Isaiah Crowell Completes Georgia Bulldogs' "Dream Team," Validates Mark Richt on National Signing Day
by T Kyle King on Feb 2, 2011 2:04 PM EST
in Georgia Bulldogs Football Recruiting
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PrintInherently subjective recruiting rankings, naturally, are no guarantee of subsequent success; there is, as they say, many a slip betwixt the cup and the lip, but, if bringing in an impressive haul on the human resources front in February offers no ironclad assurances, it at least is not without its predictive value. Not every chef is capable of preparing a gourmet meal, but the ingredients are prerequisites to the effective implementation of any recipe. Bear Bryant noted that "you've got to have chicken to make chicken salad," and Lyndon Johnson observed that there was a measurable difference between chicken salad and certain other poultry byproducts.
The Georgia Bulldogs began the day with 23 players verbally committed to come to Athens, and, by the noon hour, signed letters of intent had been received from all 23 of them. The addition of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., linebacker Kent Turene brought the ranks of Red and Black signees to 24, of whom 18 were Peach State natives. When the 19th local product, Columbus running back Isaiah Crowell, became the day’s 25th signee for the ‘Dawgs, a football season full of question marks gave way to a national signing day ending in an exclamation point, suddenly signaling the apparent arrival of the winter of Bulldog Nation’s contentment.
In short, Georgia’s 2011 recruiting class contains both quality and quantity, meets the program’s immediate needs, and fulfills much of the promise of the coaching staff’s ambitious "Dream Team" concept. For a program that hasn’t done much for us lately in the way of turning potential into production, it was a big day. With all due apologies to Charles de Gaulle, plebiscites are no way to run a country, as direct democracy has a way of sliding rapidly down the slippery slope leading to the adoption of a mob mentality, but the region’s blue-chip prospects just voted with their ball-point pens, and that crucial constituency delivered a critical victory at the ballot box in the referendum that took place today in Bulldog Nation.
Many message-board mainstays who are giddy with negativity have spent months stating their case for a verdict of no confidence to be rendered against the Mark Richt regime, and even some presumably disinterested observers have characterized the Georgia skipper dismissively as "declining," but the players he hopes to coach for the next several seasons answered the critics with a swift, "Not so fast, my friend!" This is why anyone asserting that this latest highly-ranked recruiting class is "par for the course for UGA" is failing to see the forest for the trees; no Red and Black staff has recruited under such duress since 1995, when Ray Goff had to try to persuade prep prospects with a sword of Damocles marked "significant improvement" dangling above his head.
A little under a month ago, I expressed my belief that national signing day would be a critical day for Mark Richt’s future in Athens. At the time, it looked like the Bulldogs were going to whiff on a number of headliners in putting together their 2011 recruiting class; now, with Georgia having inked a top ten group of signees, that future looks at least slightly brighter, and the hot seat seems at least slightly cooler, than before. It is early yet to proclaim this the break point between past disasters and future championships, but, if the dream becomes a reality, this likely will be the day we look back on as the first on which we could say it was morning again in Bulldog Nation.
This much, at least, is as certain as such things can be: absent extreme attrition, someone is going to win a bunch of football games with this batch of Bulldogs. I hope that someone is Mark Richt, whose continued fervor for coaching no longer can be gainsaid, even among his most unforgiving critics. Each loss has brought forth fresh, harsh, and novel calumny from those eager to elide every benefit of Coach Richt’s tenure; for instance, his famous coolness under fire, which evinced the resting heart rate of a marathon runner or a jewel thief and demonstrably produced milestone victories in places like Knoxville, Tuscaloosa, and Auburn, suddenly became, in the eyes of many, the indifference of a skipper who had lost his fire for football. Apparently, Coach Richt’s calm outward demeanor yet masks a passion his players still see, and to which this class of prospects responded emphatically.
