Amateurism romantics, college athletics as you know them ended and you weren’t even aware it happened!
Instead of seeing boosters with million dollar paychecks everywhere, you really should be pondering social media a whole lot more, because that’s where the bulk of the NIL money will be coming from. (I know, that’s gonna be tough for y’all. But try.)
Filed under It's Just Bidness, The NCAA
It’s not what you think.
You’ll enjoy watching these as much as I did.
No doubt some of you have suggestions for improvement for Kirbs. LOL. Have at it in the comments.
Filed under Strategery And Mechanics
Vapid slogans.
While they’re at it, maybe they can replace “Sandstorm” with this.
Filed under 'Cock Envy
Somewhere, Jimmy Williamson smiles and nods knowingly.
Filed under Crime and Punishment, SEC Football
Let’s check in and see how Vol fans are doing ($$).
Is there any reason for optimism this fall, or will it be a dumpster fire with a depleted roster? — Smith C.
This is maybe the darkest Vols mailbag yet. I got a lot of that this week. I don’t have much for you, Eric and Smith. On the bright side, if it’s a chilly night, a dumpster fire isn’t all that bad. Let’s not paint all dumpster fires with a broad brush in this mailbag.
I can see how you’d get there when a walk-on and a long-snapper are getting the most spring reps at linebacker.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Over at Dawgnation, Connor Riley (it’s a slow news day, so work with me here) asks a question I admit I hadn’t seriously considered.
Quarterback: Can Carson Beck emerge as the No. 2 quarterback?
By all accounts, Beck had a strong performance in this past Saturday’s scrimmage for Georgia. While he lacks the game experience that Stetson Bennett does, Beck has a greater upside. If he’s able to translate that potential into a few more strong performances over Georgia’s final five spring practices, he could make a strong case to be Georgia’s No. 2 quarterback come the 2021 season.
I certainly am not privy as to how spring practice has been going, so I can’t question his assertion there about Beck’s work. I will say, though, that while 2020 exposed Bennett’s shortcomings, he does have qualities that Beck can’t bring to the table: SEC game experience and working knowledge of Monken’s scheme, for starters. He’s also spent more time on field with the number one receivers than has Beck. In short, if the primary purpose a number two behind Daniels serves is to step in if Daniels has to leave a game due to injury and function with the trust of the coaches, Bennett seems right for that job.
Mind you, that is not the same function served by having a quarterback run the offense in the fourth quarter in a blowout. I can see where the coaches would favor Beck and (maybe) Vandagriff over Bennett in such a setting.
Does anyone see a quarterback other than Bennett being Daniels primary backup in 2021?
Filed under Georgia Football
From today’s Mandel Mailbag ($$):
Hi, Stew. Other than Alabama, Ohio State or Clemson, can you please rank the five teams most likely to win a national title in the near future? — Jungman M, Rio Medina, Texas
No. 1: Definitely Georgia. Kirby Smart is going to get one at some point, possibly as soon as this season. He’s had the overall talent for several years but has had some bad luck and bad misses at quarterback. However, I found it interesting that in Max Olson’s recent story ranking the most efficient returning QBs, none other than JT Daniels checked in at the top of the list, higher than even Sam Howell and Spencer Rattler.
If the Dawgs can make it there, they’ll make it anywhere.
Filed under Georgia Football, Media Punditry/Foibles
You may have heard about this exchange ($$) at Smart’s weekend presser:
Smart avoided weighing in on Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game being pulled from Atlanta in the wake of the state’s recently signed election legislation. The coach was asked Saturday if there was any concern about the SEC championship or future national championship games. being pulled from Atlanta.
“Yeah, I try my best to keep my head down and continue to work on our team, and what we have to deal with with our players, and I certainly worry about the mental state with our players, and I talk about what we’ve talked about before, the ability to have safe space and open conversations,” Smart said. “But I don’t get into the political side of it.”
Discretion being the better part of valor, I don’t blame him a bit for deflecting. But you know who doesn’t have that luxury?
That would be Mr. Greg Sankey. If he’s not hearing anything yet, give it time.
Before you scoff, the NCAA, the SEC and the UGA football program have been public about making sure college athletes are empowered in positive ways. Here’s an example from last fall:
Ahead of arguably the biggest game of Georgia’s season, the Bulldogs will not be practicing on Tuesday. The Florida Gators, who have lost three straight to Georgia and missed practice time in October due to a COVID-19 outbreak, will also not be practicing.
The entire sport will not be practicing on Tuesday due to an NCAA mandated off day to allow student-athletes the opportunity to go vote…
“I think it’s very important for them to give us a chance to do that,” offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer said. “Us being allowed to go have our voice heard is probably one of the most game-changing things I’ve seen in a while. Our age group is one of the most influential age groups across the country. For us as football players to go out and voice our opinions to get to say who we want to be in office I think is really important.”
The day off does cause a disruption for teams, as Tuesday is usually a key day in preparing for the coming Saturday. And for Georgia, not that many players will actually be voting on Tuesday.
But that’s because over 90 percent of the Georgia football team has already voted according to Kirby Smart’s estimate.
“It’s unique now that it was such a point of emphasis on our athletic department and our athletic administration did a great job of getting 100 percent of our student-athletes to vote,” Smart said.
And let’s not forget the impetus behind Mississippi changing its state flag last year.
And on June 22, in the sleepy town of Starkville, Kylin Hill called for the state of Mississippi to remove from its flag poles a chilling reminder of the Old South. Mississippi was the last remaining U.S. state to feature the Confederate battle flag cross on such a celebrated symbol, all the while holding a larger proportion of Black residents (38%) than any other state.
“Either change the flag,” Hill’s tweet read, “or I won’t be representing this State anymore 💯 & I mean that .. I’m tired.”
They opened a door. It won’t be possible to close that door. If the cries to move start coming hard over the summer — it should make for some interesting questions at SEC Media Days, for one thing — and players start chiming in, Sankey won’t be able to, as Smart put it, stay out of “the political side of things”. Either way, he won’t have an easy choice to make.
Your thoughts on this and anything else are welcomed in the comments, as always.
Filed under GTP Stuff
