Bruce Feldman is reporting that Kirby Smart has emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Steve Spurrier at South Carolina.
If that happened, wouldn’t Georgia’s in state recruiting be even more fun squeezed by Saban and Smart?
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“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
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Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
Honest question here…..isn’t the problem who is coaching against and not who is recruiting against us? Seems we don’t have a problem on recruiting. Our problems occur on Saturdays in the fall with coaching, preparation, etc
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Honest answer… I don’t see how you can look at the talent on the offensive side of the ball this season, or on the defensive side of the ball last season and think it’s all about game day coaching.
How someone can say Georgia hasn’t had a recruiting problem, given the hole Richt dug for himself with poor roster management, escapes me.
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It’s not just poor roster management. It’s also the the way they scheme on offense and how flexible or inflexible they are. Just as Paul Johnson’s scheme limits him, our adherence to a non-spread system could be limiting us. DeShaun Watson is a good example of not even being in the running for an outstanding player who really should have been more of a target but wrote us off early on.
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Eason as savior ain’t got nothin’ on Watson as savior.
I could be wrong, but I think Richt’s coached a few good quarterbacks in his time in Athens.
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It would certainly be nice to have Watson, but the other side is that he is going to be worse off entering the NFL (even Manziel just got demoted to 3rd string in Cleveland, and Tebow was a joke).
Our ‘inflexibility’ allows us to routinely land Staffords, Murrays and Easons, with only a rare season suffering through a Cox or Lambert.
It cuts both ways.
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At least Tebow gave it his best effort. Manziel is the really sad case because his refusal to mature is costing him fortune and fame. When they look back on it all someday, it will be Johnny Football with regrets.
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Yeah, I’m sure both fanbases are just tore up that they had historically great offenses, surpassed their in-state rival, and put up 600 yds on Bama’s D/won a national title but their QBs aren’t great in the NFL.
We’ve had a good number drafted, but so far Stafford is the only one to ever be a starter, and while I think Murray could be pretty good, at this point I suspect he’ll join Greene and Shockley as career backups.
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What Greene and Shockley had in the NFL doesn’t count as a career, IMO.
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You guys are all completely right. Like right now, look at that group! More seriously, Yes, we can dig up good QBs. This is my point: will we continue to be able to? With this offensive strategy? With the trends going more an more toward QBs with arm and mobility, at least in college, and certainly moreso in the pros? I’m not making it up, this Watson stuff. If he wrote us off because of the offense, how many more will? Do we face more, longer stretches with the Brice Ramseys of the world?
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Yeah, I looked into it one time and found that Richt’s final standing in rivals’ recruiting for the SEC was 4.5, and his avg finish in the conference standings was 2.5 (as in the second or third best record in the conference).
Would be nice to see a team full of recruiting classes that were in the top 3 or 4 every year.
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Damn it is good to see somebody else say it. I always hear how much superior talent we have and I just don’t see it.
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Seems like we are in agreement. Roster management would be included in my comment on preparation (or overall lack thereof) in regards to his tenure.
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I’ve said it’s Richt’s single biggest failing as head coach.
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100% correct. It has been changed thanks in part to Pruitt and Scherrer, but maybe too late. Doesn’t account for the loss to GT and UF last year. Or the horrible special teams. But its the top reason.
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So…we get Kiffin? I keed, I keed.
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I am not a Kirby Smart believer. People think if you hire a former Saban assistant you get Nick Saban II. See SOD and Boom for a reality check about that. Besides, Saban really runs Bama’s D. Kirby Smart is just an errand boy.
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That’s sort of the way I feel. OTOH Smart has had a lot of years at Lord Farquaad’s side, so he could have a little more seasoning than SOD or Boom.
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Where does all the errand boy stuff come from? I get the part about Boom and SOD but Dantonio and Fisher were also from Saban’s staff I believe. Not saying Smart is the answer but there seems to be a lot of negativity about him on here and I honestly would like to know why.
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Roster management and offensive line recruiting. Roster management, I have no problem with and I honestly don’t see how anyone with morals would.
