February 20, 2014 · 7:02 AM

Driving Mudcat’s car

While I appreciate the effort here, any attempt to study the impact of five-star recruits signed by Mark Richt has to take in the full measure of what they brought to the table during their time in Athens to be truly meaningful.  Let’s face it – Marquis Elmore’s legacy is something more than what mere statistics can measure and will always be cherished by the true Dawg fan.

23 Comments

Filed under Crime and Punishment, Georgia Football

23 responses to “Driving Mudcat’s car”

  1. Doug
    February 20, 2014 at 8:48 AM

    By my tally, that’s four who did pretty well, four who underachieved relative to their hype, three who got kicked off the team, and two for whom the jury’s still out. I dunno, but does that seem like kind of a subpar batting average to you? It seems like we have less success developing and holding on to these blue-chippers than some other SEC programs I could name, though maybe they just do a better job of covering up their failures.

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    • David K
      February 20, 2014 at 8:56 AM

      AJ and Stafford obviously, and Oliver was solid. Who is the other “pretty well”? Reshad Jones I guess is who you’re referring to but I can’t say he played to his best at Georgia. I’d put him somewhere in between bust and pretty good.

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      • Doug
        February 20, 2014 at 9:12 AM

        I meant Stafford, A.J., Reshad (who eventually atoned for 2008) and Lumpkin (who would’ve put up better stats but for the ’04 injury). I included Oliver in the “kicked off the team” category because as much as he contributed to the team when he was on it, I can’t in good conscience call a five-star recruit failing out of school a UGA success story.

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      • Bulldawg165
        February 20, 2014 at 9:40 AM

        It still baffles me that Reshad Jones is a starter in the NFL when I think back to how bad our defense was when he was here.

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        • IveyLeaguer
          February 20, 2014 at 12:24 PM

          But look how long it took him, and with good coaching. There’s a reason for that. Remember, physically he’s ideal, about as good as it gets. And from what I’ve seen the last two years, he isn’t that good now, which I admit isn’t much.

          The other thing is it’s not unusual for a defensive player to be lousy, overall, at Georgia only to be outstanding in the NFL. Jones is playing, which is good, but I wouldn’t put him in that category.
          ~~~

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      • AlphaDawg
        February 20, 2014 at 11:15 AM

        I’m a big fan of Paul Oliver he help Reggie Ball shut down Calvin two straight years. He was by no means a bust. His ultimate fate is saddening.

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      • IveyLeaguer
        February 20, 2014 at 12:16 PM

        Forgive me, but Reshad “Bonehead” Jones body of work reveals one of the worst free safeties to ever play at Georgia. That’s the entire 3 years.

        Of course he made a few plays, it’s almost impossible to play FS that long and not make some plays. I won’t try to describe his shortcomings, except to say that the film doesn’t lie.

        There’s a reason that he was a high first rounder physically, a stud specimen, yet was drafted late by Miami. The NFL watches film, too.

        Suffice to say that Jones was the antithesis of what we want at FS. And BTW, we’re still looking for it. We haven’t had good play at that position since Jones first took it over. And for those who think Rambo was good, please, don’t even bother. The case is futile. Again, despite some plays he made, the film doesn’t lie.

        But I’m hoping Tramel Terry might be the answer. At least now we know whoever plays back there will get the coaching they need. And that is refreshing to know.
        ~~~

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  2. Dawgaholic
    February 20, 2014 at 9:03 AM

    I get 1/7 are 1st rounders, 1/7 get kicked off the team, and 1/7 have injuries that prevent them from reaching their potential – Lump and Elmore. With the other 4/7 it seems there’s about a little better than 50 percent chance they start 20 plus games, contribute, and make it to the league for at least a few years.

    Interesting that our 5 stars overall have about a 60% chance of both playing in the league for a few years and contributing at UGA. I’d like to see stats on 5 stars at other schools and 4 stars at UGA.

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  3. Bright Idea
    February 20, 2014 at 9:22 AM

    Could it be that those hanging the stars on these kids are missing the boat on their character, academic ability and judgment? Don’t they just rank them by size, speed and if Bama offered them?

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    • Bulldawg165
      February 20, 2014 at 9:41 AM

      You’re 100% right, but ranking them on size/speed/other offers is a heck of a lot easier than ranking them based on the other measures.

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    • Normaltown Mike
      February 20, 2014 at 10:00 AM

      That’s absurd, Jabari Davis is the best RB to come out of Georgia since Herschel.

      Jamie Newberg said so.

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  4. Bulldawg165
    February 20, 2014 at 9:38 AM

    I could’ve done without the reminder of Paul Oliver’s fate. Very sad.

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  5. Gravidy
    February 20, 2014 at 9:45 AM

    Yes, I think it is a subpar batting average relative to some other teams. But some other teams improve their batting average by not having a “kicked off the team” category for their five star talent.

    I’m too ignorant and lazy to look up the data, but I sure would like to know how many five star recruits got kicked off of other SEC teams in the Richt era. But while wallowing in my laziness and ignorance, I’m going to go ahead and assume UGA is at or near the top of that list.

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  6. 69Dawg
    February 20, 2014 at 9:55 AM

    This is why the article from a few days ago should have adjusted for 5 stars that actually stayed with the program. We got a lot but we kicked a lot out. We as fans tend to judge the coaches by the recruiting stars and pay little attention to the character issues. Until the NCAA goes all NFL and the schools start sending in the PI’s, the recruiting process will remain a crap shoot.

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  7. gastr1
    February 20, 2014 at 10:48 AM

    I’ve been reading this blog for a while now and have never known what “Driving Mudcat’s Car” refers to. It sounds so cool! And I am not in the cool kids’ circle! Somebody let me in, please. 🙂

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