Mark Richt makes a splash on Sportscenter (fully clothed) (UPDATED)
Richt did his dive wearing a swimsuit in 2008. This year he wore khakis.
(UPDATE: ESPN had Richt on this morning. The interview, with more shots of the fully-clothed dive, is below.)
Somehow, I just can’t see Nick Saban doing this on ESPN’s “Alabama: All-Access.”
When rain canceled Georgia’s practice the other day, coach Mark Richt took his team to the Ramsey Center for a little swimming and diving. The trip to the pool has become an annual tradition, as has Richt’s back dive off the 10-meter platform.
The difference on Monday was Richt didn’t have his bathing suit with him since the event was unplanned, and presumably he didn’t want to borrow an official Bulldogs Speedo. So he jumped in with his clothes on. Check the video below.
It turns out this made the “top plays” segment on Sportscenter. (Thanks to @UGABugKiller via Twitter for the tip.)
“This is the first year he did the dive with his clothes on,” said associate athletic director Claude Felton. “He has said he learned to do the dive when he was growing up in Boca Raton. He would jump off a bridge.”
Postscript: Richt, Felton said, was impressed that his clothes “held up” and didn’t have to be trashed after the dive.
Not sure who to credit for this video but found it on the internet.
♦
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Richt speaks on ESPN’s “First Take.”
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193 comments Add your comment
papadawg
August 19th, 2010
2:13 pm
I believe it was lightning that moved them inside. Does Bama & Fla have enough sense to get out of lightning strikes
Glory Glory
August 19th, 2010
2:13 pm
2nd on page 2!!!!!!
Thank Goodness
August 19th, 2010
2:26 pm
Paul Johnson doesn’t do this. They would have to use a black box over his chest at ESPN.
Maybe Al Groh can do a wheely on his hoveround to fire up the dorks.
Gillislee
August 19th, 2010
2:26 pm
Mark’s real dive came on National Signing Day 2010. He watched 12 of the 16 All Americans in the state of Georgia sign with out of state schools, mostly rivals such as Florida, Tennessee, and Auburn.
Thank Goodness
August 19th, 2010
2:28 pm
30-24
8 of 9
73-66
and more pain coming this year
gdawginkalamazoo
August 19th, 2010
2:39 pm
Nick Saban can walk ON water. Ask any Bama fan.
Joe Paterno does the same type of thing, except he adds a triple tuck flip and hits the water with NO splash. Doesn’t even lose his glasses.
dap01
August 19th, 2010
2:41 pm
At the University of Florida, we would dive but we have family day at the University of Florida. We believe in family at the University of Florida. We spend time with our family at the University of Florida every Thursday. (Except, I am stressed and can no longer function because I don’t take spend time with my family at the University of Florida.)
GT 4-ever and a day!
August 19th, 2010
2:50 pm
When it’s hot out, I stand in the shade under CPJ’s manboobs.
Long Gator
August 19th, 2010
2:51 pm
Be glad he didn’t dive in Jacksonville…
We are waiting for the Dawgs annual beatdown
Ha Ha Ha “WE” own the Peach State
Bama & UF
August 19th, 2010
2:57 pm
the rest of the sec is cupcakes
Reason 1: The rest of the SEC is in decline
Scan the 2009 season-ending AP poll and search for the SEC teams. There’s Alabama at No. 1, with Florida two spots short of the penthouse. And then … took a while, didn’t it?
LSU checked in third-best among SEC teams, way down at No. 17, and Ole Miss came in at 20. No others cracked the Top 25. The trend continues this preseason, with the Tide and Gators in SN’s top five. A Ryan Mallett deep ball couldn’t cover the distance between them and the conference’s 10 other squads: Auburn (17), LSU (20) and Arkansas (21) are the only others in the top 25.
“It’s pretty wide,” former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer says. “With Tennessee and Georgia especially where they are, there’s definitely a gap there.”
Alabama and Florida deserve some credit for the distance. Great coaching hires, national recruiting supremacy and a knack for pulling out close games has turned them into titans. But this scenario has as much to do with disappointment as it does dominance.