Though there remains much work to be done in cooking the dinner, we need not entertain today the doubts we had a year ago about the ability of the dean of SEC coaches to shop for the groceries.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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It really is remarkable
that we signed the class we did, with the “anchor” of it all still a possibility come Saturday. This may be a shock to some people, but our competition was certainly negatively recruiting against us. Yes, take a moment to digest that. All kidding aside, the cards were seemingly stacked long before the final horn blew in the Liberty Bowl. Richt and crew overcame this by adopting a brilliant marketing plan: The Dream Team. It worked.
As a result of this signing class, we’ve added depth everywhere without oversigning, gray shirting and compromising the integrity of the program. We’ve improved our skill positions on offense. We’ve added a pass rusher who will see early playing time in Ray Drew and another guy who has great upside in Bailey. Our talent in the defensive backfield has been greatly augmented by the addition of Swann, Mitchell, Marshall and Moore (Might be the 3M company one day?) We’ve added linebacker depth and don’t forget about those two former 5-star recruits who have yet to play a down on defense for the Red and Black: Jarvis Jones and Richard Samuel. Our roster is still full of talent. Now, they’re getting stronger and hopefully being guided in a way that guarantees success.
This was a great day. If John Jenkins Big Bad John hears the call in a few days, it’ll make it a great, great day.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
I see you, Dave...
and I appreciate the strikethrough. Big Bad John hopefully will too.
by hailtogeorgia on Feb 2, 2011 2:38 PM EST up reply actions
This makes me happy.
Not as much for me, but for Richt.
I admit that after the UCF debacle, I was emotionally spent and mentioned that I didn’t care if Richt ever left Memphis—I am glad that he did. I am certainly not the only one upset with how last season ended. Luckily, Richt was able to spin last season into an opportunity to improve, and he sold that message to each recruit who signed today. And they bought the pitch.
Good for Richt; good for Dawgnation. I am glad to welcome these new guys and look forward to destroying the Broncos in the Dome.
Go Dawgs!
I am a fan of the Dawgs, Falcons, and Braves...oh...and tacos, but I like the other three more.
The "Dream Team" is not complete
Until Big John Jenkins, the JUCO out of MS, signs with The Dawgs on Saturday!
"Let the liquor do the thinking." -Jim Lahey
by SECWasteManagement on Feb 2, 2011 3:14 PM EST reply actions
You are correct, SECWasteManagement.
Nice work today, hailtogeorgia. I feel confident in stating that, four years from now, when you follow every reference to the player in question with a lexicon-immortalized “Big Bad John,” I still will appreciate and enjoy the reference.
In fact, I hope you will add a verbal “Big Bad John” in person at next fall’s goat roast.
Go 'Dawgs!
Thank you, Kyle.
I can’t say that it was easy, but I’ve gotten across to a few people (namely DavetheDawg and andycapps, as evidenced by this thread alone), and a few people have gotten across to me (MaconDawg and vineyarddawg, who took me to task with my statement and used his full name at every opportunity).
I plan on practicing my Jimmy Dean impersonation, and assuming all goes well (and you folks are patient enough to allow me to get a few beers in me), I’ll do a rendition for everyone!
by hailtogeorgia on Feb 2, 2011 4:06 PM EST up reply actions
Great signing class
Now if we get Big Bad John, we’ll be even better.
Now they just need to make sure all these guys finish out well in school, that they stay out of trouble when they get on campus, and that they learn our playbook well and workout hard in the summer.
Phase I: Off-season "Dream Team" marketing ploy success...
…now for Phase II: Off-field “Dream Conditioning and Staying Out of the Pokey” success, to be followed by Phase III: On-field “Dream Play-Calling And Consistent Execution” success! Go Dawgs!
Well I just got in got the news...
and promptly punched my wife in the mouth … seriously… I did one of these leaping fairy “Hoorays!”. You know, the one where the fists are in full clasp punch mode and the head tilts back in blissful glory and the actual “leap” = a full 7cm off the floor with knees knocked together Bobby Cox style.
