“I was one of only two head coaches ever to go to American Samoa.”

Is it just me, or does anyone find an interview with Urban Meyer that treats him like a normal person instead of someone with a borderline sociopathic personality ($$) a little unnatural?

Mark Richt has lost control of Mudcat’s car.

Matt Hayes:  “The Georgia football program has a problem, and the only person who can fix it is coach Kirby Smart.”

This is what Matt means by “fix”.

Dismiss Dumas-Johnson, and publicly declare that any Georgia player arrested for racing cars will face the same penalty.

Apparently, racing should be treated like sexual assault now.  Y’all good with that?

I’m not trying to make light of this.  It’s a horrible tragedy, the result of poor judgment by young people who should have known better.  What it’s not, though, is a scandal — at least not at this point.  The question is, what sort of stance does the school and the program need to take to discourage this sort of reckless behavior going forward?

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UPDATE:  Seth Emerson ($$) has similar thoughts.

The events of Jan. 15 don’t have to be Georgia’s fault. There’s nothing that has come to light to suggest it was. But it can still reflect on the program, as does every arrest of a player, five of them now in the past calendar year. All misdemeanors, and not at the number Richt was dealing with in 2010. But Georgia’s program is now at a higher level nationally. The microscope is larger. The accountability has to be too.

… At a minimum, at an absolute minimum, Smart needs to get a handle on street racing.

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Charlie Baker speaks.

The name on the door has changed, but the gobbledygook remains the same.

Asked whether he is opposed to the notion of college athletes becoming employees of their schools, Baker said:

“I guess it depends a bit on what the frame looks like and how it’s organized. I certainly think things need to change, but I worry a lot when I hear athletes constantly say to me they want to be student-athletes, which is what I’ve heard from most of them.”

So, that’s far from endorsing the concept, but in discussing the issue alongside his view on what  is appropriate compensation for athletes, he said: “I think the question about additional benefits is certainly one of the conversations, and it’s part of what I would describe as the change (in college sports). I’ve actually had a lot of student-athletes tell me they would rather be student-athletes than be employees for a whole bunch of reasons. I think that will be, in fact, a big part of the dialogue going forward.

“But from my point of view, the goal here should be to figure out how to deal with this issue in a way that actually addresses some of the concerns people have about the very successful and financially successful programs, recognizing that there are literally hundreds of thousands of student-athletes who don’t play in those programs and for whom the idea of being an employee is really not an attractive one. And I think people need to keep that in mind.”

One day on the job, and he’s already nailed doing it for the kids!  Impressive.

He’s got a sense of humor, though.

Recognizing that the NCAA and its membership have concerns about facing legal action if they act on their own regarding NIL activities he said: “Well, I think the goal has been to do something where we don’t get sued…”

Oh, wait… he’s serious about that?  Well, I have to admit that’s a small step away from Mark Emmert.