It’s not as if there’s nothing left to fill the chafing dishes.
- Is Isaiah McKenzie the member of the 2014 class most likely to snare a starting job first?
- David Ching writes that obituary for Josh Harvey-Clemons’ career at Georgia I mentioned yesterday.
- Speaking of JH-C, his grandfather says, “Of course, he’s down.”
- The Nkemdiche brothers being sued for damages resulting from a fight raises an interesting question – not about them, but about Ole Miss’ investigation procedures: “When this alleged incident occurred, the proper authorities investigated the matter and could find no evidence of wrong-doing related to Denzel and Robert Nkemdiche or any other members of our football program,” athletics director Ross Bjork said in a statement. You better hope that lawsuit goes nowhere, Ross, my man.
- Bill Connelly’s 2013 college football offensive line rankings reaffirm what we already knew, that Georgia’s offensive line was resoundingly average.
- Which makes Marc Weiszer’s analysis of Georgia’s incoming offensive linemen timely.
- John Pennington takes a look at how accurate the Vegas line was on 2013 SEC games.
Get The Picture 
I have a question regarding JHC situation. Do teams and UGA suspend or kick players off the team for underage drinking? It’s illegal….
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Yes, and I think it’s a similar policy to marijuana. The difference is that for that to happen I would imagine there has to be an arrest/citation involved whereas with weed it’s just a failed test. Alcohol leaves the system a lot quicker than weed.
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Indeed, MJ can stay in the system for months where alcohol metabolizes quickly, about one drink per hour for the average person. One of the problems Colorado was facing was how to set a .08 equivalent for issuing under the influence tickets. There are tests but I am sure there will be new legal challenges in the early years following the legalization. I believe the two policies are linked so if the 3rd suspension for JHC was for alcohol it would result in dismissal even though the first two might have been for marijuana.
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For whatever reason, the sentence in the Ole Miss story of “Coach Hugh Freeze, when reached by text message, referred all comment to Bjork” made me think that Freeze was telling the reporters to contact the Icelandic singer…
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Good catch.
Bjork’s hit single from the 90’s was….”human behavior”.
Bjork’s video for “human behavior” prominently features….a bear.
Human behavior…rebel bear….Ole Miss?
Coincidence? I think not….
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The quote from Lynch’s Twitter account in the Ching article just solidifies Artie’s DGD status.
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Another thought regarding JHC and THC (haha!) …
Am I correct in thinking this was his third offense? If so, that gets him kicked off most teams – even in the SEC … hell, maybe even Oregon! – right?
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Honey Badger said he had failed more than 10 tests before LSU finally gave him the boot.
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Wrong! Oregon is not even testing.”However, local laws sometimes hamper the detection-and-discipline efforts of athletic programs. Mike Bellotti, Oregon head coach from 1995 to 2008, laments a state law that allows schools to test athletes only when probable cause exists. “I think every college has a problem with marijuana,” says Bellotti, who’s now an ESPN commentator, “but it’s a greater problem where you don’t have the lever of random testing.”
Maybe we should get our state legislature involved? Adams legacy would be improved but I think he might stroke.
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no it wouldn’t even come close to getting him kicked off teams in the SEC. I believe UF takes 4 failed tests for you to miss game time. And that is even if they count your failed tests. If you believe that things that said about CUM and Aaron Hernandez failing multiple tests gets you a “foot injury” and a boot to wear for a game. Other schools definitely don’t make a big show out of it like UGA does when a player fails a test.
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To me, this is the can of worms that college football players forming a union will open. With negotiations being a part of unions what is included in the contract…..players getting paid(how is the amount determined anyway?), 3 strikes and your out (drugs and drinking and where does the magical number of strikes come from?), underage drinking, minimum GPA, breaking curfew and the list could go on. What are the consequences, how are they inforced and by whom?
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Sounds like a can of worms that UGA would love to open. Get everyone on the same footing with strikes.
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I agree 100%. Very hard to enforce and police though.
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Maybe they could use Fulmer Cup points to determine the number of “strikes.”
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The total number of points could be called Lucky Strikes
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Radi had an unfortunate breakdown of the top high school players in GA since 2009.