Yeah, that is how sad the image got over here and if that wasn’t bad enough… my wife’s face found its way at the end of my celebratory knuckle launch.
Pretty much the Steve Carell jump pictured here but only with full fists a-blazin’
But we got that Dream Team baby – Hooray! (looks both ways before shamelessly returning to the fairy leap)
by Munson's_Marbles on Feb 2, 2011 3:36 PM EST reply actions
Allow me to rein back the parade a bit
While I agree that this is all great news and looks positively upon Mark Richt, did this really validate him? To play devil’s advocate, isn’t this the same guy we’ve known all along? He’s always been able to recruit at a high level. The problem has been within the black box portion of the equation. Top level recruits have never been an issue in Athens, but what happens to them there has been a problem. Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as excited as anybody else, but I think we need to temper it in a bit. After the last three years, I sit firmly in the “I’ll believe it when I see it on the field” camp.
http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/
He's always recruited well, yes,
but this could be his best class to date, and he compiled it while sitting firmly on the hotseat after a losing season. This was a test as to Richt’s ability to overcome adversity, and he passed. Let’s all bask in that for a minute before we bring him down. I feel like the man just can’t win sometimes.
I’m willing to bet, had he not fared as well in recruiting this year as he did, the same people making the excuses of “He always recruits well” wouldn’t be giving him some slack because the circumstances were tougher.
by hailtogeorgia on Feb 2, 2011 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
I’m willing to bet, had he not fared as well in recruiting this year as he did, the same people making the excuses of "He always recruits well" wouldn’t be giving him some slack because the circumstances were tougher.
I’m far from a Mark Richt “apologist”, but this is undeniably true.
Follow me on Twitter @ RelentlessPace
I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer.
Nobody, no nobody is gonna rein back my parade.
by NCT on Feb 2, 2011 4:15 PM EST up reply actions
Let the silly out!
I have been randomly bursting into giddy dancing, some light prancing, and some heavy doses of Dick Van Dyke styled silliness. You cannot contain this.
I make no apologies considering how this day could have gone.
I feel some high stepping coming on…
by Munson's_Marbles on Feb 2, 2011 5:04 PM EST up reply actions
Fair points, AuditDawg.
However, last year’s recruiting class was a distinct disappointment, and, as MaconDawg noted at the time, one that represented ground lost to our conference rivals. As other commenters have pointed out, it really doesn’t matter where our recruiting class is ranked relative to Ohio State, Texas, or Southern California; it matters a great deal where our recruiting class is ranked relative to the other teams in the SEC, particularly those we play annually. (While I want us to finish first in the recruiting rankings every year, it is more important to outdo Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee than Alabama and LSU.)
You are quite correct that merely signing the players does not mean being able to coach them; I tried to temper my enthusiasm and make that very point in the above posting. For a program that hasn’t gotten much good news since being ranked a preseason No. 1 team in 2008, though, this was a huge day. A second straight disappointing recruiting class, on the heels of a third straight disappointing football season, frankly, would have had many fans counting down the days until Greg McGarity introduced Kirby Smart at a press conference in Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall in December 2011.
That may yet happen; recruiting rankings will not matter one whit if next year’s team goes 6-7. For the first time in his career, though, Mark Richt put together a top-shelf recruiting class not just by securing early commitments, but by closing strong. That shows a level of passionate engagement by our head coach in his craft, and a level of belief in him among the state’s elite players, which many of us underestimated just a few short weeks ago. Today’s events give us no guarantees, but they do give us a chance, and, after the last three years, a fighting chance is all I ask.
Go 'Dawgs!
Oh, I'm excited about the prospects
I suppose I should be a little more clear in the fact that I want Mark Richt to succeed and I think this recruiting class sure could help. I think I’m a lot like you in that I really bought in for 2008 being the year. I don’t think I’ve ever been as shell shocked as I was leaving Sanford Stadium after that Alabama game in anything else that has ever happened in my life.