Tennessee is 36-27 since 2005 and has had three different coaches in three seasons. LSU’s nine losses in the past two seasons have fans doubting Les Miles—the guy who led the Tigers to the 2007 national title. Georgia lost five times last season, including a home game to Kentucky and a 26-point pounding at struggling Tennessee. Perhaps even worse for coach Mark Richt, his Bulldogs dropped consecutive games to Florida by a combined score of 90-27.
The SEC’s defenders say the sagging programs are simply a byproduct of the nation’s most competitive league.
“It’s tough to rise up in this league and easy to fall,” Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin says. “From one week to the next, it’s like being on the seashore and the waves keep crashing over you.”
As long as Alabama and Florida are the only teams making the waves, the Tide-Gators matchup will continue to be the biggest game in college football.
Reason No. 2: The coaches are the best minds in the game
It’s a copycat profession, one in which you get ahead by seeing and reacting instead of watching and falling behind.
Wouldn’t you know it, the game’s best coaches have learned from each other the past two seasons, further fortifying the next great rivalry in college football.
“You better know what’s coming,” says Florida coach Urban Meyer, “and you better be ready to adjust and change when needed.”
No wonder Meyer, when faced with finding a new defensive coordinator this spring, hired Teryl Austin, whose years as an assistant in the NFL gave him a unique perspective on the 3-4 defense. Yes, the same defense Alabama coach Nick Saban won national championships with at LSU in 2003 and Alabama last season and used to humiliate Florida in last year’s SEC championship game.
Remember, see and react. Just like Saban did prior to last season, after he had watched Florida’s spread option offense roll his defense in the 2008 SEC championship game. Saban had his offensive staff install principles of the spread option, including using Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram as quarterback in a Wildcat formation.
“When we added (spread principles), it kind of got the entire offense jacked up,” Ingram says. “It energized us.”
Just when you think the two best coaches in the game couldn’t get better, they copy each other—because no one reacts to change more effectively and efficiently than Meyer and Saban. And that’s why the stakes are even higher for what could be two meetings between the rivals again this fall.
“We could’ve just said, ‘Let’s keep doing what we’re doing,’ ” Florida safety Ahmad Black says. “I remember watching tape before last year’s game, thinking, Oh this is interesting, they’re using some of our offense. If something works, you’d be foolish not to try it.”
Remember, see and react.
Reason 3: The QBs are all about winning
The one person on the Florida sideline who didn’t want to see Tim Tebow return in the game that followed a wicked concussion last September was John Brantley. Forgive Brantley, but the whiff of what he could bring to the Florida offense was intoxicating—even though it never came to fruition.
“I know this offense; I know the potential of what we can do,” Brantley says. “I was disappointed that
I didn’t play.”
That will make this fall that much sweeter. Brantley will assume control of one of the most high-profile jobs in college football, and the only things standing between him and an SEC—and perhaps national—championship? Greg McElroy and Alabama.
Want to know why Alabama vs. Florida is the game’s best rivalry? Because both teams only play quarterbacks who get that piling up stats ranks far behind winning the game.
John Parker Wilson won 12 games in 2008 at Alabama, and McElroy won 14 last year. Tim Tebow won 35 times in three seasons as a starter at Florida, and his NFL draft scouting report said more about him being a winner than it did individual accomplishments.
“(Having this job is) a privilege, and I’m incredibly fortunate,” McElroy says. “You wonder, how many guys would kill to be in my position?”
Or how many could flourish in those jobs? The Gators’ spread option runs through the quarterback—his skill and ability are critical to the success of the complex system. The Crimson Tide ask the quarterback to play within an offense based on the power running game—knowing at some point they will need him to win games (Auburn and Florida last season) if the run is ineffective or used as a decoy.
By the time McElroy leaves Alabama, he could have two national championships. And if Brantley is as successful as many expect—even with Florida relying more on the pass than in the previous three seasons with Tebow—he might win a national title or two.
“The one common denominator of those two teams the last three or so years is quarterback play,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen says. “You just don’t see mistakes made from the most important position on the field.”
Reason 4: They get the best recruits
He was part of the Super Seven, the group of players from mythical national champion Lakeland (Fla.) High School who signed with the Florida Gators in 2007. More important, Chris Rainey was one of 27 signees who comprised one of the best recruiting classes of the last decade.
The class has already produced five NFL draft picks—two in the first round—with more to come.
