Someone asked in the comments on one of the recent posts about the start date of spring practice...and I realized I hadn't posted the tentative spring schedule.
Speaking of which, I'm thinking about doing some sort of "five biggest questions entering the spring" thing to coincide with the start of practice. I already have an idea of what those questions might be for me, but if some of you folks want to kill a minute and enlighten me, what might they be for you? If somebody comes up with something I hadn't thought of, I hereby reserve the right to steal your idea and include it in my story as if it's something I came up with myself...Think of it as having your thoughts put into print for the good people of Columbus to consider.
Anyway, just for informational purposes, here's the practice schedule we're looking at between Monday, the first day of practice, and G-Day on April 5. I hope to make it up there at least a time or two:
Monday, March 3
Wednesday, March 5
Thursday, March 6 (Coaching Clinic)
Friday, March 7 (Coaching Clinic)
Monday, March 17
Wednesday, March 19
Friday, March 21
Saturday, March 22
Monday, March 24
Wednesday, March 26
Friday, March 28
Monday, March 31
Wednesday, April 2
Friday, April 4
Saturday, April 5 -- G-Day
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Oh, and one other thing
Wanted to mention this while I was thinking about it. Former Georgia player and assistant coach Kirby Smart was promoted to defensive coordinator yesterday at Alabama, although it's up to you to weigh in on the semantics here.
Kevin Steele, Alabama's former defensive coordinator who interviewed a couple of times for the South Alabama head coaching job before it went to Joey Jones, is now the Crimson Tide's "associate head coach/head defensive coach." Smart, 32, was the secondary coach and is now the defensive coordinator. Which means, in my opinion, he's still No. 3 on the totem pole among the team's defensive decision-makers, behind Nick Saban and Steele. But it's still a promotion and will likely bring additional administrative responsibilities for Smart, who is clearly a guy Saban likes as a coach. This is their third coaching stop together, after previous stints at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins.
Here's the relevant part of Bama's press release -- the Steele/Smart part:
Saban also announced Tuesday that Steele was promoted to associate head coach/head defensive coach and Smart was promoted to defensive coordinator. Alabama ranked 27th nationally last season in scoring defense (22.0 ppg) and 31st nationally in total defense (345.5 ypg). Three members of the Crimson Tide defense earned first team All-SEC honors (Wallace Gilberry, Rashad Johnson and Simeon Castille) while two other defenders were named to the All-SEC Freshmen team (Rolando McClain and Kareem Jackson).
“Kevin’s an outstanding coach and an outstanding recruiter,” said Saban. “He has become a right hand man for me. He’s certainly a guy who would make a fantastic head coach. Of all the assistant coaches I’ve had, Kevin’s as fine as any of them. “Kirby had the opportunity to go someplace else as a defensive coordinator,” said Saban. “We felt it was imperative and very important to keep these two guys together. They had worked very well together in the past. They worked very well last year in helping our defense improve as the year went on. I’m very happy and pleased to have both of those guys on the staff. They both make a strong contribution, they both have tremendous leadership qualities, and they are both very, very good recruiters.”
Kevin Steele, Alabama's former defensive coordinator who interviewed a couple of times for the South Alabama head coaching job before it went to Joey Jones, is now the Crimson Tide's "associate head coach/head defensive coach." Smart, 32, was the secondary coach and is now the defensive coordinator. Which means, in my opinion, he's still No. 3 on the totem pole among the team's defensive decision-makers, behind Nick Saban and Steele. But it's still a promotion and will likely bring additional administrative responsibilities for Smart, who is clearly a guy Saban likes as a coach. This is their third coaching stop together, after previous stints at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins.
Here's the relevant part of Bama's press release -- the Steele/Smart part:
Saban also announced Tuesday that Steele was promoted to associate head coach/head defensive coach and Smart was promoted to defensive coordinator. Alabama ranked 27th nationally last season in scoring defense (22.0 ppg) and 31st nationally in total defense (345.5 ypg). Three members of the Crimson Tide defense earned first team All-SEC honors (Wallace Gilberry, Rashad Johnson and Simeon Castille) while two other defenders were named to the All-SEC Freshmen team (Rolando McClain and Kareem Jackson).
“Kevin’s an outstanding coach and an outstanding recruiter,” said Saban. “He has become a right hand man for me. He’s certainly a guy who would make a fantastic head coach. Of all the assistant coaches I’ve had, Kevin’s as fine as any of them. “Kirby had the opportunity to go someplace else as a defensive coordinator,” said Saban. “We felt it was imperative and very important to keep these two guys together. They had worked very well together in the past. They worked very well last year in helping our defense improve as the year went on. I’m very happy and pleased to have both of those guys on the staff. They both make a strong contribution, they both have tremendous leadership qualities, and they are both very, very good recruiters.”
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Spring depth chart, Richt talks spring ball
Coach Richt and (I believe) a couple players met with the media tonight prior to the Georgia-Florida basketball game to discuss the upcoming spring practice. I wasn't there. I was covering the men's and women's hoops doubleheader between Columbus State and Augusta State. By the way, CSU's men beat Augusta State (which lost to Georgia 81-74 earlier this season) 91-83. I believe that means the Cougars would beat Georgia by one point...am I right?
Anyway, UGA posted some Richt quotes from tonight's Q/A on the official site. You can read some of what he had to say here.
Here's the spring depth chart. Quite frankly, nothing on here looks like much of a surprise. It does provide a couple of answers to some stuff I'd been wondering -- namely who they'd look to first to take over the vacancies on the offensive line. Looks like Vince Vance gets first crack at left guard, Chris Davis at center and Kiante Tripp at right tackle, with Clint Boling remaining the starter at right guard and Trinton Sturdivant at left tackle. They don't list a backup for Tripp at right tackle, which does seem a bit odd. I'm sure Richt talked about that some tonight, so maybe one of the guys who was there will address it in his stuff for Thursday's papers.
Here ya go:
SE
16 Kris Durham (6-5, 200, Jr.)
88 Kenneth Harris (6-3, 215, Sr.)
85 Demiko Goodman (6-2, 190, Sr.)
80 Walter Hill (6-4, 214, RFr.)
12 Tavarres King (6-1, 172, Fr.)
LT
77 Trinton Sturdivant (6-5, 293, So.)
78 Josh Davis (6-6, 293, RSo.)
61 John Potts (6-3, 285, RFr.)
LG
72 Vince Vance (6-8, 320, Jr.)
54 Tanner Strickland (6-5, 328, RFr.)
66 Micky White (6-3, 331, RSo.)
C
63 Chris Davis (6-4, 292, RSo.)
76 Ben Harden (6-3, 310, RFr.)
74 Kevin Perez (6-3, 270, RSo.)
61 Ben Jones (6-3, 300, Fr.)
RG
60 Clint Boling (6-5, 290, So.)
79 Justin Anderson (6-5, 328, RFr.)
73 Chris Little (6-6, 330, RFr.)
RT
75 Kiante Tripp (6-6, 270, RSo.)
TE
86 Tripp Chandler (6-6, 263, Sr.)
89 Bruce Figgins (6-4, 254, So.)
87 Aron White (6-4, 228, RFr.)
81 NaDerris Ward (6-5, 255, RSo.)
QB
7 Matthew Stafford (6-3, 237, Jr.)
14 Joe Cox (6-1, 208, Jr.)
6 Logan Gray (6-2, 180, RFr.)
17 Jonathan deLaureal (6-2, 213, RSo.)
FB
36 Brannan Southerland (6-0, 240, Sr.)
49 Shaun Chapas (6-2, 236, RSo.)
48 Fred Munzenmaier (6-2, 233, RSo.)
TB
24 Knowshon Moreno (5-11, 207, RSo.)
4 Caleb King (5-11, 212, RFr.)
33 Kalvin Daniels (5-10, 182, So.)
22 Richard Samuel (6-2, 215, Fr.) OR
27 Dontavius Jackson (5-10, 190, Fr.)
37 Cortney Newmans (5-9, 220, RFr.)
FLK
1 Mohamed Massaquoi (6-2, 198, Sr.)
82 Michael Moore (6-2, 188, Jr.)
26 Tony Wilson (5-11, 198, RSo.)
28 Israel Troupe (6-1, 215, RFr.)
DE
41 Roderick Battle (6-4, 261, Jr.)
99 Jarius Wynn (6-5, 273, Sr.)
58 Demarcus Dobbs (6-2, 266, RSo.)
69 Andrew Gully (6-4, 250, Jr.)
DT
95 Jeff Owens (6-3, 298, Sr.)
90 Corvey Irvin (6-4, 286, Sr.)
97 Brandon Wood (6-1, 280, RSo.)
DT
56 Geno Atkins (6-1, 290, Jr.)
91 Kade Weston (6-5, 316, Jr.)
98 Ricardo Crawford (6-1, 297, RSo.)
DE
55 Jeremy Lomax (6-4, 247, Sr.)
59 Michael Lemon (6-4, 274, RSo.)
92 Neland Ball (6-6, 232, RFr.) OR
42 J ustin Houston (6-3, 240, RFr.)
Sam
51 Akeem Dent (6-2, 218, RSo.)
52 Darius Dewberry (6-3, 236, Jr.)
65 Will Sullivan (6-1, 210, RSo.)
Mike
33 Dannell Ellerbe (6-1, 232, Sr.)
44 Marcus Washington (6-0, 250, Sr.)
43 Charles White (6-1, 217, RFr.)
57 Benjamin Boyd (6-1, 210, Sr.)
Will
35 Rennie Curran (5-11, 220, So.)
50 Darryl Gamble (6-2, 237, RSo.)
37 Akeem Hebron (6-1, 225, RSo.)
61 Justin Fields (6-1, 244, RSo.)
WC
23 Prince Miller (5-8, 190, Jr.)
3 Bryan Evans (5-11, 188, Jr.)
25 Vance Cuff (5-11, 170, So.)
18 Brad Arsenault (6-0, 200, RSo.)
SS
5 CJ Byrd (6-2, 193, Sr.)
31 Quintin Banks (6-2, 210, RSo.)
32 John Knox (6-2, 194, RFr.)
4 Andrew Johnson (6-0, 195, RSo.)
FS
9 Reshad Jones (6-2, 203, RSo.)
10 Donavon Baldwin (6-2, 204, Jr.)
47 Andrew Williams (6-0, 197, Sr.)
15 Rowdy Francis (5-10, 190, Sr.)
SC
2 Asher Allen (5-10, 198, Jr.)
11 Ramarcus Brown (5-11, 170, Sr.)
16 Chad Gloer (6-0, 191, RSo.)
27 Molloy VanGorder (5-8, 160, RFr.)
P
32 Brian Mimbs (5-11, 205, Sr.)
13 Drew Butler (6-2, 205, RFr.)
PK
32 Brian Mimbs (5-11, 205, Sr.)
13 Drew Butler (6-2, 205, RFr.)
SN
65 Jeff Henson (6-3, 258, Sr.)
59 Bo Fowler (6-2, 215, Sr.)
H
32 Brian Mimbs (5-11, 205, Sr.)
15 Rowdy Francis (5-10, 190, Sr.)
PR
2 Asher Allen (5-10, 198, Jr.)
23 Prince Miller (5-8, 190, Jr.)
KOR
2 Asher Allen (5-10, 198, Jr.)
11 Ramarcus Brown (5-11, 170, Sr.)
4 Caleb King (5-11, 212, RFr.)
Anyway, UGA posted some Richt quotes from tonight's Q/A on the official site. You can read some of what he had to say here.
Here's the spring depth chart. Quite frankly, nothing on here looks like much of a surprise. It does provide a couple of answers to some stuff I'd been wondering -- namely who they'd look to first to take over the vacancies on the offensive line. Looks like Vince Vance gets first crack at left guard, Chris Davis at center and Kiante Tripp at right tackle, with Clint Boling remaining the starter at right guard and Trinton Sturdivant at left tackle. They don't list a backup for Tripp at right tackle, which does seem a bit odd. I'm sure Richt talked about that some tonight, so maybe one of the guys who was there will address it in his stuff for Thursday's papers.
