“I think it is what it is. The biggest disadvantage to me is the recruiting aspect. I’ve always said you lose a great opportunity once every other year, and you figure in your state you’re going to have a hundred top players,” Smart said. “Every four years they’re in high school, there’s two opportunities to bring them to a big game, to an environment that would be second to none. You lose that opportunity. You don’t get that opportunity. They also lose that opportunity. So, the both of us, if anything, that’s the impact. I don’t think it’s an impact on the outcome of the game. I don’t think it’s an impact on anything other than the fact you lose an opportunity, a good chance to recruit prospects and have them on your campus.”
Sounds like something he needs to take up with his boss. It’s certainly one of the more inexplicable decisions B-M has made. To have one of college football’s unique experiences and not allow your coaching staff to sell it to recruits makes no sense to anyone except someone who would prefer not to have to bust ass in Jacksonville.
Get The Picture 
Today, Kirby is the boss
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The thought that popped in my head is that Alabama pretty much plays a neutral game every year to start the season and their recruiting hasn’t suffered any? Am I missing a point?
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Yes. Both UGA and UF have agreed to not host recruits in Jacksonville. Bama hosts recruits at their neutral site games.
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Does anyone know if we hosted recruits at the UNC game last year?
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Has anyone ever given a good reason for not hosting recruits there?
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The AD doesn’t want to spend the money … that’s the best I’ve got.
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Its hard and complicated to organize for your average AD. Probably need to pay someone a lot of money to do that hard work. Maybe pay a consulting company? Very hard work. MickyG has fundraising events to attend. Who is going to sample the shrimp scampi if they are busy organizing travel for recruits?
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I can understand why Florida wouldn’t want recruits there.
UGA should be pushing to allow recruits, if nothing else for the home team every other year. It is one of the most unique games played and close to many of UGA’s recruiting targets.
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I’m sure it is impossible to replicate the organization of an on campus visit. The team buses to the game then buses out. On campus you have the recruiting team constantly taking them through the lifestyle, academic, and social amenities being a student athlete would encompass while the coaches and players can fit facetime in with the recruits when their schedule allows. An official visit to Jacksonville wouldn’t be putting your best foot forward.
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Bama hosts neutral site games, your not selling the city,campus, it is that the program plays big games with big atmosphere. It is a chance to sell something unique which really only Texas/OU can compete with.
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When schools host recruits, they are offered tickets to the associated game, them and their families…ticket demand is HIGH in Jax..basically, not enough tickets, or a place nearby for the recruits to stay. Logistics are a big issue there in these regards.
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Easy solution: let’s just use those swimming pools that are out of commission during the Jacksonville game for our recruiting! We’re already not getting/selling those spots!
Vote Stoop your new AD. I’ll do it for half the price and a comped car.
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This is why they don’t have recruits at the Cocktail party. Would have 100 recruits and their family’s asking for non-official visit tickets and this would hurt B-M pocket book.
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Sounds like it is not a “venue” shortcoming at all, it is something we can control. Personally, I still think you want them in your own environment anyway, it isn’t like we are having a problem impressing recruits the way thing stand. I would leave well enough alone, but try to play better home games with our OOC choices.
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Reducing a HS player’s opportunities to come to campus for a home game from 28 to 26 over four years doesn’t seem too dramatic. I’m also not sold on the idea that we should/can sell Georgia to a kid while in Jacksonville, FL.
I like the setting at it is. I like the fact that we don’t have to go to Gainesville and I like the fact that gators never get to come to Athens. I hope it never changes. Let’s just own the series again.
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Florida wouldn’t benefit from hosting recruits as much as UGA. We recruit quite a bit in Florida every year, and Jacksonville would be a place a lot of them could get to on an unofficial, even if they couldn’t get to Athens. Conversely, any south Georgia recruit Florida was interested in could get to Gainesville almost as easily as Jacksonville. So Florida can still get those recruits to see some games, while Georgia has difficulty getting their Florida recruits in for a visit. Allowing Jacksonville visits would solve a problem for Georgia that Florida (mostly) doesn’t have. Why McGarrity can’t see that mystifies me.
