run This State." - Washaun Ealey and Caleb King
Stripling is another . . .
guy who’s really going to be helped by the switch to the 3-4. Yeah, 6’6" linebackers can be sorta hard to throw over. Plus he was going to have to go on an 8000 calorie a day diet to get up to the size of a 4-3 defensive end. Very excited about him.
That 3-4 takes a few years though.
Jeez, I remember us flailing about for a year and a half to get in position for a play. Even thereafter it took a MLB with once-in-a-decade coaching prowess to pull it off.
"Hush now, let it go now. I know it's time to go. Time to let this fall from my hands" VNV Nation, "From My Hands"
by Stuck in the Plains on Feb 3, 2010 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
hahah
the guy on fox 5 just called Nick Saban, Lou Saban to a kid declaring
QUIS CUSTODIET IPOS CUSTODES
George O'Leary owns us again...
Oh wait.
Also, he lies and cheats.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about." -Todd Grantham.
Losing Da’Rick Rodgers to UT just means there’s a bit more pressure on Marlon Brown to have a good sophomore year and be stellar his junior and senior years.
I’m less worried about losing the one “5 star” guy and more worried about not locking down this state. Grantham is going to need to turn the defense around pronto so that our on-field performances will feed into a rebound in recruiting. We cannot have another class where the best in Georgia don’t choose UGA.
HBTD
3 of the top 4 defensive players in the state are coming...
So that’s progress, right?
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
YES!
And while we likely lost out on some due to the coaching change, maybe we gained others.
I’ve often been skeptical of the belief that we could be successful recruiting in-state, but the Tulsa World article linked yesterday at Dr. Saturday pretty clearly indicates that with few exceptions Jeff Dantzler is right. If we can lock down this state by getting the top talent to Athens and accentuate those classes with Matt Staffords and Knowshon Morenos, we’re going to stay competitive.
HBTD
by Gen. Stoopnagle on Feb 3, 2010 1:01 PM EST up reply actions
Morning update . . .
Guys who have sent in their letters of intent:
Demetre Baker
Michael Bennett
Brandon Burrows
Marc Deas
Hutson Mason
Alec Ogletree
Zander Ogletree
Also, Telvin Smith from Lowndes is apparently now wavering and may sign with Georgia. Or not. Who knows.
Thornton has signed!
Per David Hale’s twitter. Finally some good news. So much for a productive work day.
DaRick is gone....
Oh well.
I genuinely hope he qualifies but he needs to get his butt in school…. and not just for press conferences.
The Thornton signing makes me feel better and I think having Grantham may have been key to that acquisition.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
C. Green
Has anyone heard any news about Green?
I heard he was FSU, but I wonder if he was waiting for Rogers to jump ship and then reconsider signing with the Dogs.
Signed with FSU
Yeah he has family that played there. Not really a big surprise.
Yeah...
…it was expected. Our current stable of receiver studs might have worked against us this year.
by BorisTheBulletDodger on Feb 3, 2010 10:35 AM EST up reply actions
I honestly think we have a better shot at Adrian Coxson
Green’s FSU roots run deep.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
From Baccari Rambo's Facebook last night:
“Thinks is messed up how all of UGA high school commitments back out on us but I’m telling you now when I catch you on the field I’m going to knock fire from you.”
This could be the most motivating thing I’ve seen from Georgia football in years. I could be wrong, but he might be directing that northward.
In other news, I think that fits the criteria for developing a slight man-crush. Oh, and saving the Auburn game helps….
They drew first blood... not him.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
That's what I'm talking about
Rambo is the man.
I didn't really mind if Rogers left for a lesser school called UT...
Georgia has great players left and it’s simply addition by subtraction. We stole Marlon last year from Tennessee, so now, we are 1 to 1 against the UTmost disaster school. Remember Marlon Brown last year? He was a 5 star last year, and everyone expected him to play during his first year. Being 5 star does not mean anything if the coaches doesn’t extract the talent and the skills of the players. I hope Grantham makes a lot of positive changes on defense. I think that Grantham’s defense will balance things out
by thefirstgenesis on Feb 3, 2010 10:36 AM EST reply actions
I'll believe Derek Dooley can coach up Tennessee when I see it....