Here ya go:
SE
16 Kris Durham (6-5, 200, Jr.)
88 Kenneth Harris (6-3, 215, Sr.)
85 Demiko Goodman (6-2, 190, Sr.)
80 Walter Hill (6-4, 214, RFr.)
12 Tavarres King (6-1, 172, Fr.)
LT
77 Trinton Sturdivant (6-5, 293, So.)
78 Josh Davis (6-6, 293, RSo.)
61 John Potts (6-3, 285, RFr.)
LG
72 Vince Vance (6-8, 320, Jr.)
54 Tanner Strickland (6-5, 328, RFr.)
66 Micky White (6-3, 331, RSo.)
C
63 Chris Davis (6-4, 292, RSo.)
76 Ben Harden (6-3, 310, RFr.)
74 Kevin Perez (6-3, 270, RSo.)
61 Ben Jones (6-3, 300, Fr.)
RG
60 Clint Boling (6-5, 290, So.)
79 Justin Anderson (6-5, 328, RFr.)
73 Chris Little (6-6, 330, RFr.)
RT
75 Kiante Tripp (6-6, 270, RSo.)
TE
86 Tripp Chandler (6-6, 263, Sr.)
89 Bruce Figgins (6-4, 254, So.)
87 Aron White (6-4, 228, RFr.)
81 NaDerris Ward (6-5, 255, RSo.)
QB
7 Matthew Stafford (6-3, 237, Jr.)
14 Joe Cox (6-1, 208, Jr.)
6 Logan Gray (6-2, 180, RFr.)
17 Jonathan deLaureal (6-2, 213, RSo.)
FB
36 Brannan Southerland (6-0, 240, Sr.)
49 Shaun Chapas (6-2, 236, RSo.)
48 Fred Munzenmaier (6-2, 233, RSo.)
TB
24 Knowshon Moreno (5-11, 207, RSo.)
4 Caleb King (5-11, 212, RFr.)
33 Kalvin Daniels (5-10, 182, So.)
22 Richard Samuel (6-2, 215, Fr.) OR
27 Dontavius Jackson (5-10, 190, Fr.)
37 Cortney Newmans (5-9, 220, RFr.)
FLK
1 Mohamed Massaquoi (6-2, 198, Sr.)
82 Michael Moore (6-2, 188, Jr.)
26 Tony Wilson (5-11, 198, RSo.)
28 Israel Troupe (6-1, 215, RFr.)
DE
41 Roderick Battle (6-4, 261, Jr.)
99 Jarius Wynn (6-5, 273, Sr.)
58 Demarcus Dobbs (6-2, 266, RSo.)
69 Andrew Gully (6-4, 250, Jr.)
DT
95 Jeff Owens (6-3, 298, Sr.)
90 Corvey Irvin (6-4, 286, Sr.)
97 Brandon Wood (6-1, 280, RSo.)
DT
56 Geno Atkins (6-1, 290, Jr.)
91 Kade Weston (6-5, 316, Jr.)
98 Ricardo Crawford (6-1, 297, RSo.)
DE
55 Jeremy Lomax (6-4, 247, Sr.)
59 Michael Lemon (6-4, 274, RSo.)
92 Neland Ball (6-6, 232, RFr.) OR
42 J ustin Houston (6-3, 240, RFr.)
Sam
51 Akeem Dent (6-2, 218, RSo.)
52 Darius Dewberry (6-3, 236, Jr.)
65 Will Sullivan (6-1, 210, RSo.)
Mike
33 Dannell Ellerbe (6-1, 232, Sr.)
44 Marcus Washington (6-0, 250, Sr.)
43 Charles White (6-1, 217, RFr.)
57 Benjamin Boyd (6-1, 210, Sr.)
Will
35 Rennie Curran (5-11, 220, So.)
50 Darryl Gamble (6-2, 237, RSo.)
37 Akeem Hebron (6-1, 225, RSo.)
61 Justin Fields (6-1, 244, RSo.)
WC
23 Prince Miller (5-8, 190, Jr.)
3 Bryan Evans (5-11, 188, Jr.)
25 Vance Cuff (5-11, 170, So.)
18 Brad Arsenault (6-0, 200, RSo.)
SS
5 CJ Byrd (6-2, 193, Sr.)
31 Quintin Banks (6-2, 210, RSo.)
32 John Knox (6-2, 194, RFr.)
4 Andrew Johnson (6-0, 195, RSo.)
FS
9 Reshad Jones (6-2, 203, RSo.)
10 Donavon Baldwin (6-2, 204, Jr.)
47 Andrew Williams (6-0, 197, Sr.)
15 Rowdy Francis (5-10, 190, Sr.)
SC
2 Asher Allen (5-10, 198, Jr.)
11 Ramarcus Brown (5-11, 170, Sr.)
16 Chad Gloer (6-0, 191, RSo.)
27 Molloy VanGorder (5-8, 160, RFr.)
P
32 Brian Mimbs (5-11, 205, Sr.)
13 Drew Butler (6-2, 205, RFr.)
PK
32 Brian Mimbs (5-11, 205, Sr.)
13 Drew Butler (6-2, 205, RFr.)
SN
65 Jeff Henson (6-3, 258, Sr.)
59 Bo Fowler (6-2, 215, Sr.)
H
32 Brian Mimbs (5-11, 205, Sr.)
15 Rowdy Francis (5-10, 190, Sr.)
PR
2 Asher Allen (5-10, 198, Jr.)
23 Prince Miller (5-8, 190, Jr.)
KOR
2 Asher Allen (5-10, 198, Jr.)
11 Ramarcus Brown (5-11, 170, Sr.)
4 Caleb King (5-11, 212, RFr.)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Ward to transfer
The rumors that had been swirling about NaDerris Ward for quite a while turned out to be true. Georgia sports communication director Claude Felton confirmed this afternoon that the Georgia tight end has requested a transfer to move closer to home.
Claude said Ward remains in school at UGA and expects to finish the semester in Athens. Ward appeared in four games last year, but did not catch a pass.
Ward is from Oakland, Calif., so his to-be-determined destination is probably a West Coast school. I've seen speculation on various sites of what that school might be, but I'm not getting into that here since I haven't heard it from the horse's mouth.
Although Ward was rated the nation's No. 2 tight end coming out of high school, injuries and considerable positional depth ahead of him prevented Ward from making much of an on-field impact at Georgia. And things wouldn't have been any easier this year, with Tripp Chandler returning for his senior season, Bruce Figgins a clear No. 2 after a stellar freshman year and Aron White (last year's No. 1 tight end, according to at least one scouting service) coming off his redshirt season, plus true freshman Bryce Ros entering the mix.
Claude said Ward remains in school at UGA and expects to finish the semester in Athens. Ward appeared in four games last year, but did not catch a pass.
Ward is from Oakland, Calif., so his to-be-determined destination is probably a West Coast school. I've seen speculation on various sites of what that school might be, but I'm not getting into that here since I haven't heard it from the horse's mouth.
Although Ward was rated the nation's No. 2 tight end coming out of high school, injuries and considerable positional depth ahead of him prevented Ward from making much of an on-field impact at Georgia. And things wouldn't have been any easier this year, with Tripp Chandler returning for his senior season, Bruce Figgins a clear No. 2 after a stellar freshman year and Aron White (last year's No. 1 tight end, according to at least one scouting service) coming off his redshirt season, plus true freshman Bryce Ros entering the mix.
Monday, February 25, 2008
More from the combine
Georgia's Marcus Howard's name popped up among the top defensive linemen today in the vertical jump at the NFL combine. He posted a 34.5-inch vertical, which was second to Ohio State's Vernon Gholston, who had a 35.5.
EDIT: Thanks to an astute commenter below, I looked a little harder for more of Marcus Howard's numbers. Sure enough, while they aren't showing on the NFL site, he blazed a 4.47 40-yard dash and did 27 reps on the bench, which would have tied for third among linebackers. The 40 time was fastest among those posted from d-linemen and would have tied for first among linebackers. He didn't run a second 40 after tweaking his leg.
Marcus has really put himself on the map with this combine performance and his Sugar Bowl production. He's listed by nfldraftscout.com as the No. 8 outside linebacker available, the No. 86 overall prospect and a probable third-round pick.
A couple of guys of local interest also appeared to have decent days.
* Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves had the top (posted) 40-yard dash time among defensive linemen (4.57) and the fifth-best broad jump (10-0). He had the 10th-best 20-yard shuttle (4.42).
* Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard (of LaGrange, Ga.) posted the second-fastest 40 time in 4.51 seconds, behind only Gary Guyton of Georgia Tech (4.47). He tied for seventh in broad jump (9-10), tied for sixth in the 20-yard shuttle (4.25) and had the second-best 60-yard shuttle (11.46).
* Columbus' Philip Wheeler (from Georgia Tech) tied for 10th among linebackers in the bench press (24 reps at 225 pounds), tied for 10th in vertical leap (31-0), tied for seventh in broad jump (9-10), was 10th in three-cone drill (7.11) and tied for ninth in the 20-yard shuttle (4.29).
* Guyton also fared well, taking first among linebackers in the 40 (4.47), posting the top vertical (36.5) and broad jumps (10-6), tying for eighth in the three-cone drill (7.07) and finishing fifth in the 60-yard shuttle (11.57).
As an FYI on the SEC front, Vanderbilt linebacker Jonathan Goff popped up among the top performers in many of the measured tests. He was fifth in the 40 (4.63), second in bench press (28 reps), tied for eighth in the vertical (31.5), tied for seventh in broad jump (9-10), did the fourth-best three-cone drill (6.86), was eighth in the 20-yard shuttle (4.26) and tied for third in the 60-yard shuttle (11.50).
EDIT: Thanks to an astute commenter below, I looked a little harder for more of Marcus Howard's numbers. Sure enough, while they aren't showing on the NFL site, he blazed a 4.47 40-yard dash and did 27 reps on the bench, which would have tied for third among linebackers. The 40 time was fastest among those posted from d-linemen and would have tied for first among linebackers. He didn't run a second 40 after tweaking his leg.
Marcus has really put himself on the map with this combine performance and his Sugar Bowl production. He's listed by nfldraftscout.com as the No. 8 outside linebacker available, the No. 86 overall prospect and a probable third-round pick.
A couple of guys of local interest also appeared to have decent days.
* Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves had the top (posted) 40-yard dash time among defensive linemen (4.57) and the fifth-best broad jump (10-0). He had the 10th-best 20-yard shuttle (4.42).
* Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard (of LaGrange, Ga.) posted the second-fastest 40 time in 4.51 seconds, behind only Gary Guyton of Georgia Tech (4.47). He tied for seventh in broad jump (9-10), tied for sixth in the 20-yard shuttle (4.25) and had the second-best 60-yard shuttle (11.46).
* Columbus' Philip Wheeler (from Georgia Tech) tied for 10th among linebackers in the bench press (24 reps at 225 pounds), tied for 10th in vertical leap (31-0), tied for seventh in broad jump (9-10), was 10th in three-cone drill (7.11) and tied for ninth in the 20-yard shuttle (4.29).
* Guyton also fared well, taking first among linebackers in the 40 (4.47), posting the top vertical (36.5) and broad jumps (10-6), tying for eighth in the three-cone drill (7.07) and finishing fifth in the 60-yard shuttle (11.57).
As an FYI on the SEC front, Vanderbilt linebacker Jonathan Goff popped up among the top performers in many of the measured tests. He was fifth in the 40 (4.63), second in bench press (28 reps), tied for eighth in the vertical (31.5), tied for seventh in broad jump (9-10), did the fourth-best three-cone drill (6.86), was eighth in the 20-yard shuttle (4.26) and tied for third in the 60-yard shuttle (11.50).
Brown shines at combine
Just got home a while ago from watching the Oscars (picked 12 of the 24 winners right. I was OK with that...really it was just an excuse to hang out with some friends and drink a little beer).
Once I got home, I checked out how Georgia's guys fared today at the NFL combine. Not surprisingly considering his status as a workout warrior, Thomas Brown was one of the top-performing running backs.
* Thomas tied for eighth in bench press with 25 reps at 225 pounds (Auburn's Carl Stewart and Furman's Jerome Felton tied for first with 30 reps).
* Thomas tied for third with a 36-inch vertical leap. (Stewart was first at 39.0)
* Thomas was tied for fourth with a 10-8 broad jump. (Stewart and Houston's Anthony Aldridge were first at 11-2).
You can see a list of top performers on the NFL site here.
I know I've repeatedly stated how Thomas is one of ALL of the writers' favorites. He's a tough player and a good guy...plus, I found out from reading his bio on the NFL combine site that he likes my favorite show, The Wire...I'm not ashamed to say I'm rooting for him to find a home in the pro ranks and make a nice paycheck for a while. (There was some stuff here about Sunday's episode of The Wire where I stupidly gave away one of the biggest happenings in series history. So for those of you Wire folks who read that earlier and hadn't seen Sunday's episode yet, sorry about that.)
Once I got home, I checked out how Georgia's guys fared today at the NFL combine. Not surprisingly considering his status as a workout warrior, Thomas Brown was one of the top-performing running backs.
* Thomas tied for eighth in bench press with 25 reps at 225 pounds (Auburn's Carl Stewart and Furman's Jerome Felton tied for first with 30 reps).
* Thomas tied for third with a 36-inch vertical leap. (Stewart was first at 39.0)
* Thomas was tied for fourth with a 10-8 broad jump. (Stewart and Houston's Anthony Aldridge were first at 11-2).
You can see a list of top performers on the NFL site here.
I know I've repeatedly stated how Thomas is one of ALL of the writers' favorites. He's a tough player and a good guy...plus, I found out from reading his bio on the NFL combine site that he likes my favorite show, The Wire...I'm not ashamed to say I'm rooting for him to find a home in the pro ranks and make a nice paycheck for a while. (There was some stuff here about Sunday's episode of The Wire where I stupidly gave away one of the biggest happenings in series history. So for those of you Wire folks who read that earlier and hadn't seen Sunday's episode yet, sorry about that.)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Dooley among speakers at Bama clinic
Former Georgia coach Vince Dooley is among those scheduled to speak at the University of Alabama's football coaches clinic, which runs April 3-5.
Also scheduled to speak are New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees, Virginia coach Al Groh, former Alabama player and current Detroit Lion Fernando Bryant and Alabama coach Nick Saban and his staff...as well as many of the state title-winning high school coaches in the state.
Registration fee is $45. Interested coaches can find the registration form at rolltide.com.
Also scheduled to speak are New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees, Virginia coach Al Groh, former Alabama player and current Detroit Lion Fernando Bryant and Alabama coach Nick Saban and his staff...as well as many of the state title-winning high school coaches in the state.
Registration fee is $45. Interested coaches can find the registration form at rolltide.com.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Combine starts today
As I'm sure many of you know, the NFL combine starts today. Three Georgia guys are scheduled to participate -- running backs Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin and defensive end Marcus Howard. Receiver Mikey Henderson was also invited, but he was one of only two invitees who initially turned down an invite. (There have since been players who declined to work out, but I imagine they will be in attendance for interviews and whatnot).
Thomas and Kregg will work out along with the other running backs tomorrow. Marcus will go with the defensive linemen on Monday (although I expect he'll to get a lot of run at linebacker as well).