I completely agree with you on this, however:
That shows a level of passionate engagement by our head coach in his craft, and a level of belief in him among the state’s elite players, which many of us underestimated just a few short weeks ago. Today’s events give us no guarantees, but they do give us a chance, and, after the last three years, a fighting chance is all I ask.
It may take awhile to get back to my level of confidence that I had heading into that 2008 season. Who knows, I may never re-establish that level. The last few weeks have given me reason for hope and optimism that haven’t existed for awhile. However, I am reserving the right to approach that hope and optimism with a sense of hesitance. I suppose that’s what my ultimate point was. Not trying to be a total Debbie Downer here.
http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/
I'll keep my cautious optimism
It’s cautious because, like you, I have to see the product on the field. It’s a whole lot easier to coach down good talent than it is to coach up the mediocre. However,
Optimism abounds because the last few classes had been on a decline (much like the naysayers have said about Richt) and while he has always been very conservative with the media, this is basically Richt’s way of saying, “SCOREBOARD, BABY!” to those naysayers. Further I want need to believe that the staff’s ability to go out and get a haul like this is due in large part to McGarity’s changes vis-a-vis giving Richt more time to focus on football.
This is basically the same thing, in my mind anyway, as the encouraging reports we’re seeing about the revamped S&C program. And if nothing else, we can say that we kept the lid on the state this year and filled needs. The byproduct I believe hope this will create is enough excitement to lure in the keystone of this class, BBJ John Jenkins. (Sorry hailtogeorgia, almost missed the opportunity there…)
by Just Some Dawg on Feb 2, 2011 6:29 PM EST up reply actions
Jarvis Jones
I was talking to him in the dining hall about Carver High school while watching Crowell chose UGA.
He said he had talked to Crowell about a week ago.
Btw, this is my first post. Long time reader first time poster.
Y’all crack me up.
Welcome aboard.
I believe it was in Fairfax … I was en route to Clinton’s first inaugural in 1993. I zipped through a Wendy’s drive-through for a bite to eat and was told that sweet tea wasn’t available. I said, “What? I’m pretty sure we won here.”
by NCT on Feb 2, 2011 4:20 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
ESPN is saying that the player whose name I could never hope to spell is no longer a verbal.
Did the check not clear?
that is correct
Big Cyrus verbally committed to AU this morning on ESPNU, but did not send in his LOI and is now officially unsure.
One can only conclude that AU’s check bounced.
I can bake like a demon.
Saw Jadaveon Clowney interviewed.
He said he was delaying because he really enjoyed his visit to Clemson and now had to rethink. Think I would rather him go there than Bama or USC.
It depends.
I definitely would rather him go there than South Carolina, since the Bulldogs play the Gamecocks every year.
When is Alabama back on our schedule? Georgia plays Clemson in 2013 and 2014.
Go 'Dawgs!
We should have some idea how well Dabo coaches up this class by then.
Or maybe we will be playing his successor.
Well, we played Bama in 07 and 08,
so by my math, we play them again in 13 and 14…just like Clemson.
by hailtogeorgia on Feb 2, 2011 4:45 PM EST up reply actions
Some early iterations of the schedule in 2013 . . .
actually had us playing them in back-to-back weeks. I don’t know if that’s still the case. Thanks Damon!
/masochistic OOC scheduling FTL.
2014 is going to be ROUGH.
The normal east schedule, plus Auburn, LSU in Baton Rouge, Alabama in Athens, Georgia Tech in Athens, Clemson in Clemson. Yikes.
by hailtogeorgia on Feb 2, 2011 4:51 PM EST up reply actions
Christian Lemay, come on down . . .
You’re the next contestant on “my first year as a starter will be a trial by fire!!!!”
Actually, we play Clemson in Death Valley in 2013 . . .
. . . and get the Tigers between the hedges in 2014.
