I got back last night and switched on the tube to check to see which Dawgs had gotten selected when my ears perked up with what has to be my favorite story of the draft.
The seventh round saw the Browns select two Divsion II school players. East Central Oklahoma defensive end Armonty Bryant. Bryant was arrested in October for selling marijuana to an undercover police officer during practice.
It’s not exactly clear whether Bryant was selling at practice, but he was certainly arrested there. Can you imagine the shitstorm that would ensue if that ever happened in Athens?
Here’s hoping that Jimmy Williamson doesn’t watch the draft shows.
Get The Picture 
Part two of the “guilty until proven innocent discussion” could begin right here.
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Ug feints with the invite, then hits a body blow.
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My favorite part of the draft was Tyler Bray and Duh Rick not getting drafted at all. We have had those names thrown around as uber talents for years. Not sure Tyler ever had the “right stuff” (other than a strong arm) for making it at the highest level but Duh Rick only has to look in the mirror to see why his star burned out….can you “attitude”.
The least enjoyable was all the time spent on speculation and stories about the great Man Teo, Barkley, and Honey Badger. With all the great success stories to focus on, we had to dwell on the misses. At least in San Diego Man Teo will be close to his girl friend.
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say “attitude”
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Anyone else think Kwame wishes he had stuck around for one more year?
Hope the Falcons give him a look as a free agent.
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The Falcons seem to refuse to even give UGA guys a shot. I am not sure if they even have any ex-UGA players on their roster.
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Akeem Dent started several games at LB last year.
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They gave Thomas Brown and Shockley shots, albeit pre-Dimitroff era.
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I hear this a lot and it irritates me. Their job isn’t to sign UGA players, it’s to meet the needs of their team. Having said that, over the years they’ve given a bunch of non-elite draft prospects opportunities over the years. Like Terrence Edwards, Thomas Brown, DJ Shockley.
Plus, you should have known that Akeem Dent was their starting middle linebacker last year, so I doubt you even watch them.
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“Their job isn’t to sign UGA players . . . .”
Yea, that’s Cincinnati’s job.
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+1.
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No, that’s the Steelers’ job. 🙂
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+ 1 to that. Match made in Heaven.
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Yeah, and they’ve had their second best run over the last 10 years that they’ve had in franchise history. Dawgs on top!
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I know the former Falcons director for player personnel, now GM in J’Ville. He said they avoid UGA players bc our strength program was bad. UGA players came to the draft w nagging injuries that can and should be avoided. He said he’s heard better things about our players since the strength change but the stigma lingers. I was pissed when he said it, that we were “known” for that in the League and we didn’t “know” it in Athens until the ship had capsized. I remember people on this board throwing it around…but you’re a bunch of lounge chair QBs with no time in the arena.
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I was one of those people and, yes, it is very frustrating that something so basic could be let to slip like that. Hopefully that is fixed now.
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How does that match up with Georgia being among the top schools in players drafted?
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Yea, that really was a head-scratcher. What kind of draft grade did he get beforehand that made him confident enough to declare? I didn’t think he was going to go high, but I thought he was at least worthy of a 6th or 7th round pick.
I think he would have been a better pick for the Falcons than either of their last 2 picks.
Then again, I’m not paid to be an NFL talent evaluator.
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Not a knowledgeable pro scout either but I don’t follow how that is puzzling at all. Kwame wasn’t even a starter at UGA, and the guy who beat him out wasn’t drafted much higher. Blame it on Garner, or maybe Kwame not being that skilled, but I can remember very few big plays for his time at UGA. Our defense was ranked around 40th in the country, worse against the run, a top flight player on the front line could have made a name for himself on last year’s defense. Jenkins was more athletic than Geathers and he didn’t dominate either. The best NG I saw all year played for one of the Utah teams, looked much better than anyone I saw play in CFB at that position in recent years, including Mt.Cody
I know that CTG’s defense uses the NG as a space holder in a sense but over 14 games last year shouldn’t you have beaten your guy in some games enough to have several TFL, or a few sacks? I didn’t think KG should have even declared for the draft, but I am happy to move on and try someone new. Good luck to him in the NFL but I want better production from the defensive linemen in the next few years.
