On a day the Georgia football program could have added to its commitment list, it actually ended up with one less.
Two in-state targets - DE Xzavier Dickson (Griffin) and ATH Quan Bray (Troup Coounty) announced for other schools on ESPN's broadcast of the Under Armour All-American game. Dickson chose Alabama and Bray chose Auburn.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs reportedly backed off their scholarship offer to receiver Zach Witchett. The Booker T. Washington High player ran into discipline issues this year, according to various reports.
That leaves Georgia with 15 commitments, with no new ones since August. But the Bulldogs remain in the running for a number of elite in-state recruits, including RB Isaiah Crowell (Carver), DE Ray Drew (Thomas County Central), TE Jay Rome (Valdosta), ATH Malcolm Mitchell and DB Damien Swann (Grady).
Several outlets, including Georgia247sports.com and The Albany Herald, have reported that Georgia could be on the verge of a commitment from Lee County receiver Sanford Seay. (The headline on that Seay story goes a bit far, but hey, I used to work there, I'll give 'em the dap.)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
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36 comments:
Richt's lame duck season is going to kill recruiting. At least Bobo and Searels will continue doing a great job.
And we wonder why our guys end up in the Athens jail?
We are so stale. Nothing new to see here people.
McGarity should have fired Richt after the pathetic bowl loss. Who would want to play for Field Goal Jesus?
Whoever takes over for Richt in 2012 will inherit a much worse program than Richt inherited from Donnan. Legit programs don't waste a season. When it becomes clear you have the wrong coach, you have to act quickly. Does anyone really think we'll be better than Florida, Tennessee or even the Cocks next year? Anyone think Meyer, Spurrier or Saban loses to UCF ever? No excuse for a losing season by the joke of s coaching staff in Athens.
Hey, McGarrity...thanks for driving the program back to 1993.
The reason we keep richt is because we don't want to ruin great recruiting class, what recruiting class, mcgarrity keeps dragging his feet he can exit with Richt he has been a joke so far, going to play easier schedule them he schedules Boise and Ohio St, Uga is being led by idiots!!!!!!
Wow. If Crowell doesn't commit it's going to be over. Not just because Richt missed on a player (I don't put tons of stock into recruiting rankings) but just because it's just an accumulative effect of so many things going wrong. It'll be like trying to stop a supertanker going in the wrong direction.
If he doesn't close the rest of these guys he'll have lost much of the fanbase before Spring practice.
Yeesh.
rabble rabble rabble!
So we miss out on the guys choosing between us and Bama, Auburn, Florida, etc. and will likely get a commitment next week from the guy we just offered who was previously deciding between Marshall, Western Kentucky, South Alabama, and Louisiana Tech. Excellent.
It's interesting to me that there are so many idiots in these blogs with so many unintelligent comments. I still happen to believe that Richt will get the players we need for the future. Some of those still uncommitted are the best in the state. Give it a rest all of you Georgia Bulldog wanna be's! I doubt that few, if any, of you are really Bulldog fans at all!
funny.....I find most of the comments pretty much on point.
Now for those who still believe in the tooth fairy there are three five star recruits waiting to commit to UGA and Mark Richt has fired his running backs and offensive line coaches!
Most of us speak out because WE ARE BULLDOG FANS!
Anon 11:26pm
We're Dawg fans all right, just the fans that have lost all the confidence in their coach...
Wow. The anonymous cowards are very negative this evening. Perspective, gentlemen. Let's have a bit. The children coming out of high school will not make or break us next season.
The reasons we keep Richt are several, but I will mention only 1 tonight. I do not want a 'quick and dirty' hire (like when the Falcons hired Petrino). This program has top-shelf money; we should conduct the candidate search accordingly. And we should hire an HC who is not afraid to get a little sh!t on his fingers. Look at Auburn; they hired 1 QB, and now they are playing for the national title. They SUCKED before CN. Screw recruiting; let's go shopping!
anon @ 10:52: exactly, lol
Seth, the next time you get to ask Coach Richt some questions, could you ask why, no that there's nothing precluding him from doing so in the rules, we haven't changed back to his fast-paced no huddle offense? he was a genius running that at FSU and was a master of substitutions and attacking the defense. We saw it almost all of 2001 and a lot in 2002. Murray certainly seems capable and we've got all offseason to learn how to run it. We have an expert (him!) in house to teach it. Even if he doesn't call the plays, we could still run his offense. That thought really bugs me when we come out and waste downs.