He’s certainly a step up from Lane Kiffin, but dude went .500 in the WAC.
Welcome to the SEC buddy.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
We are still in it for Telvin Smith
He has postponed his announcement until 11:00 A.M.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Its our turn to put a sour taste in another schools mouth
It would be nice to get him back.
And i agree, Da’Rick going to TN makes no sense to me, but i’m not going to boo the kid when he comes to Athens, Like the wonderful people of Knoxville did to Marlon Brown. And i hope that’s something all uga fans think about.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
by Southern Dawg on Feb 3, 2010 10:42 AM EST up reply actions
Someone must have told Da'Rick
that Phyllis Diller was a Vol Hostess. Kid obviously has strange tastes…
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Very good point, Southern Dawg
While I don’t like the way Da’Rick handled this situation (which is very different from Jeff Whitaker, who said we were in the mix but never committed to Georgia), we have to show a little class. The kid didn’t choose our school. We should want his team to lose, but there’s no reason to bear him any ill will, even if he could have handled the situation better.
Go 'Dawgs!
You're right...
I don’t bear Da’Rick any ill-will at all (except when he comes across the middle and meets up with a Bacarri named Rambo.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Oh, sure
Plain ol’ garden-variety ill will, fine. I want Bacarri Rambo to lay a clean legal hit on him that knocks him into last Tuesday. I just don’t want us booing the kid.
Go 'Dawgs!
I don't think we are as bitter as they are
This is just a theory, but I don’t think the Georgia fan base is as bitter as other SEC fan bases and I don’t think we hold grudges like they do.
by cousinwalter on Feb 3, 2010 11:51 AM EST up reply actions
Come on Telvin..... do the right thing.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
Wow!
You are breaking out the ’80s movie references today, RedCrake!
Let’s see you work “The Breakfast Club” in there somewhere.
Go 'Dawgs!
I was saving this for my post signing day celebration.... but I'll go ahead and break it out for you
Don’t tempt me, I have “Teen Wolf”, “Johnny Be Good”, and “Adventures in Babysitting” references waiting in the wings.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
I hope it doesn't offend anyone
But if you are looking at the GXTRA coverage, click on the tab for the Women’s Soccer Recruits (its their signing day too, who knew?).
There are some very attractive young ladies about to step onto the pitch for Georgia….. and the games are free.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
Da'Rick
He Could have been a contender, but i guess they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
Hope he doesn't wake up with Kiffin's head in his bed...
you know how scary bad the Vol Mafia is….
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
On a comical note...
I wonder if the Hooter girls played into his decision. That will be something for us to mock at and think about when it comes to UT recruiting practices and possibly even student recruiting
by thefirstgenesis on Feb 3, 2010 11:12 AM EST up reply actions
I'll say the same thing I said on Hale's blog...
Rogers didn’t go to Tennessee for Dooley or even Vol Girls….
He went to Tennessee because they offered a 2 Star Ginger QB….. and we all know how that turns out.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
Looks like Telvin sticks with FSU per Rivals.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
per Hale's blog
11:36 AM — Richt says Richard Samuel will move to linebacker. Says he was “anxious to make that move.”
'bout time!
He’s going to be a fast outside backer who can get to the edge in GATA’s new scheme. Me likey. Me likey alot.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
can he wrap up?
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
Garrison Smith is in...
- DT in the country
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
That should read #6 DT in the country....
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
I just got a call from a reliable source . . .
. . . saying Lonnie Outlaw has signed with Georgia. This is good news.
Go 'Dawgs!
I like 6'7" receivers.... regardless of star rating....
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
Absolutely
Height cannot be taught!
First Rambo, now Outlaw. We should just recruit by name from now on. If Outlaw is half as hardcore as Rambo, we’re going to the National Championship!
Lonnie Outlaw is a wide receiver from Wilcox County
He’s tall (6’7") but thin, so he’s a likely redshirt if he doesn’t spend a year at Georgia Military, which he may.
Go 'Dawgs!
He's also a basketball prospect for Mark Fox
The big deal, though, is that he’s Nick Marshall’s best friend.
Ironically, the loss of Da’Rick Rogers to Tennessee (because the Vols signed his QB and buddy) may have opened the door to our signing Outlaw, which could help us immensely with Marshall next year. What goes around comes around. . . .