All have had problems
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I posted about Robert and Denzel Nkemdiche last night. They are being sued for attacking and beating a guy in Feb 2013. Why weren’t THEY suspended from playing some or all this season. Why weren’t THEY prosecuted? So here we are 1 year after the incident and still no disciplinary action taken by Freeze or Ole Miss.
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That Pennington piece is weak for a couple reasons. First, sports books don’t always try to end up with an even amount of money on both sides. If they think that the public is flat wrong on a game, then they’ll be perfectly happy with lots of money on one side because the book thinks that the other side is going to cover. Second, Pennington’s description of lines moving based on average schlubs coming to Vegas in December and bidding up the lines of SEC teams is wrong. If that were the case, then one could consistently make money by simply betting against public teams: Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, etc. Vegas books get a ton of money from sharps who bet in large quantities, so if they just based their lines on public sentiment, the sharps would kill them.
The lines are generally set based on proprietary power rankings that the books have developed using advanced math. The fact that their lines aren’t usually super close to the final number illustrates nothing more than the facts that variance exists and that it’s hard to pick the exact margin of a football game. Vegas odds are a prediction. They aren’t right much, but they are closer to the number than others are.
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The piece was accurate, the objective is most certainly to come close to getting a balance in the money wagered. Why take a risk when you can have a guaranteed amount, 5% of all money wagered? There is always some risk as it is impossible to be perfect.
Vegas’s lines do use sophisticated math formulations that include power ratings, coach’s tendencies to run up scores, weather, home field projections, injury reports, etc., some of which are supplied by regional “experts” who supposedly have inside information. The betting behavior of the public towards certain teams are also factored in. The early lines involving big money games are also floated to a few “whales” to see how they bet the games before releasing the public number. Key psychological numbers like “3 1/2”, or “13” also entice certain behavior from bettors and drive extra odds to buy an extra half point, or sometimes a full point.
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I’m sure I’m a bad person for this, but I really have a hard time feeling sorry for JHC. Ching does his best to make me feel sorry for him in that article, but I’m not having any of it. Ching says JHC “will carry this label from now on”. Really? I’m sure Nick Marshall stays awake at night weeping over the label he is carrying. Further, Ching talks about the incredible waste of talent. Really? It might be, or it might not. Something tells me his talent will be salvaged off the waste heap by some benevolent SEC West team – probably one that rhymes with Bauburn.
The only people I feel sorry for in all of this are the ones wearing red and black and trying to do things the right way. Once again, they find out that the few who try to hold the high ground get kicked in the teeth by the many who don’t.
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This is my version of David Ching’s ESPN (“THE WWL”) article … Please read carefully and I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. It’s simply my opinion.
Regarding the University of Georgia announcing the dismissal of Josh Harvey-Clemons on Tuesday …
THERE IS NO “OLIVE BRANCH” FOR A PLAYER THAT BROKE TEAM RULES OVER & OVER AGAIN.
THIS IS GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE.
I am happy to see a player’s refusal to follow the rules result in his unceremonious exit from a program. This is JHC’s fault and nobody else’s. This is particularly galling when a player seems to waste such promise. Too bad for him, but only for now. He’ll end up somewhere and will end up being successful if that is the way it is supposed to be.
This IS the kind of reaction that is expected of real UGA fans after Georgia’s announcement. Take what 2013 senior tight end Arthur Lynch tweeted in response to the news: “JUST TO BE CLEAR, THOSE WHO DECIDE NOT TO DO IT THE RIGHT WAY DO NOT DESERVE TO DON THE RED & BLACK. IT IS A PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT.”
JHC is far from the first Georgia player to run afoul of the program’s substance policy and he won’t be the last. The program’s strict rules regarding drug and alcohol issues mean that Richt consistently deals with suspensions related to substance problems. I wish that the SEC and, or even better, the NCAA, would establish consistent rules so that the “playing field” is equal across the conference/nation.
Whatever the reason for JHC’s departure, it is clear that Richt has had enough and I am glad that he has continued to dismiss the players that don’t follow his rules.
JHC will almost certainly land somewhere else … but he SHOULD carry this label from now on. Whenever someone searches for his name on Google, at his next college stop, or whenever NFL teams evaluate his readiness to become a reliable professional, let’s hope that they remember that he made a conscious decision to break UGA’s team rules instead of play by them. Yes, I understand some folks say he’s just a kid … whatever. Same thing that I say to both of my sons … aged 18 and 16.