“In a couple of years,” Rainey says, “we want people to look back at our class in awe.”
Here’s the crazy part: That group probably wasn’t Florida’s best of the decade. Nor was it better than Alabama’s 2008 class, which including Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, wideout Julio Jones and linebacker Dont’a Hightower (and at least 10 drafted or draftable recruits).
“Each year, everyone wants their class to stand out,” Hightower says. “But together, we’re Alabama. That’s what’s important.”
Together, Florida and Alabama have dominated the recruiting trail in recent years. Since 2006, Florida’s classes have been ranked No. 2, 1, 3, 11 and 2 by Rivals.com. Alabama has been No. 1 twice and No. 5 once the past three years.
And both teams are only going to get better. The Gators already have a commitment from Rivals.com’s No. 1 pro-style quarterback recruit for 2011 (Jeff Driskel), and Alabama has one from the nation’s No. 2 outside linebacker (Brent Calloway). Considering the maniacal recruiting styles of Alabama coach Nick Saban and Florida coach Urban Meyer, it shouldn’t be a shock when one of their teams finishes on top of next year’s recruiting rankings.
Their biggest competition, after all, is each other.
“Florida uses the national title thing a little bit better since they won two of the last four, even though Alabama won this year,” says defensive back Hasean Clinton-Dix of Orlando, an Alabama commit Florida still is recruiting hard. “They both expose you to what they did, and they’re proud of it. I mean, they have won the last two (national titles) between them.”
Reason 5: Traditional rivalries have taken a hit
USC’s Michael Morgan mulled over the multiple-choice question. Does the Trojans’ biggest rival reside halfway across the country (Notre Dame)? Or the city (UCLA)? Or is it a nontraditional pick, such as Oregon or California?
Turns out, the answer is none of the above.
“I don’t think any of those games around here is any more important than the other,” the senior linebacker says. “I don’t feel an extra buzz for any game, unless it’s a championship game.”
The stance is emblematic of a growing feeling across the nation: Where have the great rivalries gone?
Texas-Oklahoma remains a king-making game, as much a part of October as Halloween. Then comes a dip that has coincided with the struggles of major programs around the nation.
Michigan’s recent plunge has turned its duels with Ohio State into avert-your-eyes events. Miami-Florida State had grown so stale that ESPN pushed the game from its season-opening Monday night slot. The Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry died with the creation of the Big 12, and the replacement Nebraska-Colorado meeting grew irrelevant as both schools tumbled.
“It just seems like there aren’t as many great games anymore,” former Texas All-American and 2010 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Steve McMichael says.
The Iron Bowl remains huge in the state of Alabama, but only twice in the past 14 years have Auburn and Alabama finished with winning SEC records in the same season. UCLA-USC has had the same problem the past two decades: When one is up, the other is down—and the nation is apathetic about the matchup.
Even games with cool trophies—a golden egg, Paul Bunyan’s axe, a keg of nails—have fallen from prominence.
Enter Florida-Alabama, with the personalities and the pedigrees to captivate the country.
“When our guys go to the marketplace, there’s tremendous excitement about Florida-Alabama,” CBS Sports executive vice president Mike Aresco says. “It’s already the game everybody is talking about.”
Brian
August 19th, 2010
3:03 pm
I can’t wait for another lousy year for uga.
It’s going to be a rough year for uga and murray. But you knew that already.
This year will be all about screaming and blaming Bobo.
SC beats you. Arky comes in and beats you. Of course UF beats you again. CU will probably beat you. And of course Auburn will beat you.
LMAO!!
August 19th, 2010
3:04 pm
Enter your comments here
LMAO!!
August 19th, 2010
3:04 pm
Perhaps even worse for coach Mark Richt, his Bulldogs dropped consecutive games to Florida by a combined score of 90-27.
LHardingDawg
August 19th, 2010
3:07 pm
Bamma & UF – Post is nothing but a load of crap. Get a job! If you want to spend the time to put that on a blog, then put it on a Bama or UF blog. Not a Georgia blog.
gdawginkalamazoo
August 19th, 2010
3:11 pm
Damn Bama & UF, the global warming just increased 10 fold with all that sunshine you just blew out your a$$.
Bama & UF
August 19th, 2010
3:15 pm
I bet you would blame uga’s losses on fake global warming anyway dawg near canada.
