… but even I have to admit this seems kinda like a big deal.
Sam Pittman, as I keep saying, is a wizard.
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UPDATE: And here to set the record straight…
“Only in Alabama”. There are a lot of people who feel like that, I’m guessing.
Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting
Stansbury gave Collins a seven-year contract, an unusually long deal, but one that Stansbury wanted to give his new coach in recognition for the transition that he’ll face in changing offensive personnel in a scheme that thrived for 11 years with undersized linemen, no tight ends and quarterbacks valued more for their ability as runners than passers.
Pushback ($$).
And while there are many who think differently, Paul Johnson himself said that no matter who was hired, that person would be inheriting a football team, not an option team.
“These kids are football players, and very few of them, if any, ran this offense in high school,” Johnson said after he announced his plans to step down last week. “People act like it’s going to have to be a total transition. None of these kids grew up in the fifth grade lining up in a double-slot and that’s all they’ve ever played their whole life. They’re all football players. It’s not like someone is going to have to come in and start over and that there are no good players here.”
Somewhere on the border between puffery and delusion.
There is something very specific in what Stansbury wants to see in the years to come. He wants to see Georgia Tech and Collins face off with Clemson and Dabo Swinney and Georgia and Kirby Smart.
“I want to make sure that when we line up against whoever we line up against, that the guy standing on my sideline can go toe-to-toe with the guy standing on the other sideline,” Stansbury said.
Initial fan base pandering aside, I do think Collins is about as good a hire as Tech could have made here. If the program is realistic, there is plenty of headway to be made, simply because Johnson left so much money on the recruiting table, so to speak.
A Tech coach could make a pretty good living just taking Georgia’s leftovers.
But if Georgia Tech’s athletic administration is really going to make this about playing on an even level with Clemson and Georgia, there’s no way Collins will live up to that standard. Which is why I hope they try to hold him to that…
Filed under Georgia Tech Football, Recruiting
Believe it or not, even I feel a little sorry for Georgia Tech’s assistant coaches right now.
Things were bad enough when they were selling the genius.
Filed under Georgia Tech Football, Recruiting
Maybe you haven’t noticed, but it’s been a snark free week here at the blog discussing Georgia’s next opponent. (Don’t worry, we’ve got Auburn and Tech ahead of us to get back to what we do best here.)
Mockery seems particularly inappropriate for the job Mike Stoops has done at what’s historically been a program defined by not getting over the hump. Surprisingly in this day and age of instant gratification, he’s been given time to build the program up and it’s paid off so far in 2018, with a 7-1 record and gaudy national ranking.
One of the most impressive things Stoops has done is to take a kind of Moneyball approach to Kentucky’s recruiting. Instead of beating his head against the wall in places like Florida, he’s found a gap and exploited it very successfully, as Eleven Warriors explains here.
Unlike Ohio State, and most of the other teams in the top 10 of the rankings, Kentucky’s roster isn’t loaded with blue-chip recruits. Over the past four recruiting cycles, the Wildcats have landed no five-star recruits and just 13 four-star recruits, including two who have transferred from the program and two who have been sidelined all season due to health reasons.
One thing that has stood out about Kentucky’s recent recruiting efforts, though, is that the Wildcats have loaded up on players from their neighbors to the north – specifically, players who haven’t received offers from their home state’s flagship school – and those players have been a huge factor in the Wildcats’ success.
Kentucky’s current roster includes 28 players from the state of Ohio, and many of the Wildcats’ best and most important players this season have been among them…
… While Tressel’s recruiting classes routinely included double-digit in-state prospects, Meyer has become increasingly selective – particularly in the last two classes, taking just six in-state recruits in 2017 and five in 2018 – as the Buckeyes have lured some of the top talent from all over the nation.
That’s left the door open for other schools to come into the Buckeye State and come away with quality talent, and seemingly no school has taken advantage of that opportunity better than Kentucky, which has signed at least five players from Ohio in each of their last five recruiting classes.
Not too shabby. Perhaps the best thing is that with success comes increased credibility on the recruiting trail, which leads to, at least in the short-term, an enjoyable moment of irony.
Now that the Wildcats have emerged as a contender in the SEC, they are in better position to win more recruiting battles with Ohio State and other blue-blood programs, which they proved on Thursday by landing a commitment for the class of 2019 from four-star running back Wandale Robinson, who is a Frankfort, Kentucky native but was also recruited heavily by Ohio State and several other teams that have historically been national contenders, including Nebraska, Alabama and Michigan.
Sure, it’s way too early to say this is sustainable — the UK roster still lacks the depth of the SEC’s stud programs — but I doubt there’s a single Kentucky fan who won’t take what Stoops is offering so far. He’s done a good job there.
Filed under Recruiting, SEC Football
Read this piece on Kirby’s “realist” recruiting approach and ponder what kind of effect that’s had on Justin Fields.
Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting
High school player has a suggestion for Georgia’s coaching staff.
I would love to be a fly on the wall whenever the kid tells Kirby that.
Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting
Chart from Seth Emerson ($$):
National Recruiting Rankings This Decade (Via 247Sports Composite)
I get the “but they flopped in Baton Rouge!” rebuttal, alright. But the simple reality is that Georgia is the more talented team on the field Saturday and has the superior statistical story to tell so far this season.
In other words, I don’t want to hear any excuses about youth, breaks or whatever. It’s well past the time for this bunch to turn in a full sixty-minute performance. Let’s get ‘er done, Dawgs.
Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting
