Georgia recruiting: Now Richt must turn stars into wins
Mark Richt hopes his "5-star" recruits pan out more like Aaron Murray than Caleb King.
(Update III after Isaiah Crowell’s announcement, 2:30 p.m..)
ATHENS – The plan was to build an invisible fence along state borders. Mark Richt did that. He kept the best players that carry a Georgia postmark. He created a highlight for the program. He made folks forget, even if for a day, what has happened on the field in the last two seasons and, worst of all, what happened Dec. 31 against a Conference USA team.
There’s really only issue left unanswered: What does it mean?
College football teams don’t win games in February. If that were true, the Bulldogs would regularly play in BCS bowls. Think of national letter of intent day as a trip to the grocery store. A great cook can spend $40 and create a wonderful meal. A bad cook can spend $100 and hand you something south of Chef Boyardee.
Ingredients haven’t been the problem at Georgia. According to Scout.com, one of the major recruiting services, Richt’s classes since 2002 have ranked 9, 11, 6, 4, 4, 17, 5, 4, 21. Another service, Rivals, has had the Dogs 3, 6, 6, 10, 4, 9, 7, 6, 15.
In the last two seasons, this is what it got Georgia: 14-12 overall, 7-9 in the SEC and bowl trips that are the culinary equivalent of SpaghettiOs: Independence and Liberty — words we hold close to our heart at all times except bowl season.
Richt won in recruiting. He landed one of the top classes in the nation, punctuated by the best running back around: Isaiah Crowell. That means a lot today. But it won’t mean bupkis at kickoff against Boise State in seven months unless Richt can turn them into a winners.
This recruiting class raises the expectation level. It’s unfortunate that much pressure and onus has been placed on one class, but Richt somewhat created that when he labeled the potential group of Georgia state all-stars his, “Dream Team.” There’s nothing wrong with sound bites and catch phrases to get fans and recruits excited. But the downside to labels like “Dream Team” is it puts a glare on 17- and 18-year-old kids who’ve never even had a spring practice, let alone played in a college game. The term “Dream Team” was created in 1992 for an Olympic basketball team that was comprised of grown men — mostly future Hall of Famers.
In announcing his decision to go to Georgia over Alabama, Crowell said, “I’m gonna be a Dog.” He wasn’t alone in the state. Nineteen of Georgia’s 25 players are from Georgia, including four of the top five in the state and 15 of the top 41 (according to AJC rankings). Nationally, Georgia’s class is a consensus top six. It’s Richt’s perceived best class since at least 2006 (Knowshon Moreno, Matthew Stafford, et. al.), although Richt feels it could be the best of all.
“We all know our season wasn’t the best, and there have been a lot of things we have had to battle — maybe a little bit more than other years when it comes to recruiting,” he said. “But I really believe this class will end up being the most talented and best bunch in the 11 years now.”
There is hope.
There also is a possible trapdoor.
Have you ever tried to predict what an 18-year-old will do any day of the week? How about any hour? Some consider NFL drafts a guessing game. Recruiting makes NFL drafts look like an exact science.
From 2001 to 2010, Georgia recruited 21 “5-star” athletes, according to Scout. For every Stafford, A.J. Green and Leonard Pope that you show me, I’ll show you a Caleb King, an Akeem Hebron and a Darius Dewberry.
The “stars” mean nothing if players don’t develop physically, mentally and emotionally. We’ve seen the trapdoor in Athens.
Here are some more numbers for you: 63, 73, 73, 114, 54, 63. Those were the rankings of TCU’s last six recruiting classes. The Horned Frogs went 36-3 in the last three seasons, including two BCS bowls.
Boise State’s last eight recruiting classes ranked 73, 72, 73, 78, 57, 64, 60, 97. The Broncos’ record in the last five years: 61-5 with two BCS bowls.
I know. TCU and Boise State don’t play in the SEC. But it doesn’t change the point: Those schools are doing more with less. Georgia has been doing less with more.
