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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Richt on Marlon Brown

On the last-minute drama...
"We had a little drama. I'd much rather have everybody committed and done, but it's fun to have somebody the last day, and I'm sure the Bulldog fans are enjoying that, and we are, too, because Marlon is a great player, outstanding student, just good people. We saw his film like everybody else, and your jaw kind of drops a little bit and you start trying to find a way to get in the mix. It was a good fit. I really felt like from the very beginning we were going to have a great shot at him because everything we represent, I think was right up his alley. It was very much the same type of program that they're running there, and I think that was big."

On how soon he knew what Brown would decide...
"He was pretty close to the vest. I didn't know anything Monday, but late, late last night he said he was going to go to Georgia, but he didn't want me to tell anybody because he knew he was going to be on ESPN. If it wasn't for that, it would have been a lot easier for everybody if at 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning he had faxed it in. But they wanted the excitement of the national television coverage, too, and he deserves it."

On how much A.J. Green factored into Brown's decision...

"I think he was excited about that. Him seeing that we have played freshmen all the way around -- A.J. being one of them -- he knew that there was 10 receivers at Georgia, and all nine of them had more experience than A.J., but by the end, A.J. had more receiving yards than anybody. So if a young man knows that he will have a fair opportunity to compete for playing time and maybe if he's productive enough become a starter, that's attractive to him. And when you see it right before your eyes, that helps to know it's possible."

On how ready Brown is to play immediately...
"You watch his film and he's got very good body control. He's got the size. He can leap and get the ball at its highest point. Great basketball player, which usually equates to a guy who can turn his body to get the ball in the air. And if you saw the all-star game and saw him catch that little slant and take it to the house against some very fast people, he had very good game speed against a bunch of fast players. The league he played in certainly made you question just a little bit, is this just a big man in a league where he's dominant, or can he really play with the big boys. But I think the all-star game basically proved what we believed to begin with that he's got speed to play with those kind of kids."

On whether success at a position helps recruit...
"I think when kids see other guys having success at their position, it definitely gets their attention. Now they've got to see where do I fit in this picture. If you have too many young guys, it may make them think maybe I should go somewhere else for that opportunity. But you definitely can get their attention."

On the comparison between A.J. and Brown...
"Their size, their height is very similar. Marlon is a little thicker than A.J., or at least out of high school. They are both going to be tough matchups for corners that don't have a lot of height. I couldn't gauge who is faster right now. They're both very similar. Both played basketball -- out of high school those guys had a legitimate shot to play basketball in high school. That in itself says a lot about him."

On the comparison between Julio Jones and Brown...
"He's not quite that. Julio really is very, very muscular. I think he's broader than A.J. The growth potential is that, will he ultimately end up weighing more than A.J. -- I would probably say yes, but he has that potential to grow into something a little bit closer to Julio."

On how important the Brown signing was...
"It was very important. We have six scholarship receivers right now plus who we signed, so now we're sitting at eight. We were almost sitting at seven, and two seniors about to go. So if it didn't happen this year, it really would have been a big push next year. I'm not going to predict the total number. Eight is really a very small number for us. Most people want nine through 11. We'd rather have nine through 11. We have eight right now, and I think that's a pretty comfortable number, but when two leave, we're sitting there at six again, and we're probably still looking at two or three in next year's class."

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