A little recruiting angst?

It was nice that Georgia landed a commitment from Jaden Hunter yesterday, but from reading message boards and blogs, it seems like losing Tre Nixon to Ole Miss has really shaken some fans’ confidence that Kirby Smart’s first class is going to finish, say, top three nationally.

Quality-wise, it’s a very good class right now.  But the numbers are low, at least in comparison to a lot of other highly ranked programs’.  I’ve already suggested that I expect Smart would rather leave slots on the 2016 table to have for 2017 early enrollees than fill them with reaches from this year’s class, but I’m wondering – what would the collective freak out be like if Georgia only signed 20 or 21 kids next month?

130 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting

130 responses to “A little recruiting angst?

  1. PTC DAWG

    I see no need to take a flyer on a kid who you do not think will contribute…

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  2. AusDawg85

    If it works out over the next 2 – 3 classes, it’s a clever move by CKS. If not, some will call it roster mismanagement. That’s how 20-20 hindsight works around here.

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    • Otto

      Smart even if he had completely quit Bama the day he was hired would not have had time to pursue recruits for UGA as early as many here wanted Richt/Bobo to pursue Watson. Smart wasn’t my 1st choice but it will take 4 years to see how he pans out.

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      • JoshG

        I’m not sure I agree with this. It took Saban 2 years to win the West. It took Urban 2 years to go straight to the top at Florida and OSU. JimBob Dugger won the East his first year. Look at what Harbaugh did in Michigan in year one. In the modern era, we’ll know very soon if we’ve hired an elite coach, made a lateral move, or downgraded. We’ll know by the end of this season.

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        • Comin' Down The Track

          Mark Richt won the SEC in year two. No pressure, Kirbs.

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        • simpl_matter

          That’s what I’m talking about. I expect Smart to win at least 9 this year and 10+ the following. I believe he can do it; he better…

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        • Otto

          Everyone keeps saying this but I think Smart is spot on with the OL problems. I’m not sold on depth in other areas as well. Richt and Saban both inherited more than Smart.

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          • Derek

            This is total bullshit. You win ten games with Greyson lambert at qb and the cupboard ain’t empty. CMR nor Saban had anyone as good as Nick Chubb on the roster when they showed up.

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            • Otto

              Chubb is one player and we saw how the team played worse without him and there is no guarantee he will be back at even 90%. Sony is a great weapon but not as an every down back like Gurley, Chubb, Crowell.

              Lambert was far from great but against lesser competition (no pass rush) he looked pretty good, …SC. If he faced pressure he threw it in the dirt but thankfully not to the other team, only 2 INTs the entire season. Eason does have another big arm but as a true Fr. he maybe Stafford ’06, 13 INTs.

              UGA won games ugly last year, toss in 1 turnover against Mizzou, Ga Southern, or GT and they all could very easily be a loss. Lambert with all of his shortcomings did not turn the ball over.

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              • Lambert hit the defenders in the hands a whole bunch of times. It is dumb luck he ended up with only 2 interceptions on the year. Should have been 8+.

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                • Otto

                  Further proves my point that 10 wins for Smart is not a given.

                  UGA was darn lucky to get 10, Mizzou, Auburn, Ga. Southern, GT & Penn St were all 1 score game. After Chubb went down only Kentucky was a win by more than 1 score.

                  A few INTs by a true Fr. QB and the season is looking very different. Replace a sunbelt team with a top 10 UNC and that is more quality team to play.

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                • Derek

                  Not saying it’s a given. But arguably we have a better roster and an easier schedule. If CMR underperformed at 9-3, then why should expect (or accept) less from the new guy?

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                • playmakers in space

                  It’s silly because we don’t know what our competition is going to be like next year. We’re creating pre-qualification criteria on guesswork.

                  Who knew Florida would be pretty good this year? Who knew SCAR and Auburn would be dumpster fires?

                  We’re not going to be able to be able to effectively evaluate Kirby until we start seeing the action and we see the quality level of our opponents. This “why should we hold him to a lower standard?” argument seems to creep its way into almost every thread and it is played out.

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                • Derek

                  I get it now. The richtophiles were morons for accepting mediocrity. Now you’re a moron if you don’t expect mediocrity. Got it.