I'm also curious why, when we're trying to give the defense a rest, we'd rather run the ball for no gain on 3 plays and punt than throw the ball for first downs? The key example here would be the Auburn game. We came out and changed our pace to try to rest the D, but we would've given them a lot more rest driving down the field throwing the ball than we did running it three times and punting. Plus, if we kept scoring the defense may have found some extra energy. Defenses play better when they're excited and rested than a little rested and disappointed. We do that all the time. Surely there's a non-angry sounding way to ask that question.
What have you done for me lately? That is all you people are thinking. There are going to be down years in FOOTBALL!!! You don't fire your coach just because he has a few bad years. It happens! Auburn sucked before CN, and they're going to suck again when he leaves. Everybody is acting like they are so good now and all they have is one player that is really good.
You're all a bunch of sofa coaches. You people don't have a CLUE what it takes to run a football program, but you sit here and throw stones like you're all football geniuses. Get a clue people. You don’t know what it takes to run a successful football program, because if you did you would understand that it is cyclical and you can’t win 11 or 12 games every year. I’m so sick of Dawg fans being so negative all the time. If you people could have your way you would have fired Dooley in the late 70s too. How would that have worked out?
Seriously people, take a step back and really think about what you want for this program. I understand that a lot of you are mad about what happened at our bowl game and I am too, but Richt is capable of learning and can change his approach and win us a national title. I really do believe that.
What's the Scrabble score for this kid?
Xzavier Dickson
While the tone of this post is negative for UGA, I promised myself as a mature adult I wouldnt lose any sleep over what a 18 year old says or does. Esp one that poses like the incredible Hulk in his HS picture and makes important life decisions based on the flip of a coin. UGA has enough of that BS already. Good fit for Auburn and the rest of their clown team that is about to lose the NC. Yes I am pulling for Oregon. Yall watch Fairly (black pillsbury dough boy) try to catch his breath. Anyone else agree?
If the coaches don't sign John Jenkins, the defense is doomed. Not since HW have I seen one recruit potentially hold the fate of a coaching staff in his hands the way Jenkins does. It can't be argued that Jenkins wouldn't make a huge difference in 2011.
It's a shame the AD has let things get to the point that a JUCO recruit (already commited to another school) could be so important. These are the type of moments (a deeply frustrated fanbase and a desperate coaching staff) that are often dangerous for a program, because they lead to "outside the box" tactics which "strain" NCAA rules.
I wish McScarity had thought of all this before he made his iron-clad commitment to Richt for 2011.
Dipidty Do, I'll tell you what I'm sick of, self-righteous posts such as yours. You're free to post whatever you want (within reason per Seth) but it's still a blog for chrissakes. Most people come here to get informed and to vent. At least people still care. Apathy is the death of a program.
No one expects to win Championships every year but there are fundamental problems with this program right now and fans have the right to call them out.
Also, if you think Auburn is just "one good player" then you are the one who doesn't have a clue.
Dipity Do.....
"Richt is capable of learning..." Um... excuse me, but head coach position at the University of Georgia is not an apprenticeship.
College football is BIG BUSINESS and Richt is paid $2.7mm+ annually to provide a quality product.
I got an idea. Why not ask Coach Richt to take a pay cut while he figures out how to improve the team and keep us from the upper tiers of the Fulmer Cup.
I like the guy, but Richt has not demonstrated any ability during his ten year tenure at UGA to reinvent himself.
Well with Alabama and Auburn both oversigning like crazy it can be tough to land all of these recruits. Neither one of those schools have ANY room to put these guys on the team and some of the players that they already promised scholarships too are going to have to go. Richt won't oversign and while I admire that decision because it's wrong to do so, it is killing us on the recruiting trail
Anon 10:43,
I don't think the oversigning practices of our competition is really a disadvantage. I would hope the UGA staff would point out to recruits that isn't done at Georgia and you are "safe' at UGA in your scholarship. If they choose another school while they may have a scholly this year they may not in the future if a "better" prospect comes along in the future they need to make room for on the team. Or that it may turn out they need to gray shirt next year because the numbers are working out.
Garner should have been let go last year. What a clown !
Uhh Anon.10:38- Saban lost to UL-Monroe. Also, it's McGarity...not McGarrity. Please think before you type.
This really isn't that big of a deal.
Wth the talent that is in the state of Ga this year we are going to hear many times that a recruit signed elsewhere. We can't sign them all.