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Foley: Hello, Greg, this is Jeremy.
GM: Yessir, Boss, how are you sir ?
Foley: Greg, I want your reassurance that we’re not changing anything under this contract, particularly with recruiting.
GM: Oh, No sirrr, boss, you have my word on that.
Foley: Greg, you understand that if we have to manage the logistics on this, say goodbye to all the cocktail parties and hobnobbing you get to do 24 hrs before the game.
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As long as a recruit takes at least one unofficial visit to UGA to get all the academic/facilities/practice/game/campus/city feel goods that they need, why wouldn’t we offer to pay their way to such an iconic game? Seems like Kirby tactfully agitating for change.
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I see a lot of comments here about the logistics of hosting recruits in JAX, but I don’t think that’s the solution Kirby wants. He talks about hosting recruits on campus every other year, so it sounds like he’d prefer to make the game a home & home series rather than at a neutral site.
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^^^I agree. If the job is to win championships, JAX does nothing to help that. Bring the game to home-and-home and keep 2 more recruiting events in our new swag endzone section is how I read it too.
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If we’re going to continue to play this game at a neutral field, I see no reason not to play the game at the Mercedes Dome in ATL every other year. It would even out the proximity issue and Lord knows we need every advantage we can get considering we’ve won this game only 6 times since 1990. As a point of comparison, Vandy has beaten UGA 5 times since 1990.
I think we could negotiate something similar with Atlanta compared to what we have in Jax and UGA and UF would have the advantage of having already played one game at the Mercedes Dome should they make it to the SEC title game. That’s an advantage that Bama has had pretty much every year since they almost always play a season opening game in Atlanta.
I’m old enough to have been going to Jax back in the days when we were winning consistently, but I just don’t see the big deal in playing there every year. Jacksonville isn’t some can’t miss destination that makes the trip worthwhile even when we’re winning the game only two or three times a decade.
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The only proximity issue is the one inside your head.
It’s fine if you’re tired of Jax. But don’t blame Georgia’s problems on travel. That’s a complete cop-out.
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No, it’s inside your head that it doesn’t make a difference just like the rest of the “we’ve always done it this way so we need to keep doing it” crew. There is nothing special about Jacksonville. Nothing. And I say that having been to the game many, many times over the decades. The same 50/50 environment would exist at the venue in ATL.
The people who call the thought of moving from Jax a cop out are the same people who freak out about any type of uniform deviation because it’s not traditional. If we happen to wear black jerseys once a year and get beat in that game, it isn’t because of the jerseys. I’m not saying the last 3 decades of misery are only because of Jax, but it certainly hasn’t helped matters. Sometimes, change is a good thing.
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I didn’t say the thought of moving from Jax is a cop-out. I said blaming travel for Georgia’s problems is a cop-out.
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Yes Greg, acting like we are disadvantaged is not just a cop-out, it is illogical any way you want to argue it. You can have the opinion you just don’t like it, for whatever reason you want to you use, that is fair. But acting like we aren’t on equal footing is just not true, and makes UGA fans sound pitiful.
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Kirby once again finds Greg Mediocrity’s attention to contract details is ludacris.
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So what would happen if Kirby unilaterally announced he will bring recruits? Is fu gonna walk? Is Jax gonna stop the series? Contracts can and should be amended. Particularly if Kirby has no objection to fu having recruits, and that seems apparent. Seems to me Kirby should just do what he deems right for his program. Make McGoofy do his fricken job and address the paperwork fallout.
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Lol, balls out!
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Being from South Georgia I can tell you that it helps the fan base down here and in turn helps recruiting to have the game in Jacksonville. I don’t know why you couldn’t have recruits infor the game but there would still be the need for an on campus visit. Saying it is a disadvantage is a cop out as anyone who is old enough to remember the 1980s can attest.
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