Richt got people excited Wednesday, not an easy feat these days. But if the resumes of this recruiting class don’t translate into victories, grades and rankings quickly will be forgotten. What happens next is what matters most.
By Jeff Schultz
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The early scene in the Butts-Mehre building at Georgia.
Bulldog fans gather by the video screens, where signees are announced.
Butts-Mehre fills up, awaiting coach Mark Richt's arrival.
While addressing fans, Richt received text message, then announced, "Malcolm Mitchell is a Dog!"
♦
Recruiting posts
– Isaiah Crowell: From recruit to key to Georgia’s season?
– Georgia recruiting: Waiting on Isaiah Crowell (and normalcy)
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949 comments Add your comment
Over the last 20-25 yrs at UGA
February 2nd, 2011
9:47 am
With just about every school in the SEC, UGA has the lead in football wins. Possibly AU is one exception, of course, along with Florida. Gators have frankly dominated my Dogs. Congrats. I still enoy retirement and golf.
Given that Florida has owned UGA, what other SEC school has Florida ……… NOT owned in this period?
The point is that over this same period and with three UGA coaches, I suspect that UGA still has an enviable won/loss record in the BIG BOY SEC. If not the tops, UGA will very likely be in the SEC’s top two, three or four teams in WINS. If so ………………. that says it all. UGA does exist in the SEC. Being say # 4 in wins over the last 25 years is like a rib eye steak compared to a NY strip steak …………… both are simply wonderful.
This is not a trick question, does anyone out there know? I suspect that UGA has been to plenty of MAJOR bowls ( same period for example, TCU and Boise have not been ) and enjoyed plenty of Sugar Bowl, Cap One and Outback Bowl s for an SEC team. I do not count Gator or Liberty or Chic Fil A or Independence bowls as credible. I am not counting them as worthy. Rose, Urange, Sugar, Cotton, or Cap One or Outback type of MAJOR bowls are the ones in consideration here.
Recruiting is like a sugar high or Obama high. After the election, we have to go back to work and win and produce …………. BIG wins lately.
Go Dawgs !!!
Dawglasville
February 2nd, 2011
9:47 am
This “Dream Team” idea might pay off today but it worries me that we are grooming these kids to have the worst jock mentality. The Teflon, nothing sticks to me regardless of my actions mentality. Don’t have a license, cool, doesn’t apply to me. Traffic court… I’m a little busy today. These kids are going to have to do it in the weight room. You just can’t roll the ball out there and expect to win. We’ve seen that. We need Hines Ward, Robert Edwards, Jermaine Phillips not Preston Jones, Caleb King, Zach Mettenberger.
Tech Stinger
February 2nd, 2011
9:48 am
Tech won the ACC the other year, when is the last time the must won a conference title? It will be a while as long as Florida is in the east
The Dude Abides
February 2nd, 2011
9:48 am
Also i believe Jenkins is a must for UGA, u need that guy that eats up space and he’ll start day 1 at UGA also. Crowell and Jenkins are the only ones im worried about.
Paul in RDU
February 2nd, 2011
9:49 am
UGA in OOC games against BCS AQ schools in regular season
2010 @Colorado L, vs GT W
2009 @OK State L, vs Arizona State W, @GT W
2008 @ASU W, vs GT L
Overall 4-3
Prior to 2008, CMR was 10-0 in OOC regular season games against AQ schools.
AltamahaDawg
February 2nd, 2011
9:50 am
So as far as goals of sports
blue=wins
clear=playing the game
Tide Roll
February 2nd, 2011
9:50 am
First Pagan and then Crowell will put the icing on the cake and you mutts will cry like babies. ROLL TIDE!!
jerry
February 2nd, 2011
9:50 am
You people who are hypothesizing about where TCU and Boise State would fare in the SEC with their recruiting grades are looking at it all wrong. The point is what would those coaches do in the SEC with the same recruiting classes that Richt has had.