                  Anything under 10 wins is backing up. I thought we were supposed to be moving forward? I can guarantee my expectations for next year would be high without a change. With a change I should accept less? I don’t think so.

                  Moreover I don’t think we will. I think we’ll be pretty good next season because I expect that we won’t be a dumpster fire at qb.

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                • PTC DAWG

                  Same shit different day. Give it a rest.

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                • Cosmic Dawg

                  Because it’s his first year?! You are not honoring Richt by not giving CKS a chance to get his wheels under him, my man.

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                • Otto

                  Accepting growing pains is not accepting mediocrity.

                  It is funny how the Richtophiles who accepted mediocrity are now expecting the moon. It seems firing Richt did help elevate the standard fans hold the program to.

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                • Derek

                  Moon? I just don’t think there is a reason to backslide. I haven’t predicted any championships of any type, but we should get to 10 wins. I thought that WAS the mediocrity were too accepting of. Now it’s unreasonable. At least you guys don’t worry yourselves with consistency, except in dumb. That characteristic is apparently immutable.

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                • do not resuscitate

                  Is our schedule really easier next year? I keep hearing this but am having a hard time buying it. I mean, sure, we don’t play Bama. But we still have an Ole Miss team that will be pretty good, a (likely) improved Auburn and Ga Tech, and UNC, not to mention well as our regular SEC East foes. What, exactly, makes 2016 easier?

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              • Crowell was no every down back. He would get a hangnail and miss a half. Don’t put him in even close to the same class as Gurley, Chubb and a pre-injury Marshall.

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          • Jason

            This is just wrong unless you are only referring to the QB Role.

            In 2000 we did not have a rusher that had more than 400 yards. Our 3 highest rushers had 375, 352, and 330. We averaged 3.7 on the ground.

            In 2015 our 3rd highest rusher had 350. We averaged 5.1 on the ground.

            In 2000 our defense gave up more td points on average. 1.9 vs 1.6.

            In 2000 we attempted 24 percent more passes and we had 14 TDs through the air versus 16 interceptions. In 2015 we had 14 TDs (with one more game) and had 8 interceptions. In 2 games we didn’t even score a TD through the Air. However in 2015 our yards per attempt were better. Our entire QB group averaged 7.4. In 2000 it was 6.9.

            In 2001 Mark Richt was able to get an unproven Red Shirt Freshman in the shape of David Greene who turned out to be a DGD at QB.

            In 2015 Kirby Smart was able to keep Jacob Eason, an unproven freshman.

            This is comparing a year in which Georgia was slowly trending down (2001) through a fairly stable coaching staff to a complete blow up(2015).

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          • JonDawg

            Are you serious?!?

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          • @gatriguy

            I don’t know about Saban, but Richt walked into a loaded roster.

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        • Normaltown Mike

          I just want him to win the G-Day game.

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        • reality check here

          I agree with Josh. Georgia has enough players to win big next year especially with the schedule they have. I like what I see with Smart. I expect an upgrade immediately and if we don’t get it I will be disappointed.

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          • Just Chuck (The Other One)

            Agreed but I think a lot comes down to the quarterback position. If we get consistent play, it could be a good year. If we don’t, it doesn’t matter how strong we are at other positions.

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        • Howl&Woof

          Wow, Josh! That was about the most unconvincing argument I have read in a while. How in the hell will we know after one year what took other coaches two years to prove?

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          • @Howl&Wolf: That is the way it is these days. Mighty roars of angst if Smart does not win big and win now.. After all look at all those other first year coaches who tore the place up.

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          • JoshG

            I’m not expecting to win the SEC, but none the coaches I mentioned, including CMR, won fewer games than their predecessors.That’s the measuring stick.

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            • playmakers in space

              Again, this is a ridiculous measuring stick because we no idea what circumstances next year’s squad will have to deal with. Maybe our opponents turn out to be better than people thought. Maybe we suffer through a 2013 injury meltdown that ruins everything. Maybe Chubb comes back and conquers the planet. Too many possibilities to create this rigid criteria for success.