Go 'Dawgs!
I see.
I assumed because we had Tech at home that we would get Clemson on the road. Interesting.
by hailtogeorgia on Feb 2, 2011 5:54 PM EST up reply actions
Kyle this is the second time
you have indicated Bama (LSU) are not important as far as recruiting – you are mistaken. We can’t advance beyond the SEC unless we can man up against them. I realize the importance of pecking order with the Gators – the Roosters and Orange Hounds but Bama and to a lesser extent Auburn & LSU block the road to a MNC.
by JRL on Feb 2, 2011 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
Well, I'm not sure when the first time was, but I never said Alabama was unimportant.
I said Alabama was less important. There’s a difference.
How well we are recruiting relative to teams we play every year is the most important measuring stick, because we play those teams every year. We don’t play Alabama and LSU every year. Therefore, even though it is quite important how we are doing relative to the Tide and the Tigers, it is not as important as how we are doing relative to the Gators and the Volunteers.
Go 'Dawgs!
Forgot the "as"
But never the less you did say “it is more important to outdo Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee than Alabama and LSU” which I simply don’t agree with – Bama and LSU are hurdles we must jump nearly EVERY year if we looking to get an invite to the big dance. We could conceivably have a loss- possibly 2 in the east and still have to face Bama or LSU in a very significant championship game.
by JRL on Feb 2, 2011 7:32 PM EST up reply actions
Fair enough.
Let me phrase it this way:
While the best way for a team to win a Big Ten championship is to out-recruit Ohio State consistently, that is unlikely to happen. The next best way for a team to win a Big Ten championship is to out-recruit every team in the conference except Ohio State, which is quite doable, and which presumably puts that team in a position to pull off one upset to win a Big Ten title, which, again, is quite doable.
As I indicated above, I would rather Georgia out-recruit every team in the country every year, but that isn’t going to happen, and, fortunately, we don’t need it to happen. If Georgia played in any other conference, Mark Richt’s recruiting would make the Bulldogs no worse than the third most talented, and most often the second most talented or most talented, team in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, or Pac-10. In the SEC, however, having the 16th best recruiting class in the country means having the sixth best recruiting class in the league; in other words, it makes you a middle-of-the-pack team, even if you’re head and shoulders above most of the rest of college football.
If Georgia brings in the best recruiting class in the East, as it appears the Bulldogs did today, that puts Georgia in a position to compete on an equal or superior footing with the rest of the division, which means the Red and Black ought to be able to win a division championship and get to Atlanta without having to pull off any upsets. (I am oversimplifying on several fronts, not the least of which is the reality that no one recruiting class completely shifts the locus of power, but I am trying to avoid complicating matters, for the sake of clarity.)
If Georgia can win a division title without having to win any upsets, it just takes one upset (over Alabama in the Georgia Dome) to win an SEC title. While I would prefer that the Bulldogs have a clear talent advantage over every other team in the league, that simply isn’t realistic. The next best scenario is the Big Ten scenario posited above: out-recruit everyone except Ohio State, win the games in which you’re favored, and pull off one upset against Ohio State. That’s a heck of a lot more likely than bringing in the league’s sixth best recruiting class, pulling off at least three upsets to win the division, and pulling off a fourth upset to win the conference championship.
If one upset victory is going to be necessary in any instance, I would much rather that upset have to come against a conference opponent we don’t play every year than against a conference rival we have played annually since at least the Second World War.
Go 'Dawgs!
This didn't just make me laugh...
… I guffawed. Out loud. In an office.
Thanks for all the weird looks I’m now getting, NCT.
But the Big 10 doesn’t have re-matches yet.
If I’m following your logic correctly and making the same assumptions that I think you’re making (regarding recruiting classes as proxies for favorites, and the importance of winning each game) – which I may not be – I disagree. My problem with this line of thinking: there’s a 50% chance that the SEC CG will be a rematch (40% chance that a team has played a non-annual rival that wins the opposite division, 100% chance they’ve played their annual inter-divisional rival who wins the division; 5/6 chance of the 40% chance, 1/6 chance of the 100% chance = .333 + .167 = .500).