Go 'Dawgs!
By the way . . .
. . . the last time I got a call from a reliable source, it was from a blood relative in South Georgia, who was letting me know Erk Russell had passed away, which is why that sad news was up at Dawg Sports two hours before it was up at the AJC.
This also was a call from a blood relative in South Georgia, so I’m confident it’s accurate.
Go 'Dawgs!
Also . . .
. . . Florida State pushed hard for Outlaw, for the same reason: the ’Noles want Nick Marshall, too.
Go 'Dawgs!
He is also the main target of . . .
Wilcox QB Nick Marshall and one heck of a basketball player. I sort of wondered why he wasn’t getting more attention. Here in Macon we have a high school football highlight show called “Football Friday Night” which covers local high school games. Over the past two seasons it’s looked like “The Lonnie Outlaw Show”.
Also, the kid's named "Outlaw"
How cool is that?
Better check his driver’s license, though.
Go 'Dawgs!
Green grass and high tides forever!
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Also . . .
. . . Nick Marshall throwing to Lonnie Outlaw.
Imagine the fun Rece Davis will have with that one!
Go 'Dawgs!
This could be one of those sleeper signees
that really makes a difference. I wonder if he rides a Harley?
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
I'm a little confused.....
Is he a commit for this years class or next years? I can’t seem to find info for him on any recruiting sites.
Outlaw signed with this year's class . . .
. . . with an eye toward Nick Marshall for next year’s class.
Go 'Dawgs!
That's because he's an Outlaw...
and has either been:
A: Place in the Witness Protection Program
B: Works for the CIA
C: Is in some sort of “Black Ops” program
D: Was concocted in Evil Richt’s secret lab, having been spawned from a combination of Eye of Newt, Hair of Pollack, Toe of Haynes and Giblets of Gibson. He’s. Not. of this. World.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Scout has him listed....
as a 1 star….
At receiver I’d rather have a 6’7" 1 Star than a 5’10" inch 4 star. See: Solomon Patton and Chris Dunkley…. two Florida 4 stars. Alec Ogletree, Bacarri Rambo, and Jakar Hamilton drink their milkshake.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
Wow.... that's really interesting...
Outlaw was a 1 star on Scout when Kyle brought my attention to him a few hours ago.
He signs with us and is now listed as a 2 star. Not saying that I mind, but……Fishy?
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
Not really
I believe any recruit who signs with a IA program makes him an automatic 2 star. If he is a 2 star, it just means he wasn’t really scouted by their in house guys. 3, 4, and 5 stars are ratings given to recruits by Scouts guys that they evaluate themselves, 2 stars to people signed by IA teams not evaluated by Scouts, and 1 star by guys neither evaluated or signed by a IA school. So as soon as Outlaw’s status changed to being a UGA signee, it automatically makes him a 2 star by default. That is my understanding. I may be wrong somewhere in there.
That sounds right to me....
And of course by right I mean correct and not the way it ought to be. If at first glance they think the kids a 1 star, he ought to stay that way. I just get this feeling they change it so that when/if he pans out they don’t look like complete idiots.
"We have a lot of passionate fans at Georgia and we look forward to giving them something to be positive about."
-Todd Grantham.
Outlaw will . . .
definitely need to fill out some to play in college. He’s built almost exactly like Kris Durham coming out of high school, and plays a lot like him. It’s like watching a gazelle flee from a herd of lions. That being said, in my experience he gets away a lot more often than he’s chased down. Wilcox loved throwing the slant route to Outlaw over the past couple of years. It’s really hard to beat a 6’6 receiver to the ball on a slant route thrown high and inside.
I also hear he’s a fun interview, for what it’s worth.
redshirt, gym and lots of protein shakes can fix some of it.
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
Knowing your quarterback can help, too
MaconDawg, the call I got this morning on Outlaw drew exactly the same comparison to Kris Durham. Great minds think alike.
Go 'Dawgs!
Just FYI:
Chip Towers reported on Lonnie Outlaw at 1:42 p.m.
That same news appeared in this comment thread at 11:48 a.m.
I’m just saying.
Go 'Dawgs!