I'm just glad it wasn't Drew, Rome, or Crowell. If he can sign a couple or all of these three then a lot of heat would be taken off Richt for a little while.
Personally I'm not expecting us to get Jenkins. I could be wrong but nothing points to him signing here.
Now if we somehow get Drew, Rome, Crowell, Jenkins, and a few others then this might be one of the best recruiting classes we have had in the Richt era. Still none of this will have much of an effect on us next year.
I don't think Jenkins would play as much as some think. Rome could possibly redshirt with all the tight end talent we have, and Drew is coming into a position we have a fair amount of talent at. Crowell is the only recruit who I believe could have an immediate win loss impact on Ga next year. Richt would have to play Crowell and play him a lot.
If we don't get Crowell I would like to see Ealey get twenty plus carries a game next year. I think he is very underrated. He doesn't have the upside of Crowell but he could definitely be a 1000-1200 yard back in my opinion.
Anon 11:31
Saban lost to ULM in his first year, not his tenth. Big difference between losing with Shula's players and losing with his own. Richt can't blame anyone but himself for our 5-7 record against FBS opponents this season. (4-6 against teams from BCS conferences--that's 40%!)
This might be acceptable to you from one of the highest paid coaches in America, but it isn't to me. Prepare yourself for 4-8 next season if Richt doesn't get fired after going 0-4 in the first four FBS games.
The thing that really gets me about all this is, Richt still keeps saying the same thing time and time again. I think we would all feel better if he got more distinct with his conversations and actually said, "Hey I take full responsibility for our bad recruiting, coaching and on and off field behavior. I will commit to our team, coaches, players and fans that things will change and I promise each of you will be very pleased with our team in 2011. I mean man up for Gods sake! And in his heart if he knows one of his coaches is not doing his job then act sooner rather than later!!
First, as much gloom and doom that is present on this and other comments sections is pretty sad. Dipidty is not off base at all.
The recruits we missed on make sense. They know where their fellow players are leaning heavily toward UGA and they, in turn, are making decisions that are in their best interests. Bray doesn't want play behind Crowell because he knows that he will end up like Carlton Thomas (3rd string) at best, if he stays at RB. He doesn't even fit our system. Dickerson would likely be behind Ray Drew (by far the better DE) for at least a couple years. Jones & Samuel will secure the other two spots since they are equally talented players and have more time in the system. While it is tough for the fans to watch, getting these guy committed still has a real possibility of coming true. We are not going to sign everyone and we should thank Hart for signing with Bama. We will likely get the better end of this recruiting deal as well.
With a new spot open at receiver we can reach out to the FL commit who is seriously wavering. I don't want the player that comes in with issues and neither do our coaches. retracting the offer was a very good move.
Like all of you, I waver in my confidence in the coaching, but saying "fire" this or that person is plain silly. We as fans do not know the full story and never will. Get over it. McGarity is doing what he believes is right for our program and I can't believe some people think that they know better than he does. I would love to know what makes you so qualified...
Do you remember how long Bama was irrelivant before hiring Saban? How about the difficulties that UT has faced. Be carefull what you wish for. Michigan, Notre Dame ring a bell. Coaches as good ro better than Richt are few and far between. Getting the perfect fit for your program is extreemly difficult and more often than not ends badly. You don't have to agree with me, but at least take that into consideration before spouting off nonsense.
If the recruiting thing turns out badly then you may have more reason to be discouraged, but it is not over yet, so chill out. Set an exapmle by taking the high road. You will find it less bumpy and offers a better view.
I seriously hope that recruits don't read this, Dawgvent, or the AJC blog posts. Seems counter productive to me.
Capt Dawg: "Do you remember how long Bama was irrelivant before hiring Saban? How about the difficulties that UT has faced. Be carefull what you wish for. Michigan, Notre Dame ring a bell. Coaches as good ro better than Richt are few and far between."
And guess what happened when Bama hired a good coach? Ron Zook was so-so, so Florida hired a good coach and guess what happened?
Oklahoma fired John Blake and hired Bob Stoops and guess what happened?
In 2001, Ohio State fired John Cooper after 13 years when he had two #2 poll finishes but a 2-10-1 record against Michigan. They hired a good coach who won a national championship in two years.
In 1999, LSU fired Gerry DiNardo and hired Nick Saban. In his third season, Saban won a national championship.
This years BCS game features two coaches in their second season.
Guess what all of these success stories have in common? None of these schools won a championship with a long time coach they were "patient" with. Patience doesn't win championships, good recruiting and good coaching does.