Here is the combine schedule:
Today: Offensive line, tight end, specialist
Sunday: Quarterback, Running back, wide receiver
Monday: Defensive line, linebacker
Tuesday: Cornerback, safety
You can keep up with the workouts on the NFL Web site here.
Here's a database with profiles on the combine participants.
If your cable provider carries NFL Network, it will have live coverage from the event each day. Today, it runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4-7.
Thomas and Kregg will work out along with the other running backs tomorrow. Marcus will go with the defensive linemen on Monday (although I expect he'll to get a lot of run at linebacker as well).
Here is the combine schedule:
Today: Offensive line, tight end, specialist
Sunday: Quarterback, Running back, wide receiver
Monday: Defensive line, linebacker
Tuesday: Cornerback, safety
You can keep up with the workouts on the NFL Web site here.
Here's a database with profiles on the combine participants.
If your cable provider carries NFL Network, it will have live coverage from the event each day. Today, it runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4-7.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
This and That
My brother sent me a link to this site today. As if my rapidly receding hairline didn't reveal it to me, it's really tough to believe that it's been 10 years since Harry Caray died.
Among the other things I've been confounded by lately:
1. What would possess anyone to (reportedly) commit felony armed robbery when they're a scholarship football player at one of the most prominent college football programs in the country? I'm sure nobody would get an idea who you might be when you're 6-foot-3 and 271 pounds.
2. Did the Hawks get the better end of that Mike Bibby trade? They gave up a bunch of serviceable players, but I don't know that any of them are irreplaceable. Let's assume the trade gives the Hawks better playoff potential, although Bibby 1) is on the downside of his career and 2) has played in all of 15 games this season due to injury. Dumping all those contracts, plus the ability to dump Bibby's sometime next season, gives the Hawks the chance to continue rebuilding in a major way. But I thought they could make a move in THIS year's playoffs -- maybe I'm crazy -- if they kept it together in the second half. They still can with Bibby. Let's hope he's healthy and motivated to play. It would be great to see the Hawks in the playoffs. They're right there at this point, tied with New Jersey and Philadelphia (and behind on record) for seventh in the Eastern Conference, 19.5 games out of first.
3. How does Dwight Howard win the dunk contest when he clearly didn't come close to completing that Superman dunk? It wasn't even close -- he was at least a foot from the rim when he threw it in. Does he win only because he's wearing a cape? Apparently so. I think that rule also applies in Dungeons and Dragons. I'll have to check with Alan Riquelmy, one of our metro reporters, who is apparently a D&D aficionado.
4. How in the world does someone bowl a perfect game? I bowled my rear end off tonight with some friends and it wasn't even close to 200, much less 300. I'd love to see someone bowl a perfect game while drinking glass after glass of flat beer. I don't doubt it could happen. I'd just like to watch it go down.
Among the other things I've been confounded by lately:
1. What would possess anyone to (reportedly) commit felony armed robbery when they're a scholarship football player at one of the most prominent college football programs in the country? I'm sure nobody would get an idea who you might be when you're 6-foot-3 and 271 pounds.
2. Did the Hawks get the better end of that Mike Bibby trade? They gave up a bunch of serviceable players, but I don't know that any of them are irreplaceable. Let's assume the trade gives the Hawks better playoff potential, although Bibby 1) is on the downside of his career and 2) has played in all of 15 games this season due to injury. Dumping all those contracts, plus the ability to dump Bibby's sometime next season, gives the Hawks the chance to continue rebuilding in a major way. But I thought they could make a move in THIS year's playoffs -- maybe I'm crazy -- if they kept it together in the second half. They still can with Bibby. Let's hope he's healthy and motivated to play. It would be great to see the Hawks in the playoffs. They're right there at this point, tied with New Jersey and Philadelphia (and behind on record) for seventh in the Eastern Conference, 19.5 games out of first.
3. How does Dwight Howard win the dunk contest when he clearly didn't come close to completing that Superman dunk? It wasn't even close -- he was at least a foot from the rim when he threw it in. Does he win only because he's wearing a cape? Apparently so. I think that rule also applies in Dungeons and Dragons. I'll have to check with Alan Riquelmy, one of our metro reporters, who is apparently a D&D aficionado.
4. How in the world does someone bowl a perfect game? I bowled my rear end off tonight with some friends and it wasn't even close to 200, much less 300. I'd love to see someone bowl a perfect game while drinking glass after glass of flat beer. I don't doubt it could happen. I'd just like to watch it go down.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Ticket price increase, facilities upgrades planned
Georgia's Athletic Association approved a football ticket price increase at its board meeting today, pushing face value on season tickets from $32 to $40. Georgia said it was ninth in the SEC in ticket price and will now be sixth:
Alabama $49
South Carolina $46
LSU $44
Tennessee $42, $45
Auburn $43
They're planning a major football facilities upgrade, which at the end of all phases is expected to cost $25 million. They approved $750,000 to go towards that project at today's meeting, but construction will not begin until they've raised roughly half of the projected cost of the project. That doesn't necessarily include -- as Josh Kendall from our sister paper in Macon points out in the story that will run in our paper tomorrow (link) -- an indoor practice facility. It DOES however include a 20,000-square-foot expansion at Butts-Mehre, including a 10,000-square-foot multi-purpose room, new team meeting rooms and additions to the weight room and training rooms. A later phase will include new coaches offices, but that part's further down the road.
Here's the link to Georgia's announcement.
Alabama $49
South Carolina $46
LSU $44
Tennessee $42, $45
Auburn $43
They're planning a major football facilities upgrade, which at the end of all phases is expected to cost $25 million. They approved $750,000 to go towards that project at today's meeting, but construction will not begin until they've raised roughly half of the projected cost of the project. That doesn't necessarily include -- as Josh Kendall from our sister paper in Macon points out in the story that will run in our paper tomorrow (link) -- an indoor practice facility. It DOES however include a 20,000-square-foot expansion at Butts-Mehre, including a 10,000-square-foot multi-purpose room, new team meeting rooms and additions to the weight room and training rooms. A later phase will include new coaches offices, but that part's further down the road.
Here's the link to Georgia's announcement.
South Alabama football?
Did y'all see my second-favorite college sports program, South Alabama (my dad works there and I grew up rooting for them and going to various sports camps there), hired its first football coach today?
Joey Jones, a former star at Alabama and until today, the football coach at Birmingham Southern, has taken the job. They plan to start playing in 2009.
Personally, I think this is an enormous mistake. Some schools just shouldn't attempt to have football and South Alabama's one of them. Sometimes people around here think Columbus State, the school I cover when it's not football season, should start football as well. That would be a bad idea for the same reason it's a bad idea at South Alabama. Football is a black hole of money, scholarships and resources for schools that aren't among the wealthiest of the wealthy. These two schools are competitive -- often highly competitive -- in the sports they currently field, but they don't draw huge crowds. By starting football, you're certainly going to spread yourself at lot thinner and have to spend some serious cash. Can it work in Mobile? There's a remote chance, I guess. You're going to have to compete with some pretty good programs that are already established in-state -- both for recruits and simply for attention on gameday. But I think it's too much of a risk, without the student base or the local fan interest to support it.
That said, if anyone knows where I can get a South Alabama football t-shirt, I'm in the market for one. Even if I think it's a bad idea, I wish them well. The Ching family has a lot of good memories from going to South games together.
Joey Jones, a former star at Alabama and until today, the football coach at Birmingham Southern, has taken the job. They plan to start playing in 2009.
Personally, I think this is an enormous mistake. Some schools just shouldn't attempt to have football and South Alabama's one of them. Sometimes people around here think Columbus State, the school I cover when it's not football season, should start football as well. That would be a bad idea for the same reason it's a bad idea at South Alabama. Football is a black hole of money, scholarships and resources for schools that aren't among the wealthiest of the wealthy. These two schools are competitive -- often highly competitive -- in the sports they currently field, but they don't draw huge crowds. By starting football, you're certainly going to spread yourself at lot thinner and have to spend some serious cash. Can it work in Mobile? There's a remote chance, I guess. You're going to have to compete with some pretty good programs that are already established in-state -- both for recruits and simply for attention on gameday. But I think it's too much of a risk, without the student base or the local fan interest to support it.
That said, if anyone knows where I can get a South Alabama football t-shirt, I'm in the market for one. Even if I think it's a bad idea, I wish them well. The Ching family has a lot of good memories from going to South games together.
SEC Relevant spring dates, media days info
The SEC office sent out a list of tentative start/end dates (usually the dates of the respective spring games) this afternoon.
Georgia will be one of the earliest teams in the league to start, on March 3 (Mississippi State, Auburn and LSU all plan to start in late February -- State actually starts in 12 days!). G-Day will be held on April 5.
I'm interested by Arkansas' start and end times. They're the only SEC program to start spring practice in April (the 3rd) and finish last, on April 26. Everyone has their philosophies. Maybe Bobby Petrino thinks the extra time is necessary, just infrastructure-wise, since he came in late in the game.
Speaking of whom, I was intrigued by some of the pairings at this summer's SEC Media Days, which will be held July 23-25 at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham. Petrino is paired up with South Carolina's Steve Spurrier in the last group on the last day. Nick Saban and Mark Richt -- an odd couple if ever there was one -- are in the first pairing of the day on Thursday.
You know, I was glancing at that list of coaches in the league this year and it's really a pretty impressive group. Top to bottom, this crop of SEC head coaches has to rank at or near the top of the best groups the league's ever had. There's only one new face (Petrino) and new coaches in only two places (Houston Nutt moved from Arkansas to Ole Miss and Petrino replaced him in Fayetteville), but there's not a scrub in the bunch. Say what you will about Nutt, and there's plenty said on pretty much any SEC football blog, but the guy's won quite a few games. And Petrino may not be the most popular guy around these parts, but he's proven himself as a dynamite college coach. With the exception of Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson -- and I think the general consensus is that the guy does a pretty dang good job with the constraints that come with coaching at Vandy -- everyone on the list has taken their teams to at least one bowl game (Petrino and Nutt, obviously doing so in previous stops), and most of them have done it with regularity. Eight of them have coached teams to BCS bowl games, or the prior equivalent. Five have won national championships, plus Tommy Tuberville's Auburn team went undefeated in 2004 and notoriously didn't get to play for the big prize.
I realize I'm just rattling off stats many SEC homers probably know by heart, but it's still pretty striking. The SEC has arguably the best talent of any conference and clearly the top crop of coaches, which makes a fairly lethal combination -- a point I'd say was proven in the last couple of bowl seasons.
Anyway, here are the lists:
2008 SEC SPRING FOOTBALL PRACTICE DATES
[NOTE: Unless indicated, spring game is final date of spring practice.
Dates are tentative and subject to change.]
Alabama - (Start: March 13 / Finish: April 15 / Spring Game - April 12)
Arkansas (Start: April 3 / Finish: April 26)
Auburn (Start: Feb. 28 / Finish: March 29)
Florida (Start: March 19 / Finish: April 12)
Georgia (Start: March 3 / Finish: April 5)
Kentucky (Start: March 26 / Finish: April 19)
LSU (Start: Feb. 29 / Finish: April 5)
Ole Miss (Start: March 17 / Finish: April 12)
Mississippi State (Start: Feb. 26 / Finish: March 29)
South Carolina (Start: March 19 / Finish: April 19)
Tennessee (Start: March 11 / Finish: April 19)
Vanderbilt (Start: March 11 / Finish: April 5 / Spring Game - March 29)
KICKOFF 2008 * SEC FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS
July 23-25
The Wynfrey Hotel * Hoover, Ala.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
(Tentative and Subject to Change / All Times Central)
Wednesday, July 23
11:30 a.m. -- Luncheon
1 - 3 p.m. --
Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer and Student Athletes
Mississippi State Head Coach Sylvester Croom and Student-Athletes
3 - 5 p.m. --
LSU Head Coach Les Miles and Student-Athletes
Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson and Student-Athletes
5:30 p.m. -- Reception
Thursday, July 24
8:30 - 10:30 a.m. --
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban and Student-Athletes
Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt and Student-Athletes
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. --
Ole Miss Head Coach Houston Nutt and Student-Athletes
Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer and Student-Athletes
1:30 p.m. -- Golf Outing (Bent Brook Golf Course)
Friday, July 25
8:30 - 10:30 a.m. --
Auburn Head Coach Tommy Tuberville and Student-Athletes
Kentucky Head Coach Rich Brooks and Student-Athletes
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. --
Arkansas Head Coach Bobby Petrino and Student-Athletes
South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier and Student-Athletes
Georgia will be one of the earliest teams in the league to start, on March 3 (Mississippi State, Auburn and LSU all plan to start in late February -- State actually starts in 12 days!). G-Day will be held on April 5.
I'm interested by Arkansas' start and end times. They're the only SEC program to start spring practice in April (the 3rd) and finish last, on April 26. Everyone has their philosophies. Maybe Bobby Petrino thinks the extra time is necessary, just infrastructure-wise, since he came in late in the game.
Speaking of whom, I was intrigued by some of the pairings at this summer's SEC Media Days, which will be held July 23-25 at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham. Petrino is paired up with South Carolina's Steve Spurrier in the last group on the last day. Nick Saban and Mark Richt -- an odd couple if ever there was one -- are in the first pairing of the day on Thursday.