He probably used you as his main "source"
Knowing how the AJC works, i doubt he’ll admit a lowly SB Nation blog as his main source, and that he was 2 hours late on it.
But hey better late than never.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
by Southern Dawg on Feb 3, 2010 2:35 PM EST up reply actions
In Chip's defense . . .
. . . he follows this stuff pretty closely, while I just happened to have the good fortune of a connection in the vicinity. Still, it’s pretty cool.
Well . . . 40 minutes ’til showtime, I guess!
Go 'Dawgs!
I think the Senator did a great job on giving us a much needed positive perspective on today’s results. (http://blutarsky.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/different-strokes/) Albeit I’m sure maniac depressive Kyle will give us a complete polar opposite.
Well, it certainly seems like . . .
. . . today was much more about the ones that got away than the ones we got, doesn’t it?
Go 'Dawgs!
Wait 'till you read my . . .
recruiting wrapup. It’s so topsy-turvy it gave me vertigo just writing it.
Richt is on ESPNU now
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
at work, give me details!
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
Talking about Grantham and the QB situation
Same stuff you’ve heard about grantham
Says QB battle will be between Gray, Murray, Mett, and of course new signee Hutson Mason, notes that while they will be inexperience, they will have a lot of returning talent to assist them on Offense.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
by Southern Dawg on Feb 3, 2010 3:42 PM EST up reply actions
Well, it's just about all over and everybody's depressed...
… so you know what time it is now, right?
http://www.hulu.com/watch/50397/family-guy-its-peanut-butter-jelly-time (0:56 mark)
Green announcement coming up
rush to your tv to see him announce for FSU putting a big finger in the face of uga’s national signing day.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
and there he goes
Just watch out for the Outlaw, and Rambo is coming for you
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
by Southern Dawg on Feb 3, 2010 3:39 PM EST up reply actions
Not a big surprise, from what I understand.
I think this was expected, right? And he just said his brother was going to FAMU, which is also in Tallahassee. So, I think we could have seen that one coming.
True . . .
. . . but moving the press conference after the last-minute loss of Da’Rick offered a glimmer of hope, and it completes the Golden Sombrero for the day.
Frank Herbert should have written a Bene Gesserit Litany Against Hope: “Hope is the mind-killer. . . .”
Go 'Dawgs!
"hope is the little death that brings total obliteration...."
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
yeah i just thought he would have signed or announce earlier in the day.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
I Corinthians 9:24
by Southern Dawg on Feb 3, 2010 3:43 PM EST up reply actions
To make matters worse . . .
. . . David Hale’s live blog just noted that Chaz Green gave the Gators their 16th ESPN top-150 commitment.
Think about that . . . more than one-tenth of the top 150 prep players in the country (according to the Worldwide Leader) are Gainesville-bound. Florida represents 0.83 per cent of Division I-A yet the Orange and Blue just reeled in 10.67 per cent of the cream of this year’s high school crop. “The top one per cent of the top one per cent” is an exaggeration, but not by much.
Signing the No. 16 class in the country isn’t the problem. Signing the No. 6 class in the SEC is a huge problem.
Go 'Dawgs!
Put another way . . .
. . . Mark Richt clearly is one of the ten best coaches in college football and Georgia clearly is one of the ten most talented teams in college football, but Urban Meyer clearly is the best coach in college football and Florida clearly is the most talented team in college football. Georgia and Florida are division rivals.
Is there any basis for believing we won’t be to the 2010s what Tennessee was to the 1990s . . . between fifth- and tenth-best in the country, but always second-best in the SEC East?
Go 'Dawgs!
We may be the new Tennessee...
… but they did end up with a NC. I could learn to live with that fate.
Sic 'em Dawgs
by ClassicCityDawg on Feb 3, 2010 4:06 PM EST up reply actions
True . . .
. . . but that required a run of blind dumb luck unlike any I have ever seen.
Every national champion gets that fifth down in the end zone against Missouri, that kicked ball in the end zone against Missouri (hey . . . weird), that blocked kick against South Carolina, or that 93-yard touchdown pass to Lindsay Scott, but the penalty call against Florida and the Clint Stoerner stumble-‘n’-fumble? Such happenstance is highly unlikely to be repeated.
