Settle down with a few tasty morsels:
- A.J. Green has to average 102 yards per game this season to eclipse Terrence Edwards’ SEC career receiving record.
- “I’ve already said Rich is our coach this fall and WVU’s announcement does not change that fact.” Translation: somebody better win some games real soon. [Emphasis added.]
- It looks like somebody else had to move out of a dorm room as a result of oversigning. I doubt you’ll need three guesses to name the program involved.
- Here’s a good piece on National Letters of Intent and departing coaches.
- In case you’re interested, here’s an early look at Florida’s two deep.
- Along the same lines, here’s a Q&A review of Georgia Tech.
- Could this year be Zooker’s last chance?
- Georgia has two of the three longest-serving at the same school assistant coaches in the SEC – which makes sense when you consider that Richt is the dean of the conference head coaches.
Get The Picture 
Oversigning at Alabama and the kids who get hosed is such crap. I love in south Alabama, and I’m so tired of hearing folks talk about what a great person Nick Saban is or how often he goes to mass. The guy’s overwhelming desire to win yanked the rug out from under a kid who did everything right.
It sounds like the family of the kid have had too much of the Crimson Koolaid anyway, so I bet they won’t raise much of a stink with anyone about it.
I’m guessing if some called Finebaum about it he’d totally defend Bama’s right to push a kid off the team, but he’d flame any other coach who was willing to do the same thing because of oversigning.
Such garbage.
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The comments on the grey shirting article are rediculous. “Hey writer, you idiot! Everyone benefits from this!”.
Everyone, you know, except the kid.
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1. As far as what Bama does, it’s a thing that is allowed by the NCAA. It puts a guy like Richt, who is ethical at a disadvantage, but I’d rather be that way even without a NCship than have a coach like Saban.
2. The GT Q and A was pretty interesting. I can’t believe anybody thinks either ACC division would be the best in college football. If the ACC starts showing they have a team besides Va Tech that can play with the big boys, then start talking trash. Until then, accept that you are inferior.
3. I think AJ has an outside shot at that 102 mark. He’ll be even better this year. Our offense should be better. Aaron is gonna be a lot better than most people, especially our rivals think. If he stays healthy, I won’t be shocked if he averages that.
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AJ has better than an outside shot since he only has to average 51 yards a game if he plays all four of his eligible years at UGA. I know, you can’t blame him if he is slated to go highly in the draft but next year is really questionable for pro football. The issues between the players’s union and management are significant with both sides digging into positions that are far apart.
Add to that new attorney/director for the union side that is trying to make his mark and many feel it is likely thge 2011 season is in jeopardy. How many owners are going to lay out huge bonuses when there is a probability all, or part of, the season will not be played?
I know it is optimistic, but why can’t we get our top players to stay for their Senior year? It isn’t like UGA and Athens come up short for “best years of your life” for most who go to schoiol there. Sure $50M can change your perspective, but that is likely to still be there a year later…..and now there is significant doubt it will be there at all in 2011.
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Were I Mark Richt, or any other top program head coach, I would have a hard time looking a kid who’s got a legit shot at being a first round draft pick in the eye and urging him to stay.
That being said, were I that kid, the one thing that would override the immediate shot at a big contract would be if my school had a legit chance to play for a MNC.
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Agree, and the thing is no matter what comes out of the union/owners agreement, AJ is gonna be guaranteed to make a lot of money, much more than he has right now. he may have to wait awhile, but it’s not like they are gonna sacrifice a whole season. Only baseball was dumb enough to do that.
There are a few who will hang around for a NCship run, but not many. And I can’t say that I blame them.
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I didn’t suggest CMR do that, only that dozens of players have done that on their own, including three QBs that finished in the Top 5 of the Heisman voting 19 months ago. I also threw in the labor situation with the NFL for next year, which could be a factor. I just don’t see any owner willing to throw $75M to a player if they are unsure there will be a season in 2011. Or if the price for rookies is capped at somewhere around $30M, you could take out an insurance policy for that amount. I realize this isn’t a strong bet that AJ won’t leave, only that this crop of draftees may be facing a new set of circumstances than all before them. And there is that sliver of chance he may decide to hang in because it is a part of your life you never get back. Maybe 10-1 against?
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I’m with Mac on this. Insure A.J against a career ending injury for an amount similar to what a first round NFL Draft pick would get and at least that gives him protection and an incentive to play his senior year.
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There’snothing unethical about it. Who’s to say if the kid hadn’t been better he couldn’t have displaced an upperclassmen?
And since when does a schollie guarantee and kid a place on the team?
You play the game and you take your chances.
Keep in mind…there are plenty of 17/18 year olds that get their HS diplomas and then hit the bricks looking for real jobs in the real world.
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The kid could have played his way into a scholarship, but that’s not supposed to be the deal. At most schools, a scholarship offer means you have a scholarship unless you do something (low grades, breaking rules, transfer) to lose it. At Bama, a scholarship offer means you get the opportunity to tryout for a scholarship. If you’re good enough, you get it. If not, you’re gray shirted.
As much as I think Saban and Nutt are making a mockery out of this process, the libertarian in me opposes further rules to fix the problem. It’s not like Saban’s tactics are a secret. It seems like it must eventually hurt his recruiting when kids realize that an offer from Bama just means that you MIGHT get a scholarship if some other guys don’t qualify or you can beat out 5 or 6 other players. By the same token, an offer from UGA means that as long as you don’t do something stupid, you’ve got a free ride for four years.
