It wouldn’t be spring football, part two…

… without some tasty Dawg porn, in this case, about the new quarterback (and, no, I’m not talking about Stetson Bennett).

Justin Fields ability to make plays with his feet is what differentiates him from players Georgia has trotted out at the quarterback position going back to D.J. Shockley.

Yet in his first couple of months on campus, it’s not his legs but his arm that teammates noticed during 7-on-7 work.

“He’s got a cannon,” tight end Isaac Nauta said of the freshman who was a five-star signee. “He’s a big physical kid.”

Added wide receiver Terry Godwin: “He’s got a nice arm. He’s a quarterback. We’re not going to recruit a guy who doesn’t have a good arm or anything like that.”

Nauta and the rest of the Georgia players will learn more about what Fields can do escaping a pass rusher or being used on a design run in the weeks ahead as Georgia opened spring practice on Tuesday.

“I’ve seen him through winter workouts and he can, run, too,” Nauta said, “but what’s impressed me has been his arm.”

You can go take that cold shower now.

It wouldn’t be spring football…

… without a little preseason happy talk.

UGA TE Isaac Nauta tells me he’s in the best shape of his life.

— DawgPost (@Dawg_Post) March 20, 2018

Thanks, Isaac.  We needed that.

So, did Mark Richt leave talent for Kirby Smart, or not?

From today’s presser:

KIRBY: The players have to understand that we have a lot of areas to improve. If you don't come with the same hunger – there wasn't a lot of difference in the two rosters from 2016 to 2017.

— DawgPost (@Dawg_Post) March 20, 2018

On the one hand, I’d say Kirby’s in “the cupboard wasn’t bare when I arrived” camp.  On the other hand, the hunger part was a lesson that Mark Richt had trouble impressing on the troops when he was here.

Today, in stick to sports

Ole Miss basketball may suck, but at least ‘Murica, bitchez.

"We're going to be a team that respects the (United States) flag and the National Anthem," #OleMiss head coach Kermit Davis

— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) March 19, 2018

With an attitude like that, he can probably miss the next three or four NCAA tourneys and still avoid the hot seat.  And when that wears thin (“hey, there are plenty of coaches out there who won’t recruit kneeling players, when’s he gonna win?”), he can start carrying on the sideline to bolster fan support for a few more.

Really, it’s kind of brilliant when you think about it.

*************************************************************************

UPDATE:  I’m not seeing anything resembling a wink here.

Davis placed an emphasis on the national anthem at Middle Tennessee State.

“The pride he took every time we got a letter from an opposing fan because our guys stand at attention during the national anthem and they all hold their hand over their heart. That’s a very big thing with Coach Davis,” MTSU athletic director Chris Massaro, told the Clarion Ledger Friday. “Typically, when we go from arena to arena a fan would notice that and they would send either him or me a note, a letter or email. We took great pride in that. That’s kind of one of the things I’ll always remember him by … how much pride he took into that.

“It’s a small thing in some ways but it’s a huge thing to a lot of people, to him and to our program. That’s one of the things we’ll see as we continue forward. That’s going to be one of the legacies he’ll leave.”

Davis’ statement drew a sizeable cheer from those in attendance Monday at The Pavilion.

Sizeable cheer from fans?  Mission accomplished!   Although I wait to see how his policy meshes with this:

Per an athletic department administrator, Ole Miss student-athletes, in all sports, have been “educated about the importance of freedom of expression, and that won’t change.”

Something’s gotta give.  Hopefully that won’t be the Constitution.

Nick Saban, staying ahead of the narrative

Give the man credit.  He never misses an angle.  He’s 66 and knows the inevitability of the “how long is he gonna coach?” negativity on the recruiting trail.

So he gets out ahead of it with lengthy interviews like this one, with ESPN’s Chris Low.  And it’s augmented with quotes from others:

“Nick ain’t thinking about retiring, not even close,” Spurrier said. “He can go into his 70s easy, and I think he will.

“I told him he won’t retire until he loses three games in a season. He told me, ‘If I ever lose three games around here again, they might kill me.’ I think he was joking, but I’m not sure.”

Surprisingly, Low didn’t think to ask Bill Snyder for his impression of Saban’s career longevity.  Maybe that’ll come in a couple of years.

Spring is sprung.

Ah, spring practice — the time of uninformed tea leaf reading (a GTP specialty) and G-Day QBR numbers — gets underway today.

I think we all know the obvious topics of interest/pundit obsession, so I’ll hit on a couple of subjects perhaps off the beaten path a bit that Seth Emerson raises here and Marc Weiszer takes on here.

One:  there are some new coaches on staff for 2o18.  What to expect?

Scott Fountain, who spent last year as a special teams analyst, is now the full-time special teams coordinator. Cortez Hankton (receivers) and Dan Lanning (outside linebackers) have joined the staff. James Coley, who had been receivers coach, is expected to move to help coach quarterbacks. Jim Chaney, who had been quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, may focus on the latter role. Coach Kirby Smart should confirm the moves before practice begins Tuesday.