You know, I was glancing at that list of coaches in the league this year and it's really a pretty impressive group. Top to bottom, this crop of SEC head coaches has to rank at or near the top of the best groups the league's ever had. There's only one new face (Petrino) and new coaches in only two places (Houston Nutt moved from Arkansas to Ole Miss and Petrino replaced him in Fayetteville), but there's not a scrub in the bunch. Say what you will about Nutt, and there's plenty said on pretty much any SEC football blog, but the guy's won quite a few games. And Petrino may not be the most popular guy around these parts, but he's proven himself as a dynamite college coach. With the exception of Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson -- and I think the general consensus is that the guy does a pretty dang good job with the constraints that come with coaching at Vandy -- everyone on the list has taken their teams to at least one bowl game (Petrino and Nutt, obviously doing so in previous stops), and most of them have done it with regularity. Eight of them have coached teams to BCS bowl games, or the prior equivalent. Five have won national championships, plus Tommy Tuberville's Auburn team went undefeated in 2004 and notoriously didn't get to play for the big prize.
I realize I'm just rattling off stats many SEC homers probably know by heart, but it's still pretty striking. The SEC has arguably the best talent of any conference and clearly the top crop of coaches, which makes a fairly lethal combination -- a point I'd say was proven in the last couple of bowl seasons.
Anyway, here are the lists:
2008 SEC SPRING FOOTBALL PRACTICE DATES
[NOTE: Unless indicated, spring game is final date of spring practice.
Dates are tentative and subject to change.]
Alabama - (Start: March 13 / Finish: April 15 / Spring Game - April 12)
Arkansas (Start: April 3 / Finish: April 26)
Auburn (Start: Feb. 28 / Finish: March 29)
Florida (Start: March 19 / Finish: April 12)
Georgia (Start: March 3 / Finish: April 5)
Kentucky (Start: March 26 / Finish: April 19)
LSU (Start: Feb. 29 / Finish: April 5)
Ole Miss (Start: March 17 / Finish: April 12)
Mississippi State (Start: Feb. 26 / Finish: March 29)
South Carolina (Start: March 19 / Finish: April 19)
Tennessee (Start: March 11 / Finish: April 19)
Vanderbilt (Start: March 11 / Finish: April 5 / Spring Game - March 29)
KICKOFF 2008 * SEC FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS
July 23-25
The Wynfrey Hotel * Hoover, Ala.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
(Tentative and Subject to Change / All Times Central)
Wednesday, July 23
11:30 a.m. -- Luncheon
1 - 3 p.m. --
Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer and Student Athletes
Mississippi State Head Coach Sylvester Croom and Student-Athletes
3 - 5 p.m. --
LSU Head Coach Les Miles and Student-Athletes
Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson and Student-Athletes
5:30 p.m. -- Reception
Thursday, July 24
8:30 - 10:30 a.m. --
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban and Student-Athletes
Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt and Student-Athletes
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. --
Ole Miss Head Coach Houston Nutt and Student-Athletes
Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer and Student-Athletes
1:30 p.m. -- Golf Outing (Bent Brook Golf Course)
Friday, July 25
8:30 - 10:30 a.m. --
Auburn Head Coach Tommy Tuberville and Student-Athletes
Kentucky Head Coach Rich Brooks and Student-Athletes
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. --
Arkansas Head Coach Bobby Petrino and Student-Athletes
South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier and Student-Athletes
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Awards schmamards
It came to my attention a few days ago that this blog was nominated for "Best Mainstream Media Blog" in the 2007 College Football Blogger Awards. Frankly, I don't know how you go about being nominated for such a thing, or who exactly would have done the nominating, but it was flattering nonetheless.
Truthfully it's kind of silly to see my little blog nominated against the other ones in that category. Let's see, there's one from a columnist at CNNSI, one from a published author (and outstanding writer) who writes for ESPN.com, one from an uber-popular fan blogger who was given some space on The Sporting News' web site, and a beat writer from a paper roughly seven times the size of mine.
I'm kind of like Juno in that crop of talent...I have no chance of winning any big prize, but I'm just glad somebody out there noticed me. Don't get me wrong, though...It may not be pretty, but I know during football season I'm giving you Georgia folks a lot of stuff you're not getting anywhere else. That's really the point of this blog, and I'm assuming the substantial number of Georgia fans who operate highly entertaining and frequently visited sites (you can see a list of some of them on the right side of this page) probably played a major role in my site being nominated for this thing. Really, that's what's important to me. I'm required to do this blog for work, but it makes it worth it to know that there are folks who get something out of the little extra work I put in to transcribe an interview and post the Q/A or who check in every morning during football season to read a few postpractice nuggets and kill a few minutes of a boring work day. I've been there. I know how nice it is to have a diversion -- even if it's for only a few minutes. If you Georgia fans get that out of this blog during football season, I find that very satisfying, whether I win some stupid award or not.
That said, don't vote for those other jackholes. They're already rich and don't need your validation.
Truthfully it's kind of silly to see my little blog nominated against the other ones in that category. Let's see, there's one from a columnist at CNNSI, one from a published author (and outstanding writer) who writes for ESPN.com, one from an uber-popular fan blogger who was given some space on The Sporting News' web site, and a beat writer from a paper roughly seven times the size of mine.
I'm kind of like Juno in that crop of talent...I have no chance of winning any big prize, but I'm just glad somebody out there noticed me. Don't get me wrong, though...It may not be pretty, but I know during football season I'm giving you Georgia folks a lot of stuff you're not getting anywhere else. That's really the point of this blog, and I'm assuming the substantial number of Georgia fans who operate highly entertaining and frequently visited sites (you can see a list of some of them on the right side of this page) probably played a major role in my site being nominated for this thing. Really, that's what's important to me. I'm required to do this blog for work, but it makes it worth it to know that there are folks who get something out of the little extra work I put in to transcribe an interview and post the Q/A or who check in every morning during football season to read a few postpractice nuggets and kill a few minutes of a boring work day. I've been there. I know how nice it is to have a diversion -- even if it's for only a few minutes. If you Georgia fans get that out of this blog during football season, I find that very satisfying, whether I win some stupid award or not.
That said, don't vote for those other jackholes. They're already rich and don't need your validation.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Dooley Athletic Complex
Looks like the university is going to honor Vince Dooley with a statue and memorial garden in his honor at the corner of Pinecrest and Lumpkin, right next to Speck Townes track and the Butts-Mehre building, and to rename the entire complex of athletics buildings in that part of campus after the former coach and athletic director. You can see plans for the complex here if you're interested.
The Athletic Association approved the plan today. It will go before the Board of Regents in the next few days.
Here's Georgia's release on the matter. We'll have a story about it in tomorrow's paper from my buddy Josh Kendall.
The Athletic Association approved the plan today. It will go before the Board of Regents in the next few days.
Here's Georgia's release on the matter. We'll have a story about it in tomorrow's paper from my buddy Josh Kendall.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Kid Woodruff story
I wrote a story for Friday's paper on former Georgia football coach George "Kid" Woodruff, who coached the team from 1923 to 1927 for $1 per year. He's being inducted this weekend into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame in Columbus. He was an interesting dude who was among those responsible for, among other things, the Auburn-Georgia game being played here annually for 42 years. The game finally outgrew Columbus' Memorial Stadium, and the city itself, but Georgia's legendary former sports information director Dan Magill told me the atmosphere here was very much like that of the modern Georgia-Florida rivalry in its day. I've heard the same thing from family members who used to attend the game here.
Those are always stories that are fun to write if you're remotely inquisitive about history. I would never have known much about the man if I hadn't been assigned the story -- he died before I was even born -- but I enjoyed learning about him.
Here's the link. (And it goes on for three pages. The little "Next" button at the bottom of the story is kind of inconspicuous).
Those are always stories that are fun to write if you're remotely inquisitive about history. I would never have known much about the man if I hadn't been assigned the story -- he died before I was even born -- but I enjoyed learning about him.
Here's the link. (And it goes on for three pages. The little "Next" button at the bottom of the story is kind of inconspicuous).
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Quick notes
It sounds like 24 players will be the final number. Mark Richt seemed to think that would be the case, although he didn't completely rule out a later addition.
"I don’t think that we’re gonna have anybody commit anytime soon," he said, later adding, "When all the dust settles, there might be somebody out there that we’re interested in, but I don’t see that happening."
He also said earlier today that they've had to turn guys away more this year than ever before. "It was sickening to have to say there's no room in the inn," he said.
Here are some more items from today:
* Stacy Searels told the crowd at Butts-Mehre that Chris Davis will probably start out the spring as the starting center, with Ben Harden, Ben Jones and Kevin Perez competing. I met Ben Jones for the first time (and probably the last until after the upcoming season, considering they'll put freshman linemen off limits sometime soon). Liked the kid. He said his goal for the spring is to win the starting center job. Said it will be tough, but he thinks he can compete. I'll post that Q/A later. I liked the kid.
* As they promised him, A.J. Harmon will start out at defensive tackle. Whether he'll stay there is a matter of conjecture. Rodney Garner said he's got some weight goals he'll have to meet and then they'll let this play out as they will.
* They told the crowd at B-M that Aron White is currently at 227 pounds and still looks like he'll play tight end. He's going to be a good hybrid-type guy, I think.
* The team had their first mat drills session of the offseason this morning at 5:45.
* Dontavius Jackson told me he's not completely cleared for mat drills because of the broken right wrist (EDIT: In hindsight, it was his left wrist) he suffered last fall. He said he expects to be cleared by the spring and believes he'll practice this spring with a brace of some sort on the wrist.
"I don’t think that we’re gonna have anybody commit anytime soon," he said, later adding, "When all the dust settles, there might be somebody out there that we’re interested in, but I don’t see that happening."
He also said earlier today that they've had to turn guys away more this year than ever before. "It was sickening to have to say there's no room in the inn," he said.
Here are some more items from today:
* Stacy Searels told the crowd at Butts-Mehre that Chris Davis will probably start out the spring as the starting center, with Ben Harden, Ben Jones and Kevin Perez competing. I met Ben Jones for the first time (and probably the last until after the upcoming season, considering they'll put freshman linemen off limits sometime soon). Liked the kid. He said his goal for the spring is to win the starting center job. Said it will be tough, but he thinks he can compete. I'll post that Q/A later. I liked the kid.
* As they promised him, A.J. Harmon will start out at defensive tackle. Whether he'll stay there is a matter of conjecture. Rodney Garner said he's got some weight goals he'll have to meet and then they'll let this play out as they will.
* They told the crowd at B-M that Aron White is currently at 227 pounds and still looks like he'll play tight end. He's going to be a good hybrid-type guy, I think.
* The team had their first mat drills session of the offseason this morning at 5:45.
* Dontavius Jackson told me he's not completely cleared for mat drills because of the broken right wrist (EDIT: In hindsight, it was his left wrist) he suffered last fall. He said he expects to be cleared by the spring and believes he'll practice this spring with a brace of some sort on the wrist.
Rodney Garner Q/A
Here are about five minutes of Georgia recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner discussing some of this year's signees with me and a couple other reporters this afternoon after the press conference.
On A.J. Harmon starting out at DL:
We will still give him a chance to compete at the defensive line position. But for him and being fair to him, there needs to be a certain guideline for him to be able to compete at this level on that side of the ball. He’s a smart kid, so he understands that. He’s not a selfish kid. I think he’s a team player.
On Xavier Avery's position:
X is a unique enigma. I think he can play a bunch of different positions. Coach Ball likes him as a running back. Coach Martinez likes him as a corner. Coach Richt likes him sometimes out in the slot, a guy you get the ball in his hands and he can do a lot of different things. X himself probably likes himself more as a running back/slot guy. His father likes him as a defensive back, so I think you’ve just got to see how it all fits and how it all plays out. Like I said, with him we won’t know until the summer anyway based on the baseball thing. I don’t really know baseball, but it’s hard for me to get a gauge on it, but all I know is there’s about three people a week that’s in his house from the major leagues, which I think is too much.
On what Ben Jones brings to the team:
I think he’s a tough kid. I think he’s bringing an element to this team that we really need from a D-line position standpoint because I think he’s gonna get after our kids and he ain’t gonna quit and he’s not gonna be intimidated. I think he’s gonna make the offensive line tougher and those guys are gonna see how this kid competes and how he works. He may not look that pretty but he is a tough, tough kid and all the other kids already seem to gravitate towards him. Those four midyear guys and those other three kids, they gravitate to Ben Jones. He’s just got natural leadership ability.
Have you got a number you want for next year?
My number always differs from coach Richt’s number. I got to really see what I can get to think about. I’m hoping around 16 and wouldn’t mind moving it to 18, but I don’t even think he’s really even gotten to 16 yet. But it’s a work in progress.
How many of those are DTs?
At least two. Because we’re gonna lose two out of this group.
Was running back the biggest priority in this class -- specifically finding guys to enroll at the midyear?
Running back was the major priority. Midyear was very important because you look at going into spring practice, we only had two scholarship tailbacks – knowshon and Caleb King – so running back was very much a big need. And then identifying some kids that could come in in January was the next high priority, so we’re very fortunate. We were hoping to get one in at midyear and then we were able to get two, so we feel like we got ahead of the curve a little bit.
Was what happened this morning (with Dwayne Allen) a surprise or a shock?
These days nothing surprises you. My focus is on the kids that we got. These are the kids that belong here. These are the ones that we’re excited about. As long as those types of things are so glamorized, so popular, it’s gonna happen. I know you’ll read, ‘Well they shoulda did this, shoulda did that.’ Well I can sit there and say, ‘You shoulda wrote your article this way.’ So I’m not an expert on what you do and I’m not saying we’re experts either, but we sit down and we try to make decisions based on what we feel is best for this program and best for this team.
On Blair Walsh:
Coach Fabris and them are very excited about his kicking ability. Hopefully he can come in, because that thing is gonna be wide open and hopefully by him getting here this summer, hopefully he’ll able to compete.
