Post-signing day tidbits:
- I’m guessing this is another story about momma not being happy with her son’s college choice. This stuff is more sad than funny for the kid.
- Give Derek Mason some credit for salvaging Vanderbilt’s class after James Franklin stripped it bare. The Commodores finished with 22 signees, including 17 prospects ranked three stars or higher by ESPN.
- Matt Hinton reminds us why recruiting matters.
- A Jeff Schultz column about Georgia Tech recruiting partly entitled “Just the facts (no spin)” winds up sounding otherwise. As for the two possibilities suggested in his piece, let me add a third: the Jackets don’t play a lot of good opponents.
- Boy, how things have changed in Texas. Charlie Strong takes a swipe at TAMU: “We don’t need gadgets. We’re not going to be a gadget program.”
- Hakuna Matata, Eastern Michigan.
- A little South Carolina crowing: “You certainly shouldn’t let your friendly neighborhood Dawgs fan tell you that Mark Richt let Carolina win these battles.”
- And Mike Bobo on in-state recruiting: “The way Atlanta is now, it’s not like you’re recruiting south Georgia. A lot of people in Atlanta didn’t grow up there, where in south Georgia, those people are from Georgia and they have roots. It’s a constant battle, but that’s part of it. We’re still the state school, and I believe you can get everything any young man wants here.”
Get The Picture 
Matt Hinton is passing out heartburn to the Spurrier-haters, the ones who refuse to acknowledge that despite Spurrier’s smart mouth, he is, in fact, one of the great college football coaches of all time.
Since my team plays South Carolina every year, I was already pretty sure about Spurrier, especially when I include my team’s experience when Spurrier worked in a state with a slightly better percentage of great athletes than South Carolina.
Which would seem to indicate my coach, Mark Richt, who has done pretty well against Spurrier, must be pretty damned good, too.
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Reality check:
Carolina is a Top 5 football program.
Ugaly is a 5-loss football program.
Big difference.
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I know, right? You were so close…just think of the season you guys might have had if you hadn’t lost to a mediocre 5-loss football program. Wtf happened?!
So frustrating to have a superior football program that can only get to the SECCG once in 21 years. And last year, I mean…dang, Spurs. With Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee having down years and/or riddled with injuries, 2013 was really looking like your year…
…but you couldn’t beat Missouri out for the east title. Missouri. Really now, Spurs…I’m happy you guys had a nice year and all, and we were all very proud of you – no, really, we were – but it’s not so much that you ought to be crowing “we’re number five! we’re number five!” on the blog of a team that beat you.
That is sort of embarrassing, pal.
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Since when is a Swag Copter a gadget
“the helicopter is undefeated, as far as signees and commitments,” Sumlin said.
http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/texas-am-helicopter-undefeated-as-far-as-signees-and-commitments-says-coach-kevin-sumlin.html/
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Hinton also subtly reminds us why recruiting isn’t the only thing that matters: “The only ‘five-star’ teams that never played for a title in the BCS era are Georgia and Michigan.” This isn’t meant as a Richt bash–but it is a frustrating fact.
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Bobo is right about Atlanta to some extent, although most native Georgians know Atlanta has always been a melting pot. I doubt there are many state capitals which are less reflective of the attitudes of the rest of the state than Atlanta.
If there is anything new it is more likely the outside interest in recruiting in Atlanta, and the fall of Tech from football relevance.
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You’ve never been to Austin. 60 square miles of paradise surrounded by reality.
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Native Atlantans view of the state is the same.
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I grew up in Metro Atlanta, and I have no ill feelings toward the rest of the state. Lots of great places in Georgia.
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Ahhh, there is nothing like the babble of delusional South Carolina fans to tell me spring is right around the corner.
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No kidding. The reason they have to come to Georgia to get kids is because their state is small, and it sucks overall. We can never beat South Caroline enough for my tastes, and having grown up near Augusta, I have a special disdain for them.
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I love the hatred of the fans of the best damn 5-loss football program in all of college football! To use a phrase from Reconstruction, “bottom rail is on top, top rail is on bottom.” Carolina is a Top 5 football program and Ugaly better get used to five losses a year on the regular.
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Nice to see you back. But why did you change your handle?
Funny how we didn’t hear much from you last September. 😉
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He was too busy making arrangements for either Orlando or Tampa for New Years. It’s usually one destination or the other for South Carolina fans.