I disagree. I think patience DOES win championships, but the problem with college football today is that if you have a couple off years you get fired. Back in the 70's and 80's there were lots of long term coaches that won championships after bad years.
The reason "new" coaches win championships now a days is because most coaches are "new" because the media and internet are a monster that runs decent coaches out of town after a couple off seasons....
I am just pointing out that several top teir programs have struggled mightly when looking for a new Head Coach. Mentioning Nick Saban twice does not help your point. It actually reinforces my comment that these guys are a rare find.
Wait. Didn't UT win one with that fat guy? I think he was there for a little while. I also think most UT fans regret giving him the boot. There are far more examples of coaches that didn't work out.
Let see who Michigan hires, because that would likely be a similar canidate pool to ours. Kirby Smart as Head Coach with 0 experience running his own system. Don't think so.
"Ron Zook was so so"? Seriously... I think some FL fans would disagree with you there and I can't wait to see what Weiss does there. The blob should adjust weel to taking orders from a 40 year old. Ha! I am sure his fantastic attitude will be great for their recruiting as well.
Who are we going to get to repalce Richt Mr. AD Anonymous? I heard Saban would come over to UGA if we offered him One Billion Dollars. He does have a lake house/castle on Burton. Everyone get out your checkbooks.
Once again, recruiting is not over by any means. We can still easily end up with a top 10 class. It shouldn't be shocking either that our last recruiting class was poor. Hardly the fault of Richt. We fired our defensive staff, many of whom had been key figures in recruiting. This is what happens.
The grass is always greener.
Capt Dawg:
Whether McGarity thinks Richt should stay or go may be all that matters, but it does not mean we have to agree with him (nor do we even have any basis to know whether he makes good decisions). Under your logic we should just accept President Obama's decisions because he is in charge....To hell with that!
I for one refuse to accept mediocrity four out of the last five years. I refuse to accept UGA as a contender for the Fulmer cup, and I have no desire to compete with S.C, Kentucky, and Mississippi as the best of the also rans.
I would contend things really cannot get much worse, Richt cannot/will not change his stripes, and why delay the inevitable. The program has a greater chance of being better off the sooner we move on.
Just my two cents.
I am just pointing out that several top teir programs have struggled mightly when looking for a new Head Coach. Mentioning Nick Saban twice does not help your point. It actually reinforces my comment that these guys are a rare find.
I agree top tier coaches are hard to find. In the past ten years, only 11 different coaches have made it into the BCS championship game. That means 9 out of 20 slots were filled by a coach who had already been there.
However, the fact that it's hard to find a top level coach doesn't mean we shouldn't try, if Georgia is in fact an elite program.
Mentioning Nick Saban twice is a great example. Alabama wasn't "patient," they hired Saban. LSU wasn't patient, they hired Saban. Saban is a proven winner and if Georgia could hire him (which we obviously couldn't) we'd almost certainly win a championship under him. But Nick Saban isn't the only great coach out there.
Wait. Didn't UT win one with that fat guy? I think he was there for a little while. I also think most UT fans regret giving him the boot. There are far more examples of coaches that didn't work out.
Fulmer won his national championship in his 7th year. Richt is going into his 11th, during a 10th season when won only 3 conference games and in which he had no wins against a team with a winning record.
I'm also not saying that firing Richt and hiring someone else guarantees success. There are more average coaches out there than great ones. Michigan misfired. Florida misfired with Zook. Alabama misfired with Shula. But schools that want to be elite and compete for championships get rid of a coach not up to the task and try again, which is exactly why Florida and Alabama both won National Championships shortly after firing the coach that wasn't such a great choice.
Let see who Michigan hires, because that would likely be a similar canidate pool to ours. Kirby Smart as Head Coach with 0 experience running his own system. Don't think so.
It's up to the AD to make a good hire. This is difficult, but not impossible for programs that don't accept slightly above average coaching. Foley didn't make excuses for Zook. He fired him and hired a better coach, and in so doing won the Gators twice as many championships in three years than Dooley won in his entire career.
"Ron Zook was so so"? Seriously... I think some FL fans would disagree with you there and I can't wait to see what Weiss does there. The blob should adjust weel to taking orders from a 40 year old. Ha! I am sure his fantastic attitude will be great for their recruiting as well.