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              • JoshG

                What factors did Saban, Urban (twice) Richt, McElwain, or Harbaugh have to deal with? A program with 10 wins, previous top recruiting classes, and a very solid defense is not a rebuilding project. He’s not even drastically changing Offensive schemes, and the defensive scheme is the same. I’m not saying you fire the guy if he regresses, but based on other coaches at other programs, we’ll know if Kirby is an elite coach or not. Y’all want to give him excuses where there really are none. If the goal was to go from good to elite, I’m fully on board. Let’s see if we made the right move.

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              • The injury meltdown of ’13 was considered an excuse by many here.

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    • Russ

      Bingo! We’ll let you know in a couple of years how smart Kirby is.

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  3. I guess you’ll see next Wednesday…………..

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  4. Normaltown Mike

    Saban told Smart to fail to live up to expectations of some fans, crafty bugger.

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  5. dawgtired

    Wasn’t CMR’s willingness to sign small classes one of the things that many fans claimed was one of his down-falls? Previously I thought, holding offers during a year that didn’t have much available talent with hopes to sign better talent the following year, was a good plan. The thought of passing out schollys to less-than-desired players just to fill a roster, didn’t set well. Now, after so much hate mail from the people that I figure must know something, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea.

    Certainly, If next year KS can fill the void of recruits that was left after this year…I’m all for it. Especially if the recruits next year are top choices.

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  6. Hummm….maybe this whole recruiting thing ain’t quite as easy as saying, “I’m from Turd’s alma mater , sign here.” Maybe signing a top ten class ain’t as easy as someone… who shall remain nameless…. made it look We shall see.

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  7. Gaskilldawg

    Hey, we are Georgia fans. We will complain about anything!

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  8. JoshG

    Hey, at least Eason has a tight end to throw to.

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  9. Go Dawgs!

    I won’t be freaking out, but I will say this is why my expectations for the 2016 team aren’t very high. Say what you will about the schedule, I’ll simply say that it’s going to be a while until Georgia has the kind of quality depth that teams like Alabama and LSU have.

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    • Lack of quality depth may be an excuse for why we’re not in Atlanta or don’t win the SEC. It’s not an excuse for winning the games you should win and being competitive in every game you play. If this team doesn’t win at least 9 including a bowl game, I’ll be very disappointed in the team’s performance. The cupboard may not be full of high-end china, but it’s full enough not to expect good performances.

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  10. ASEF

    Smart and Saban are both low on #s right now, so you have to think the prep for two extra games, combined with so many coaches in transition, had an impact.

    Smart kniws recruiting. He knows rosters. That’s the part of this I am least concerned about.

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    • rchris

      Yes, Smart focusing on Bama rather than us seems to be having an impact. However signing day hasn’t arrived yet so maybe he has a plan to compensate for that.

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  11. 3rdandGrantham

    Does anyone have any knowledge as to what exactly is going on at Ole Miss? From an outsiders perspective, I see a middle of the road at best SEC program that plays in a smallish stadium and is surrounded by much bigger programs.

    Yet, over the past few years, they’ve managed to pull in top classes yearly, and currently they are ranked #1 or 2 in terms of recruiting. Now, perhaps Freeze and his staff simply are amazing recruiters, but given the overall landscape of the SECW, I’d venture to say that perhaps there are some other shenanigans going on as well.

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    • I Wanna Red Cup

      Well, they redshirt, blue shirt and gray shirt homecoming queens over there. That might turn a young man’s head.

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    • paul

      At Ole Miss you can beat up your step father and get investigated by the NCAA, receive a seven game suspension for impermissible benefits and the whole thing stays very much under the radar. This wouldn’t be the case at other programs. Plus, they’ll sign your brother to a scholarship too. Or, if you smoke so much synthetic weed that you end up hospitalized, well, you miss the bowl game. These sorts of infractions will blow up at other institutions. Not so much at Ole Miss. So, there’s less drama and stress. And then there’s the academic rigor. Or not. And Red Cup makes a good point as well.

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      • Go Dawgs!

        This wouldn’t be the case at OUR program. There are plenty of other places in the country where this would be tolerated. Florida State, for one. Ole Miss hasn’t been starting anyone who was accused of rape, for example.

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      • Do they not have the Freedom of Information Act in Oxford or Tuscaloosa?