I still remember
August 19th, 2010
3:20 pm
all the hype and pumping uga fans did at this time last year. How Ok state was going to lose. How Richt never loses on the road. How OK state couldn’t match up with the sec. It was funny to go out to 3 dollar and watch the rednecks lose and lose badly. It will only be more of the same this year with a high school qb. You think this guy will be any better than Joe Cox? He will be worse.
You will go 7-5 this year and you will play in another crap bowl. Get use to it. Richt is going on 10 years. He’s past the length of time most coaches stay.
GT GRAD
August 19th, 2010
3:20 pm
Very cool………nice job Coach Richt!
LHardingDawg
August 19th, 2010
3:29 pm
I’ll put Coach Richt’s road record up against any D1 team in America.
Clarence
August 19th, 2010
3:32 pm
Richt should be coaching the dawgturd’s swimming/diving team. He couldn’t be any worse than he is with the football team.
This bozo has to go.
Dawg Stephen
August 19th, 2010
3:33 pm
Did you hear the sound?? The Players were enjoying themselves..on a DAY OFF..they did not skip a practice to do this, it was a day off. Rain cancelled their plans, and instead of the planned off day the next day, CMR switched and practiced instead on tuesday. I wouldnt do this dive..NEVER… anyway, I need your help on my blog…..
http://dawgstephen.blogspot.com/2010/08/nicknames-acronyms.html
Meteorologist
August 19th, 2010
3:35 pm
The primary cause of global warming is the hot air coming out of Athens. Everyone knows that.
Owl Gore needs to go to Athens, so he’ll know what the real cause is.
TEBOW TOSSES SALAD
August 19th, 2010
3:36 pm
It is all envy u nerds. Man boobs would drown if he tried it. And C.U.M. would have a heart attack!
papadawg
August 19th, 2010
3:41 pm
Hey Bama fans how you gonna feel when your Saban pulls out in the middle of the night like he’s done before & Gators how bout another fake heart attack from your coach
puppydawg
August 19th, 2010
3:45 pm
Bama & UF, you must be a youngster so I’ll go easy on you. In football, things go in cycles. Until Saban showed up, Bama was awful. And as soon as he leaves, which should happen next offseason based on his history, Bama will return to aspirations of mediocrity. And UF is just a heart attack away from needing a new coach. You should enjoy the good times while you can because they will, most assuredly, be followed by hard times.
RLTW
August 19th, 2010
3:48 pm
If you think CMR is a badass, maybe you should’ve watched “Surviving the Cut” last night!
gdawginkalamazoo
August 19th, 2010
4:06 pm
Bama & UF, no I blame UGA’s losses on not scoring more points than our opponents. Not executing, not playing with enough passion, not tackling, not intercepting enough passes, fumbling the ball, not recovering fumbles, stupid late hit/not focusing penalties ALL those plus a few more would be my REASONS for not winning. I am one of those fans that doesn’t make excuses. Good or bad still a Bulldog fan.
Gravy Train
August 19th, 2010
4:14 pm
I think Paul “Turkey Neck” Johnson would have to apply for an Adult Dancer Permit before unleashing his 64 D’s on the world. Good thing there are Spanx shirts for men now, otherwise PJ could blacken the eye of one of his players with an errant boob launch during a midgame tantrum on a rare appearance on national tv. Beware the wrath of the hairy breasted Turkey Neck!
Bloody Bulldawg
August 19th, 2010
4:16 pm
I’m glad the Coach Richt knows how to have fun and have balance in life. He IS setting a GREAT example for the young men he has stewardship over. He is the right person for UGA and its football program.
You Gators, Bees and who or whatever else are just jealous that you have no insight into who your coach really is, on and off the field.
GO DAWGS!
droopydawg
August 19th, 2010
4:18 pm
Go Gators!: As a rabid dogs fan, I wanted to be angry, but that comment was hilarious
Spike
August 19th, 2010
4:21 pm
I love the fact all you dog fans have a bromance with CPJ. I just wish I could get in on those mat drills with you DOGGIE boys.
Richard Simmons
August 19th, 2010
4:21 pm
Hairy breasted turkey neck ? eww
The truth
August 19th, 2010
4:29 pm
Bama and Florida poster is spot on. Its just the truth if you read the article.