On possible sleepers in this class, particularly Cornelius Washington:
I think Cornelius Washington has a tremendous upside. He’s another kid that committed to us last year at the camp, so he’s sort of flown under the radar. But here’s a kid that is a great looking specimen. He was here on his official visit and he looked like one of those Greek gods, so I think there’s a tremendous upside on him. And there’s so many of them, you hate to put undue pressure on these kids because some of them are going to pressure quicker than others. But I think there’s probably gonna be several kids in this class that’s gonna have to step up and be able to help and add some depth to some positions. You hope those midyear guys by being here in January, going through mat drills, that they’ll be able to step up. Like I said, they had their first mat today, so it’s a little bit more of an eye-opener for them. They’re probably wondering, ‘Why did I come to Georgia?’ today. ‘I got up at 5:45 in the morning and did mats.’ But I think it’s gonna really help them and I think there’ll be several of them that can help.
On A.J. Harmon starting out at DL:
We will still give him a chance to compete at the defensive line position. But for him and being fair to him, there needs to be a certain guideline for him to be able to compete at this level on that side of the ball. He’s a smart kid, so he understands that. He’s not a selfish kid. I think he’s a team player.
On Xavier Avery's position:
X is a unique enigma. I think he can play a bunch of different positions. Coach Ball likes him as a running back. Coach Martinez likes him as a corner. Coach Richt likes him sometimes out in the slot, a guy you get the ball in his hands and he can do a lot of different things. X himself probably likes himself more as a running back/slot guy. His father likes him as a defensive back, so I think you’ve just got to see how it all fits and how it all plays out. Like I said, with him we won’t know until the summer anyway based on the baseball thing. I don’t really know baseball, but it’s hard for me to get a gauge on it, but all I know is there’s about three people a week that’s in his house from the major leagues, which I think is too much.
On what Ben Jones brings to the team:
I think he’s a tough kid. I think he’s bringing an element to this team that we really need from a D-line position standpoint because I think he’s gonna get after our kids and he ain’t gonna quit and he’s not gonna be intimidated. I think he’s gonna make the offensive line tougher and those guys are gonna see how this kid competes and how he works. He may not look that pretty but he is a tough, tough kid and all the other kids already seem to gravitate towards him. Those four midyear guys and those other three kids, they gravitate to Ben Jones. He’s just got natural leadership ability.
Have you got a number you want for next year?
My number always differs from coach Richt’s number. I got to really see what I can get to think about. I’m hoping around 16 and wouldn’t mind moving it to 18, but I don’t even think he’s really even gotten to 16 yet. But it’s a work in progress.
How many of those are DTs?
At least two. Because we’re gonna lose two out of this group.
Was running back the biggest priority in this class -- specifically finding guys to enroll at the midyear?
Running back was the major priority. Midyear was very important because you look at going into spring practice, we only had two scholarship tailbacks – knowshon and Caleb King – so running back was very much a big need. And then identifying some kids that could come in in January was the next high priority, so we’re very fortunate. We were hoping to get one in at midyear and then we were able to get two, so we feel like we got ahead of the curve a little bit.
Was what happened this morning (with Dwayne Allen) a surprise or a shock?
These days nothing surprises you. My focus is on the kids that we got. These are the kids that belong here. These are the ones that we’re excited about. As long as those types of things are so glamorized, so popular, it’s gonna happen. I know you’ll read, ‘Well they shoulda did this, shoulda did that.’ Well I can sit there and say, ‘You shoulda wrote your article this way.’ So I’m not an expert on what you do and I’m not saying we’re experts either, but we sit down and we try to make decisions based on what we feel is best for this program and best for this team.
On Blair Walsh:
Coach Fabris and them are very excited about his kicking ability. Hopefully he can come in, because that thing is gonna be wide open and hopefully by him getting here this summer, hopefully he’ll able to compete.
On possible sleepers in this class, particularly Cornelius Washington:
I think Cornelius Washington has a tremendous upside. He’s another kid that committed to us last year at the camp, so he’s sort of flown under the radar. But here’s a kid that is a great looking specimen. He was here on his official visit and he looked like one of those Greek gods, so I think there’s a tremendous upside on him. And there’s so many of them, you hate to put undue pressure on these kids because some of them are going to pressure quicker than others. But I think there’s probably gonna be several kids in this class that’s gonna have to step up and be able to help and add some depth to some positions. You hope those midyear guys by being here in January, going through mat drills, that they’ll be able to step up. Like I said, they had their first mat today, so it’s a little bit more of an eye-opener for them. They’re probably wondering, ‘Why did I come to Georgia?’ today. ‘I got up at 5:45 in the morning and did mats.’ But I think it’s gonna really help them and I think there’ll be several of them that can help.
Nick Williams is processed
It took a while, but Nick Williams is finally on the board. That's all the expected guys. Will update later if there are any new additions. They may stand pat, but we'll see.
Signing Day bios
Here are the player bios I put together for today's signees -- minus Dwayne Allen. Will add anyone new if we get word of an addition today. Could happen...
Xavier Avery
High school: Cedar Grove High, Ellenwood, Ga.
Position: Athlete
Ht./Wt.: 5-11/185
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … A standout baseball player, batted .668 and stole 47 bases as a junior outfielder. Played in the prestigious AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic last summer in San Diego and is expected to be selected early in baseball’s upcoming first-year player draft in June. … Speedster had 1,600 yards of total offense and 13 yards as a junior. … Listed as the No. 31 running back in the nation by ESPN. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 25 “athlete” in the country and No. 21 prospect in Georgia. … Listed as No. 56 running back in country by Scout.com.
Brandon Boykin
High school: Fayette County High, Fayetteville, Ga.
Position: Cornerback
Ht./Wt.: 5-10/162
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com … Is No. 246 on the Rivals 250. … Named first-team all-state by the Georgia Sportswriters as an “athlete” as a senior. … Listed as the No. 40 cornerback in the nation by ESPN. … Doubled as Fayette County’s quarterback in high school. Ran for 610 yards and 10 touchdowns and passed for 537 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. Had 43 tackles and five interceptions on defense. … Ran for 699 yards and nine touchdowns, along with 45 tackles, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions as a junior. … Listed as the No. 18 prospect in Georgia and No. 15 cornerback by Rivals.com. … Listed by Scout.com as the No. 14 cornerback in the nation.
Sanders Commings
High school: Westside High, Augusta, Ga.
Position: Safety
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/195
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Versatile player who played numerous positions in high school including receiver, running back and safety. Also returns kicks. … Listed as the No. 28 “athlete” in the nation by ESPN. … Sustained broken leg in first game of senior season. … Played baseball in high school and would like to play in college. … Had 400-plus yards both rushing and receiving as a junior. Also made 51 tackles and seven interceptions. … Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 47 overall prospect in Georgia and No. 72 “athlete” in the nation. … Listed as No. 39 cornerback in country by Scout.com.
Marcus Dowtin
High school: Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy
Position: Linebacker
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/215
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Multitalented player rushed for 1,202 yards on 121 carries (9.9 yards per carry) and scored 15 touchdowns as a senior, also recording 76 tackles and nine for a loss. … Ran for 1,132 yards on 137 carries (8.3 per carry) as a junior and scored 15 touchdowns, along with 92 tackles and was named all-conference, all-region and all-state in Virginia. … Recorded 126 tackles as a sophomore. … Was all-league and all-state as a junior. … Also runs track. … Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 16 outside linebacker prospect in the country, No. 6 prospect in Virginia and No. 140 player on the Rivals 250. … Listed as the No. 32 outside linebacker in the country by ESPN. … Listed as No. 7 weakside linebacker in nation by Scout.com.
Cordy Glenn
High school: Riverdale (Ga.) High
Position: Offensive line
Ht./Wt.: 6-6/315
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Was all-county and all-state as a senior, when he averaged five pancake blocks per game. … One of the top offensive line prospects in the Southeast, picked Georgia over offers from numerous SEC and ACC schools. … Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 137 overall prospect on its Rivals 250, No. 16 offensive tackle and No. 13 prospect in Georgia. … Listed as the No. 74 offensive tackle in the country by ESPN. ... Listed as No. 15 offensive tackle in country by Scout.com. … In addition to time at left tackle, also played some defensive tackle and defensive end.
A.J. Green
High school: Summerville (S.C.) High
Position: Wide receiver
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/184
Notes: Listed as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … One of the most prolific high school receivers in history. Finished his career with 5,373 career receiving yards, which is second all-time among American high school receivers. Caught 72 passes for 1,437 yards as a senior and scored 15 receiving touchdowns. Scored 29 total touchdowns as a senior. Caught 65 passes for 1,203 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. … Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 9 overall prospect in the country on its Rivals 250 and the No. 2 receiver. … Ranks No. 5 on the ESPN 150. … Appeared in the Carolina Shrine Bowl and ESPN’s Under Armour All-Star Game after his senior season. … Named to South Carolina Associated Press’ all-state football team all four years of high school and is believed to be the only player in state history to record such a four-peat. … Listed as the No. 2 receiver in the country by ESPN and Scout.com. … Named a Parade All-American as a senior.
A.J. Harmon
High school: Jefferson County High, Louisville, Ga.
Position: Offensive/Defensive line
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/308
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com
Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 54 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250. … Ranks No. 130 on the ESPN 150. … Listed as the No. 3 offensive guard prospect in the country by ESPN. … Considered one of the best offensive line prospects in the nation (No. 2 guard by Rivals.com, No. 10 tackle by Scout.com), but plans to play defensive tackle at Georgia. … Announced commitment to Georgia while playing in U.S. Army All-American Bowl. … Named a Parade All-American as a senior. … Recorded 26 tackles and four sacks as a senior. … Listed as the No. 4 player in Georgia by Rivals.com. … Recorded 70 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and nine sacks as junior.
Akeem Hebron
Previous school: Georgia Military College
Position: Linebacker
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/220
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com
Originally signed with Georgia in 2006 and redshirted during the 2006 season. Was dismissed from the team last spring after two alcohol-related arrests, with the stipulation that he’d be allowed to return if he remained on good behavior at GMC. Is already re-enrolled at Georgia. … Was a highly regarded high school prospect in Maryland, rated a five-star player by Rivals.com and a four-star player by Scout.com. … Posted 110 tackles, 11 sacks and was first-team all-state as a junior. … Played in U.S. Army All-American Bowl after senior season.
Dontavius Jackson
High school: Heard County High, Franklin, Ga.
Position: Running back
Ht./Wt.: 5-11/195
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Broke his wrist early in senior season. Rushed for 2,462 yards on 247 carries (10 yards per carry) and rushed for 29 touchdowns as junior. Ran for 1,374 yards and 16 scores as sophomore. … Posted 70 or more tackles in freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 104 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250 and the No. 11 prospect in Georgia and No. 8 running back. … Graduated from high school early and is already enrolled at Georgia. … Listed as the No. 25 running back in the nation by ESPN. … Accounted for more than 4,500 yards of offense in his high school career. … Named a Parade All-America “One to Watch” as a senior. … Listed as No. 32 running back in country by Scout.com.
Toby Jackson
High school: Griffin (Ga.) High
Position: Defensive end
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/244
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 85 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250, the No. 5 strongside defensive end and the No. 8 prospect in Georgia. … Was voted the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class AAAA Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. … Ranks No. 129 on the ESPN 150. … Listed as the No. 8 defensive end prospect in the country by ESPN. … Recorded 73 tackles, six sacks and 12 tackles for a loss as a junior. … Listed as No. 9 defensive end in country by Scout.com. … Totaled 63 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 15 sacks as a senior.
Ben Jones
High school: Bibb County High, Centreville, Ala.
Position: Center
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/306
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Ranks No. 139 on the ESPN 150. … Alabama Sportswriters’ Class 5A first-team all-state selection as senior. … Graduated from high school early and is already enrolled at Georgia. … Listed as No. 5 center in nation by Scout.com. … Invited to play in Under Armour All-Star Game after senior season. … Also gifted baseball pitcher and first baseman who made Mobile Register’s Elite 18 and Tuscaloosa News’ West Alabama All-Stars. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 7 center in the nation and No. 23 prospect available from Alabama.
Tavarres King
High school: Habersham Central High, Mt. Airy, Ga.
Position: Wide receiver
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/169
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Broke the GHSA’s single-season receiving yards record as a senior when he caught 99 passes for 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns. … Caught 40 passes for 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 88 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250 and No. 9 prospect in Georgia. … Was voted the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class AAAA Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. … Ranks No. 145 on the ESPN 150. … Graduated from high school early and is already enrolled at Georgia. … 2007 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year. … Caught 44 passes for 725 yards as a junior. … Listed as the No. 22 receiver in the country by ESPN and Scout.com.
Jeremy Longo
High school: Cardinal Gibbons High, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Position: Defensive end
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/212
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Recorded 135 tackles, 17 for a loss, and eight sacks as a junior. Recorded 23 tackles in one game against Naples. … Listed as the No. 84 defensive end in the country by ESPN. … Class 3A second-team all-state selection as a senior. … Listed as the No. 30 defensive end in the country by Scout.com and No. 24 weakside defensive end by Rivals.com. … Named first-team all-Broward County as a junior. … Named the No. 89 overall prospect available from Florida by Rivals.com.
Jonathan Owens
High school: Susan Moore High, Blountsville, Ala.
Position: Offensive line
Ht./Wt.: 6-5/295
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Averaged 6.4 pancake blocks per game and graded at 90 percent or above in all 14 games of his junior year. … Listed as the No. 24 offensive tackle in the nation by ESPN. … Alabama Sportswriters’ Class 3A all-state selection as a senior. … Listed as the No. 39 offensive guard in the country by Scout.com and the No. 49 offensive guard by Rivals.com. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 32 prospect available from Alabama.
Makiri Pugh
High school: Independence High, Charlotte, N.C.