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    • Argondawg

      Playing for them is more attractive than being a Dawg right now! They have more big wins the last few years than we do. They will most likely have three first round NFL picks, at DL, OL and WR. Hello, all of our areas of need. They play a pretty exciting brand of ball and the coeds rank up there with anywhere. The hard part at Ole Miss was getting the ball rolling. That’s not a problem anymore

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    • Jeff Sanchez

      Exactly…it’s not that fans are upset about losing Nixon, necessarily, it’s losing him to Ole Miss. This was a guy who was 60% UGA and 10% OM on 247 (I know, not gospel, but still….)

      I think we’re all still a little stung from the Tunsil nonsense in ’13 too

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    • Comin' Down The Track

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    • anon

      Spend some time in Oxford and you will see the draw for players, co-eds, and family. It is a great town and a great school. Or sit home and marinate in your fake Georgia superiority. There’s a big old world out there. The athletes and the students love their school at UM. And downtown Oxford has come a long way and rivals Athens scene. I’ve spent plenty of time at both.

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      • Mike Cooley

        When did this become true? When Mr. Freeze showed up? Because few top players seemed interested in Ole Miss or Oxford before that.

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    • It’s all about the Benjamins at Ole Mi$$.

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  12. Timphd

    Honestly, I’m less concerned about a number of recruits than the fact Ole Miss is recruiting higher rated players than UGA. I know some of suspect bag men are involved, but I worry that recruits like Nixon and the kid Gary see playing for them as more attractive than being a Dawg.

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    • Actually, our average recruit ranking right now is better than anyone’s other than Clemson and LSU.

      http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/TeamRankings

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      • Irwin R. Fletcher

        Don’t confuse people with numbers!

        If Georgia closes with a class of 21 and hits on the guys the experts are predicting, it will be the highest ranked class on the 247 composite score.

        There is a chance that UGA closes with 2 or even 4(!) more 5-star players. Richt signed 4 in one season…Kirby could sign 4+ in his first season.

        I get the angst about ‘undersigning’…but you also have to be careful about undervaluing the spot. I think one of the problems Richt got himself into once the roster problems were clear…he signed too many fillers and filled up the depth chart instead of having a plan to build. I think that came with the fact that he was under the crunch to fix it rather than had a directive to rebuild from the mess he had created. It was an admirable effort…but had obvious issues.

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        • lakedawg

          Do not understand Kirby signing all these 5 stars when the ones we actually have for sure we’re all locks from the prior coaches. Feel confident he will maybe get one that was not a sure thing before, but maybe we should hold off on the praise until he actually does something.

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          • Dog in Fla

            “but maybe we should hold off on the praise until he actually does something.”

            I just think there’s got to be some sense of fairness in terms of asking is this what we want Get The Picture comments to be

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            • AusDawg85

              I think we should hold off on the praise, but GTP fairness demands we criticize immediately.

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              • Dog in Fla

                Immediately if not sooner. Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to. A great and searing tragedy has occurred, and none of us knows what drove it, or why Kirby did what he did by not reeling in all the five stars. Maybe the Get The Picture commentariat will investigate. Maybe a few years from now we’ll find out what really happened.

                http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB956526736138049046

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          • playmakers in space

            “Do not understand Kirby signing all these 5 stars when the ones we actually have for sure we’re all locks from the prior coaches.”

            This is nonsense. “If these guys don’t commit, then it’s Kirby’s fault, but if they’re on board, then it was the work of the prior coaches.”

            There is a give and take both ways.

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            • Jason

              This isn’t a yes or no answer. It takes a lot of legwork to get a commit. It takes maintenance to keep a commit. It takes a division between a commit’s goals and coaching goals to lose a commit.

              However, we should be realistic here. He hired coaches that were either from outside of the SEC or have limited present day recruiting experience in Georgia and we are playing catch up. (A lot of the big names that we are trying to secure are in state.)

              You don’t lose your coaches to other SEC teams and not have Recruiting take a hit.

              Kirby hasn’t had the time to put in the legwork and the flip or flop this class will not be a defining factor of his capability as a coach or recruiter.

              This does not mean it will be any less disappointing if he is not able to draw in some big names and or if we are not able to fill out a good class(22+).

