Continuing in the same vein as the previous post, Seth Emerson ($$) talked to three former Georgia players, Jon Stinchcomb, Terrence Edwards and Hutson Mason about how big a deal it is for Georgia’s offense not to go through spring practice.
The general consensus is that, while it’s not the end of the world, it’s not ideal, either, for the obvious reason, per Stinchcomb:
“It’s a disadvantage for Georgia just because of the amount of turnover that they’ve had from last year to this, specifically on offense.”
There are learning curves between the players and coordinator and vice versa that fall behind schedule. There are communication issues between players, such as on the offensive line, that face a loss of valuable time. That may not be deadly, but there’s certainly going to be more rust than usual that needs to be shaken off when the season starts.
If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that neither Monken nor Newman are facing their first rodeo. Well, and the defense…
Filed under Georgia Football
David Wunderlich makes a fair point here:
With spring football practice gone for everyone, any fall season will be materially different. Spring is when position battles happen and coaches begin to figure out the dynamics within their new teams. They can identify problems and work over the summer to figure out how to fix or disguise them. There’s been some speculation that teams could get a crack at “spring” practice over the summer, but on top of potential virus concerns, coaches might not conduct full-on sessions given the shorter time for injuries to heal before the season in that scenario.
Florida has some important position battles like offensive line and backup wide receivers, and it has some question marks at places like star and starting safety. The Gators do not, however, have question marks in the most important places: scheme and quarterback. Kyle Trask is the steady hand on the wheel, and Dan Mullen and Todd Grantham will be running the same stuff they’ve been doing for a couple of years now.
He goes on to compare Florida’s situation with that of the Gators’ conference opponents’, plus FSU’s. Remarkably, of those eight teams, only Tennessee matches Florida’s returning stability (assuming Guarantano keeps his starting job, that is).
Here’s how he summarizes Georgia.
Kirby Smart hired Todd Monken to bring a more modern offense after the James Coley experiment exploded in the hangar. UGA also brought in grad transfer QB Jamie Newman from Wake Forest to replace the departed Jake Fromm. There figures to be enough talent around to end up with an offense that’s more than adequate given the nightmare of a defense the team will be fielding. Giving Newman a chance to get used to his new teammates and vice versa right now would’ve been a plus, though.
Losing spring practice is more of a concern for the Week 3 game at Alabama than any matchup on Halloween, but you never know. Without the March/April session to get the basics down, it may take more than one year for the new attack to gel.
Hell, there was some concern about gelling before they cancelled spring practice. But I agree with David about how Georgia’s defense is going to make up for a lot of sins on the part of the offense.
Filed under Gators, Gators..., Georgia Football
From a happier, less preoccupied time, here’s the Coaches Film Room take on the 2018 Rose Bowl.
I said it walking out of the stadium at the time — I finally witnessed a Georgia game that eclipsed the 1980 Cocktail Party.
Filed under Georgia Football
Mark Emmert, not so much ($$).
“I just don’t understand why you would take a $250 million insurance policy for an $800 million event,” said one Group of 5 athletic director who, like others quoted in this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. “Would you put $250,000 worth of insurance on an $800,000 house?”
Most FBS ADs learned of those insurance figures for the first time during a Tuesday conference call that was organized by the Lead1 Association — the FBS athletic directors’ representative body — and featured remarks from NCAA president Mark Emmert.
While understanding that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has left everyone in the sports world and beyond struggling to navigate uncharted waters, the feeling among many ADs is that NCAA leadership has been lacking in communication on a litany of pressing issues on campuses across the country, after not even consulting with its membership when making the choice to do away with remaining championships for the 2019-20 academic year.
“‘Well, those will be membership questions,’” the same Group of 5 AD said, quoting Emmert. “We’re like: C’mon, man. Everybody’s texting each other like: ‘This is just a joke.’”
It’s always something to watch the light bulb go off in the last person’s eyes. Of course Emmert’s management is a joke. It’s been one for a while; it’s just that with the dough rolling in, ADs could ignore it.
All it took for that to change was Emmert not making money for his partners.
Filed under It's Just Bidness, The NCAA
We may not get spring practice, and we’re definitely not getting spring games, but rest assured, Greg Sankey’s not shutting down the SEC completely.
The SEC’s spring meetings are still scheduled for May 25-29 in Destin, Florida. The conference’s annual media days event, to be held July 13-16 in Atlanta, also is on track — for now.
Can you do Media Days without the media being physically present?
Filed under SEC Football
When it comes to recruiting in the time of the coronavirus, necessity remains the mother of invention.
On March 12, Kansas head coach Les Miles posted a note on his Twitter that the Jayhawks will be canceling their big upcoming junior day scheduled for March 21 because of the circumstances regarding the Coronavirus. We are currently in a mandated NCAA recruiting dead period.
“We are excited that you have interest in our program and can’t wait to meet with you at the appropriate time,” Miles wrote.
While the Coronavirus is obviously impacting every college program’s spring visit schedules from coast to coast, it looks like Miles and his staff quickly pivoted to a Plan B to showcase their program to prospective prospects. And with that, their junior day plans are back on.
In a virtual sense.
The day will include a TikTok dance off with the Kansas staff and their families, before pivoting to already prepared videos regarding tours of campus. There will be presentations regarding campus dining, player development, facilities, videos, the strength staff, nutrition, academics, the partnership with Adidas, as well as the coaching staff and Coach Miles as well as the city of Lawrence.
“There is an aspect of it for the public, so Friday is the junior day and every hour starting at 9 am one of those elements will be released via social media, so anyone can tune in,” Redmond said. “On the back end of all that, our top prospects are going to be FaceTiming with the coaching staff and receiving videos and personal graphics from the staff.”
Lester, bringing the heat! I wonder if he’ll discuss grass during the nutrition segment.
If this works, I bet it takes off. It’s not like football staffs have as much on their plate as usual right now.
A Nick Saban TikTok dance off would be a real treat to watch.
(h/t)
Filed under Recruiting, Wit And Wisdom From The Hat
Get The Picture 