If you’re looking for a nice summary of how Georgia’s signing day measures up against the rest of the division, SB Nation has it for you here. This chart, in particular, speaks volumes:
UGA blue-chips vs. the SEC East
Class Year 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Georgia 4/5-stars 20 13 14 13 15 10 Ratio of UGA blue chips vs East 1.3 2.4 2.8 3.5 2.1 3.8 Rest of SEC East Combined 26 31 39 46 32 38
The total number of blue chips signed by SEC East teams runs in a range of the mid-40s to the mid-50s from year to year, and 2017 fits neatly into that pattern. But Georgia signed nearly half of that total, which is a radical departure from the previous five seasons. The biggest reason for that is the mythical fence Kirby Smart erected: “In total, Georgia’s 2017 class is made up of 26 members; 18 are from the state of Georgia alone, including 16 blue-chips.”
You think about the other East programs like South Carolina and Tennessee that have to make a living off Georgia talent to succeed because they lack the in state talent base, and you realize that Smart’s killing two birds with one stone here. If 2017 turns out to be anything but a one-year wonder, the longer term implications of what that means for the division are pretty apparent.
Get The Picture 
Just think how much better we’d do if we had an actual fence around our borders instead of this sad mythical one.
(I keed, I keed!)
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Yeah, and Malzhan and Muschamp had to get a Visa to enter Georgia to recruit.
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Kirby can demand the state legislature to require border state recruiters pay a hefty tax to enter GA to recruit based on the recruits star ratings.
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Well Kirby does seem to have plenty of leverage with the Georgia State Assembly these days…
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And we can make the other sec schools pay for it
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Good points. Kirby’s a little behind for 2018 though, as 5 of the top 10 in Georgia are committed elsewhere.
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I think that may change in the next 12 months. Hopefully.
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We had 15 blue chips in 13, unfortunately some knuckleheads in that group.
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Since we don’t play a game against the “collective” rest of the East, this chart doesn’t mean much. The good news is how impressive UGA was against each individual team of the East. Florida is the only contender for us on a long term basis, and one big year isn’t enough to say we have put them behind us. Dominating the East for 2-3 years would be a strong indicator we have separated ourselves, but that will be difficult because then we will have less playing time to offer the next crop. Only Bama has solved that riddle. Let’s enjoy a good start on building talent across the board and see if we can build on it at positions of need. And prepare that while we won’t see many years like this recruiting class relative to our competitors, we have put ourselves in a position to be ahead of those other guys and should be ahead for the next 2-3 years for sure.
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Kirby won the recruiting National Championship. It’s science.
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Vandy wasn’t too scared of our blue chips this past season, unfortunately.
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Nor were they in 2013 and 2006
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Has it occurred to anyone that Vandy has now beaten the Dawgs 2 out of the last 4 seasons?
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Who said this, Larry Munson or Nick Nolte in “Blue Chips”?
“But goddamnit, those kids played out their heart. They gave everything that they had. They played to the maximum of their ability! They gave it everything! And you know, it wasn’t good enough! It wasn’t good enough for me, it wasn’t good enough for you, it wasn’t good enough for anybody!”
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