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Fisher was an OC, not a defensive guy though. And Dantonio’s farther removed (and made far better assistant hires.)
I’d say the bigger worry with Smart going to SCar is Bama calling Pruitt to take Smart’s job.
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^^This. I’ve been hearing this “Smart to SC as HC and Pruitt to Bama as DC” rumor from my Bama friends since about halfway through the season.
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Fisher’s not that great either. I know his resume’ would suggest otherwise, but FSU is a power school in a crap conference. And up until the Golden Child came along, a good portion of the fan base called him Dumbo. And it wasn’t in an endearing way.
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I love it when a plan comes together……The Muschamp era Part II
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Question(s): Do we know anything about Kirby and Pruitt’s relationship? Would Pruitt jump ship for another DC job or is he looking for a HC position?
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Don’t see Pruitt making a lateral move unless it is to replace Smart if he goes to Carolina. I do see Pruitt making a move to HC if any serious offer is made regardless of the school.
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ouch….that might be a reality
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There is another report out there that a deal is in place for Herman. The only thing I believe is that someone will be hired in December. Tanner said so himself and SC has had plenty of time to search. If the search is still going in January there are problems…
SC will always have to recruit Georgia. The squeeze is from Bama, Auburn, Tenn, Clemson, and SC. I know everyone here thinks UGA should lock down recruiting in the state but I don’t think that can ever happen. There are too many good schools (ok good football programs) within a few hours drive of Atlanta.
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Latest scuttlebutt I’ve seen on Herman is that he’s not interested enough in the job.
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Heard from some of the LSU folks is that he is interested in that job and that Fisher may not be interested in leaving Tallahassee
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Fisher leaving FSU for LSU strikes me as a pipe dream.
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Yep word is that they are still pursuing him, but he has shown little or no interest. Personally I think they can do a lot better than Fisher…
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A lot better than Fisher…..A lot better than Fisher…..The guy won a natty 2 years ago, was in the 4 team playoff last year, is going to win 10 games this year and has resurrected a moribund FSU program that was barely over .500 before he became HC. Mike, you are really living up to your last name, man.
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So I don’t like fisher so what. And you are what the mayor of assholes.
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Unless you personally know people in the know (I do not) then I wouldn’t believe anything. Too much misinformation out there. My point on stating the Herman report is that there are all kinds of rumors that seem credible. I doubt any coach would take the job without visiting/interviewing with the school and that will not happen until after the season is over.
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Latest scuttlebut I saw on Fox Sports is that he withdrew from consideration.
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Do you mean that Kirby Smart will recruit better out of Georgia than when he was at Bama if he takes the job? Don’t see that part as being cumulative just by taking on more responsibility.
Smart to USC? Meh.
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Recruit better? Nah. It just opens up a second front in Georgia.
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Things would be a lot worse if that happened AND we lost Pruitt.
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Agree Cojo, I hope Smart is the choice at SC, he is one of the least daunting options available for that position. Does he have relationships in place to help him with recruiting at this point? Sure, but he isn’t recruiting kids to play at Bama any longer, SC is a much tougher sell. And with zero HCing experience, blank resume, he is trying to follow two big name coaching legends who were unable to win a conference title. I will take my chances against him. Meh is right.
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If he does end up at USCe, I have a good suggestion for OC. 🙂
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🙂 is right!
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As an SC fan I agree with almost everything you said. I do not really want him as the head coach for all the reasons you listed. If they were going to go after a D-coordinator I think Pruitt or Venerables would be a better option. I have seen both take over a poor defense and drastically improve it in 1 year.
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Venerables is one of the best DC in CFB, very impressed with what he has done in a short time. That said, being a great coordinator doesn’t mean he is even close to good HC material, different skill set. Not saying he isn’t but just don’t know enough about him. Also think he is unlikely to move to SC from Clemson.
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Why anyone would choose to live, go to school, and play football in Columbia rather than Athens – regardless of who the coach is – is a COMPLETE mystery to me. Do these recruits at USC visit the campus/city before they commit? I mean, seriously.
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Recruits will go where they believe they can best play, succeed, and become an NFL draft pick. Whether that place is Athens, Columbia, or Detroit matters not. It’s not all about the hedges.
