What profiteth a student-athlete if he gains compensation and loses his AD’s soul?

Well, somebody’s making some money off Rodrigo Blankenship’s likeness.  Just not Rodrigo Blankenship.

The T-shirts that sold online for $24.76 each never mention Rodrigo Blankenship’s name.

They didn’t need to because the red helmet, mustache and signature goggles with the catchphrase “Respect the Specs” are synonymous with the Georgia kicker who burst onto the national stage during the run to the College Football Playoff championship game in 2017.

Under NCAA rules, Blankenship can’t profit from his name, image and likeness while still playing for Georgia, although the governing body announced last month a working group is examining the issue.

The shirt was sold by Nashville-based printing and apparel company The Seven-Six, whose co-owner just happened to grow up a Bulldog fan.

Very respectful, indeed.  But I’ll say outright thievery beats what Rod’s AD is offering.

“It sounds pretty easy to do, but the implementation of it, how does it affect the power five, how does it affect the group of five?” McGarity said. “Does it widen the separation? There’s so many unknowns. …It’s a complicated situation and I’d rather not get into what I personally feel. That’s why they’ve got the committee in place so that they can really bear down and have some fruitful discussions and figure out a pathway moving forward.”

Greg’s got that “complicated” company line down pat.  It’s only that way if you’re on the wrong side of the revenue line, though.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said his stance remains about what it was when he testified in the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit, which started in 2009 and involved name, image and likeness rights.

“I think and believe that the funding, the financial support provided to a student-athlete is appropriately tied to their educational pursuits,” Sankey said.

If you’re a student-athlete who thinks this NCAA working group is going to recommend any substantive changes to the amateurism rules, you probably still believe in the Tooth Fairy.

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But you already knew that.

For #UGA, in 5 years from 2016-2020, that's at least 18 @Rivals five-star prospects—compared to 16 five-star signees for the Bulldogs in 14 years from 2002-2015. https://t.co/9ha5c5KS1C

— Patrick Garbin (@patrickgarbin) June 4, 2019

Still, it’s a real kick to see it, no?

Taking a page from the Book of Harbaugh

Looky who’s camping in Florida.

Georgia connects with camp being held at NCAA Division II Florida Tech in Melbourne, Fla. https://t.co/3ycN5WpaLn

— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) June 4, 2019

Say hi to Dan while you’re down there, Kirbs.

“It’s just something that we’re all thinking about.”

Kirby continues working the Cocktail Party refs as assiduously as he works the recruiting trail.

The added money and unique game setting comes at a cost: UGA loses one of eight SEC home official visit recruiting weekends (12.5 percent) each two seasons.

Smart, who was hired to deliver Georgia what would be its first national championship since 1980, has a problem spotting 12 of 14 schools in the SEC that extra recruiting weekend.

“When you look at recruiting now, the model they have is that December’s the early signing date, (and) the official visits have become really really important,” Smart explained. “We got official visits happening in the season, and we lose a really big opportunity to have official visits come to our campus.”

… Thus, the dilemma on playing in Jacksonville —  a tradition beloved by some fans, but challenging to Smart as he strives to find competitive advantages — and avoid disadvantages — at each turn.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow, so we’re always looking and thinking about what we can do in the future to give ourselves the best advantage,” Smart said. “And the other SEC teams don’t have that. They have the home games they have to be able to recruit to. So it’s something we think about, but nothing’s been decided.”

Which leads me to ask today’s stupid question.  In his last three years, Smart has pulled in the number three, the number one and number two nationally ranked recruiting classes, so how much has the Cocktail Party really cost him on the recruiting front?

Smart move

Just another day in college football land.

Here's a fun fact re: Day's contract ("Some of Day’s performance bonuses include $150,000 if the team posts a 3.5 annual grade point average,"):

The NCAA argued in court last year that financial incentives tied to GPA would harm athletes.

— Andy Schwarz (@andyhre) June 4, 2019

This kind of crapola is so frequent now, I can’t even muster up mild indignation anymore.

Free fallin’

Jeebus.

2018 FSU compared to 2017:

• #1 worst decline in Pass Defense
• #2 worst decline in Scoring Defense
• #10 worst decline in Scoring Offense
• #4 worst decline in Rush Off (YPC)

This, coming off a 6-6 season.

Also, the most penalized team in America.

— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) June 3, 2019

That’s so bad I’m not even sure Booch could spin it.

Is it time yet?

Yesterday’s post about Seth Emerson’s Georgia preview spawned a lively debate that I think in turn deserves a reader poll about the question.  You know the question.

Comments are welcome, of course.

In the 404, money changes everything.

Helluva quote from Geoff Collins, explaining Georgia Tech’s marketing philosophy:

“In this day and age of college football and recruiting, the recruits aren’t going anywhere for contracts or money,” Collins said. “They’re going to places that have the strongest brand.”

The dude’s never heard of bag men?  C’mon, he coached at Mississippi State, fer Gawd’s sake.

Take it from the top.

Talk about your change of direction — the Big Ten is reportedly replacing Jim Delany, famous for subtle racial shading and threats to take his conference’s football home to DIII with the African-American chief operating officer of the Minnesota Vikings.  Is that a subtle hint that the conference is bracing itself for the upcoming days of NFL-style commercialism and player professionalism?

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

UPDATE:

Kevin Warren not ready to offer opinions yet on athlete compensation, CFP expansion and other big-topic issues. Wants to spend time around Jim Delany and the league before doing so. #B1G

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) June 4, 2019

Say goodbye to Shreveport.

Man, it’s the end of an era.

The SEC’s new bowl lineup, starting in 2020, will add the Las Vegas and Gasparilla bowls, while dropping the Independence Bowl, sources told Stadium…

Even though the Independence Bowl had an SEC tie-in for the past five seasons, only two league teams – South Carolina (2014) and Vanderbilt (2016) – played in the game because the bowl had the 10th pick from the SEC after teams were placed in the College Football Playoff and New Year’s 6 bowls. Between 1995 and 2009, the SEC played in the Independence Bowl in 13 of 15 seasons.

With the SEC opting to send its 10th selection to the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. is expected to replace the SEC with the Pac-12. The ACC will still be aligned with the Independence Bowl.

The SEC didn’t have to do that.

In the new six-year bowl cycle from 2020-25, the NCAA allows the SEC 11 bowl tie-ins – excluding the College Football Playoff and New Year’s 6 at-large bowls – but the league opted to only have 10 bowl alignments, sources said.

It’s a sad day.  Besides that, chanting Gasparilla at another school doesn’t have the same insulting impact as Shreveport did.  Another tradition bites the dust.