Go 'Dawgs!
I need to go to sleep and wake up on September 4.
I don’t know that I can honestly engage in a real discussion about the possibility that Georgia will be the Tennessee of the 2010’s. It’s better than the position we occupied in the ’90’s… but only by a hair. The ’90’s sucked. If we return to that level of mediocrity (even if it’s slightly better than mediocre), I might just have to skip “waiting for college football season” season.
I hate Florida too much. Georgia must turn the tide in Jacksonville, #1 recruiting class be damned.
With that said, however, your implication is correct. There is not any basis for believing Georgia will be better than 2nd in the SEC East (at best) for years to come. Of course, there was also no basis for believing that Georgia could win the SEC Championship and go 13-1 in 2002, either.
(I hate Florida.)
I don't know that I buy that, vineyarddawg
Georgia was a preseason No. 8 team in 2002 and Trev Alberts called us a dark horse national championship contender on ESPN. We didn’t come out of nowhere like Clemson in 1981, or even like Oklahoma in 2000. We were in the mix from the get-go.
Go 'Dawgs!
Trev Alberts?
Wasn’t he that guy on the College Gameday studio crew that made Mark May look reasonable and soft-spoken by comparison? (Not withstanding the fact that he was the only person to actually seemed to like Georgia.)
Georgia might have been preseason #8 in 2002, but Florida was preseason #6, and in 2000 Georgia was preseason #10. Georgia had also been ranked in the preseason top 15 at least twice in the ’90’s. Preseason rankings aren’t even worth the paper they’re printed on.
Not only that, but in 2001, the Dawgs had a QB and head coach that, while showing one flash of brilliance in Knox-vegas, also showed flashes of what would come to be known as “Les Miles syndrome.” The incredibly poor time mismanagement in the Auburn game, the loss at home to a clearly inferior SEC opponent (this time, a South Carolina team coached by Lou Holth), and a bowl game showing in which the entire team could best be described as “poorly prepared” and “lazy.”
Optimists might have said that Georgia had a shot at the SEC crown in 2002, but a pessimist realist would have said that, if they didn’t upend Florida in Jacksonville and end the season with one loss or less, they would not accede to the seat perennially held by the Gators previously. And, although Georgia didn’t defeat Florida, they managed to get through the rest of their games undefeated, and had enough non-called-offensive-pass-interference-plays luck fall their way that it didn’t matter.
All true . . .
. . . but that’s not the same thing as saying “there was also no basis for believing that Georgia could win the SEC Championship and go 13-1 in 2002.”
Given the growing talent gap between Georgia and Florida, I believe 2002 was less unforeseeable than us beating Florida in the near future.
Go 'Dawgs!
If we had some of that 90's talent now. . . .
I took my son to the Outback Bowl v. Wisconsin (the year Rod Dayne played.) We stayed after the game and hung out where the players came out to meet there families. My then 5? year old (now 17 year old) got autographs and it is like a freaking pro bowl roster of players. We have a better coach than the 90’s and we will have better results.
the answer is to beat florida about 4 times straight
as talented as they are, and as well coached as they are, they are going to be weaker next year without Strong coaching and Tebow playing. They had a mental blow by losing to Alabama.
UGA just has to man up and beat a more highly touted team with better play calling and perfect execution.
Next year, we need some stand out wins against a few – like 35-3 type wins and just a win against Florida, and the mental barriers can shift in our favor.
And no damn uniform stunts.
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
I agree, tankertoad
I also think the way to improve government is to elect better people and the way to fix the economy is to create more jobs.
Now, how are we going to do that? Yeah, that’s the hard part.
All right, Florida is going to be weaker next year. If you’ll recall, we all had our doubts about that “glorified fullback” after Chris Leak left. How’d that work out for us? We got in the Gators’ heads with the 2007 end zone dance. How’d that work out for us? Florida would be weaker without Dan Mullen running the offense. How’d that work out for us?
I’ve believed in too many shifts that never came to pass (19-year-cycles, defending national champions, etc.). I’ll believe we can beat Florida when I see us beat Florida. Until then, I’m going to believe the more-talented, better-coached team with the psychological edge is going to win consistently.