If we’re going to be second best, it’s clearly bad for Auburn to be best, because that requires 2 upsets to win the SEC. But if we’re second and another SEC West team is first, that requires us to pull off 1.4 upsets per year to win the conference, where any East team being better than us requires only 1.0 upsets per year to win the SEC.
"It'll only be reviewed because the guys up in the booth want to watch it a few times too." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf16_mw0nxs
by AdamLilly on Feb 4, 2011 12:02 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
But apparently Clowney won't be one of them!
ESPN hasn’t downgraded AU yet after Big Cyrus didn’t sign.
Seth Emerson has a pretty good write-up of the presser from this afternoon.
Several quotes in there that will make you smile, my personal favorite being this one:
The class probably isn’t done. The coaches couldn’t mention nose tackle [Big Bad John], who will announce his decision on Saturday. Recruiting coordinator (and defensive line coach) Rodney Garner would only say "there’s a possibility" they’ll sign another player or two. He said that with a grin.
On top of that, they said the closest comparison for Crowell is to Robert Edwards. I like it…as long as we don’t misuse him for two years.
Read more: http://dawg-extra.blogspot.com/2011/02/richt-and-his-coaches-talk-about.html#ixzz1CqG5CMfS
Oh,
and the Big Bad John emphasis was mine. You’re shocked, I know.
by hailtogeorgia on Feb 2, 2011 5:10 PM EST up reply actions
When the coaching staff
actually begins to refer to Jenkins as ‘Big Bad John’, we’ll know for sure that you’ve arrived!
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Mr. King, I take it from your first paragraph that ...
… you want to see all chicken salads outfitted with their due chicken. If so, allow me to point out that if the sword of Damocles is named for the fool over whom it dangled on a thread. The fool, of course, was permitted to sit on the throne for a short time to see what ruling the kingdom was like.
If that is indeed the import of a demand for “significant improvement,” then I am certain that the coming season will demonstrate (as did 1996) whether Damocles occupies our throne, or whether Dionysis II has indeed regained his seating.
For the record, I hope for the latter — far be it from me to calumniate!
For those that missed Isiah's announcement
video available here:
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/02/02/1444154/carvers-isaiah-crowel-signs-with.html
I can bake like a demon.
The class looks solid
and the highlight videos on youtube are a lot of fun to watch. Now the coaching staff has to put together the drills, routines, and gameplans to get the job done. I hope these guys can come in and contribute early.
For as much crap as Bobo gets,
Mitchell said that the reason he switched from Bama to UGA at the last minute was because Bobo sold Mitchell on his playcalling and his ability/willingness to get the ball in Mitchell’s hands.
Thought this board would enjoy that little tid-bit about this great recruiting class.
I really tried to come up with something witty. Or a funny pic. But the words, they have left me on this one.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
Totally Surprised.
(No, really, in this case. It’s not often that tankertoad is left speechless.)
by vineyarddawg on Feb 2, 2011 10:45 PM EST up reply actions
Simple explanation, really
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
I think Bobo is a fantastic recruiter and QB coach…
… And I’ll leave it at that. No need to get negative today.
by get swoll yunel on Feb 2, 2011 8:45 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Let me venture a guess
Mitchell has seen the CT off tackle play more than once possibly even the SmithGun Formation.
I love the class but truly question Bobo’s ability to create an unstoppable unit that incorporates all of the talent. I hope he proves me wrong.
Two-A-Days
Since this was the first year of not holding the two-a-day practices in the preseason and then losing five of the first 6 games (or whatever it was), maybe we should go back to basics this fall and conduct two-a-days once again this upcoming season. Get rid of the stuff that doesn’t work…two-a-days are held by every college team that I know of.
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