Satisfied With 2013 --Time To Coach'em Up!

WD....from your mouth to God's ears....

wlayton, you have said nothing that many of us have not said, recently or in the past. I just feel that so much has changed with our football team over the past couple of years. We were coming apart at the seams and it was easy for folks like me to start pointing a finger . . . . and I did.

Took me a while to realize that something different was going on in Athens with our coaches. Something needed to change, and I truly believe that some if not all of the necessary changes were made.

There is going to be a time of "flushing" some of the recent developments down the drain, such as coaching changes. Not going to be too long on this particular subject, but we will see how Garner versus Wilson plays out in the future. There was a reason for Grantham bringing Chris Wilson to Athens. Grantham knows a lot of people, been in the business of coaching on a lot of levels in his life. Grantham chose Chris Wilson.

Allow me this. I think we are seeing some of what Saban's disciples in the coaching ranks have learned from him. First thing Saban did after losing to UGA in his first meeting with the Dawgs was put together a defense that was capable of stopping SEC teams. The man is football smart, did not take him long to recognize what had to happen. This is the SEC and if you don't play defense you don't win championships. Came back to Athens and gave us a "Blackeye". Played Florida in Atlanta and made Tebow cry, and Urban Meyer pack his bags and leave.

When I look at this years class, to me it is like looking back at the way Saban did things. He for the first three years made it a point of recruiting on the defensive side heavily. We just copied what Saban has been doing with the Tide. It will pay dividends, just when, don't know, but I really like the talent that has been assembled by Grantham. This Spring, competition on the defensive side is going to be brutal . . . . just the way Saban builds championships. This sticks in my mind heavily . . . . Saban said that Kirby Smart was the best he has ever had, and he has had some good ones, which include Grantham. Anyone ever stop to think why Kirby Smart was given that praise, not too hard to figure, he is one of the best DEFENSIVE COACHES in the college ranks. Saban likes defense.

Next step is doing the same with the offensive side of the ball. We are very close to being very good. Again I believe that Mike Bobo grew up, served his apprenticeship, and he can now count on a couple of things that he could not before . . . . a defense that likes to take the ball away from the opposition, and give the offense good field position. Think Mike Bobo learned the same lesson that Mark Richt did with BMOC type players. As Duck and others have said, get the young men that want to learn and play. There will always be casualties with young players, we had way too many in the recent past that thought they were above it, and could do as they damn well chose. I believe Mark Richt is through with that. Makes me a happy camper.

Interesting break down from MrSEC.com

Saban gets 90% (9 out of 10) of the Alabama top recruits along with 3 or 4 of the top recruits from GA.

All I can say is WOW. NC's speak volumes in recruiting these young men for sure.

Stats from Mr.SEC


To summarize our state-by-state look at which SEC states a) produced the most prospects this year and b) had the highest percentage of top 10 recruits stay in state, we’ve put together a simple comparison chart for you.

Below you’ll see the total number 5-star prospects to come from each SEC state this year. Ditto 4-star prospects and 3-star prospects. We’ve also tallied those three categories so you can get a better idea of which league states produced the most quality recruits in 2013.

Finally, we’ve included the percentage of each state’s top 10 prospects to stay near home. As always, we’ve used Rivals.com’s star rankings. The teams are ranked in order of the total number of 3-, 4-, and 5-star recruits produced.



School 5-stars 4-stars 3-stars Total % Top 10 Staying In State
Florida 5 47 167 219 40%
Texas 2 43 168 213 60%
Georgia 4 20 103 127 10%
Louisiana 1 12 36 49 70%
Mississippi 1 11 36 48 80%
Alabama 2 12 25 39 90%
Tennessee 2 7 17 26 40%
Missouri 0 3 19 22 50%
S. Carolina 0 5 15 20 60%
Arkansas 0 2 8 10 70%
Kentucky 0 3 6 9 50%



This data falls in line with what we’ve seen year after year over the five-year life of this website. There are clearly five levels of talent-production in the Southeastern Conference states:



1. Florida and Texas

2. Georgia

3. Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

4. Tennessee, Missouri and South Carolina

5. Arkansas and Kentucky



Now, this is hardly a perfect breakdown. Auburn is about as close to Georgia as it can be without actually being in Georgia. Tennessee is closer to talent-rich Atlanta and Charlotte and Cincinnati than it is to Memphis, a city inside its own borders.

Still, if you’re looking for a simple state-by-state breakdown, there’s no debating which states have a talent-production advantage over their neighbors.

Good post ogredawg. More than interesting.

To me it shows what was mentioned earlier in this thread. There is a huge effort by SEC schools trying to get the talent that is in Georgia. Tennessee and Auburn have always worked hard in the State of Georgia and came away with talented football players. This didn't just start under the present regime, goes back eons ago.

Going to come out and say it, have played around the edges for too long. I am glad that Garner is gone. I believe he did not have UGA's best interest at heart once Todd Grantham walked on campus. Garner scored with some players in this NSD, he was also exposed by one player in particular that signed on with us after he knew Garner was gone.

Don't like Auburn and looking forward to our meetings more than ever. Martinez and Garner gone, Georgia can only get better. Certainly improved after Willie was canned and Grantham took over. Expect the same with Wilson coming in and improving our defensive front. Many blamed Grantham for a porous running defense, stats show that. Wonder if the friction between Garner and Grantham had anything to do with that. Guess we get the answer to that soon.

WD, I think you are missing it. I am not saying our O-L is guaranteed to be great. I believe what we are saying is there is no reason with the men we have on campus, we shouldn't be able to put a solid unit out there. There are always going to be complaints. I can guarantee there would have been some even had we signed LT. That's just the nature of the beast.

As far as the state's, that is interesting ogre. I am not surprised. People in Alabama are groomed to be loyal to aub or bama. No matter what area of the state they are in. It is a different culture there. As stated earlier, you have people from all over in Atlanta and the surrounding areas that could careless about the great school in Athens. Those people have moved there from Alabama, or Flordia, and being so far away from Athens, nothing is going to steer them toward UGA. But, you are also correct. Winning NC's makes a difference for sure.

GO DAWGS

Lot of talk about Todd Grantham interviewing with the Saints.

From a recruiting standpoint allow me this . . . .

If Todd Grantham is being interviewed by the Saints and I am a young high school player with the ambition to one day play in the NFL, why would I not cast my lot with him? Who better to learn from if I am a defensive player in high school, would I not want to be around someone that is considered as one of the best, especially when we are talking about 32 jobs in the sport.

Todd Grantham is being recognized as a very good defensive coordinator that the NFL and the Saints and Eagles are very much aware of. Rumor also had it that the Cowboys were interested in Grantham returning.

Say it again, glad that Garner is gone.

When I read the following piece from Seth Emerson, from what I can gather, Todd Grantham is going nowhere. Looking forward to the Class of 2014, going to stock up on the offensive side.

www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/02/07/23741...t.html#storylink=rss