I don’t care and and I’m not watching today, but I have to admit this is flat out great.
Too bad the actual product isn’t usually that entertaining.
Daily Archives: January 21, 2018
Chicks (and coaches) dig the deep ball.
For those of you proclaiming it’s only a matter of time before Justin Fields puts Jake Fromm’s ass on the bench, best to keep in mind there are a few hard realities that need to be taken into account.
Okay, I admit that ain’t G-Day QBR, but it’s not chopped liver, either.
Filed under Georgia Football, Stats Geek!
Pay to stay
So, a record 112 underclassmen have declared for this year’s NFL draft. Obviously, not all of them will be drafted. Obviously, that’s nothing new, either.
Since 2014, when NFL draft evaluations changed for juniors, almost a third (31.6 percent) of those declaring have gone undrafted. Using that ratio, a record 37 underclassmen won’t be drafted in April.
Dodd blames that on “a growing trend of bad advice, rampant agent runners and simply bad choices by some players.” I’m sure there’s a lot of truth to that. But let’s not forget where a lot of that starts: on the recruiting trail, where high schoolers are routinely reassured that the school making the current pitch will be their best path to professional success.
So you’ll have to pardon me a bit if I can’t get as worked up about the trend as those with more vested interests do.
It’s a trend that long ago got the attention of college and NFL types. The total number of undrafted underclassmen since 2014 (118) is roughly equal to the roster size of the average FBS program.
“Whether or not you want to believe it or not, there are a lot of people in these kids’ ear,” new Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin said. “There are even more people in their families’ ear that really don’t understand, financially, you can play your way into a lot more money.”
Alabama coach Nick Saban has railed for years about the influence of agents — both legitimate and sleazy.
“If a guy didn’t get drafted in the first or second round, he should have kept his butt in school,” Saban said last summer.
Yeah, well, let me make a radical suggestion here. How many of those kids do you suppose would have elected to stay in school instead of chasing a dream if the NCAA did away with the amateurism protocol it so slavishly defends? And for those of you who think paying players would ruin college football, is losing talented kids at a greater rate every year really a better alternative?
Filed under Georgia Football, The NCAA, The NFL Is Your Friend.
Chilling the bidding
In case you were wondering how soon it would be before the recently passed changes in federal tax law would have an impact on college athletics, check out John Chavis’ salary as Arkansas’ new defensive coordinator.
Filed under It's Just Bidness, Political Wankery
Old friends
Rob Saye/special to DawgNation
It’s Kirby’s program and it ain’t my place to say otherwise, but it’s interesting to see that he’s added former Georgia Southern head coach Tyson Summers to his staff in some unspecified role.
Former Georgia Southern coach Tyson Summers has joined the Georgia football staff, where he will work again with Kirby Smart, his longtime friend.
Summers was at Calhoun High School on Thursday night recruiting for UGA, Calhoun coach Hal Lamb confirmed Friday morning. It appears Summers is joining in a quality control, off-field role, but he was on the road Thursday night in a recruiting role.
Georgia has yet to fill the newly allowed 10th assistant coaching spot, so until then the team is allowed to send somebody on the road to fill that role in a recruiting capacity. Jay Valai, who had been a quality control coach at UGA, was among those also recruiting this month before accepting a similar role with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Apparently, some eagle-eyed GSU fans noticed Summers was in the coaches’ booth for the Rose Bowl.
They do have a history together.
Smart and Summers were roommates in 2005, the year Smart was Georgia’s running backs coach and Summers was a graduate assistant. The two have known each other for years before that and remained in touch, going on recruiting trips together over the ensuing decade, occasionally with Bobo in tow.
In fact, the trio held a satellite camp together the summer of 2016, officially hosted by Summers and Georgia Southern, but with Smart (Georgia) and Bobo (Colorado State) and their staffs also participating.
The three coaches talked about their friendship and going into coaching together last year for this story.
That’s not the only history Summers has going for him. His tenure at GSU didn’t go particularly well, as I recounted in this post. And remember, he was canned mid-season, after Georgia Southern suffered through a disappointing 0-6 start.
Probably not getting overly worked up about… this has a certain Peter Principle feel to it, a guy who makes a better defensive analyst than head coach.
Filed under Georgia Football
“The 24-hour rule was still in effect.”
Man, I can’t imagine being this joyless about a national title.
“We are in the memory business,” College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock crowed at one point during a speech commemorating the Crimson Tide’s achievement.
Saban decidedly is not.
He is constantly spinning it forward, bracing for the next challenge that lies ahead. Word is that roughly 30 hours after Alabama defeated Georgia and Saban declared he was as happy as he’s ever been, the Tide’s martinet of a head coach was haranguing his staff about its approach to the upcoming season.
“The 24-hour rule was still in effect,” said linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton. “He’s one of those guys who celebrates for the time being and the next day it’s over with…It’s definitely crazy.”
But there is a method to the madness.
And it’s called the “Process.”
I guess he’ll celebrate when he’s dead.
Let’s hope that’s one thing Kirby won’t import from Tuscaloosa.
Filed under Nick Saban Rules
Today, in “I think it’s really the right thing for student-athletes.”
The NCAA’s Division I autonomy group finally gets around to mandating medical coverage for student-athletes after they leave school.
Medical coverage and mental health benefits for athletes who suffered injuries or sought help during their college careers was extended for at least two years after they leave campus. The proposal passed by 78-1 with the lone dissenting vote coming from an ACC school. Wake Forest’s representative did not attend because of what was believed to be weather-related travel issues.
Each institution will be able to create its own policies for who qualifies for the new two-year requirement. Many but not all of the 65 Power Five conference members already provide post-career medical coverage, including the Pac-12, which has a four-year mandate.
Yep, there’s a school out there that voted against that proposal, which, as you can see by the Pac-12’s policy, doesn’t really go far enough.
It’s an open question whether the moves by the wealthiest conferences leads to similar changes in other leagues. Schools with less money may find the insurance costs prohibitive unless the NCAA pitches in.
“Maybe that is the discussion or a proposal that comes forward,” Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork said.
Gee, that would be nice. Maybe Mark Emmert can shake some loose change out of the March Madness couch to make up the difference.
Filed under The Body Is A Temple, The NCAA
Get The Picture 
You must be logged in to post a comment.