Manball, 2021 edition

UGA was 46th in the country in average yards per play last season (6.08) after having been seventh in that category in 2018 while averaging 7.05 yards per play. https://t.co/IDUdLjYm9T

— 960 The Ref (@960theref) May 4, 2020

I don’t care how stout Georgia’s defense may be this season, I don’t think any realistic fan believes the Dawgs can win a national title, or probably even a conference title (Alabama’s defense is going to be very good, too), with a repeat of last year’s offense.  I don’t think Kirby does, either, which is why he replaced Coley with Monken.

The $64000 question is how much freedom does the head coach intend to give the offensive coordinator.  Obviously, you’d think Monken pressed for more initiative to structure the offense and call plays than Coley was given, but is this a bridge too far for Smart?

“Really what I took away from (the Air Raid) was being able to throw to win,’’ Monken said after being hired by the Cleveland Browns last year. “That really to me was the Air Raid. You had a certain amount of run game, you ran a lot of the same concepts and you could throw to win. That was really it. Like any offense, it works a lot better if you have good players.”

No, not the Air Raid part — the bit about “being able to throw to win”.  That’s what LSU did to shred Georgia in last year’s SECCG, so Smart knows first hand about its effectiveness, but is he really willing to make that kind of jump?  Honestly, I have no idea.  What do you guys say?

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“When he was at SC, he always had the upper hand.”

The Pirate versus Junior Show is gonna be a trip, no doubt.  One good point Leach makes in this Dennis Dodd piece — no, not “Breeze and saltwater. I don’t think that disease likes breeze and saltwater.” — is that, unlike when they faced off in the Pac-12, they’re on pretty similar footing now when it comes to resources.

It’ll be interesting to see where their two programs stand after a few years.

Your Daily Gator… has doubts?

Can’t say I was expecting this:

Needless to say, the feedback in the ensuing comment thread is both plentiful and enjoyable.

Wake me when it’s signing day.

Here’s a perfect example of why I don’t waste my time indulging in recruiting talk.

Tennessee is on a nice little run of late, pulling in ten commitments, several from highly ranked recruits, for their 2021 class.  Good for UT, but that’s all they are — verbal commitments.  Nobody’s signed NLIs.  Nobody’s enrolled yet.  Nobody’s begun working out with the program.  Nobody’s made a two-deep chart yet.  But here’s Barrett Sallee with an over the top prediction.

Tennessee will win the SEC East within three seasons. https://t.co/hOJsVMuila

— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) May 4, 2020

That’s an absurd take.

Oh, and by the way, if you go by the Sports247 Composite’s average recruit rankings, at 89.26, the Vols currently stand sixth seventh in the SEC.  Not exactly the stuff of legends.

“Hopefully, we’re at a comfortable level with testing and where we are with the virus.”

When it comes to the start of the Georgia football season, the “h” word continues to get a workout in certain quarters.  Greg McGarity is one positive son of a gun ($$).

Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said he felt the scheduled season opener, against Virginia on Sept. 7 in Atlanta, would happen. McGarity said that was based on internal discussions and just watching how the situation was evolving.

“Based on status of our state with regard to all aspects of the virus,” McGarity said.

In that short piece from Emerson, the words “hope”, “optimistic” and “expectations” appear eight times.  This does, too, though:

McGarity said that question for the Georgia-Virginia game was “not sure as of today, and will be determined by the medical pros.”

If you think our illustrious AD is talking out of both sides of his mouth there, well, that’s only because he is.  But he’s hopeful!

Today, in consider the source

Hokay, who said this?

“I just don’t know how it’s going to be managed,” [XXXXX] said. “You’re opening up a can of worms. How can you manage donors [who say], ‘Hey, you come to this school, the day you get here I’m going to buy 1,000 of your jerseys for 100 bucks.’ I don’t understand how all that’s going to get managed and that part scares me a lot.”

I’ll give you a hint.  He’s on his fifth head coaching job, including one infamous bail out for greener pastures.  He’s shown his ass on the recruiting trail.  He’s dealt with plenty of deep pocket boosters.

In other words, these guys have no friggin’ shame.