UF Fan
August 19th, 2010
4:31 pm
Lay off it’s just some fun. Also two years ago Georgia was in the Sugar Bowl and killed hawaii. I would call that a “relevant blow”
conyersYellowJacket
August 19th, 2010
4:35 pm
Im a die hard Tech fan- but no complaints from me on this. He’s having a little fun with it- no harm in that. Unlike most around here I try to actually keep some perspective and keep the hate on the field. Richt seems like a stand up guy.
I can’t wait for the Chick-Fil-A College Football Kick-Off Classic (N.C. vs. LSU) to bring in the new season!
andrew
August 19th, 2010
4:46 pm
“Not sure who to credit for this video but found it on the internet.” Not sure who to credit your writing schools to… Atlanta Public Schools maybe?
sheesh.
SatillaDawg
August 19th, 2010
5:05 pm
CMR makes a big splash, just like the 2010 Dawgs are gonna do!
GO DAWGS!
How ‘Bout Them Dawgs!
Dawg Dive « 929 davefm | Atlanta
August 19th, 2010
5:10 pm
[...] on this AJC link 0 comments share print Filed Under: Bulldogs, dawgs, UGA, yvonne monet Leave a [...]
Dawg Fan
August 19th, 2010
5:22 pm
Jeff- the video came from UGA’s Twitter page (says so on the video you linked):
http://www.twitvid.com/EJDGU
Sad Richards
August 19th, 2010
5:24 pm
Dawgstephen…. dude you need find you a girlfriend or something. Layoff the man crush on cmr.
King Gator
August 19th, 2010
5:27 pm
That was awesome! I’m sure that type of dive/fall would have killed Urban…. CMR that was very cool! Go Gators!
AltamahaDawg
August 19th, 2010
5:31 pm
Ryan, would Batman do that? How about the Green Lantern? Run along and hero worship on some other blog young man.
UGAg
August 19th, 2010
5:34 pm
That’s the only way you’ll get on Top10 plays this season….enjoy 3rd place in the East! Dawgs suck.
Beast from the East
August 19th, 2010
5:34 pm
Tebow tosses salad,
Talk about envy. Your handle speaks nothing but envy. Or maybe it’s just a fantasy of yours. What a joke.
Dawg Stephen
August 19th, 2010
5:38 pm
THank you to my faithful followers. You know who you are, and I want to say thanks, keep following the blog, and me on twitter. I do need everyones help today with the blog topic….
http://dawgstephen.blogspot.com/2010/08/nicknames-acronyms.html
Twitter: dawgstephen
Beast from the East
August 19th, 2010
5:38 pm
Cool vidoe of Richt. I’m sure those guys welcomed the break from this heat we’ve been having. Those criticizing Richt for this are just trying to get under you Dawgs’ skin. Don’t let’em, guys. Nothing at all wrong with having a little down-time with your team.
Sad Richards
August 19th, 2010
5:40 pm
Okaaaaayyyy Dawgstephen…….. we got it ! now go get laid dude…… sheesh
skaters are haters
August 19th, 2010
5:46 pm
anyone else tired of people only referencing games or wins/losses over a certain span of time???
gator fans only quote 17 of 20. why not 16 of 19 or 17 of 21????
other sec homers (like ryan @ 11am) only quote uga’s record w/in the sec east over the last 4 yrs as being 10-10. why not over the last 3 or 5 years???
just a little tired of people skewing streaks in their team’s favor. would be more simple if everyone only referenced the all-time record or what happened in the last game the 2 teams played. before any haters attack this comment, yes, i realize that uga fans do the same thing. i’m just bored w/ it!
ohmagahd
August 19th, 2010
5:49 pm
blogs like this are why I hate the SEC. Get a life people, it’s just preseason practice. Read a book, watch a movie, look at some art, do something. I love football too, but for cryin’ out loud…
Dawg Stephen
August 19th, 2010
5:55 pm
Beast from the east, i really enjoy your posts, and those criticizing this really need a life. They did this on an OFF day.
Saban took bama to see a movie, guess we ought to criticize that too. I know from my coaching that if there was a fun event and the kids got to see the coach have fun along with them, they really enjoyed it. anyway, carry on people.
VIVA CMR