Go 'Dawgs!
the way to play Florida, just like I said after that uniform crap, is not to hype up the game
but, rather, get more Sabanesk (coin) with it. Calm, cool, professional, agressivesive, play 60 minutes, act like you been there before. Kyle, do you remember your description of the steely eyed Bulldogs as the Warriors did their little dance out on the field? That’s what we need against Florida. Not anxiety, fear, panic, stress, trick plays, trick uniforms. Focus, discipline and 60 game minutes of relentless assualt. Players so in the zone they don’t notice the score is 40-3 with 5 minutes left in the game because all they can do execute, execute, execute. Players that go and line up on the ball when the game is over because they aren’t ready to stop yet.
I will predict a loss right now to UF if we pull any stunts, gimmicks, tricks. I will predict a loss if we start racking up the PFs. So, uh, don’t do those things. )
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
i just want to say, for the record...
that i support you guys 100% in your effort on this.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
Fair enough . . .
. . . but let’s not kid ourselves: recruiting rankings matter . . . a lot.
They’re not the only thing that matters, not by a long shot, but they’re the starting point. The first ingredient of chicken salad, as they say, is chicken. (Well, that isn’t exactly how they say it, but this is a family-friendly weblog.)
Go 'Dawgs!
But they are not everything.
Otherwise, we could skip the regular season and bowl season and crown our champion now. It looks like we did a lot of beefing up on the lines and trying to get back to where we need to be in the defensive backfield. Looks to me like the 5 stars everyone is all giddy about are mostly the skill players. Solid talent on the lines will get us where we need to be. That’s why Bama could beat Texas with McElroy. It’s why Jevan Snead looked fab when Michael Oher was there and not so much this year. We have people who can catch and run the ball already. We need protection for a young QB, and pressure and takeaways on D. This group looks good for what we are trying to do. Welcome to Bulldog Nation Boys, you made the best possible choice.
this is what i am selling today as well.
I would have liked a couple of top receivers, but I am not concerned about not getting as many skill players this year. We have a lot of talent already – and need to get deeper – not wider.
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
All true . . .
. . . but probably irrelevant.
It’s all relative. Remember that scene in “The Paper” in which Michael Keaton says (I’m editing here): “I don’t live in the world, I live in New York City!” All right, so we have the No. 16 recruiting class in the country. The trouble is, we don’t play in the country; we play in the SEC, where we have the No. 5 or 6 or 7 class . . . in other words, middle-of-the-pack.
If I have a baccalaureate degree from Michigan and a master’s degree from Notre Dame, I may be a pretty well-educated fellow . . . but, if my brother has a B.A. and a Ph.D. from Harvard and my sister has a B.A. and a J.D. from Yale, I’m still the dumbest kid in my family.
We needed the Gators to get worse. They didn’t, while we whiffed on virtually all of the biggest names who were up for grabs (and a couple we supposedly had in our camp). Even if you believe we got better, we certainly didn’t improve to the same extent as Florida. It is simply a fact that the gap between the Classic City Canines and the Sunshine State Saurians is wider now than it was nine hours ago.
It’s not a lack of faith in Mark Richt; I think he’s probably doing about the best that can be done with this program at this moment in history. It’s just clear that Florida’s ceiling is higher than Georgia’s ceiling . . . and, I’m afraid, so is Florida’s floor.
Go 'Dawgs!
For those getting ready to jump off the cliff...
… check out David Hale’s latest post. I won’t post his entire listing here, but I will share the following snippet:
Of the top 25 classes, Georgia signed the third fewest number of players at just 19. If you take away Lonnie Outlaw, who will go to GMC, then Georgia is tied for the fewest with Ohio State and USC. Penn State (20 signees) was the only other team in the top 25 with fewer than 22.
Of the 11 other SEC schools, none had fewer than 24 commitments.
If you go simply by the average number of stars for a class, Georgia scored a 3.47 — the second-highest total in the SEC and the ninth-best mark overall.
Thanks, vineyarddawg
That actually helps a lot.
Now, rather than being prepared to jump off of a cliff, I’m instead ready to hang off a cliff. If I fall, I fall, if I don’t, I don’t.
Go 'Dawgs!
Hold on a minute . . .
