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‘Tis the season to be jolly. So let’s don our red and black apparel, and decorate the tree with some shiny Bulldog news in today’s ‘Dawg Bites.
This is also the thick of recruiting season, and with the early signing period only days away Kirby Smart still sounds a little uncertain how many early enrollees he’s likely to have room for. Smart makes explicit something that we’ve known since the NCAA announced this “free year” of eligibility, which was that at some point the numbers would run headlong into the NCAA’s customary 85 player scholarship cap. I don’t think anyone knows how that’s going to work out.
It’s also transfer portal season, and it looks like in addition to the ongoing drama surrounding Marietta native and LSU standout Arik Gilbert, another Peach State native is in the move. Former Bulldog JJ Holloman appears to be leaving Florida International, where he played for one season. Holloman was a key contributor for the Dawgs in 2017 and 2018 but was dismissed from the team when it was revealed that he struck his girlfriend during an argument. There’s bound to be speculation about whether he’d be welcome back in Athens, though with a solid group of young receivers returning and some intriguing recruits for the 2021 class it’s unclear that there would be room at the position.
As the Gilbert saga wears on, it sounds like the program in Baton Rouge is humming along smoothly.
Ed Orgeron says the key to next year will be graduate transfers who can come in and contribute immediately. #LSU
— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) December 10, 2020
The idea that a team just one year removed from a national title, perennially one of the recruiting elites nationally, is plugging key holes in the graduate transfer market sounds like a bad sign for player development. Paired with a self-imposed bowl ban related to ongoing NCAA shenanigans, and it’s sounding more and more like we might see Coach O on the broadcast desk next to Gene Chizik before we know it.
The L.A. Times has a nice profile on former UGA tailback Todd Gurley as he prepares to play for the first time in the stadium that was supposed to be the stage for his career with the Rams. Life is indeed what happens while you’re busy making other plans.
The article also points to the fact that #3 also remains active around Athens and within the Bulldog program, something I would only expect to increase once his playing days are done. There are a lot of Damn Good ‘Dawgs Out there, but there may be none better than Tarrboro’s finest. Until later...
Go ‘Dawgs!!!