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additionally, the reference to sawyer being ready to contribute day one is interesting considering it is widely assumed he won’t qualify.
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SC is like Vandy with prettier girls. Both fan bases have gotten mouthier as they have reached their “peak” years based on history, SC just has more folks to get “above their raising” so we hear their pitiful cries more often. I don’t want either’s signing classes, program’s potential, or their coaches. I will give credit to Mason’s efforts to turn a disastrous recruiting class into a good save. As the Senator noted, they were in deep doo-doo just last Friday. Since Stoops did better this year in landing talent, it could be a good battle between KY and Vandy for the bottom of the East…..as usual.
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Except SC fans have ALWAYS been this vocal, even pre-SEC.
We lived in Columbia from 1981-1989 (I moved to Athens the week I graduated from high school), and they talked about Joe Morrison as if he were Bear Bryant and Vince Lombardi combined (despite steroids abuse on the team, and even after the unpleasantness of his 2nd family came out). Any games I attended (as a child) involved obnoxious fans screaming nasty things (to a child) about the Dawgs as we walked into and out of the stadium. I was teased as a 6th grader when Herschel went pro. These are not, and never have been, humble or nice fans; when forced to pick a side, I always chose Clemson, telling the jerk kid behind me in homeroom “at least they win.”
Personally, I’d rather see Kentucky surge. Going to those games is a great weekend of bourbon tasting, steaks, and the nicest fan base you’d ever want to meet.
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Agree with you about Kentucky, like their fans and love Lexington as a trip. Just don’t see them making it far up the football ladder. They are a BB school and their is no examples of a school succeeding at both over any period of time longer than a couple of years. Everyone always reverts back to their roots (UCLA, UNC, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, Indiana, etc. on the basketball side and ND, Bama, Texas, OU, LSU, Michigan, UGA, Nebraska, etc. on the football side) after any occasional flash of success the other way.
Regarding SC fans, guess the ones I knew personally never were obnoxious in what I regard as the good old days. They were good, loyal fans for sure but never expected to succeed to the highest levels. They seemed content to be competitive and pull the occasional upset. The ones I saw in Athens this year after the game seemed in a state of shock. It wasn’t that surprising that they were disappointed, it just shocked me that they didn’t think it was possible we would win. That is when I knew they had lost touch with reality, how could they have ever gotten that delusional? Optimism and hope are normal for fans, being blind is a concern. Did they not see what the whole nation had seen regarding this game: that is was a tossup and could go either way? I felt optimistic about our chances but there was nothing indicating either team would dominate the game.
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It’s this same strain of bravado that got the War of Northern Aggression started.
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Delusional…? Hardly. South Carolina’s growing success in Atlanta has nothing to do with the fact that there are over two times as many people in the area as there was in 1990. Nothing at all.
There were 9 recruits in SC that were 4 stars in 2014. There were 23 kids in Georgia that were 4 stars or higher. It’s pretty simple math. What Carolina writer doesn’t understand is that this is how it as always been in Georgia…there is always room for other schools to beat Georgia in Georgia from a sheer numbers standpoint…the sea change is that Carolina and Clemson seem to have taken the place of Tennessee and Florida (and even Bama in 2014) as the primary poachers after Auburn.
A bigger story might be that Carolina seems to be slipping on closing out on the top propects in the state. From 2009 to 2012, Carolina was able to secure the signature of one or both of the top 2 players in the state…Gilmore, Lattimore, Clowney, Shaq Rolland…guys you’ve heard of and that were keys to the run of success they’ve had. They were shut out with the top 2 players in the state in both 2013 (Terry and Michael Hill) and 2014 (Park and Christian Miller). The last time they were shut out of the top two players in their own state two years in a row was 2005-06….that would be worrisome if I were a Gamecock.
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South Carolina didn’t pursue either Miller or Park. Whether that was the right move or not is unclear, but it’s true. Also, 247 Sports ranks Dexter Wideman the second-best prospect in SC, not Park. Not saying Park isn’t a great prospect, but it’s not consensus he’s top two in the state.
As far as Georgia producing more talent than UGA can take on, I get that. We’ve been taking Atlanta-area prospects for years, but it’s usually been players who weren’t on UGA’s radar. What’s different is that this year we beat you for a couple of guys you wanted, including one (BAW) who you put the full-court press on. That’s progress for us.
