Carrollton DB Jonathan Jones has lots of offers from élite programs around the South, but not one from the in-state Dawgs. Why not?
Because it’s not Willie’s world anymore.
What about UGA? Said Teague: “My understanding is that the defensive coordinator, being a pro guy, wants bigger corners, the 6-1 and 6-2 guys. Jonathan is too short for them at 5-10 1/2. They just don’t think he’s tall enough. That was their deal.”
Get The Picture 
My first thought upon reading that was “Dunta Robinson.”
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Darrell Green…
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Well well well we finally want DB’s that are actually bigger than a 7th grader, how refreshing.
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I don’t think 5’10 -1/2 is too short. In fact most of the best corners are right at 6′ ft. He sounds like a good prospect to me with his speed, hips and high GPA. With that said….I will defer to Laktos since he is the professional in this area. However…didn’t they give Crowell’s friend Hootie a ship last year? I pretty sure he was not 6′ ft +.
My thoughts are effective 6’ft plus corners do not grow on trees so if a kid is a bit shorter but has the other measerables like hips, speed, hitting, etc it is probably worth a look and an offer.
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Just because his high school coach says the kid is 5’10.5″ doesn’t mean he’s actually 5’10.5″.
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Fair enough, but at the end of the day you want playmakers.
I’m behind Lakatos and his preference for taller CBs, but I wouldn’t think it’s a non-negotiable requirement if you have a bonafide playmaker on the table.
Greg Reid made a few plays last season (check out his highlights) and made Defensive MVP at a generous 5’8″. That’s one smurf you don’t mind having on your roster.
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Don’t forget Jennings. He was not 6 foot either. But do you really want a 5 9 guy across the line to Jeffries? I don’t.
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wasnt Tim Worley pretty good, too? Me personally, I dont care how tall the guy is if he can make plays. I understand the inherent problems when a 5’9″ guy tries to cover an Alshon Jeffrey or a Calvin Johnson, but height alone is just one factor. Just sayin’….
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That is true and like I said I will trust Laktos’s judgement.
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That doesn’t mean he won’t be 6′ plus by the time he graduates from college. He’s still in HS. The question is can he play? If the answer is “Yes” then we ought to be looking at him. I hate it when coaches have arbitrary guidelines. It demonstrates a very narrow mind and a lack of evaluation skills. Kind of like recruiting kids just because Rivals gives them 5 stars but not really evaluating the kid’s skills for yourself (e.g. Bryan Evans).
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just because his coach says that’s why didn’t offer doesn’t mean that’s why we didn’t offer…
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Tim Wansley
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oh boy….more damned if you do, damned if you dont….
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Yeeeeeup.
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next you thing you know everyone will be talking about how David Pollock was only a 3 star FB in high school. We should recruit more of those guys as well.
the plural of anecdote is not data.
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Love that last line.
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I like getting big DB’s. I just hope we’re truly putting an emphasis on getting the BEST guy out there, too. If guys are incapable of playing what Lakatos and Grantham want, then fine. Don’t offer them. But like the guys above that mentioned Wansley and Jennings, I remember small DB’s playing out of their minds and serving as the heart and soul of the team. Paul Oliver was 6’0 but still gave up quite a bit of height to Calvin Johnson, who was closed for business when Oliver was in the area. How about Bruce Thornton? 5’10. Once he figured out the defense, he was a solid defender.
Just because a guy is big doesn’t mean he’s automatically the answer. I hope that these big guys we’re bringing in are also the BEST guys.
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It’s the time honored debate about DBs–speed or size? Sometimes you can find someone with both but that is rare. Usually you have to choose one over the other. I prefer a mix of both–some guys with size and some with speed but I admit that I did not play DB nor coach them so I don’t really know.
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Right on senator…my high school listed me as 6’2 250 lbs…i might have been 5′ 10 230…haha
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I don’t like those blanket statements. Revis is 5’11”. Lito Sheppard was 5’10”. Dunta is 5’10”
Now…should we be recruiting day care facilities for 5’7″ – 5’8″ guys like Willie was doing at the end? Not unless they have olympic speed or they are built like Wansley and Jennings were. Wansley as a Soph benched more than 3 of our 5 OL in Donnan’s final year.
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It’s all about physicality as opposed to length. Yes, length can help, but I’ll take a short guy who can jam someone at the line and then pop him when/if he gets the ball over a taller guy who has to tickle a WR to the ground.
B. Smith’s issue isn’t that he’s short; it’s that he’s not physical. That’s the difference between he and Greg Reid. By the way, I like Branden but think he’s more of a specialty item on offense and special teams than anything.
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My preference is 6′-6’2″, but I hope that isn’t an absolute line that has been drawn. There are other athletic factors that can offset 1-2 inches in height so i doubt our coaches would turn down everyone under six feet. My guess there are other considerations besides height involved and agree with those who say let the coaches who have more access to information and get paid to make these decisions do so. I trust them to make the right decisions and doubt that HS coach is in a position to question our staff who see beyond his county line as to what talent is out there.
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As long as the big boys on the line are doing their jobs and getting to the QB then I don’t particularly care how short or tall the secondary guys are; they will perform well as long as the D-line does well. That said, we had small guys before and it didn’t seem to work out that well the last few seasons so trying/recruiting something new is probably in everyone’s best interest.
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Found some old scouting video Willie used to evaluate corners.
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If they thought he was an immediate impact player they would offer him no matter how tall he was. I think they’re probably just telling the kid that he’s too short when really they just don’t see him as a must get.
The coaches know that there are short guys who can make plays. Brent Grimes is 5’7″ fwiw.
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grimes is 5’10”
and can jump another 4 feet haha.
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This could have been an out for the coach to use, but maybe he saw something else from the player that he didn’t want to comment on, or maybe has other prospects. I’m not familiar with this player, so mostly playing devil’s advocate.
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Sometimes you have to go with the best football players and this kid looks like a very good one.
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I would temper my enthusiasm for this kid until he gets offers from more elite schools. He has offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Kentucky, Boston College, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin. He does not have offers from Alabama, LSU, Texas, Florida, or UGA.
I consider stealing a kid form Alabama much better than stealing a kid from GA Tech.
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That explains a lot. I don’t follow recruiting enough to know who he has offers from, but simply from reading Bluto’s post I thought he had offers from Bama, Florida et al.
So we haven’t offered a kid Tech is after. Slow news day Bluto? 😉
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His only SEC offers to date are Vandy, Kentucky, Miss St., and Auburn. Besides Auburn all his offers are from middle tier BCS Conference schools. Seems like a bright kid based on the schools after him. Stanford and Wake have offered him as well.
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$20 says Auburn has extended an offer to every kid in the Rivals 250. Surely a recruiting staple of “one of the best wide receivers coaches in the country**.”
**trademark credit to JaQuay Williams, who chose Auburn over Ohio State, presumably because OSU had too many unsavory characters hanging around the program)
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Don’t know anything about this recruit. But there are and have been a LOT of great college CDs in the 5’10” to 6′ range. If this guy is any good, this approach might be a bit short sided
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Haden.
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err…I meant college CBs
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Short college ADs can be good, too. I think McGarity is under 6 feet.
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bout time we decided to play with the big guys. whatever happened to the program to be top dawgs not middle of the pack? recruit some the big guys.
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