              In the new hire we were looking for someone to address the issues of his predecessor. Having to deal with position issues because we were unable to secure the class is not something that addresses those issues.

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      • Timphd

        I’m certainly not complaining about the ranking of the kids in the class so far. It looks great. But you do need more than 20 kids a year to account for injuries, misjudgments, flunk outs, Mudcats car, etc. If you sign all five stars, but only 10 of them, you are still behind. I just hate to see talent go off the schools like Ole Miss or Auburn, and hope that is not a trend, since we don’t need the competition.

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  13. Argondawg

    We are watching him let kids that don’t match up with what he is looking for. If he wanted to sign 25 or 26 that would be pretty easy to do but he seems to have no room for place holders. These kids say they don’t know where they stand with UGA. If they haven’t made it extremely clear to the recruit then it’s pretty obvious he needs to move on. Other than Whaley I don’t think we have lost anyone he really wanted to keep. I am going to let him work his plan and he has several years to get what he needs. Hard to judge a guy on 3 or 4 weeks worth of work. He is not a magician.

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    • ADGM says Kirby is, LOL.

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    • rchris

      Several Years!!??? A team that has won 10 in each of the last 2 years, finished top 25, was judged to have a top ten roster, had a top 3 recruiting class just 7 weeks ago, has a Heisman candidate returning AND the number 1 QB recruit? Plus, Pruitt ran a defense similar to Bama’s and Chaney has run offenses similar to what we ran last year. Match your schemes to your personnel, recruit to where you want to go and change over time. That way you can win as you go, not suffer through mediocre seasons while you’re waiting for the new HC to “get what he needs”. Yeah, don;t crucify the guy if there are hiccups in 2016, certainly. But don’t give him until 2020 to get back to where we’re at now.

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      • Go Dawgs!

        People really need to get over the 10 wins thing. Sincerely. If the 2015 Bulldogs had not had a soft pilowfight of a schedule (with narrow escapes against pedestrian teams in Vandy and Mizzou and an overtime win over Georgia Southern) then they would have done much worse. I love Mark Richt, I love all of our players, I love Georgia, but if you really think the 2015 ‘Dawgs were anything better than mediocre then I can’t really help you.

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        • Derek

          But next year’s schedule is softer.

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        • Argondawg

          Amen!

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          • rchris

            You should savor every 10 win season we get, no matter what the circumstances. From 1949 to 2001 we only had 16 nine win seasons. That’s over 53 years! This is a golden time, and I hope Kirby can take us up to the platinum level!

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        • Olddawg55

          Hey, guys…ten wins are ten wins! Everyone who wins that many or more often have some soft spots in the schedule. Given the OL/QB problems we had, I think we had a great year…short of wishes..but a great ten win season. You could disect any of the top teams and you’ll find a rationale for/against their record. You don’t settle for ten wins..you’re damn thankful that happens any year.

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          • Russ

            Come on, Olddawg. Surely you know that winning ten games a season is so easy, anyone can do it. In fact there are a whopping 5 other teams in the country that have more 10-win seasons that we do over the past 15 years. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

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            • rchris

              of 10 Win seasons since 2001:

              Oklahoma 12
              Boise State 11
              Ohio State 11
              UGA 10
              TCU 10
              LSU 9
              VA Tech 9
              Bama 9
              Oregon 9
              Texas 9

              Some of our rivals, recruiting and otherwise:
              FSU 6, Florida 5, Clemson 5, Nebraska 5,Michigan 5,Michigan St. 5, Auburn 4, Tennessee 4, Notre Dame 4, Penn St. 3, Miami 3, South Carolina 3.

              If any recruits should happen to read this, listen: Don’t be fooled by “Go Dawgs!”, get the facts. If you want to come to a team that wins consistently year after year, the teams that have shown the ability to do that are Oklahoma, Ohio State, UGA, and TCU. If you live in Oklahoma, go to Oklahoma. If you live in Ohio, go to Ohio State. If you live in Texas, go to TCU. But if you live anywhere else in the country come to UGA, a consistent winner for a great academic school located in a friendly and fun town with lots of good people! Go Dawgs!

