This is why Kirby makes the big bucks.
Hey, it worked.
Monthly Archives: April 2018
“You don’t really look forward to playing Georgia.”
Dabo’s all in on Clemson-Georgia being an annual thing.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who likes to test his team with an SEC opponent other than South Carolina, would be a fan of Georgia and Clemson renewing their rivalry.
“Absolutely,” Swinney said when asked whether he would like to play Georgia every year. “I think it’d be great for both fan bases. I’ve said that for a long time. We’re going to play somebody like that every year. We go to Texas A&M this year, then they come to us. We played Auburn a bunch of times. So I think that would be great.”
Hey, I’m down with that, especially if it meant dumping a cupcake game from the schedule. Somehow, I’ve got the feeling Kirby and McGarity might feel differently in that regard.
Filed under Clemson: Auburn With A Lake, Georgia Football
Now Kirby really has something to sell on the recruiting trail.
#93K may be a nice sales pitch, but it pales in comparison to what Kirby has to offer recruits this morning.
Georgia set a program record by landing three players in the first round of the NFL draft.
Never before had the Bulldogs done this. But after a season that ended with a national championship appearance, the Bulldogs saw Roquan Smith (eighth overall, Chicago Bears), Isaiah Wynn (23rd overall, New England Patriots) and Sony Michel (31st overall, New England Patriots) all drafted in the first round.
That is some bad ass player development right there.
And let’s give Mark Richt a little credit here, too… especially for taking advantage of the opportunity Jeff Ulbrich gifted him.
Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting
The CFP takes a victory lap.
The Jed Clampetts of the college football world get together and pronounce themselves satisfied.
For now, at least, there’s no hint of a desire to change anything.
“They are very happy with the way things are going,” Hancock said. “I can’t say it any more plainer. It’s been a good four years.”
Bill Hancock doubling down about the postseason? I think we all know what that means.
Filed under BCS/Playoffs
They love him in New York.
Now here’s an observation I never thought I’d see during my lifetime, from the New York Times analysis of Sony Michel being drafted by the Patriots:
… But while he’s a strong runner for his size, he does not, at this point, make the sharp cuts that are expected in the N.F.L. and there is a belief that he was somewhat of a product of Georgia’s excellent blocking scheme. [Emphasis added.]
Is Sam Pittman still underpaid? Discuss.
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
“He is by far the best dancer in Miami.”
To paraphrase Archie Bell, Divaad Wilson can dance just as good as he plays. LOL.
Filed under Georgia Football
Turned out and tuned up
I have a non-snarky question for the class.
I know Kirby thinks it’s a big deal, but when I see the occasional poll of recruits about what factors are important in choosing a football program, there are all kinds of things cited, like education, proximity to home, bonding with staff, opportunity to win championships, preparation for a pro career, etc. But one thing I’ve never seen on a list is fan turnout at a spring game.
So, just wondering… how much do you think it matters? Is it something that a recruit makes a priority, something that maybe is a tiebreaker in a close call, or simply something nice to note?
Filed under Recruiting
Saban’s got it.
This is remarkable.
Chalk it up to recruiting, player development, whatever. The man can friggin’ coach.
It sure would be nice to see Kirby putting up similar numbers a few years down the road, wouldn’t it?
Filed under Nick Saban Rules
“… there is no need to wait for a ruling from the courts”
Jeffrey Kessler’s ultimate takeaway from the Rice commission’s recommendation is succinct:
But he added that athletes ability to control use of their name image and likeness is not “the heart of the matter.”
“The heart of the matter is that Alabama can pay its (strength) coach $500,000 a year and it’s prohibited from taking care of its athletes if it wants to — and many of these athletes will never spend one day in the NFL or NBA and many are from impoverished backgrounds.”
Note the “if it wants to” there. Isn’t it likely that there are programs out there that would like to do just that?
By the way, speaking of court rulings, it looks like Kessler’s suit is going as well for the NCAA as O’Bannon did.
Filed under See You In Court, The NCAA
Mirror this.
With every passing day, it grows on me that Tennessee football is in a new phase of blogging manna from heaven. Between Junior and Booch, it’s been a rich source, and it appears that the Fulmer and Pruitt Show is prepared to carry on that entertaining tradition. I am grateful.
Let’s recall Pruitt’s fan smack, shall we?
“To me, it’s kind of like our football team for the fans,” Pruitt said after the spring game. “The ones that were here, I’m proud they’re here. They’re fired up, ready to get going. And then there were some people that weren’t here, they had legitimate reasons they couldn’t be here. Then there were some people that weren’t here, why weren’t they here?
“It’s kind of like our football team. I think we all need to look in the mirror and see who we want to be.”
Fulmer’s totally cool with that, man.
“I certainly feel his passion,” Fulmer said. “That’s what we hired. I think he understands, and everybody should understand, that to get this turned back where we need it to be turned to, we need everybody.
“He knows that. He can’t do this by himself. It’s going to take us all to get back to where we want to be. I just know how passionate he is about doing it. I appreciate that part of it.”
Of course he does. He just hired the guy and is invested in the decision, at least until the results on the field don’t match the upfront attitude. But about that whole getting the fans fired up thing? Maybe Pruitt needs to look in the mirror himself and ponder meeting them half way.
New Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt raised some eyebrows when he decided to postpone the Vols’ traditional fan (autograph) day before the Orange & White Game and bump it back to August, but he had the blessing and the backing of his boss.
That boss — Phillip Fulmer — happens to be a man whose storied coaching career at Tennessee got into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Pruitt told Fulmer exactly what he told reporters — that he wanted his team to treat the Orange & White Game as a full-speed dress rehearsal for an actual game day, and college football teams don’t hold autograph sessions with fans before actual games. They spend the night before the game and the morning of the game sequestered in a hotel, going through meetings and walk-throughs and film sessions and getting their minds and bodies prepared.
Considering the obvious fact that Tennessee will play a quality opponent — West Virginia — in Pruitt’s first game, anything that could decrease the hiccups leading into the game was something Fulmer understood.
“I liked his approach on not having the big (fan) day, because he’s trying to practice a game day,” Fulmer said. “That, to him, is important. It’s a game day for the kids to practice the West Virginia game, and East Tennessee State and all the way through, so he’s looking at it from that standpoint.”
Maybe this will turn out to be a grand experiment in how much you can ignore a fan base and still get away with it if you win. Then again…
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Get The Picture 
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