Hilarious that a Richt supporter would think Zook wasn't at least so-so. He went 8-5, 8-5, and 7-4 and was 2-1 against the coach you think we need to be patient with. Hey, guess what? He never had a losing season at Florida. But still, Foley made the right call because Zook wasn't going to win a championship for Florida, and Florida wanted to compete for championships, not just have it's way with Georgia.
I am just pointing out that several top teir programs have struggled mightly when looking for a new Head Coach. Mentioning Nick Saban twice does not help your point. It actually reinforces my comment that these guys are a rare find.
I agree top tier coaches are hard to find. In the past ten years, only 11 different coaches have made it into the BCS championship game. That means 9 out of 20 slots were filled by a coach who had already been there.
However, the fact that it's hard to find a top level coach doesn't mean we shouldn't try, if Georgia is in fact an elite program.
Mentioning Nick Saban twice is a great example. Alabama wasn't "patient," they hired Saban. LSU wasn't patient, they hired Saban. Saban is a proven winner and if Georgia could hire him (which we obviously couldn't) we'd almost certainly win a championship under him. But Nick Saban isn't the only great coach out there.
Wait. Didn't UT win one with that fat guy? I think he was there for a little while. I also think most UT fans regret giving him the boot. There are far more examples of coaches that didn't work out.
Fulmer won his national championship in his 7th year. Richt is going into his 11th, during a 10th season when won only 3 conference games and in which he had no wins against a team with a winning record.
I'm also not saying that firing Richt and hiring someone else guarantees success. There are more average coaches out there than great ones. Michigan misfired. Florida misfired with Zook. Alabama misfired with Shula. But schools that want to be elite and compete for championships get rid of a coach not up to the task and try again, which is exactly why Florida and Alabama both won National Championships shortly after firing the coach that wasn't such a great choice.
Let see who Michigan hires, because that would likely be a similar canidate pool to ours. Kirby Smart as Head Coach with 0 experience running his own system. Don't think so.
It's up to the AD to make a good hire. This is difficult, but not impossible for programs that don't accept slightly above average coaching. Foley didn't make excuses for Zook. He fired him and hired a better coach, and in so doing won the Gators twice as many championships in three years than Dooley won in his entire career.
"Ron Zook was so so"? Seriously... I think some FL fans would disagree with you there and I can't wait to see what Weiss does there. The blob should adjust weel to taking orders from a 40 year old. Ha! I am sure his fantastic attitude will be great for their recruiting as well.
Hilarious that a Richt supporter would think Zook wasn't at least so-so. He went 8-5, 8-5, and 7-4 and was 2-1 against the coach you think we need to be patient with. Hey, guess what? He never had a losing season at Florida. But still, Foley made the right call because Zook wasn't going to win a championship for Florida, and Florida wanted to compete for championships, not just have it's way with Georgia.
Capt. Excuse
Who are we going to get to repalce Richt Mr. AD Anonymous? I heard Saban would come over to UGA if we offered him One Billion Dollars. He does have a lake house/castle on Burton. Everyone get out your checkbooks.
Again, more excuses. What I'm saying is, Richt isn't going to compete for a national championship. We can either accept that, admit we're a second tier program, and enjoy a ten win season every 2 or 3 years, or we try to find a coach that will win. I understand coaches aren't paid with Monopoly money, but Georgia has the means to pay a top coach (heck, we're already paying top coach money for Richt). If we're keeping Richt on for financial considerations, that's understandable. It just means we aren't a top tier program. Florida, Alabama, USC, OSU and Oklahoma aren't going to keep a losing coach around to save some money. If we do, we don't belong in that same group.
Once again, recruiting is not over by any means. We can still easily end up with a top 10 class. It shouldn't be shocking either that our last recruiting class was poor. Hardly the fault of Richt. We fired our defensive staff, many of whom had been key figures in recruiting. This is what happens.
It is Richt's fault. We fired our defensive staff because Richt made a bad hire to start with, then keep Martinez around waaaaaay longer than he should have. If Richt had hired a decent DC to start with, we wouldn't have had to fire our staff and the guys around now would have had good coaching that would carry on from year to year. Are you sure you aren't a South Carolina fan? You sure are good at making up excuses.
The grass is always greener.
Yes, the grass is greener at Florida, Alabama, LSU and Auburn, each of which has played for or won a national championship since Richt was hired by Georgia. Or would you rather have our 6-7 season instead of Florida's two national championships?
Wow UGA landed a 2 star recruit. This program is tanking fast. My hopes are up in 2012 with the new coach coming in though.
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