Position: Defensive back
Ht./Wt.: 5-10/194
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Comes to Georgia from same program that produced current UGA players Joe Cox and Mohamed Massaquoi and ex-Bulldog Mario Raley. … Listed as the No. 22 cornerback in the country by ESPN. … Listed as the No. 66 safety in the country by Scout.com and the No. 31 safety by Rivals.com. … Transferred to Independence from Maryland power DeMatha Catholic prior to junior season. … Had numerous offers from prominent ACC programs. … Recorded 41 tackles, two interceptions and nine pass breakups as a junior.
Bacarri Rambo
High school: Seminole County High, Donalsonville, Ga.
Position: Athlete
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/195
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … An honorable mention honoree on the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class A all-state team as a senior. … Listed as the No. 26 “athlete” in the nation by ESPN. … Option quarterback in high school ran for 1,186 yards and 21 touchdowns and averaged 9.7 yards per carry as a junior and passed for 488 yards. Made 58 tackles and four interceptions and recovered five fumbles at linebacker. Was named Class A all-state honorable mention. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 29 prospect in Georgia and No. 40 “athlete.” … Rated as the No. 29 safety prospect by Scout.com.
Christian Robinson
High school: Greater Atlanta Christian, Norcross, Ga.
Position: Linebacker
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/204
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and a three-star recruit by Scout.com
199 … Voted first-team all-state by Georgia Sportswriters in Class AA at receiver as a senior. … Listed as the No. 21 outside linebacker in the nation by ESPN. … Father, Ken, played linebacker at South Carolina. … Made 50 tackles as a junior and caught 15 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns. … Recorded 64 tackles and had 48 catches for 876 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior. … Listed as the No. 16 prospect in Georgia and No. 18 outside linebacker by Rivals.com. … Listed as the No. 45 weakside linebacker in the nation by Scout.com.
Bryce Ros
High school: Kennesaw Mountain High, Kennesaw, Ga.
Position: Tight end
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/233
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Scout.com and a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. … Father, Frank Ros, was a captain on Georgia’s 1980 national championship team. … Listed as the No. 28 tight end in the nation by ESPN. … Listed as No. 22 tight end in nation by Scout.com. … Had eight catches for 175 yards and one touchdown as a junior. Also recorded 65 tackles and 10 sacks.
Richard Samuel
High school: Cass High, Cartersville, Ga.
Position: Running back/linebacker
Ht./Wt.: 6-0/197
Notes: Listed as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Graduated from high school early and is already enrolled in school at Georgia. … Will turn 17 years old on Feb. 8. … As a senior, rushed for 1,429 yards on 165 carries (8.7 yards per carry) and scored 24 touchdowns on the ground. Also recorded 82 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks as an outside linebacker. … Rushed for 1,342 yards on 164 carries (8.2 per carry) and scored 19 touchdowns as a junior. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 2 prospect in Georgia and the No. 2 “athlete” in the nation, as well as the No. 24 overall prospect. … Voted first-team all-state in Class AAA at linebacker by Georgia Sportswriters as a senior. … Ranks No. 35 on the ESPN 150. Listed as the No. 5 running back in the nation by ESPN. … Named a Parade All-America “One to Watch” as a senior. … Scout.com ranks him as the nation’s No. 4 running back prospect.
Carlton Thomas
High school: Frostproof (Fla.) High
Position: Running back
Ht./Wt.: 5-7/159
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Scout.com and a three-star recruit by Rivals.com
Ran for 2,283 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior and edged eventual Florida signee Chris Rainey for most among Polk County (Fla.) running backs. … Ranks No. 50 on the ESPN 150. … Rushed for 2,386 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior and was picked for the all-state team. … Listed as the No. 8 running back in the nation by ESPN. … Listed as No. 15 running back in country by Scout.com. … Invited to Under Armour All-Star Game. … Listed as nation’s No. 18 all-purpose running back prospect by Rivals.com.
DeAngelo Tyson
High school: Statesboro (Ga.) High
Position: Defensive tackle
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/276
Notes: Listed as a five-star recruit by Scout.com and a four-star recruit by Rivals.com
Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 45 player in the nation on its Rivals 250, the No. 4 defensive tackle and No. 3 player in Georgia. … Named a first-team all-state Class AAAA defensive lineman by the Georgia Sportswriters as a senior. … Ranks No. 45 on the ESPN 150. … Has lived in a group home away from his parents since age 11. … Listed as the No. 4 defensive tackle in the nation by ESPN. … Named a Parade All-American as a senior. … Named to the U.S. Army All-American Game as a senior. … Recorded 54 tackles and nine sacks as a senior. … Listed by Scout.com as the No. 3 defensive tackle in the nation.
Blair Walsh
High school: Cardinal Gibbons High, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Position: Kicker
Ht./Wt.: 5-10/163
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Scout.com and a three-star recruit by Rivals.com. … One of top kickers in Southeast. … Connected on 13 of 20 field goals with a long of 57 yards as a junior. … Was 21-for-24 on field goals inside 48 yards as a sophomore and junior. … Listed as the No. 5 kicker in the nation by ESPN. … Class 3A second-team all-state selection as a senior. … Was named a Parade All-America “One to Watch” as a senior. … Rated as the nation’s top kicking prospect by Scout.com and the No. 7 kicker by Rivals.com.
Cornelius Washington
High school: Burke County High, Waynesboro, Ga.
Position: Defensive end
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/220
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Became first public commitment to Georgia’s 2008 class when he committed at the 2006 UGA summer camp on July 10, 2006. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 101 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250 and the No. 10 prospect in Georgia. … Recorded 55 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and six sacks and was an honorable mention honoree on the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class AAA all-state team as a senior. … Listed as the No. 59 defensive end in the country by ESPN. … Was named a Parade All-America “One to Watch” as a senior. … Rated as the No. 13 defensive end prospect in the country by Scout.com. … Listed as the nation’s No. 3 weakside defensive end by Rivals.com.
Nick Williams
High school: Bainbridge (Ga.) High
Position: Safety
Ht./Wt.: 6-3/206
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and a three-star recruit by Scout.com. … An honorable mention selection on the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class AAAA all-state team. … Athletic player who played several positions in high school, but projects as a safety or outside linebacker in college. Was offered by Alabama-Birmingham as a quarterback. Passed for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior. … Listed as the No. 42 “athlete” in the nation by ESPN. … Passed for 1,298 yards and had 41 tackles and three interceptions as a senior. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 20 prospect in Georgia and No. 25 outside linebacker in the country. … Listed as No. 42 safety in country by Scout.com.
Xavier Avery
High school: Cedar Grove High, Ellenwood, Ga.
Position: Athlete
Ht./Wt.: 5-11/185
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … A standout baseball player, batted .668 and stole 47 bases as a junior outfielder. Played in the prestigious AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic last summer in San Diego and is expected to be selected early in baseball’s upcoming first-year player draft in June. … Speedster had 1,600 yards of total offense and 13 yards as a junior. … Listed as the No. 31 running back in the nation by ESPN. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 25 “athlete” in the country and No. 21 prospect in Georgia. … Listed as No. 56 running back in country by Scout.com.
Brandon Boykin
High school: Fayette County High, Fayetteville, Ga.
Position: Cornerback
Ht./Wt.: 5-10/162
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com … Is No. 246 on the Rivals 250. … Named first-team all-state by the Georgia Sportswriters as an “athlete” as a senior. … Listed as the No. 40 cornerback in the nation by ESPN. … Doubled as Fayette County’s quarterback in high school. Ran for 610 yards and 10 touchdowns and passed for 537 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. Had 43 tackles and five interceptions on defense. … Ran for 699 yards and nine touchdowns, along with 45 tackles, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions as a junior. … Listed as the No. 18 prospect in Georgia and No. 15 cornerback by Rivals.com. … Listed by Scout.com as the No. 14 cornerback in the nation.
Sanders Commings
High school: Westside High, Augusta, Ga.
Position: Safety
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/195
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Versatile player who played numerous positions in high school including receiver, running back and safety. Also returns kicks. … Listed as the No. 28 “athlete” in the nation by ESPN. … Sustained broken leg in first game of senior season. … Played baseball in high school and would like to play in college. … Had 400-plus yards both rushing and receiving as a junior. Also made 51 tackles and seven interceptions. … Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 47 overall prospect in Georgia and No. 72 “athlete” in the nation. … Listed as No. 39 cornerback in country by Scout.com.
Marcus Dowtin
High school: Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy
Position: Linebacker
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/215
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Multitalented player rushed for 1,202 yards on 121 carries (9.9 yards per carry) and scored 15 touchdowns as a senior, also recording 76 tackles and nine for a loss. … Ran for 1,132 yards on 137 carries (8.3 per carry) as a junior and scored 15 touchdowns, along with 92 tackles and was named all-conference, all-region and all-state in Virginia. … Recorded 126 tackles as a sophomore. … Was all-league and all-state as a junior. … Also runs track. … Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 16 outside linebacker prospect in the country, No. 6 prospect in Virginia and No. 140 player on the Rivals 250. … Listed as the No. 32 outside linebacker in the country by ESPN. … Listed as No. 7 weakside linebacker in nation by Scout.com.
Cordy Glenn
High school: Riverdale (Ga.) High
Position: Offensive line
Ht./Wt.: 6-6/315
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Was all-county and all-state as a senior, when he averaged five pancake blocks per game. … One of the top offensive line prospects in the Southeast, picked Georgia over offers from numerous SEC and ACC schools. … Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 137 overall prospect on its Rivals 250, No. 16 offensive tackle and No. 13 prospect in Georgia. … Listed as the No. 74 offensive tackle in the country by ESPN. ... Listed as No. 15 offensive tackle in country by Scout.com. … In addition to time at left tackle, also played some defensive tackle and defensive end.
A.J. Green
High school: Summerville (S.C.) High
Position: Wide receiver
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/184
Notes: Listed as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … One of the most prolific high school receivers in history. Finished his career with 5,373 career receiving yards, which is second all-time among American high school receivers. Caught 72 passes for 1,437 yards as a senior and scored 15 receiving touchdowns. Scored 29 total touchdowns as a senior. Caught 65 passes for 1,203 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. … Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 9 overall prospect in the country on its Rivals 250 and the No. 2 receiver. … Ranks No. 5 on the ESPN 150. … Appeared in the Carolina Shrine Bowl and ESPN’s Under Armour All-Star Game after his senior season. … Named to South Carolina Associated Press’ all-state football team all four years of high school and is believed to be the only player in state history to record such a four-peat. … Listed as the No. 2 receiver in the country by ESPN and Scout.com. … Named a Parade All-American as a senior.
A.J. Harmon
High school: Jefferson County High, Louisville, Ga.
Position: Offensive/Defensive line
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/308
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com
Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 54 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250. … Ranks No. 130 on the ESPN 150. … Listed as the No. 3 offensive guard prospect in the country by ESPN. … Considered one of the best offensive line prospects in the nation (No. 2 guard by Rivals.com, No. 10 tackle by Scout.com), but plans to play defensive tackle at Georgia. … Announced commitment to Georgia while playing in U.S. Army All-American Bowl. … Named a Parade All-American as a senior. … Recorded 26 tackles and four sacks as a senior. … Listed as the No. 4 player in Georgia by Rivals.com. … Recorded 70 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and nine sacks as junior.
Akeem Hebron
Previous school: Georgia Military College
Position: Linebacker
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/220
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com
Originally signed with Georgia in 2006 and redshirted during the 2006 season. Was dismissed from the team last spring after two alcohol-related arrests, with the stipulation that he’d be allowed to return if he remained on good behavior at GMC. Is already re-enrolled at Georgia. … Was a highly regarded high school prospect in Maryland, rated a five-star player by Rivals.com and a four-star player by Scout.com. … Posted 110 tackles, 11 sacks and was first-team all-state as a junior. … Played in U.S. Army All-American Bowl after senior season.
Dontavius Jackson
High school: Heard County High, Franklin, Ga.
Position: Running back
Ht./Wt.: 5-11/195
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Broke his wrist early in senior season. Rushed for 2,462 yards on 247 carries (10 yards per carry) and rushed for 29 touchdowns as junior. Ran for 1,374 yards and 16 scores as sophomore. … Posted 70 or more tackles in freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 104 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250 and the No. 11 prospect in Georgia and No. 8 running back. … Graduated from high school early and is already enrolled at Georgia. … Listed as the No. 25 running back in the nation by ESPN. … Accounted for more than 4,500 yards of offense in his high school career. … Named a Parade All-America “One to Watch” as a senior. … Listed as No. 32 running back in country by Scout.com.
Toby Jackson
High school: Griffin (Ga.) High
Position: Defensive end
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/244
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 85 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250, the No. 5 strongside defensive end and the No. 8 prospect in Georgia. … Was voted the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class AAAA Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. … Ranks No. 129 on the ESPN 150. … Listed as the No. 8 defensive end prospect in the country by ESPN. … Recorded 73 tackles, six sacks and 12 tackles for a loss as a junior. … Listed as No. 9 defensive end in country by Scout.com. … Totaled 63 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 15 sacks as a senior.
Ben Jones
High school: Bibb County High, Centreville, Ala.
Position: Center
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/306
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Ranks No. 139 on the ESPN 150. … Alabama Sportswriters’ Class 5A first-team all-state selection as senior. … Graduated from high school early and is already enrolled at Georgia. … Listed as No. 5 center in nation by Scout.com. … Invited to play in Under Armour All-Star Game after senior season. … Also gifted baseball pitcher and first baseman who made Mobile Register’s Elite 18 and Tuscaloosa News’ West Alabama All-Stars. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 7 center in the nation and No. 23 prospect available from Alabama.