He clearly wasn’t a reliable college player, getting himself suspended at least twice before Tuesday’s announcement. And that lack of reliability leaves Georgia in a lurch at one of its thinnest positions. The Bulldogs struggled at safety a season ago and now players like Tray Matthews, Tramel Terry, Quincy Mauger and Corey Moore face even more pressure to perform after a veteran who started 11 games last season has unexpectedly left the team. Guess what? I bet you all four of those players, if they are “ALL-IN” regarding the UGA way, are foaming at the mouth to fill his shoes.
THIS IS for the best in the long term, since JHC’s absences and injuries to other safeties created continuity issues that impacted Georgia’s secondary for much of last season. Starting fresh and knowing who will be available allows new defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jeremy Pruitt to better prepare his defensive backs this fall.
This is a sad day … one where someone who could have become a Georgia great instead became another castoff because he couldn’t get his act together. It’s a difficult lesson for JHC to learn just two days before his 20th birthday. Here’s hoping that Richt’s actions on Tuesday caused his message to resonate with current and future players that opportunities come few and far between. Take advantage of them or squander them. It’s the players’ choice, but I’d rather they not waste a team’s or fan’s time if they are gonna eventually chose the latter.
Sorry for the rant, Dawg fans …
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Speaking of JH-C, his grandfather says, “Of course, he’s down.”
Is it ironic that getting high caused the downer?
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Offensive lines are the only unit that must play as a unit. All the rest of the players on a team can freelance. Any D player can make a great play and be totally out of position, in fact some D backs that make interceptions are totally out of position. The O skill players can make plays by being really good at what they do. If the OLine breaks down the rest of the offense gets to improvise, and unless you are Johnny Football this can be bad. So when you rotate players at various Oline positions there is a risk that you are going to lose the coherence of the line. I know they practice together but the 5 man group is line a dance line in that they must know the other members moves and tendencies or inevitably something goes wrong. It really would be best to sub a whole unit. If you think this is not important notice that the TE is the weakest position and that is where the D makes the most explosive plays. He does not get to practice with the group as much and the strong side tackle can’t cover for him as well. Coaching is the key but substitution is a crap shoot.
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I have a frightening read on that story, 69…since we beat three teams whose o lines are statistically better than ours, does this mean our defense was better than it seemed, or that our quarterbacks were a whole lot better than we realize?
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I think you are right. Without Aaron we would have lost. Think of the number of times Aaron was hit immediately after throwing, even on a quick pass. If the OLine is bad/mediocre and you run it a great back, (Gurly) can made some yards but if they miss on the pass protection they can get the QB killed. If Aaron hadn’t been one of the toughest guys I’ve seen he would have been out of a lot of our games.
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This has been going on for a long time, too. Stafford and Moreno covered up the weakness of the UGA O-line while they were here, too. Before that David Greene, another noted tough QB.
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“ We factor in marijuana as a red flag. Some teams, if a guy tests positive, he’s off their board. But other teams say, ‘Screw it, he’s a good player.'”
” — An NFL scout
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Honey Badger likes this
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I was thinking Auburn, but maybe UT is the appropriate place for “Smoky”.
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I was thinking Auburn, too, But on further reflection I now believe FU or FSU.
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So, a bunch of brothers showed up at a party at Ole Miss’s KA fraternity house and there was a fight?
I only hope the fight started when one of the football players said “Do you mind if we dance with your dates?”
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“The suit (filed late last week after the statute of limitations had run out) states that on Feb. 17, 2013 the plaintiff, Matthew Baird, his girlfriend and friend Ford Everett visited the Kappa Alpha fraternity house.”
Is there just a one year statute of limitations on filing actions in Mississippi as a result of the hate crime of getting your ass beat at the KA house
http://www.mifox32.com/story/24754384/noose-tied-on-ole-miss-integration-statue
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A question comes to mind after reading about the Ole Miss brothers. Is there a direct correlation between meteoric rises in recruiting and general player misconduct (see Vandy after Franklin’s arrival)?
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