. . . Hale also said this:
[I]t’s certainly quite possible that, despite a lower ranking overall, the impact of this class will be as good as any in the SEC (with the possible exception of the ridiculous haul Florida came up with).
That parenthetical has me headed right back over the cliff. That’s just a polite way of saying, “If we don’t stub our toe against South Carolina (again) or Tennessee (again) or Vanderbilt (again) or Kentucky (again), we’ve got a distinct shot at finishing second all the time!”
Go 'Dawgs!
Well, for all of our sakes, please try to hang on...
… at least until the South Carolina game. If we lose, I’ll be jumping off that cliff with you.
I do believe that star average is a better measure than star total. One might also consider that if in a class of 24 you sign eight 4-star receivers, eight 4-star tight ends, and eight 4-star DBs, you’re going to have one of the best “rated” classes in the history of the universe, but you’re not going to win many football games (maybe none). Our OL slump a few years back notwithstanding, I think Richt & Co. are pretty good at evaluating personnel needs, and it would appear that they’ve learned from the OL situation, too.
And on a general note, please pardon me for saying so, but the doom-and-gloom stuff is becoming tiresome. I’ve got some outstanding books on Buddhism for Westerners that I can recommend.
by NCT on Feb 3, 2010 6:16 PM EST up reply actions
Sorry, man
I’ll work on it . . . it’s just been a disappointing signing day.
“Peace at the center” was never my strong suit, but I’m trying (hopefully, in only one sense of the word “trying”).
Go 'Dawgs!
's all right
My dad is an old pro at the “expect the worst” approach to things, but he comes by it honest. Perhaps I’ve mentioned he was in school during The Drought? Further, check out UGA’s record against GT, AU, and UF for the ‘53 through ’56 seasons sometime (Dad’s undergrad years). Ouch.
I appreciate that any optimism should be tempered by appropriate caution, but I also think that optimism, so tempered, is a preferable approach. I don’t understand exerting effort to feel miserable about the future until the future becomes a present cause of misery. Because it might not.
I’d share my mother’s account of how my father tried to “prepare” her mentally for the expected outcome of a beauty pageant in which her sorority had entered her, but he visits the blog on occasion, and I don’t want to run my mouth about someone else’s business. I will say that the “so there” look on Mom’s face in the full-page Pandora photo of her cradling the trophy and a bouquet of roses is pretty sweet.
by NCT on Feb 3, 2010 8:52 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
T Kyle, I hope you can remember today and we can revist this in 2 years to then decide the impact.
I am sure CMR would have a liked a few more blue chips.
I am not losing sleep over Da Rick. UT is a mess until proven otherwise. They will go 7-5 again next year, and even if they improve, Dooley still has his sophmore slump on tap. UT is filled with misfits – glad we aren’t them.
I am fully confident in our two new coaches ability to raise the standard of play and put the right players on the field. We haven’t had this in a while.
We didnt need skilled players as badly as we needed linemen and deepen our bench. We did that today – maybe not at the highest level, but at an acceptable level. We have QBs coming out our ears.
Florida still can only pit their 11 against ours, the rest of them are sitting on the bench.
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
Tennessee...
…isn’t in as big of a mess as everyone likes to think they are. Are they down, a little, but this is a team that has handed us our ass 2 of the last 3 seasons, hung with Bama and UF this year and just got through with flying colors recruiting day with a 3 week old coaching staff. They are a lot more stable than most GA fans seem to want to give them credit for. Schedule is easier next year, but I think we are looking at 8 and 4, 9 and 3 unless some of our young guys mature REAL fast.
fair post and discussion -
I take any team that has had a coaching debacle, probation issues and kids getting in trouble with the law as a “mess”. It’s not UT hate. I have no more faith right now in ND for similar reasons. UT has good players, Dooley is a good man, but an unproven coach. A rebound is very possible, but not probable from my viewpoint right now based on the facts at hand. That can change this fall however.
We have been through this all year, but I am not counting the 2009 win against UGA as anything other than one bad team beating a worse team, and I simply can’t give credit for “moral victories”. UGA played LSU close – we lost. In 2011, if UT is 9-3 with solid wins – my opinion can change for that fall, but for this year, I don’t expect much for UT. Many thanks for a non attacking discussion.
"I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against." - Coach Grantham
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