This thread with its follow up posts has been very interesting to me. On the sidelines reading what is being said and respecting the back and forth with BulldogShannon and wlayton. Posts leave no doubt where these two guys are coming from . . . . As if we did not know before. If the UGA football team shows anywhere near the backbone the two of you are, this is going to be one hell of a season. Respect for both of you, and appreciate the way two regulars can go back and forth. Reminds me of some months back when sadlerdawg and a couple of folks on this board had a very lively discussion.
Different parts of the discussion made me think back and reflect on what has happened to UGA football. Joe Cox. I know that he did everything he could for UGA. The one redeeming factor in my mind about JC is that he played hurt, maybe severely so his last year. If I am a defensive coordinator in the SEC and know that JC was a wounded athlete and chances were that he was not going to beat us down field, makes my week of game planning much easier. If I look back, I see an awful lot of folks down in the box. JC quite frankly had two things going against him . . . Wounded and playing for a coordinator that I still don’t have a good feeling for. However, at that point Mark Richt made that call.
Mark Richt is a Christian man. If you are a believer, it is several steps higher than college football. However, all of us have had or have a job that requires separating one’s self from strict guidelines. In my opinion, Mark Richt has not done that, and he has admitted that in a round about way.
Whether we get three star, five star or no star athletes, I believe it comes down to the head coach. I watched VanGorder leave along with a few others. I saw talented coaches being replaced by Mark Richt, replaced with coaches that apparently did not have the stuff for the position they were appointed to. Don’t need to dwell on that, facts are facts.
When a head coach from a major college sits in the homes of these athletes, he is not only addressing the athlete, he is also putting his image in front of the family. Let’s be serious here, Mom’s want what is best for their sons. Religion and discipline play a large role at this point. Need to be mindful of this point, Mom is not going to be putting the pads on. This is where some Father’s step up, as in the case of Auburn last season and move religion aside for the love of a greenback. Talking about a Minister with a following. Guess the minister and Mark Richt take separate paths in guidance at this point.
Again, whether the athlete is however many stars according to the “experts” that does not seem to have changed the course of UGA football in the last several years. Arrests, and more arrests, from athletes that were recruited to UGA in the families living room, and I promise you that “arrests” were not part of the conversation at that point. Mark Richt is talking about guidance and helping the athlete to become all he can be.
UGA’s reputation has not flourished as far as I can discern. Under the leadership of Mark Richt, the last few seasons have not lived up to what he is telling the Mom’s in their living rooms. Once upon a time UGA was called the “Party School of the South”, I am sure some of you remember that tag. Playing in JAX, how did the nation see the game advertised . . . . Something about a large cocktail party. That did not start with Mark Richt, it however has not changed since he has been at UGA. For example, a young man from my area that attended high school with my daughter was beaten to death at the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”. Literally beaten to death with fists and feet. There has been too much drama surrounding UGA and the football program for too long. I personally feel that strong leadership is needed, and we are beginning to hear some of that from Mark Richt. Takes more than words, actions speak a lot louder. McGarity enters the picture at this point.
Back to this. These young football players today don’t really listen to their Mom’s. Ready for this . . . Coaches like Chizik break out the Cadillacs and play to a different drummer. One fan from Alabama gets caught up in the BS and does a number on the landscape in Auburn, Alabama. What is next, AK47’s. Think I am joking, what about the fan getting beaten within an inch of his life in San Francisco at a baseball game. You and I know that emotions don’t run nearly as high at a baseball game as they do in the football stadiums. Not even close.
Guess I come down to this. Something has to change at UGA for us to be all we can be. I still think of players like Moreno sitting and then leaving early. There have been far too many instances of the coaches either not recognizing talent, whether 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 or utilizing the talent. Appears to me that the supposed fence around the State of Georgia is like that leaky fence between the USA and Mexico. Someone needs to step up.
One last shot. Mullen went to Miss State and the UF program under Meyer went downhill. Meyer was smart enough to leave town. He had come to the point that “even UGA could beat UF in JAX. One man’s opinion. Mark Richt needs to show leadership, then the star athletes might stay. I am still uneasy about the O side of the football team.
Go Dawgs . . . . Better coach’em up. Time waits for no one.
