Once upon a time in the West

Barrett Sallee posted his own list of SEC coach rankings, which I don’t really care about, but in doing so, he made one comment in his analysis of Jimbo Fisher I find somewhat curious.

His fourth season will bring tremendous expectations considering the wide open SEC West…

Umm… when did that happen?

Okay, with all the departures, do I expect Alabama to be the soul crushing behemoth it was in 2020?  Maybe not, but it’s got plenty of room to maneuver.  Last year, it outscored the rest of the West to the tune of 305 – 105.  That’s a spread of more than 33 points per game.  The closest game the Tide played was a 15-point win over Ole Miss.

For the West to be wide open, that’s a lot of sliding back to the pack Sallee’s counting on.  Does that sound like any Nick Saban team you’ve seen?

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“It’s not easy finding flaws in a coach who has played for the SEC title in 3 of 5 seasons and is 44-9 over the past 4 years.”

But Matt Hayes is on the mother, thank you very much.

All it takes is a little quality hindsight.

Smart landed the No. 1 or No. 1A (depending on the recruiting service) quarterback in the nation in 2018, but couldn’t find a way to get Justin Fields in the lineup. He grew too attached to Fromm, who wasn’t elite but was good enough to get the Bulldogs to within that blown coverage of winning it all.

Instead of building an offense around Fields, he stuck with the pro-style, run-oriented offense that fit Fromm and led to Fields leaving Georgia for Ohio State at the end of the 2018 season. We all know what happened there.

That led to Smart playing Fromm again in 2019, and for the second straight season, Fromm didn’t improve – and the only reason Georgia won the East Division is because Florida, too, was dealing with quarterback issues/injuries.

Quality bullshit, too, when it comes to that “second straight season” crap.  Fromm’s passer ratings at Georgia:  160.09 in 2017; 171.22 in 2018 (fifth nationally, don’t forget); 141.15 in 2019.

Ah, well.  Don’t let facts get in the way of a narrative.

Matt’s all in on Dan Mullen, by the way.

Even with all the problems off the field in 2020, and all the self-inflicted wounds on it, Mullen still had Florida within a touchdown of Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

If that’s all it takes for Hayes to say he’s trending up, Smart’s got that beat.  Twice.

If Mullen avoids the nonsense of last season (see: postgame antics, NCAA violations), he has the coaching chops to beat Saban.

Too bad he doesn’t have the players.

Another NIL/social media wrinkle

Shot.

I gave up 50 receiving yards on 263 coverage snaps last year, but if you’ve been watching @DawgSports_Live you already know that. @DawgOutWest and @Dawg_Stats give you the best UGA analysis and breakdowns around. Become a smarter fan and subscribe on YouTube, Apple & Spotify pic.twitter.com/HTdMtJYPkq

— Chris Smith ll (@cpsmithdb) July 6, 2021

Chaser.

Yes we did! We will be be partnering with @cpsmithdb for the rest of the season! When Chris releases merchandise we will be promoting it on our show and he will also be receiving a cut of what we do. He’s a partner in our brand! https://t.co/4xmFDEVvAD

— Graham Coffey (@DawgOutWest) July 6, 2021

Good for Graham, Josh and Chris for being creative.  I hope it’s a big success for them… although I wonder what happens if (Gawd forbid) Chris has a bad game that they have to analyze. 😉

JT has a deal.

And it’s with somebody who has plenty of experience with Georgia players.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ESM Football (@esm.football)

Georgia quarterback JT Daniels inked a deal with Everett Sports Marketing, company president Dan Everett confirmed Tuesday. The Greenville, S.C.-based firm also has made a pact with North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell. Both players are now featured on ESM’s website, which includes pro athletes such as Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, D’Andre Swift, Mac Jones and Jonathan Taylor.

ESM has a long and productive history with UGA athletes. Going back to quarterback Aaron Murray, Everett’s group has often been the first to step in for the Bulldogs’ highest-profile players to broker money-making opportunities in the interim between them turning pro and signing their first employment contracts with NFL teams. Typically, they do that by organizing autograph signings, football camps and appearances.

Just moving up the timeline from the interim to college time.

Also, did you catch this?

Offensive linemen Jamaree Salyer and Tate Ratledge and tight end Darnell Washington are among several UGA players seen on social media hawking Krystal’s new bacon cheeseburger.

Man, and to think just a few years ago a program could get into serious trouble putting a schmear of cream cheese on a bagel.

“No one knows quality BBQ like an OLineman!”

Here’s my early leader in best promo deals:

An Arkansas BBQ joint sponsoring the Hogs O-line is everything I dreamed that #NIL could be. #WPS pic.twitter.com/pIdFkf4Wvf

— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) July 6, 2021

That is so great on so many levels:  BBQ and Hogs, having an entire position group involved, both for starters.

I just wonder if they’re being paid in cash or in food.

If he could do it for Nick Mullens and Brandon Weeden…

Mike Evans – 3 straight 1k seasons
Reggie Williams – 10 td season
Nick Mullens- 4.4k+ passing season
Buster Williams/Dwayne Bowe/Justin Blackmon – 1st round picks
Brandon Weeden – 2 seasons, 71 tds, 9000 plus yards, 1st round pick

Monken will let the offense recruit for itself… pic.twitter.com/vYJBp2LyJR

— 704 Dawg ➐ (@FSFRecruits) July 5, 2021

… just imagine what Todd Monken can do for JT Daniels.

Bill Connelly’s updated returning production stats, July edition

He’s updated them, based on current roster moves.

Alright, I've officially scrubbed all the rosters, and I think I'm up to date on the portal, so…

2021 RETURNING PRODUCTION RANKINGS AS OF JULY 6.

* Typical national avg: 62.6%
* 2021 avg: 76.7%

Only 14 teams below the typical national avg this year. Crazy. pic.twitter.com/nam8od5Z6V

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) July 6, 2021

If you compare those with what he posted back in April, you’ll see that Georgia has modestly improved both its percentage (by 2%) and its ranking (from 111th to 110th).

What’s of real interest to me is how many of the national contenders are in roughly the same boat:  Clemson (104th); Alabama (123rd); Ohio State (125th).  The one exception is Oklahoma, at 73rd.

As you can see from Bill’s notes, this year is something of an anomaly when it comes to returning production, most likely caused by the increased activity in the transfer portal, as well as the NCAA’s super senior rule.  And while returning production is a component of Bill’s SP+, it’s not the only factor.  Still, this, along with a few other things, is starting to nudge me in the direction of the Sooners as national champs.

Potential Lexicon entry?

My dad graduated from Rice back when the football program had a real pulse, so naturally I heard about Dicky Maegle, the running back in the 1954 Cotton Bowl who broke free for what would have been a touchdown run when he was tackled by an Alabama player who came off the bench.

Anyway, reading this obit of Maegle, I came across a quote from Tommy Lewis that I guess never sunk in with me before:  Lewis explained that he was “just too full of Alabama” to watch Maegle run for a touchdown.

“Too full of Alabama” seems like something we ought to make into a catchphrase here.  Lexicon worthy, or not?