Couple of Thoughts

Lots of holes in the ramblings below, fill them up, you folks know the game.

Looking over some of the recruiting in the SEC, Georgia is a very impressive State when it comes to football players on the high school level. Coaches from every school in the SEC keep a serious focus on the Peach State, in a lot of cases, more so than they do in their own state.

Amazing how many D1 football players from Georgia end up in Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and to some degree Florida. Florida has a limitless supply of D1 players. Same can be said for Georgia.

Looking at some of the Saban/Smart choices, the results speak for themselves. Players from Georgia have played a huge role in the Crystal that resides in Tuscaloosa. Appears that, or should I say, it would surprise me if Saban/Smart do not come away with two of the best players in the country at their respective positions. Both of these young men played most or all of their high school football in Georgia. Robert Nkemdiche from Grayson High School and Reuben Foster who now plays for Auburn High School in Alabama.

On top of that, it appears that Derrick Henry of Yulee High School, from Yulee, Florida might be moving his 5*’s to Tuscaloosa. Appeared to be a solid commit to UGA when he first spoke, but now it is not a certainty.

This is not a gloom and doom post, it just goes to show how much winning and putting together the right coaching personnel means to any SEC football team. Saban knew that Smart was his first choice and best choice. Saban can pick and choose. That has worked well and it was a good decision that Saban made. A short time back Smart had thoughts and was approached by UGA. Kirby took a long look and he had some serious words coming from a proven winner in Saban and we see how that turned out. There have been coaches to leave Alabama under Saban’s reign, but the one constant that Saban knew he needed was Kirby Smart. Players of course mean a lot, but we should never forget the leadership and that includes the entire coaching staff make these young men become the best that they can be.

Mark Richt made a move that moved me off center when he hired Todd Grantham. Do not know the ins and outs of that decision, meaning who was really responsible for Todd Grantham taking the Defensive Coordinators position. Regardless of how that decision was made, it was a damn good one.

Mentioned a few miles back in this post that many really good football players were casting their lot with universities outside of the Georgia State lines. It appears to me as I look over the UGA Roster that there are few players that wear the Red and Black that are not Georgia natives. Takes me back to the statement that I make often on this board . . . . Todd Grantham said that within a five hour radius of Athens, there was a National Championship. Think about that statement for a minute. Has the defense improved in three years? Are we getting the type players that can back that statement up? If this defense does what many in the media and elsewhere seem to think, my bet is that Todd Grantham knew what the heck he was talking about. This season will answer that question.

What do we have going on at UGA right now? Mark Richt is a closer when it comes to sitting in living rooms. Todd Grantham has proven that he can build a defense with players from the area he mentioned when coming on board. Cannot at this point leave Mike Bobo out of this. Whether we agree with his offensive tactics or not, Mike can recruit, and some of these young men from Georgia have his name all over their jerseys. Have said in other posts that I really like what I see from all of the coaches on the defensive side. What is not to like when they are bringing good football players to the Athens Campus. Would love to see the offense go nuts this season.

What changed in Athens that had been missing for too many years? I do not believe that our coaching staff prior to Todd Grantham had the necessary fire and must say this, the knowledge to be a contender in the SEC. I also believe that Todd Grantham and Mark Richt over three years have built a bond that is necessary. On the scale of Saban/Smart, not yet, do believe that we are making serious steps in that direction. Do I believe that Mark Richt would have won a National Championship at UGA without Todd Grantham? No. Do I think that Saban would have been as successful as he has been in Tuscaloosa without Smart? No. Smart is tough as nails on the recruiting trail. Saban needs a hoss, he has one.

Much has been said about the schedule UGA has this season. I say this, just win every damn game and shut Spurrier’s mouth (impossible) he is playing the media big time. Grantham has his eyes on SS in Columbia, would love to come out of there with a big time win. Can be done. They had a hard time back when we had a fumbling backfield, and last year they had one of the better defenses in the country but we still put points on them. Will be different this season. Different football team.

Know that I talk a lot, some things never change. This group of players have all that is necessary to do some incredible things. Remember, we shut LSU down in the first half. This season we will be a half better.

So many recruits in Georgia Buc it is impossible to get them all but we should at least get 3 out of the top 5 in the state. Not going to happen when you got Saban and UGA Alumni Smart coming across the State line and waving those NC rings around. Makes one hell of an impression on 16-17 year old young men. Forget Henry he will switch to Alabama and play RB for Saban. He knows with the talent now in Athens RB will be a hard road and UGA will switch him to LB or Safety, so he is gone. Nkemdiche will not wear the Red and Black, would not suprise me if Ole Miss lands him, if not he is Bama bound. Foster will de commit and play for Aubuurn. So the only #1 and #2 players in the country to ever come out of Georgia will not be playing in thier home state. Sad deal if you ask me.