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I understand that, but your point further proves my point; far more college players find their way to the NFL through Athens than through Columbia.
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I am from Columbia and been to Athens a couple times. It is a pretty fun college town but I was not nearly as impressed with it as you seem to be. I moved to the coast and wouldn’t want to live in either city.
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I don’t think I’d chose to live in Columbia or Athens either. I guess my point is that I certainly don’t think Columbia is better than Athens. And I don’t know why a potential recruit would choose to go there over Athens, seeing as Georgia’s a better place to play – and statistically gives its players a better chance at going pro. Unless, of course, the recruit in question isn’t good enough to get any playing time at Georgia because they’re not that great, in which case, do we want them anyway?
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Our problem is and has been roster management. Ian not sure if we are improving on that front. Smart at SC is not very scary. If he has any measure of success…….when Saban retires he would head back to Bama.
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Who would want to be the coach to follow Saban? Talk about a high bar and lofty fan expectations.
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Interesting for sure, a lot of the early talk was that Kirby really wasn’t a prime target. Was probably when they thought they had the inside track for Herman. I gotta be honest, I was a little worried about Herman going to SC, Lorenzo Nunez is tailor made for his offense. Not saying Kirby can’t find a way to use his skills, just more of a natural fit for what Herman likes to run.
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With all the political suggestion in the posts from the senator today, it angers me to think that Smart could very well be a super hire for us in Athens, but, knowing the implications around here regarding deep turmoil combined with Smart not allowed to do things his way is likely why he’s never been tempted to come back. It sucks.
Also, I truly wish I could tell CMR “it saddens me to see what you’ve had to put up with and succeed with all these years. The job you’ve done is probably remarkable but nobody will ever know it.”
I wonder, if SC will allow smart to be in control. Probably so.
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I never want to see Benedict Smart on a Georgia sideline again … Even for a team reunion.
After leveraging Georgia for a raise from Alabama in 2009-10, he can stuff it (along with Agent Muschump, by the way).
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Amen!!!
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Well, here is the scuttlebutt I have:
1) Kirby did a deal with Richt within the parameters set by Mickey Garity and it included Strength Coach and additional recruiting positions. Mickey Garity reneged and said too much $ and Joe T will be your new strength coach or the Van Hallenger heart attack airbag job goes away And you ain’t getting those recruiting assistants because it’s not in the Georgia Way budget. Smart, like a lot of us from South Georgia learned early there are only 2 kinds of people in the world; thems that do what they say and thems that don’t. Kirby didn’t even bother to call back since Mickey Garity is in bucket two. Saban said to Kirby, with the way things are being run over there, they are not going to be able to compete, just wait and there will be a house cleaning of the AD and coaches and you can get the head job on your terms – don’t settle for a job where your admin doesn’t buy in and get it.
2) Kirby goes to USCe, if he can get him, he’ll hire Chris Hatcher from Samford as his OC.
Scuttlebutt not fact.
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+100 And don’t forget the numerous reports of dirty recruiting, although he is probably negative than me here. At least he isn’t as public,nor does he claim to be an active Dawg fan. I honestly have never wanted him as a HC at UGA, especially with no HC experience.
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I don’t think he used UGA to get a raise at Bama. From everything I’ve ever heard, it sounds like he was convinced that it wasn’t worth the risk of giving up a good job at Bama to go to Georgia and get fired alongside everyone else after 2010.
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THen he should have turned us down from the get go and not strung us along and leave us with egg on out faces
Eff ’em
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He then allegedly turned around and used that whole episode on the recruiting trail against UGA. He supposedly was running around South Georgia talking about how he was going to be the next head coach at Georgia.
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If this happens, what are the odds that Pruitt bolts over to fill in at DC in Tuscaloosa where the environment/admin/athletic support is better suited to his style?
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And where he doesn’t have full control of the defense. That’s the rub.
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Pruitt won’t be THE boss at Bama.
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Does he like the Eagles?
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Our electronic countermeasures team is going to have to step up its game to jam the greatest invention ever
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Missed by THAT much.
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