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Well, I was thinking along the lines of his up-side. He’s got an NFL pedigree of players who perhaps blossomed in the pros. He’s got great size. He ran a great 40 time for a 340-50 pounder (admittedly, not very important for an interior DL but still indicative of athletic ability). Given the strong likelihood that all of your 7th round picks are going to fizz out anyway, I figured his upside might lure a team to pick him up. I don’t really think not starting is as much of a tell-tale sign these days. Players might be 1A and 1B, but only one can start. Plus, he had some versatility in playing DE and NT.
I don’t really put a premium on stats w/ down linemen in a 3-4, precisely b/c they are usually coached to free up the LBs to make the play. They are probably coached not to get too much depth in the backfield. If they said “to hell w/ it” and went for the big play, that’s what my HS coach would have called “goin’ into bidness for yourself.” You see this all the time w/ 4-3 DEs. Charles Johnson was bad about it. In their fury to rush the passer, they get too far upfield, take themselves out of the play, and the QB simply hands the ball off w/ a wide open C-Gap.
That might not change this season, even w/ a smaller, quicker, and more athletic NT in Mike Thornton. If you’ll recall, Josh Chapman at Bama was similarly undersized, and he didn’t have sexy stats. He just controlled the line of scrimmage, and he got drafted in a mid-to-late round.
Despite losing JJ and KG, I agree that we might be better off this season–not b/c Thornton is a superior NT, but b/c he’ll be in better shape. It’s also great to read that David Andrews seems to have had his hands full w/ him.
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Plus, he jumped up as MVP during last year’s Spring Game following a way upside spring practice. We all were relieved that he was going to give JJ competition and vice versa.
The sadness fades when you realize that he is athletically endowed enough to make an NFL grade. They (the family) may not have gotten fair endorsement as to where he could go, yet all gambled on his natural ability family genes to get him into the NFL when he gets a fair workout with competition.
The way he hibernated before he sprouted his competitive wings at UGA may be indicative as to how he works. When he’s gotta do it, he does. We all have locks like that only they aren’t usually for all the life potatoes the NFL affords. I’ve forgotten what they call it, but I’ll look it up later.
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He’s a Geathers, man. Leaving early for the NFL is wired in their DNA. 😉
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On the bright side, the Genius fish fry had NO player selected. So Bradley will be gushing about how that proves he’s a genius. Wonder if the recruits will flock to the flats to get that genius coaching instead of going to a program that will have some chance to get to play in the NFL?
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No. No. No. Bradley will spin it as the fact that Tech has been close to UGA (score wise) in several of the meetings, thus Johnson is a better coach cause he had no NFL caliber players.
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Johnson took Omoregie Uzzi, a very good OL prospect, and turned him into an undrafted chop-blocking free agent…
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They also drafted DJ Shockley and Thomas Brown; those guys sadly didn’t have long NFL careers
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DJ was close to getting his shot, but got hurt (his second training camp, IIRC).
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Yeah that was the year Vick got arrested. Shockley had a good shot to play but got hurt. Then, they got Joey Harrington (gross) and Byron Leftwich (ack!). That was a dark, dark year.
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Georgia Tech had zero players drafted in 2013. In the last 3 drafts, GT had a total of 2 players drafted (Stephen Hill and Anthony Allen). Allen was a Louisville transfer. To date, Stephen Hill is the only CPJ recruited player to be drafted during his tenure at GT.
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That’s a dismal record; 2 players in three drafts…unimaginable, really.
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“Bryant was arrested in October for selling marijuana to an undercover police officer during practice.”
If we assume an editor proofread that sentence and it’s true and accurate, this story is a jaw dropping hoot. How did the yutz have time during practice to try and score a deal?
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The delivery was made at practice. The money is given to the dealer before you score.
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Perhaps there was an odor of marijuana coming from his helmet.
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It was a set-up.
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It must have been a set up what with those Div II athletes possibly getting drafted ahead of SEC play……Oooh!….you mean the drug bust.
How many rounds do you think it knocked them down? 🙂
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Senator, why do I even bother? How can I pull for a team who’s head coach has obviously lost control of the goings-on in East Central Oklahoma?
Cojones – 2 rounds…is the answer.
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St Louis Linebacker Coach Paul Ferraro must really like the job that Coach Kirk Olivadotti is doing at UGA. St. Louis drafted and/or signed THREE UGA Inside Linebackers: Alec Ogletree, Christian Robinson and Mike Gilliard.
Odd move but it shows a lot of respect (at least from one team/coach) in the job that CKO is doing here at UGA.
Paul Ferraro has been coaching for 30 years so I would think that his opinion matters at least a little bit!
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