We have always recruited well but it has been 31 years since a NC team in Athens. Sure CMR can say hey if you want to play in the NFL come to UGA you stand a better chance with us than you do with a lot of our SEC competition, but these young men now days say what has UGA done lately, and we can point to just some bowl wins and #2 ranking 5 years ago. Hardly impressive as opposed to the last 6 NC wins by our competition. In all fairness we make it easy for Saban, Chizak and yes even the Old Ball coach to come into our house and steal our best players with talk of SEC titles and a very high chance of a NC. In a nutshell I still refuse to drink any of the kool aid, the talent is there for the taking but we must improve our standing from a second tier SEC team if we want to get the best this state has to offer.

ogredawg, really good post. As usual you are straight to the facts and that cannot be denied.

This season there should not be a let down from this group of players. Disappointing that some got themselves into a bit of trouble. Especially after some of the players that were going to be drafted into the NFL made it clear that they were not leaving with a bad taste in their mouth. Jarvis Jones we all know could be a millionaire right now. This old Dawg will never forget him and the commitment that he made. That is the type of player that moves our program forward, we all know that we need some of that . . . movement forward.

Another aspect to this season that really intrigues me ogredawg is the number of scholarships remaining and what the coaches will do with them. Meaning positions and such. Going to be a lot of young men that will defer because of playing time. That is what happens when a university begins to move up the ladder with really good athletes. That is the reason that Saban can now "cherry pick". Loads of good athletes, he and his recruiters can concentrate on the best. Makes for as you say, NC Rings that these young players are aware of. Saban can spend a lot of his time now on TV and we all know that is a distinct advantage and one of the reasons that Urban Meyer high tailed it.

I like your point on Henry, would love to have him, but it appears that running back is now in a position to turn a lot of heads. I don't think that Henry is afraid of competition, but these young men for the most part are hell bent to get into the NFL. Best way to do that is show your wares on Saturday. Can't blame Henry if he ends up in Tuscaloosa, he is coming into his prime and let's face it . . . Alabama usually has a very good offensive line. As they will again this season.

Buc, I am optimistic and realistic.
We are talented but can we gel as a team?
Who will provide the leadership necessary to maximize all this talent?
Our schedule favors us but might also work against us.
The verdict is out.

Here on the first of June with under 100 days until the season starts.

Lets go play - one game-one win at a time.

Do that for the first 11 games and we can talk about the opportunity to play in the SECCG.

As I said in an earlier post,this group of players and coaches and flat out pissed and mad about how the wheels fell off the last two games last season.

CTG barked this all spring practice and the players and other coaches have signed on to his "Tude"

Might be the same old song, but the singers have changed.

By the time fall practice ends and we get to Mizzou we will have a good idea what we have in the tank.

My money says this years Dawg will bite on you for all four quarters. "Go Dawgs"

averagedawg wrote: Buc, I am optimistic and realistic.
We are talented but can we gel as a team?
Who will provide the leadership necessary to maximize all this talent?
Our schedule favors us but might also work against us.
The verdict is out.

averagedawg, points taken.

As has been mentioned before, there has always been talent in Athens. Schedule supposedly favored us last year. Leadership has to come from Mark Richt in certain areas.

Reading your post makes me think about what ogredawg stated, not drinking the kool aid just yet. This could be the team and the year that our football team reaches a higher standing in all of our minds, hope so.

Lots of pressure on Mark Richt as Head Coach, I think more than before all of the "hot seat" talk. This group is "expected" to be a top ten team, that is pretty lofty. Many folks like to talk about being #1, I would like that, however if UGA is in the top ten at the end of the year, like it or not, it is an accomplishment.

Speaking for myself, I would sacrifice a wide or split receiver for two good tightends. Many good things happen when we have solid tightends and a stable of running backs. Personally looking forward to Quayvon Hicks, and that is not down playing Ogletree. This backfield is loaded. Coach'em up!

Going to say it . . . open that offense up, change some things that were becoming too routine and did not need to be scouted. Spurrier especially has problems with the unknown, as do many others. Spurrier coached teams hate it when they have to cover the tight ends. Little history lesson there.

Edit: Liked the following comment from yankeedawg1.

CTG barked this all spring practice and the players and other coaches have signed on to his "Tude"