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        • rchris

          Yes in 2015 we lost to 3 ranked teams and everyone we beat was unranked. We weren’t worldbeaters but we were consistent. We finished ranked 25th which seems about right. In 2014 we beat Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Louisville, Missouri, and Tennessee. We also lost to 3 teams we should’ve beaten. We were better but inconsistent. Two different types of teams to be sure. My point was that many of the players on the 2016 have experienced those two situations. They know how to win, and to some extent they expect to win. It also shows that there is definitely talent there, even if it wasn’t always used efficiently. Our recruiting rankings in recent years also indicate we should have talent on the roster. Kirby may take some time to get everyone on his page, so 2016 might be a little painful, but the notion that the cupboard he was left with was so bare that it’s going to take him years and years to restock is ludicrous. In 2017 and beyond we should have very competitive teams. Kirby has said he expects excellence and we should expect it as well.

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        • playmakers in space

          We won 10 in 2008, too! What a great year!!!!!

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          • rchris

            @playmakers in space I completely agree. Beat Arizona State, Auburn, LSU, Michigan State, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Only lost to the #1 and #6 programs in the country, and a sneaky Tech team deploying a quirky offense we were not yet used to defending against. The University of Georgia has a fine football program that most other schools would kill to have. I’m very proud of them, and I thank you for being proud of them as well in your post. They need our support.

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      • Argondawg

        You say that as if “where we are now” is something to crow about. I love CMR and I love the program but you and I must not have watched the same games the last few years. Do you actually believe what your shoveling? It’s gonna take a few years. How many starters on our team this year would have started at Bama? Jenkins and Leonard. Maybe Mitchell. That’s it.

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        • @Argondawg: Years ago, I watched football with a former Div. 1 player. I learned a lot about the game and one of the main things I learned was quality of players. You are correct about the number of players who would have started at Bama. Used to be the same when Spurrier kicked butt at UF. That is why I think winning 10 games in 2015 was a pretty good job,by the 2015 team. Not a Former coach apologist either.

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        • rchris

          My point is Kirby doesn’t have to replace the whole team, so it shouldn’t take him years to start getting results. The guys you mentioned were seniors, so a more cogent question would be to ask what recent recruits of ours did Bama and other top programs want? Did they want Thompson, Godwin, Roquan, Ledbetter, Patrick, Allen, Carter, Michel, Chubb, Parrish, Blazevich, Wynn? Plus who did he have waiting in the goody bag when he signed on? Eason, Rochester, Cleveland, Manac, Woerner, Holyfield? Plus Nauta was a heavy lean that he brought in. Bring in Brown, Price, and Hardman (all rumored at one time to be silent commits to UGA) and you’ve got almost a whole 1st string to build around. And all guys that were highly coveted. As long as Kirby doesn’t tear everything down and schemes to match his personnel, there’s no reason he can’t be very successful in 2017 and beyond.

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  14. I Wanna Red Cup

    Maybe he will finish strong. There are a lot of 5 stars who are close by and if we get them it will be a great class. Maybe a reason to let one or two get away. Patience grasshoppers.

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  15. TN Dawg

    Numbers don’t concern me.

    I’m keenly interested in seeing what happens with Hardman, Robertson, Wilson, Brown and Price.

    CKS bio was inflated with visions of his fierce recruiting ability. I will breathe more easily if he can go heads up with Saban and land at least 2 to go with Nauta in this class.

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  16. DawgPhan

    We need to close strong on this class and we certainly dont need to hold spots for someone next year. Bird in the hand and all.

    If we miss on a couple of the high profile guys and we still only sign 20 or less, then this class will be a huge disaster. There would be no other way to spin it.

    Undersigning is not how you out bama bama.

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  17. Chadwick

    No. The guys they are in on are highly rated and at positions of great need. I expected lower numbers with the transition. If he pulls Brown, Price, Hardeman and Robertson it’s a home run in quality. I persoanlly think the odds are in his favor to get all those guys with a couple more surprises. Not panicking. It’s a process and it’s only a month old at UGA B.

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  18. HVL Dawg

    Saving up for the 2017 class? I doubt it. No one has mentioned the fact there are 4-5 off-season players transfers/losses in a typical year. So will that be 8-10 the first year of the Uncomfortable Smart year?