Tavarres King
High school: Habersham Central High, Mt. Airy, Ga.
Position: Wide receiver
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/169
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Broke the GHSA’s single-season receiving yards record as a senior when he caught 99 passes for 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns. … Caught 40 passes for 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 88 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250 and No. 9 prospect in Georgia. … Was voted the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class AAAA Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. … Ranks No. 145 on the ESPN 150. … Graduated from high school early and is already enrolled at Georgia. … 2007 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year. … Caught 44 passes for 725 yards as a junior. … Listed as the No. 22 receiver in the country by ESPN and Scout.com.
Jeremy Longo
High school: Cardinal Gibbons High, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Position: Defensive end
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/212
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Recorded 135 tackles, 17 for a loss, and eight sacks as a junior. Recorded 23 tackles in one game against Naples. … Listed as the No. 84 defensive end in the country by ESPN. … Class 3A second-team all-state selection as a senior. … Listed as the No. 30 defensive end in the country by Scout.com and No. 24 weakside defensive end by Rivals.com. … Named first-team all-Broward County as a junior. … Named the No. 89 overall prospect available from Florida by Rivals.com.
Jonathan Owens
High school: Susan Moore High, Blountsville, Ala.
Position: Offensive line
Ht./Wt.: 6-5/295
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Averaged 6.4 pancake blocks per game and graded at 90 percent or above in all 14 games of his junior year. … Listed as the No. 24 offensive tackle in the nation by ESPN. … Alabama Sportswriters’ Class 3A all-state selection as a senior. … Listed as the No. 39 offensive guard in the country by Scout.com and the No. 49 offensive guard by Rivals.com. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 32 prospect available from Alabama.
Makiri Pugh
High school: Independence High, Charlotte, N.C.
Position: Defensive back
Ht./Wt.: 5-10/194
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Comes to Georgia from same program that produced current UGA players Joe Cox and Mohamed Massaquoi and ex-Bulldog Mario Raley. … Listed as the No. 22 cornerback in the country by ESPN. … Listed as the No. 66 safety in the country by Scout.com and the No. 31 safety by Rivals.com. … Transferred to Independence from Maryland power DeMatha Catholic prior to junior season. … Had numerous offers from prominent ACC programs. … Recorded 41 tackles, two interceptions and nine pass breakups as a junior.
Bacarri Rambo
High school: Seminole County High, Donalsonville, Ga.
Position: Athlete
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/195
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … An honorable mention honoree on the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class A all-state team as a senior. … Listed as the No. 26 “athlete” in the nation by ESPN. … Option quarterback in high school ran for 1,186 yards and 21 touchdowns and averaged 9.7 yards per carry as a junior and passed for 488 yards. Made 58 tackles and four interceptions and recovered five fumbles at linebacker. Was named Class A all-state honorable mention. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 29 prospect in Georgia and No. 40 “athlete.” … Rated as the No. 29 safety prospect by Scout.com.
Christian Robinson
High school: Greater Atlanta Christian, Norcross, Ga.
Position: Linebacker
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/204
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and a three-star recruit by Scout.com
199 … Voted first-team all-state by Georgia Sportswriters in Class AA at receiver as a senior. … Listed as the No. 21 outside linebacker in the nation by ESPN. … Father, Ken, played linebacker at South Carolina. … Made 50 tackles as a junior and caught 15 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns. … Recorded 64 tackles and had 48 catches for 876 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior. … Listed as the No. 16 prospect in Georgia and No. 18 outside linebacker by Rivals.com. … Listed as the No. 45 weakside linebacker in the nation by Scout.com.
Bryce Ros
High school: Kennesaw Mountain High, Kennesaw, Ga.
Position: Tight end
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/233
Notes: Listed as a three-star recruit by Scout.com and a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. … Father, Frank Ros, was a captain on Georgia’s 1980 national championship team. … Listed as the No. 28 tight end in the nation by ESPN. … Listed as No. 22 tight end in nation by Scout.com. … Had eight catches for 175 yards and one touchdown as a junior. Also recorded 65 tackles and 10 sacks.
Richard Samuel
High school: Cass High, Cartersville, Ga.
Position: Running back/linebacker
Ht./Wt.: 6-0/197
Notes: Listed as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Graduated from high school early and is already enrolled in school at Georgia. … Will turn 17 years old on Feb. 8. … As a senior, rushed for 1,429 yards on 165 carries (8.7 yards per carry) and scored 24 touchdowns on the ground. Also recorded 82 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks as an outside linebacker. … Rushed for 1,342 yards on 164 carries (8.2 per carry) and scored 19 touchdowns as a junior. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 2 prospect in Georgia and the No. 2 “athlete” in the nation, as well as the No. 24 overall prospect. … Voted first-team all-state in Class AAA at linebacker by Georgia Sportswriters as a senior. … Ranks No. 35 on the ESPN 150. Listed as the No. 5 running back in the nation by ESPN. … Named a Parade All-America “One to Watch” as a senior. … Scout.com ranks him as the nation’s No. 4 running back prospect.
Carlton Thomas
High school: Frostproof (Fla.) High
Position: Running back
Ht./Wt.: 5-7/159
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Scout.com and a three-star recruit by Rivals.com
Ran for 2,283 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior and edged eventual Florida signee Chris Rainey for most among Polk County (Fla.) running backs. … Ranks No. 50 on the ESPN 150. … Rushed for 2,386 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior and was picked for the all-state team. … Listed as the No. 8 running back in the nation by ESPN. … Listed as No. 15 running back in country by Scout.com. … Invited to Under Armour All-Star Game. … Listed as nation’s No. 18 all-purpose running back prospect by Rivals.com.
DeAngelo Tyson
High school: Statesboro (Ga.) High
Position: Defensive tackle
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/276
Notes: Listed as a five-star recruit by Scout.com and a four-star recruit by Rivals.com
Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 45 player in the nation on its Rivals 250, the No. 4 defensive tackle and No. 3 player in Georgia. … Named a first-team all-state Class AAAA defensive lineman by the Georgia Sportswriters as a senior. … Ranks No. 45 on the ESPN 150. … Has lived in a group home away from his parents since age 11. … Listed as the No. 4 defensive tackle in the nation by ESPN. … Named a Parade All-American as a senior. … Named to the U.S. Army All-American Game as a senior. … Recorded 54 tackles and nine sacks as a senior. … Listed by Scout.com as the No. 3 defensive tackle in the nation.
Blair Walsh
High school: Cardinal Gibbons High, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Position: Kicker
Ht./Wt.: 5-10/163
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Scout.com and a three-star recruit by Rivals.com. … One of top kickers in Southeast. … Connected on 13 of 20 field goals with a long of 57 yards as a junior. … Was 21-for-24 on field goals inside 48 yards as a sophomore and junior. … Listed as the No. 5 kicker in the nation by ESPN. … Class 3A second-team all-state selection as a senior. … Was named a Parade All-America “One to Watch” as a senior. … Rated as the nation’s top kicking prospect by Scout.com and the No. 7 kicker by Rivals.com.
Cornelius Washington
High school: Burke County High, Waynesboro, Ga.
Position: Defensive end
Ht./Wt.: 6-4/220
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. … Became first public commitment to Georgia’s 2008 class when he committed at the 2006 UGA summer camp on July 10, 2006. … Is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 101 prospect in the nation on its Rivals 250 and the No. 10 prospect in Georgia. … Recorded 55 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and six sacks and was an honorable mention honoree on the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class AAA all-state team as a senior. … Listed as the No. 59 defensive end in the country by ESPN. … Was named a Parade All-America “One to Watch” as a senior. … Rated as the No. 13 defensive end prospect in the country by Scout.com. … Listed as the nation’s No. 3 weakside defensive end by Rivals.com.
Nick Williams
High school: Bainbridge (Ga.) High
Position: Safety
Ht./Wt.: 6-3/206
Notes: Listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and a three-star recruit by Scout.com. … An honorable mention selection on the Georgia Sportswriters’ Class AAAA all-state team. … Athletic player who played several positions in high school, but projects as a safety or outside linebacker in college. Was offered by Alabama-Birmingham as a quarterback. Passed for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior. … Listed as the No. 42 “athlete” in the nation by ESPN. … Passed for 1,298 yards and had 41 tackles and three interceptions as a senior. … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 20 prospect in Georgia and No. 25 outside linebacker in the country. … Listed as No. 42 safety in country by Scout.com.
Nick Williams finished
Dean is talking with Nick Williams right now. Said he just signed, so that might round out today's group. There are still some rumors going around about Dwayne Allen, so we'll see what happens. It sounded like a done deal a while ago.
Signing day show
If you're interested, the NFL Network is televising a Signing Day show tonight at 8. There will be a bunch of analysts from Scout.com on the show.
Possible drama
Work around the media room is that Dwayne Allen may be going to Clemson after all. Stay tuned.
Marcus Dowtin makes 19
Still out:
A.J. Green
Dwayne Allen
Makiri Pugh
Cornelius Washington
Carlton Thomas
Nick Williams
A.J. Green
Dwayne Allen
Makiri Pugh
Cornelius Washington
Carlton Thomas
Nick Williams
And we're off
I just got here not long ago. So far, they've got paperwork on Bryce Ros and Bacarri Rambo. The crowd in the Butts-Mehre lobby's growing already.
Thoughts on Josh Willis
The news has been out for a day or so now about former UGA snapper Josh Willis dying in a car wreck on the way back to Athens on Monday morning. Thoughts and prayers to his family. It's impossible for me to comprehend how difficult it must be to lose a child at 19. Life is just so fleeting...which is a subject that has been on my mind a lot lately. My best friend died unexpectedly two Saturdays ago, from bacterial meningitis of all things. He's just there one day and gone the next. His wife's a widow at age 29 and his little boy is without a daddy at age 2. It's devastating.
But this isn't about me or my friend. It's tragic when anybody is taken at such a young age. I hope maybe a tragic story like either one of these reminds us all to let the people we love know it. You never know when it might be the last time you get to tell them.
But this isn't about me or my friend. It's tragic when anybody is taken at such a young age. I hope maybe a tragic story like either one of these reminds us all to let the people we love know it. You never know when it might be the last time you get to tell them.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Portions of Richt recruiting teleconference
Here are some select quotes from Mark Richt's Friday teleconference. I know there were some highlights posted on UGA's official site on Friday, but I just now got around to transcribing what I needed from it until today...Was getting ready to go to a friend's funeral just after the teleconference on Friday, so I just never got around to doing much with these quotes until now.
Anyway, like I mentioned earlier, check in with me tomorrow and I'll keep you up to date on the faxes as they arrive and are announced. So here's Richt:
On the approach they take to securing commitments:
We try to kind of target the number of guys at each position. We usually go out a couple years and say, ‘Hey, two years from now these seniors will be gone. What’s it gonna look like?’ Then we kinda get a feel of how many guys we need to get to reach a target number. We have a target number, give or take. It’s not 100 percent, ‘Well there’s only gonna be four QBs or five QBs’ or whatever it is. We have a certain number that is a goal at each position and then that’s kind of how we base it. Sometimes toward the end, if you hit every number almost right where you target it, that works out great. Sometimes you didn’t get as many as you wanted at a certain position, so you start looking at the best available athlete. It’s definitely an inexact science. But we do have a plan and we try to stay within one or two of a target number at any position.
On the tranquility of the last month of recruiting:
I really haven’t had to do much recruiting when you get into the home visits at this point. I think every single house that I went to, the young man had already been committed. So I was saying we weren’t really recruiting as much as celebrating the decisions that had been made already. That’s kinda what we’ve been doing, just enjoying each others’ company and getting to know each other a little bit better and just celebrating it. It is a time of celebration for these families and for these young men and for Georgia. So that’s kinda what’s been going on.
On whether he missed having to make the hard sell:
No, not at all. I don’t miss it one bit.
On making early offers and getting early commits these days:
It’s just the way things are going nowadays. You can’t hardly keep it from happening. High school coaches and players are visiting a lot more. A lot of parents are taking young men on that tour in the summer, trying to target the schools that they’re very interested in and maybe doing a day’s worth of camp or maybe just going and visiting people and getting to know them. There’s a lot of unofficial visits going going on in the summer now. So we do know a lot more about these guys faster than we used to and of course, I think the access to video is just so much better than it used to be. We certainly have great relationships with our high school coaches across the state, and even some areas we’ve been hitting over the years out of state. So when you add all that together, plus when you begin a cycle of getting your class wrapped up relatively early, then at this time of the year you spend a lot more time junior recruiting as far as evaluating juniors now. It used to be in the spring, you’d go evaluate the juniors. Now everybody’s evaluating juniors right now, and it’s not just us.
On the drawbacks to the early commitment game:
Well what happens is, the biggest problem I see is trying to see the entire pool of athletes at any one position before you start targeting them or start to rank them in your mind or on your board. You will look at film of a young man and say, ‘This guy is very capable,’ and then let’s say there’s 10 out there at a certain position. Well you might have enough time to evaluate the first five, let’s say, and you think those guys are all worthy of an offer because you believe they can all get the job done, but you haven’t seen the other five yet. Sometimes you can get a bunch of guys committed before you can see the pool. So when we do offer a young man this time of the year, I’ll tell the staff, I’ll say, ‘Men, let’s be certain if we offer this young man and he commits that we’re gonna be excited about it.’ So we are, we’re not throwing out as many offers as maybe some other schools because we do want to see the pool. But there are some guys that we feel strongly enough about to offer early. But again, you don’t want to offer until you feel very confident that he’s the type of player, the type of person, the type of student that you want.
On whether he knows how many offers they've made for 2009:
No, but there’s a few out there. There’s been a few out there. We’re not going at breakneck speed. This year coming up, I’m not sure what the number will be, but we don’t have a lot of seniors next year so it’s gonna be interesting to see what that number ends up being.
