‘Dude, you got me.’

Honestly, this was one of the little stories from the national championship game I’ve been waiting to hear.

Kelee Ringo’s 79-yard pick-six to seal Georgia’s national championship win over Alabama will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable plays in Bulldog history.

Dan Jackson’s “block” at the end of Ringo’s run? Maybe not so much.

“Yes, I prefer you call it a block,” Jackson joked with reporters following Thursday’s fifth day of spring practice.

On the play, Jackson can be seen trailing Ringo around the Alabama 7-yard line when, out of nowhere, Crimson Tide wide receiver Joshua Lanier (No 84) came over and blasted Jackson, sending him spiraling backwards to the turf.

“Every part of that play I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Obviously, Kelee made a heck of a play on the ball,” Jackson said. “I looked back to see if he was going to get down, but after that, I was just following him. He made a heck of a return. I thought we were about to walk in, but I look to my left and here he (84) comes out of nowhere.”

Jackson smiled that he wasn’t aware of much for the few moments that followed.

“In that moment, I wasn’t feeling anything,” Jackson said. “I’m just glad he got in the end zone.”

Jackson and Lanier immediately got up. Neither player was injured.

“Right after it happened, we both popped up, and he goes ‘Dude, you got me,’” Jackson said. “I was like ‘No, man you got me.’”

They’re both right.

Color me somewhat surprised, though, that Jackson still isn’t on scholarship.  Sure seemed like he played enough last season to earn it.  Maybe it eventually comes out in the roster management wash.

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There are none so blind as those who will not hear.

The NCAA wants to pretend stalling is still a viable strategy, but some members of Congress are of a different mind.

Members of Congress are planning to host a virtual summit with college athletes and advocates next week in hopes of stoking momentum for NCAA reform.

The summit, scheduled to take place Wednesday in the lead-up to this year’s Final Four weekend, will include a trio of panels moderated by Democratic senators and representatives with active NCAA-related legislation proposals. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) will lead a discussion on the importance of allowing college athletes to organize and collectively bargain. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Massachusetts) will moderate a panel on gender equity and Title IX. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) will focus on the need to protect the safety and well-being of college athletes.

No, it’s not going to make any difference in the short term, other than to serve as a reminder that the pressure on schools to make further changes in collegiate athletics isn’t going away any time soon.

This meeting comes on the heels of a period of landmark changes in college sports including the opportunity for athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness for the first time and a Supreme Court ruling that cast serious doubts about the NCAA’s amateur status. More than a half dozen members of Congress have introduced bills during the past two years designed to reshape the NCAA in a variety of ways, but so far none has made significant progress toward becoming law.

When the choice is between embarking on a process in which you still have significant power to formulate those changes or passively letting the courts and politicians dictate the course you’ll have to take, it seems pretty obvious to me which is the better option.  Then again, I’m not Mark Emmert.

Leadership, respect and a great man

Seth Emerson makes a good point about Stetson Bennett ($$) in today’s mailbag:

The leadership part is something Smart expanded on later, and you can see that: Bennett is more of a quiet leader, not a rah-rah guy, which is partly a result of the situation — he’s never been the offseason starter — and part just Bennett’s personality.

It’s hard to be the vocal leader when you’re climbing from the fourth string, not just because you aren’t in a position to lead, but also because your energy and focus is fixed on climbing the ladder at your position.  Well, Stetson’s standing on the top rung now and it’s not just third downs where he has to pick up his game.

The good thing for him is that he starts from a position where he’s banked a ton of good will and respect because of the way he made that climb, but now, regardless of his personality, he has to find an effective way to take charge of that offense.  His offense, now.  With first string comes first string responsibility.

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UPDATE:  These Q&As with Bennett sound like he’s getting it.

Q: How does it feel to be the first-team quarterback heading into the season?

A: You’d like to say always that you’re preparing to be the guy and you always work the same that you would, but we’re all human. Sometimes it seemed like, “Geez, I’m not going to play at all. If somebody comes in that’s better than me, they’re going to start; it’s the University of Georgia.” But there is a lot of more of, like, being hands-on with the routes, the way you want the guys to run the routes, how you feel comfortable with them, a lot more reps than last year. So, I guess there’s a lot more individual conversations about what I’m seeing and what they’re seeing, and so we get to know how to play football better together.

Q: How is spring ball different this year than previous years?

A: I’d say it’s more of a comfort thing for me. We all knew JT (Daniels) was the guy going into last year, right? I wasn’t taking any reps. So, who was I to come over and say, “Hey, let’s run the route this way.” But now there’s a comfort level and a respect level from both sides. I can go up and say, “We’re not doing that; we’re going to do this.” Somebody can tell me, too. It’s not like I’m the parent. We’re brothers; we’re on the same football team. If you see me doing something wrong, a drop or something, come let me know. So, it’s more of a comfort thing. And being more vocal. I’ve never been too vocal. I’ve always been kind of chill, even-flow. But that’s been a point I’ve tried to step up this spring.

Your Daily Gator believes.

It’s nice to see somebody still carries the torch for the Portal Master™.

The thread is entitled “It’s a process…” and I don’t think this guy knows the half of it.  Then, again, how many of us can think clearly after drinking eight or ten beers?