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Spurrier went after the Kentucky kid, right?
What do you guys have in the pipeline behind Thompson?
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We did miss on the Kentucky kid, Barker.
However, we have RS frosh Connor Mitch in the pipeline after Thompson. Mitch is the highest-rated prep QB Spurrier has brought in other than Garcia. And no, he doesn’t have Garcia’s baggage. 😉
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Don’t know anything about Mitch. Pocket guy, or dual threat? How’s he look so far?
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Mitch was a four-star prospect out of Raleigh. He was rated the seventh-best pro-style prospect by 247 in 2013. He’s more of a pocket guy, certainly much more so than Connor Shaw, but does have enough mobility to keep the ball on read-option plays occasionally. He’s looked good so far, but I’m just going on reports from spring camp last year. He was an early enrollee and did impress initially.
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I was using the 247 composite rankings that have Miller and Park 1 & 2…used those for the other stat, too. Consensus was the wrong word…should have said composite, etc.
And totally agree that Carolina is beating UGA for guys we wanted…not trying to understate that or say it isn’t progress…my point was that while it is a ‘sea change’ from the Gamecock perspective, it really isn’t from the UGA perspective. There is always going to be a program that beats us for kids in Georgia…numbers, depth charts, etc. dictate that. Whether it is Garnett and Black or Royal and Orange, the song remains the same. What would be a sea change would be for Carolina to be in that same position 2 to 4 years from now.
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I don’t disagree with any of that, including your point that Carolina has a long way to go before it’s considered a perennially elite program. That said, the article I wrote at my site was written from the Carolina perspective for fellow Carolina fans. Our program has come a long way in the last few years, and we’re happy about that. It may be “same story, different program” to you, but to us beating UGA for Georgia prospects is big news.
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A J Greene. When you steal one of those outta Georgia let’s talk.
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It’s a real shame he didn’t come to Carolina. He could’ve played for an SEC title in his final collegiate season.
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Before I get flamed, this was, by the way, a joke. I know you guys have played for two since and narrowly missed out on winning it in 2012.
I do think it should be noted that Green is the last player of that caliber we’ve let out of state.
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I personally enjoy it when you stop by, Gamecock Man. Except for your unfortunate choice of alma mater you feel like family… 😉
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Same to you. Always enjoy trading a few good-natured barbs with you folks.
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Plus, if he’d stayed at the Whitney, he might not have needed to sell that jersey. 😉
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That’s the spirit!
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It’s the offseason, g man. Life’s too short not to have some fun.
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Still too fu$kin soon.
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Fair enough…and regardless, if Blackshear doesn’t get flipped, that streak ends next year anyway.
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Carolina = Top 5 program; UGaly = Lost 5 program.
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Thanks for the brilliant retort.
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And a follow up fact for Schultz … over the same period GT is 4-8 (33%) against the same schools to which he compares them … and for good measure they’re 0-5 against their closest rival over the same period
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Another tidbit … of the 4 wins against those rivals, 3 of them came in 2009 … In other words they have only one 1 game against the ACC leaders in 4 years.
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Congrats to Coach Richt and staff for their hard work and efforts in the past 30 days. Put together a very good recruiting class for 2014 and a very solid, good defensive staff. Dawg supporters and fan base should be excited about the past few days and what may unfold in the fall. Thanks coaches, you did a hellva job!
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There is Atlanta and there is the rest of the State of Georgia. It is readily recognizable at the Dome during the Corky Kell Classic games and the state championship games. Many of us would like to see those games moved to Valdosta and VSU’s stadium. No doubt VHS and LHS are legends in Georgia football. Play the games there.
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Cock fans: two draft picks does not a DBU make.
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If I’m not mistaken, USC has sent 20 DBs to the NFL since 2000, including a handful of stars like Sheldon Brown and Jonathan Joseph. Not saying other schools (LSU comes to mind) haven’t had similar success at the position, but we have, too.
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It has been noticed by me, you have been better in the secondary than we have been for years. Also turned out a few spiffy WRs too. Without question Connor Shaw was a difference maker, glad to see him leave town. He was a warrior, and while his skills may not land him in the NFL, he was a great CFB leader. I can think of several games that SC won during his career that they would have lost with any other QB I can remember in Columbia.
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