On whether they have to threaten verbal commitments who are looking elsewhere:
Yeah we’ve done that before. I think we might’ve done it at least a couple times this year. Sometimes we’ll do it. Here’s what I tell them, every once in a while, I might point blank and say, ‘If you do, we’re gonna take that as you’re not committed.’ There’s other times where we’ll say, ‘If you keep dancing, so to speak, with others, then you take the risk of losing your opportunity to play at Georgia. That’s just the risk that you’ve gotta take. We’re not going back on what we said, but are you really committed or not?’
On their relative level of health compared to last year (particularly at OL):
Right now I think we’re real healthy. I’m not gonna sit here and say that something couldn’t happen at a position to put us into more of a dire straight. You’re usually in a dire straight when not only do you need X amount of linemen or a certain position, but those guys need to play right now. That’s when you really have reached a point that you shouldn’t reach. We got to that point last year, but by the grace of God we were able to not only get the players that we felt we needed – a tremendous amount of good-looking linemen – but also a lot of them had to play for us and we came through with a season that was outstanding. I never would have predicted that it could’ve ended like that. It went like I thought. I thought we’d start a little rough and I thought we’d get better as the season went on, but I didn’t predict everybody else losing a couple games and us to be in the position we ended up in. But you hope you don’t get in a spot where, it’s one thing to feel like you need a certain amount of guys at a certain position, it’s another thing for them to have to go play for you right away. That’s where we were with linemen and I’m hoping we don’t have to be in that position again at any position.
On John Lilly's addition to the coaching staff:
It’s obvious John’s track record as a recruiter is outstanding. He’s always done a tremendous job at Florida State as a recruiting coordinator and also as a recruiter. Everyone knows that not one man does all the work. Rodney’s very free to let everybody know that we all recruit here, we all get the job done, and the recruiting coordinator probably gets too much credit sometimes or too much blame sometimes, but everybody’s got to get the job done. But John as an individual recruiter has done a fantastic job. He’s gonna fit in very well here with the type of man that he is, the type of coach that he is. We certainly didn’t bring in coach Lilly because, boy he’s a great recruiter and that’s the only reason we brought him in. No. 1, he’s an outstanding person and he’s gonna buy into the way we like to do things around here and No. 2 he’s an outstanding coach. I guess you could say 2 and 3 are the same to us. If you’re gonna be an outstanding coach, you also have to be an outstanding recruiter. He cares about the guys that he coaches. I really admire that about him.
On their increased in-state success this year compared to last year:
We didn’t do anything much different. Every once in a while, there’s a guy that’s just flat out gonna leave or for whatever reason he doesn’t think the timing’s right for him here at Georgia. We really want guys that want to be here. We don’t want to have to peg anybody, we don’t hard press anybody for commitments. There’ve been times in this class especially where we have told young men that we’re running out of room. There’s only so many spots, so we’ve had to do that a little bit. But never some kind of ploy, just telling them the reality of the situation. I think our year here probably helped us a little bit, just kinda playing the way we did. Not only to maybe help get some commitments in-state, but also to maybe keep guys from looking around a little bit because they’re like, ‘Hey, where else should we go? Because Georgia’s a pretty hot team right now.’
On their philosophy of recruiting in Georgia first:
Our philosophy is we must recruit our state. We must scour every school in the state and find the best players that are qualified and that are the type of young men that we want to have. And then if we go out of state, I don’t ever want to take a guy out of state that I could’ve got in-state, so to speak. So if we’re recruiting a guy out of state, we think he’s a guy that maybe we just can’t find within our own state. Because of that, I think we’ve hit a pretty high percentage of out-of-state guys. It’s guys that have been contributors for us.
Anyway, like I mentioned earlier, check in with me tomorrow and I'll keep you up to date on the faxes as they arrive and are announced. So here's Richt:
On the approach they take to securing commitments:
We try to kind of target the number of guys at each position. We usually go out a couple years and say, ‘Hey, two years from now these seniors will be gone. What’s it gonna look like?’ Then we kinda get a feel of how many guys we need to get to reach a target number. We have a target number, give or take. It’s not 100 percent, ‘Well there’s only gonna be four QBs or five QBs’ or whatever it is. We have a certain number that is a goal at each position and then that’s kind of how we base it. Sometimes toward the end, if you hit every number almost right where you target it, that works out great. Sometimes you didn’t get as many as you wanted at a certain position, so you start looking at the best available athlete. It’s definitely an inexact science. But we do have a plan and we try to stay within one or two of a target number at any position.
On the tranquility of the last month of recruiting:
I really haven’t had to do much recruiting when you get into the home visits at this point. I think every single house that I went to, the young man had already been committed. So I was saying we weren’t really recruiting as much as celebrating the decisions that had been made already. That’s kinda what we’ve been doing, just enjoying each others’ company and getting to know each other a little bit better and just celebrating it. It is a time of celebration for these families and for these young men and for Georgia. So that’s kinda what’s been going on.
On whether he missed having to make the hard sell:
No, not at all. I don’t miss it one bit.
On making early offers and getting early commits these days:
It’s just the way things are going nowadays. You can’t hardly keep it from happening. High school coaches and players are visiting a lot more. A lot of parents are taking young men on that tour in the summer, trying to target the schools that they’re very interested in and maybe doing a day’s worth of camp or maybe just going and visiting people and getting to know them. There’s a lot of unofficial visits going going on in the summer now. So we do know a lot more about these guys faster than we used to and of course, I think the access to video is just so much better than it used to be. We certainly have great relationships with our high school coaches across the state, and even some areas we’ve been hitting over the years out of state. So when you add all that together, plus when you begin a cycle of getting your class wrapped up relatively early, then at this time of the year you spend a lot more time junior recruiting as far as evaluating juniors now. It used to be in the spring, you’d go evaluate the juniors. Now everybody’s evaluating juniors right now, and it’s not just us.
On the drawbacks to the early commitment game:
Well what happens is, the biggest problem I see is trying to see the entire pool of athletes at any one position before you start targeting them or start to rank them in your mind or on your board. You will look at film of a young man and say, ‘This guy is very capable,’ and then let’s say there’s 10 out there at a certain position. Well you might have enough time to evaluate the first five, let’s say, and you think those guys are all worthy of an offer because you believe they can all get the job done, but you haven’t seen the other five yet. Sometimes you can get a bunch of guys committed before you can see the pool. So when we do offer a young man this time of the year, I’ll tell the staff, I’ll say, ‘Men, let’s be certain if we offer this young man and he commits that we’re gonna be excited about it.’ So we are, we’re not throwing out as many offers as maybe some other schools because we do want to see the pool. But there are some guys that we feel strongly enough about to offer early. But again, you don’t want to offer until you feel very confident that he’s the type of player, the type of person, the type of student that you want.
On whether he knows how many offers they've made for 2009:
No, but there’s a few out there. There’s been a few out there. We’re not going at breakneck speed. This year coming up, I’m not sure what the number will be, but we don’t have a lot of seniors next year so it’s gonna be interesting to see what that number ends up being.
On whether they have to threaten verbal commitments who are looking elsewhere:
Yeah we’ve done that before. I think we might’ve done it at least a couple times this year. Sometimes we’ll do it. Here’s what I tell them, every once in a while, I might point blank and say, ‘If you do, we’re gonna take that as you’re not committed.’ There’s other times where we’ll say, ‘If you keep dancing, so to speak, with others, then you take the risk of losing your opportunity to play at Georgia. That’s just the risk that you’ve gotta take. We’re not going back on what we said, but are you really committed or not?’
On their relative level of health compared to last year (particularly at OL):
Right now I think we’re real healthy. I’m not gonna sit here and say that something couldn’t happen at a position to put us into more of a dire straight. You’re usually in a dire straight when not only do you need X amount of linemen or a certain position, but those guys need to play right now. That’s when you really have reached a point that you shouldn’t reach. We got to that point last year, but by the grace of God we were able to not only get the players that we felt we needed – a tremendous amount of good-looking linemen – but also a lot of them had to play for us and we came through with a season that was outstanding. I never would have predicted that it could’ve ended like that. It went like I thought. I thought we’d start a little rough and I thought we’d get better as the season went on, but I didn’t predict everybody else losing a couple games and us to be in the position we ended up in. But you hope you don’t get in a spot where, it’s one thing to feel like you need a certain amount of guys at a certain position, it’s another thing for them to have to go play for you right away. That’s where we were with linemen and I’m hoping we don’t have to be in that position again at any position.
On John Lilly's addition to the coaching staff:
It’s obvious John’s track record as a recruiter is outstanding. He’s always done a tremendous job at Florida State as a recruiting coordinator and also as a recruiter. Everyone knows that not one man does all the work. Rodney’s very free to let everybody know that we all recruit here, we all get the job done, and the recruiting coordinator probably gets too much credit sometimes or too much blame sometimes, but everybody’s got to get the job done. But John as an individual recruiter has done a fantastic job. He’s gonna fit in very well here with the type of man that he is, the type of coach that he is. We certainly didn’t bring in coach Lilly because, boy he’s a great recruiter and that’s the only reason we brought him in. No. 1, he’s an outstanding person and he’s gonna buy into the way we like to do things around here and No. 2 he’s an outstanding coach. I guess you could say 2 and 3 are the same to us. If you’re gonna be an outstanding coach, you also have to be an outstanding recruiter. He cares about the guys that he coaches. I really admire that about him.
On their increased in-state success this year compared to last year:
We didn’t do anything much different. Every once in a while, there’s a guy that’s just flat out gonna leave or for whatever reason he doesn’t think the timing’s right for him here at Georgia. We really want guys that want to be here. We don’t want to have to peg anybody, we don’t hard press anybody for commitments. There’ve been times in this class especially where we have told young men that we’re running out of room. There’s only so many spots, so we’ve had to do that a little bit. But never some kind of ploy, just telling them the reality of the situation. I think our year here probably helped us a little bit, just kinda playing the way we did. Not only to maybe help get some commitments in-state, but also to maybe keep guys from looking around a little bit because they’re like, ‘Hey, where else should we go? Because Georgia’s a pretty hot team right now.’
On their philosophy of recruiting in Georgia first:
Our philosophy is we must recruit our state. We must scour every school in the state and find the best players that are qualified and that are the type of young men that we want to have. And then if we go out of state, I don’t ever want to take a guy out of state that I could’ve got in-state, so to speak. So if we’re recruiting a guy out of state, we think he’s a guy that maybe we just can’t find within our own state. Because of that, I think we’ve hit a pretty high percentage of out-of-state guys. It’s guys that have been contributors for us.
Signing day coverage
Will be heading up to Athens later tonight to be at Butts-Mehre early tomorrow morning. It doesn't appear there will be much drama like there has been in recent years with Antwane Greenlee and Chris Little switching commitments last year and UGA adding Reshad Jones and Knowshon Moreno on signing day two years ago (two pretty big gets in hindsight, huh?).
Most of the drama seems to have already been resolved for this year, with Dwayne Allen reaffirming his commitment yesterday. Interesting that it required a news conference to say you haven't changed your mind after all. Anyway, like I did last year, I'll deliver news of the letters of intent arriving over the fax machine as they are announced. And later in the day, I'll drop some thoughts from the coaches and whoever else they make available. I'm fairly certain some, if not all, of the five early enrollees will be around at the afternoon press conference.
So check in tomorrow and I'll try to be diligent in updating throughout the morning.
Most of the drama seems to have already been resolved for this year, with Dwayne Allen reaffirming his commitment yesterday. Interesting that it required a news conference to say you haven't changed your mind after all. Anyway, like I did last year, I'll deliver news of the letters of intent arriving over the fax machine as they are announced. And later in the day, I'll drop some thoughts from the coaches and whoever else they make available. I'm fairly certain some, if not all, of the five early enrollees will be around at the afternoon press conference.
So check in tomorrow and I'll try to be diligent in updating throughout the morning.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Two more commits for 2009
I know the recruitniks were already all over this stuff, but I'm just now getting around to posting about it. I had some personal stuff to deal with this weekend and have been away from computers since Thursday morning.
Anyway, Georgia's up to five commitments for its 2009 recruiting class after adding Chris Burnette and Zach Mettenberger in the last couple days.
Burnette is one of the better offensive line prospects in the state. The 6-foot-3, 275-pounder plays offensive tackle at Troup County High in LaGrange, but the recruiting analysts project him as a guard or center in college. Rivals.com lists him as the No. 14 prospect in Georgia.
Dean has a story up right now on Dawgpost about Mettenberger's commitment. Once word came down that Georgia had offered him, it was definitely not a surprise commitment considering that his mother works in the football office. Mettenberger is a big kid (6-foot-5, 208 pounds) with a big arm. He passed for 1,333 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a junior at Oconee County High in Watkinsville. Rivals lists him as the No. 10 prospect in Georgia for '09.
Anyway, Georgia's up to five commitments for its 2009 recruiting class after adding Chris Burnette and Zach Mettenberger in the last couple days.
Burnette is one of the better offensive line prospects in the state. The 6-foot-3, 275-pounder plays offensive tackle at Troup County High in LaGrange, but the recruiting analysts project him as a guard or center in college. Rivals.com lists him as the No. 14 prospect in Georgia.
Dean has a story up right now on Dawgpost about Mettenberger's commitment. Once word came down that Georgia had offered him, it was definitely not a surprise commitment considering that his mother works in the football office. Mettenberger is a big kid (6-foot-5, 208 pounds) with a big arm. He passed for 1,333 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a junior at Oconee County High in Watkinsville. Rivals lists him as the No. 10 prospect in Georgia for '09.
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