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Funny, the libertarian in me likes Andy Staples’ proposal more with every passing day.
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Grayshirting should be stopped immediately by the NCAA, no squirming, no excuses, zero tolerance. Any program has enough people who can count to 25, that is the limit, enforce it. I would recommend a loss of 2 scholarships for four years for each case where a team “boots” a student off scholarship because of their mismanagement/greed. There is no justification for this, and it doesn’t matter what program it occurs with. This is blatant cheating and allow a big advantage for those who act within the rules. If you offer a scholarship, you live with the consequences of potential players not qualifying.
That is all. Scumbags, all of them.
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+ 1 .
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There is something seriously wrong with the universe. I agree with Mac on 2 straight items.
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Who knows Mayor? We may end up rooming together in JAX one year soon celebrating the renewal of the WLOCP contract and our 4th straight victory over Urbie, or share a red-eye flight back from another West Coast trip on an OOC home-and-home. I’ll bring the hooch!
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I think the difference is if you tell a guy up front he will grey shirt that’s different. I can go along with that. But making him think he’s got a legit scholarship and then telling him he has to greyshirt, that’s where it’s unethical.
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Agreed.
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Jones’ dad played basketball at Bama. His brother is also on the team.
I believe Saban’s MO is to be upfront and honest with the kids about the realities of big-time college football.
It’s a nice way to divert talk away from the hot seat I guess. 🙂
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Wrong.
The hot seat talk is all from Finebaum, the Orlando paper, etc.
We don’t hear it, so no need for diversion.
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Um, ok.
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Surprised at you Bryant Denny, most Bama fans I know are pretty knowlegeable about CFB. With a comment indicating you actually believe the “hot seat” BS, you put yourself in a select group near the bottom of the gene pool.
Nothing in the article indicates this family was prepared for this. While that type of agreement, if true, would soften the impact of this story, it doesn’t change the fact that CFB coaches should be recruiting athletes who have a better chance of success with college academics, or face the shortage of scholarship players. This makes CFB coaches more honest, and accountable for their decisions. It could also send a message to HS coaches to get the players more involved in studies at an earlier age.
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Ouch. It was a joke, man. C’mon. 🙂
I think both the CMR hot seat talk and the recent greyshirt talk are both just pre-season fodder and much ado about nothing.
Have a good one,
BD
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Sorry, didn’t pick up on the smiley face in my haste to read that day. Just overreacted to being tired of the silliness of the hot seat subject stirred often by someone from Alabama’s airwaves. F’Bomb needs to realize how stupid he comes off with this. Peace, good luck this season!
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Am I reading too much into some of Garner’s comments? Sounded like he was considering a career move.
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I don’t think it’s any secret that CRG harbors hopes of being something more than a position coach one day.
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Is it telling that he has been with UGa through two HC’s and six DC’s and yet remains a position coach? His strengths are his D line coaching, recruiting, and his mentoring of young athletes. I would think he would become a DC before a HC. I get the sense that the Assistant HC label may be to mollify him somewhat. CJD used it with Joe Kines. Not everyone is a HC in waiting. CBV brief sojourn with Georgia Southern comes to mind. Bobo’s quick climb to the OC tells me that Richt is not afraid to promote from within. (I refuse to think about Willie). Perhaps he is just waiting for a certain program to have that “dream job” come open. If young D. Dooley can be the HC at Tennessee with his limited big time experience Coach Garner should be able to with his wealth of experience. I’d hate to lose him but wish him luck. He has been a DGD!
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Where to begin. Rich Rod is a dead man walking. The question now is will he take the AD with him like USC. The once egomaniacal Mich is now just like the rest of the great unwashed.
The greyshirt issue and the letter of intent matter seem to intertwine. The difference between LSU and Bama’s situation was the economics of the players involved. The kid from LSU could not afford to go to school on his own. The kid from ALA’s parents were willing and able to finance him. So again the NCAA demonstrates that it cares little about the kids in this business and is just an antitrust association that has managed to get inexpensive labor for 100 years. Sue the bastards for breach of contract if they try to greyshirt you.
If the coaches go then the kids should be free to go. If as the NCAA tries to portray the kids are committed to a school then the kids should have no reason not to re-up with the school no matter the coach. To make them sit out one year is a threat and to not release a kid is just illegal, as the lawyer in NC pointed out and got the girls release. As with all big business the attorneys will be circling and the NCAA has a terrible track record of winning any law suit as far back as the OK,UGA suit. They are in a no win situation and they know it.
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A little off-topic, but worth a good chuckle on a Sunday morning.
http://www.showbizgossips.com/tim-tebow-new-haircut-photo/10927
St. Tebow indeed!
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More precisely, Brother Tim.
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Per the grayshirts – what’s all this “college football is a business” bs? If it is, it sure as hell screws the student athlete! What other business gets free labor? Either pay the kids for signing or quit screwing them with this grayshirt baloney. Or in the case of Porter, just outright dumping him. If this is the business of college football, it stinks!
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“move out of a dorm room as a result of oversigning. I doubt you’ll need three guesses to name the program involved.”
because short people never change…h/t edsbxyz
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Once oversigning starts, all the SEC will have to do it.
It would not be that hard at Georgia. If Georgia oversigned and had to get rid of three fast:
1)Morant would be gone!
2)Anyone with arrest would be examined and considered.
3)Anyone with an attitued problem or “they’re not treating my right here” , would be a candidate for “downsizing”.
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