One of the greatest shootouts in Georgia football history…
A.J. was unbelievable. Just ask the defensive back who tried to cover him on that last TD pass.
Whatever else he can say about his career, Joe Cox can tell his grandkids he outdueled Ryan Mallett. Considering Mallett was playing against a Willie Martinez-coached defense, that was no small feat.
Filed under Georgia Football
Again, here’s my daily reminder that if you don’t have a subscription to The Athletic, you’re missing out on some real gems, like this Q&A with Paul Johnson. The quote in my header is hard to top, I admit, but there’s one other bit of amusement worth sharing.
Referring to UGA as the “gorilla” — honestly meant as a compliment — his response to the obvious question of what he can sell to compete comes off sounding like your standard Stingtalk comment:
“Academics. The education. The networking of the alums. All of those kinds of things. I am sure they have some of that, but it’s not the same as ours.”
It’s not exactly what every five-star kid wants to hear, is it? Kinda makes it easy to understand why the genius says he doesn’t give two shits about recruiting rankings.
Filed under Georgia Tech Football, Recruiting
Athlon’s “SEC coaches talk shit behind each other’s back” annual thing is out… and it’s a little disappointing, to be honest. I mean, dig into it and here are the two most negative comments you’ll find:
“I like Ed (Orgeron), I really do. He can win there, and maybe he can develop into a guy that stays there a while. But he has to let his coaches coach. What he did with (former offensive coordinator) Matt Canada was ridiculous. You paid him all that money to get on board, and then a couple weeks into the season, you’re bailing on him. I don’t know all the specifics and if Canada wasn’t a good fit with the rest of the staff, but I know what Canada has accomplished in this game. He knows what he’s doing. If you’re an LSU fan, your hope is Ed does, too — and that his new OC will fit.”
“The Derek Dooley hire (at offensive coordinator) was off the radar. I don’t know what he’s going to do there. I don’t necessarily think it was a bad hire. Just surprising.”
Man, that’s some bland pablum.
Athlon hasn’t been the same since Tuberville left the conference.
Filed under SEC Football
Suddenly, it makes sense. Larry Scott is making the big bucks because he pumps out the bullshit better than any other P5 commissioner.
“There are different ways to measure success in college sports,” Scott said, snuggly wearing his salesman’s cap during Wednesday’s Pac-12 Media Day. “The scorecard we think matters, and that I know our university presidents and athletics directors care about most is academic and athletic excellence across all sports.
Hell, he probably deserves a raise for saying that with a straight face.
When a conference says, “It should be noted that when our conference proposes legislation, student-athlete well-being is at the forefront of the proposal development process”, it’s not.
Helluva job, NCAA.
Filed under The Body Is A Temple, The NCAA
This is a pretty good piece from Chip Towers about how the new facilities are paying off for Georgia on the recruiting trail.
The intriguing part is how Chip ladles out the credit for progress.
For Georgia, it’s a demonstration of its commitment to compete at the highest level in the SEC. Like the indoor practice facility that came before it, it’s the Bulldogs saying to recruits and the rest of the country, “we’re all in; we’re in it to win it.”
There’s more coming, too. An expanded weight room, new coaches’ offices and meeting rooms are on the way soon. Alabama just this summer opened a new 25,000 square-foot Sports & Nutrition Facility. You can bet that it’s only a matter of time before Kirby Smart has something similar in the works for UGA.
Smart’s acumen as a businessman is the side of this whole phenomenon that has probably gone under-reported. There’s a reason Georgia’s head coach has changed the format of the Bulldogs’ annual coaches’ caravan from a mobile pep rally into donor-targeted fundraisers. Smart came to Georgia with a specific shopping list of needs to be met that would put the Bulldogs on equal footing with Alabama and the other powerhouse programs at this particular point. The state Board of Regents has a requirement that any major construction projects must be at least half-funded from donations. Smart is doing his part to assist in those efforts. And UGA alumni and supporters are responding.
More importantly, Smart is making good on his side of the equation, too. He is making sure that the Bulldogs put top-notch players in those top-notch facilities. Be assured, there was no fluke in the timing of all those elite recruiting prospects being in town this weekend for the big reveal of Georgia’s new space at Sanford Stadium
Then again, it’s Smart’s job to make sure Georgia wins at a level commensurate to its spending. Build it and they will come, if you will.
Nary a word about Greg McGarity there. I sense a “McGarity Minutes” email coming soon. This media aggression shall not stand, man.
Filed under Georgia Football
Georgia is collapsing under the pressure of South Carolina’s epic recruiting run. Or not.
We already knew Georgia finished 2018’s Signing Day with the second highest-rated class ever, breaking Alabama’s seven-year streak, one month after nearly toppling Bama’s title dynasty on the field as well.
Most importantly, UGA dominated its division, hilariously outpacing the SEC East for the second class in a row.
So how’s 2019 recruiting going for Kirby Smart’s Dawgs*?
Well, after a weekend that included a commit from five-star RB John Emery Jr. and two other four-stars, UGA has 10 commits in 2019’s top-150 recruits, per the 247Sports Composite.
The rest of the SEC East has four. Combined.
UGA has five five-star commits to the rest of the division’s two, plus 10 four-stars, more than doubling up anybody besides Tennessee.
Kirby says pressure is a privilege. It seems Georgia is feeling mighty privileged on the recruiting trail these days.
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UPDATE: Strong stuff from SBN’s Bud Elliott.
Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting, SEC Football
