So how much of Georgia’s recruiting and subsequent player development success is attributable to Mark Richt’s longevity? This follow-up post at Black Heart Gold Pants suggests a fair amount.
The first question left unaddressed is how much impact the recent hot seat talk has on the program’s stability and, thus, recruiting. The success of the Dream Team approach with the 2011 class would suggest not much, but the scuttlebutt on the 2012 class indicates there are more than a few high-profile recruits who are waiting to see how this season unwinds in Athens.
The second question, the part we won’t know about for a while, is what effect the staff changes will have on player development. There’s more NFL background on the defensive side of the ball than before with Grantham and Olivadotti, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.
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UPDATE: On a quasi-related front, check out this quote from Richt on the move of Bruce Figgins to fullback.
… We also have some pretty good tight ends, so we figured if we moved Bruce to fullback and trained him there, it would make him more valuable to our team and to the NFL down the road. A lot of NFL teams will take their tight end and teach him fullback-type things because of the size of the roster…
Get The Picture 
Figgins will also get a good look from teams using the H-back
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“but the scuttlebutt on the 2012 class indicates there are more than a few high-profile recruits who are waiting to see how this season unwinds in Athens”.
Agree, to disagree. Win and the rest will fall into place. Lose and adieu to Richt and the recruiting year, pretty simple to understand.
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Middle ground. Win enough to stick around but not end the “hot seat” meme, the worst scenario.
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