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  19. DawgFaithful

    It would be disappointing to sign only 20-21 but we’re gonna be top 10 for sure. I’ll take that all day considering the regime change. We’re off to a pretty good start for 2017.

    P.S. You’re following recruiting more and more these days. You’re becoming one of us. You’re invested in our recruiting coverage. It’s ok to admit it

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  20. There was talk of a # 1 class. Then down to a top 5 class.
    Now I see reference to a top 10 class.
    Bases on quality I see no reason for 2017 to be better than 2016.
    Time will tell but I am a bit disappointed. Anyway, quality beats quantity.

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  21. Two things to consider about UGA undersigning: 1) We haven’t always played “catch-up” real well in the subsequent years, & 2) therefore we tend to get thin at certain positions (this year that could be at WR). But these are new times in Athens so we’ll just have to wait and see how it all pans out.

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  22. Will Trane

    Where did Clemson rank with recruiting classes the past three years?
    Or Oklahoma?
    TCU or Baylor?
    Or Houston?
    I follow the Riddick recruit formula re signing day…wait.

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  23. Brandon

    I’d rather have 20-21 solid contributors that actually stay in school for 4 years than sign 35 where 20 get dismissed before their 3rd year, 4 contributors and 11 that ride the pine for their entire tenure.

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  24. W Cobb Dawg

    Well, you know ole miss is dirty when they recruit guys like Nixon and Haldeman to play WR.

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  25. Will Trane

    Saturday Down South reports LSU has the top class.
    Just think, Les Miles was on his way out.
    Just think, if UGA had kept Mark Richt.
    Just think what happens if Miles does not get by Ole Miss, Auburn, and Bama in 2016 and 2017.
    That go around he will not ride out of Tiger Stadium on the players’ shoulders, but on a rail, like in O’Brother Where Art Thou.
    Wait on Smart.

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  26. Will Trane

    Maybe Dawgs get some transfers from Auburn, PSU, or even Virginia in the 2016 summer. They got their 2015 starting QB in June from Virginia.

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  27. Turd Ferguson

    I honestly do not understand freaking out about anything so early in the Smart era. Eason could announce that he’s transferring tomorrow, and it’d still be the case that none of us has any clue what this team will look like in a year’s time.

    I hope we sign a class full of talented guys who love Georgia and buy-in early. And if there’s only 20 of ’em, so be it.

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  28. I see the patience/it takes time rhetoric is already ramping up and by many the same folks who couldn’t get our last coach out of here fast enough. Smh! You don’t fire a good coach and then act like the next one has all time in the world. I hope Smart has a clue because it seems the admin, boosters and much of the fan base only lack the ability to point out problems, which isn’t much of an ability at all. Everything is important when you’re going up against the best competition. Every day, every recruit.

    We put all our eggs into the Smart basket, without giving anyone else a real look, and then we sat by for a month while he helped Bama win a couple more titles. Meanwhile, Georgia fans are trying to convince themselves that it’s no big deal and even suggested that this could be good for us.

    If we’re really gonna take the it takes time approach, or that losing recruits isn’t big deal, then why the hell did we run off a good coach? The Georgia Way hasn’t worked in decades and I don’t see happening now just because we got a shiny new coach.

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    • Red Cup

      We haven’t played a game under CKS. Might be a good idea to wait on the games to be played and for signing day to get here before we make judgments and go off the deep end

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    • Turd Ferguson

      “I see the patience/it takes time rhetoric is already ramping up and by many the same folks who couldn’t get our last coach out of here fast enough. Smh!”

      He had 15 years, dumbass. The last several of which were pretty predictably disappointing.

      And by the way, your same childish logic runs just as well in the opposite direction. The same fans who had all the patience in the world to give to Richt are apparently already running out of patience with Smart. Go figure.

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      • “Dumbass”- speaking of childish. Meanwhile the point went right over your head because it has very little to do with Smart. Don’t let that stop you from showing what kind of a badass you think you are, though.

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  29. Debby Balcer

    Kirby is our coach I am ready to see how the team pans out. Recruiting is not a sure thing and this class has been fluid. I think losing our Offensive recruiters such a BMac has hurt us in recruiting skill players. I will give Kirby time but I don’t expect us to backstep however if we do I won’t be calling for Kirby’s head now McGarity is another matter.

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