Along those lines, who will be directing the tight ends is a little mystery of which perhaps some light will be shed.

Two, which of the fresh faces works his way into the discussion about serious playing time?

Hello, early enrollees

Georgia signed seven five-star recruits in its recruiting class. Four of them enrolled early — Fields, Mays, outside linebacker Brenton Cox and running back Zamir White, who is coming off ACL surgery.

There are nine early enrollees in all, including offensive guard Trey Hill, guard/center Warren Ericson, defensive back Divaad Wilson, defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and wide receiver Kearis Jackson.

He joins a receiving corps that returns Terry Godwin, Mecole Hardman and Riley Ridley.

White won’t be a factor in the spring because of his surgery, but that still leaves a lot of star power that will be fighting to be included in the mix.  In particular, will Cade Mays prove to be a real option to crack the starting five on the o-line?

Let the talking out of our asses begin.  Unleash the hounds!

**************************************************************************

UPDATE:  Here’s one answer.

According to Georgia spring media guide, James Coley is now Georgia's co-offensive coordinator with Jim Chaney, Coley will also coach the quarterbacks

— Anthony Dasher (@AnthonyDasher1) March 20, 2018

More details here.

**************************************************************************

UPDATE #2:  Another note of interest…

DB Deangelo Gibbs remains on Georgia's roster just released for the spring.

— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) March 20, 2018

**************************************************************************

UPDATE #3:  Man, Kirby’s dishing out the info today.

Kirby Smart said he anticipates "a full return in the fall" for DB Deangelo Gibbs. He had shoulder surgery. LB Natrez Patrick will practice this spring.

— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) March 20, 2018

**************************************************************************

UPDATE:#4:  And now, we come to the “rat poison” part of today’s agenda.

Kirby Smart indicates he is reading pre-spring stories on the team. Think probably just @Rowe247. References notion Lamont Gaillard has center locked down.

— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) March 20, 2018

One more thing to ponder about Tennessee’s soon-to-be historic 2018 season

If you remember how Jeremy Pruitt weeded out (see what I did there?) a fair number of defensive players from Georgia’s roster upon his arrival, this shouldn’t come as any real surprise.

Who will leave?

Pruitt means business, and he knows that coddling players is not the way to get the Vols competing for championships. His take-it-or-leave attitude may not jibe with all the players he is inheriting from former coach Butch Jones.

Tennessee’s roster has stayed mostly intact through the transition so far, but after 15 spring practices it’s likely that at least a few players will decide to depart. This creates a delicate balancing act for the new coaching staff, because the Vols can ill afford to lose much depth. It would be especially taxing to the 2018 roster if any scholarship offensive linemen decide to leave.

I can’t imagine that in his first shot as a head coach, Pruitt is of a mind to compromise his management principles.  I also can’t imagine there aren’t at least a few of Booch’s recruits who won’t see eye-to-eye with the new regime.

Between that and the shaky health in certain key areas like the offensive line, I can’t help but wonder what the over/under on the number of scholarship athletes on UT’s roster will be by the time the season opener rolls around.

Time to put that ticket price increase to work

This article is a reminder that a certain someone is in line for a big raise that we haven’t heard about yet.

Towers throws out a few numbers for comparison:

Georgia’s signing of basketball coach Tom Crean to a six-year, $19.2 million contract last week made a statement…

According to USA Today’s latest report, Saban currently earns $6.94 million annually. That’s actually less than the salaries that new Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher ($7.5 million) and old Auburn coach Gus Malzahn ($7 million) are due to pull in based on new contracts…

Dan Mullen went from Mississippi State to Florida and now makes $6.1 million a year. Tennessee hired Jeremy Pruitt from Alabama and he’s due to draw a $4 million salary from the Vols.

And just like that, they all make more than Smart ($3.75 million). Now what?

He then speculates that if McGarity is of a mind to make a statement as he did with Crean’s salary, Kirby is about to become Georgia’s “first Six Million Dollar Man”.  The thing is, even if McGarity’s not of such a mind, Jimmy Sexton no doubt is.

Does six mill sound about right to you?  If so, where do things go if Kirby actually drags a national championship trophy back to Athens in the near future?

Fun with Nick

I can’t wait to hear what PAWWWLLL!!! and Heather have to say about Alabama’s 2019 non-conference schedule.  It’s a real challenge.

Musical palate cleanser, Nuggets edition, day two

You get a two-fer today.  One, because both tunes are on the short side; and two, because you’ll notice they share a common theme.

First, the pride of Minneapolis, it’s the Castaways with their one hit, “Liar, Liar”.

You don’t get a lot of falsetto vocals with garage rock, but it works.

Then, there’s New Jersey’s finest, The Knickerbockers, who actually had a couple of hit singles.  This one’s “Lies”.

Pretty good Beatles ripoff.

Ah, hell, here’s a bonus track not on Nuggets.  It’s The Knickerbockers’ other hit, “One Track Mind”.