Tech Tard
February 2nd, 2011
9:50 am
Only a loser steals handles. Yech=Tech=Losers=Virgins
Go Dawgs!
ga
February 2nd, 2011
9:51 am
The reason Bradley and Jeff dont say much about Tech is nobody would care. They write articles somewhat slanted against UGA and Richt is because GA fans care and their is lots of them and they will take notice. Just not many passionate Tech fans who really care about Tech being great.
Jeff Schultz
February 2nd, 2011
9:52 am
Dawgfan — Thanks for the comments. Suffice to say, that first game is huge for the Dogs.
SuperB
February 2nd, 2011
9:52 am
Saying he knows TCU and Boise don’t play in the SEC and it doesn’t change anything is the ultimate statement of this “writer’s” career. IT CHANGES EVERYTHING when comparing records. I’ve covered CFB a lot longer than this guy and no one who really knows CFB thinks either TCU or Boise would do very well playing in the SEC. Put Georgia or just about any other SEC team in the Mountain West with their current talent and they would win big. I like TCU but they are not SEC-worthy. Winning one bowl game with a month to prep is not like playing Alabama, Auburn, Florida, etc. week after week.
Mobile Dawg
February 2nd, 2011
9:53 am
Dawglasville, we need “players to be leaders” on the field, and in the locker room, to go along with coaching. Drew sounds like he could be one. Lots of speculation between now and kickoff.
Tech Stinger
February 2nd, 2011
9:53 am
The reason why Jeff writes so many articles on Georgia is because their convicts can’t stop getting arrested
Joe Pierce
February 2nd, 2011
9:55 am
Rodney Garner, during an online chat, said the Bulldogs had a “couple” commitments that aren’t public. What does this mean?
Will
February 2nd, 2011
9:55 am
Logan Gray was one of the top ten high school quarterbacks in America. When UGA signed him, many were convinced that he would carry UGA to at least the SEC Championship and most likely to the BCS Championship.
Logan is a good example of why recruitniks need to always temper their expectations when dealing with high school students.
This year, the lad from Columus is supposed to the next: Jasper Sanks? Caleb King? Hershel Walker? All three were among the most coveted of all running backs ever recruited by UGA.
To hell and... not back
February 2nd, 2011
9:56 am
It’s kind of sad to see all the Dawg fans getting so excited this year (just like the year before, the year before that, etc.). How long is it going to take for UGA fans to realize that UGA is simply no longer relevant in the SEC? In the national picture, UGA isn’t even a blip on the radar, and hasn’t been since the preseason #1 ranking two years ago.
Sit back and be grateful for the six or seven wins you’ll get every year. Coaching genius Mark Richt may take you to 8-4 or even 9-3 occasionally, but Florida will still win the SEC, meaning no BCS bowls and no top 10 final ranking. Most years, UGA will be very lucky to finish in the top 50, and only after a big bowl win over a nobody opponent.
It’s a different world now, and Dawg fans need to adjust their expectations downward to reflect reality.
Unfortunately nothing is going to change until UGA changes its mediocre coaching. That’s where the difference is, and that’s why everyone outside Dawgtard Nation just laughs at Dawg fans getting so excited year after year about what a great recruiting class UGA gets. It doesn’t matter how many blue chip high school players go to UGA, they simply don’t get the coaching they would get at Florida or Alabama, to name two schools whose programs are far ahead of UGA. And that’s not going to change as long as Mark Richt is in Athens.
Get your heads out of the sand and face reality. And mediocrity and irrelevance.
KeepDreaming
February 2nd, 2011
9:56 am
Anyone else hearing Xzavier Dickson may flip to the Dawgs today?
Jeff Schultz
February 2nd, 2011
9:57 am
Megan — Because, silly girl: I’m required to have one typo in every early blog before editors look at it. (Thanks. That’s been fixed: Should’ve read TCU is 36-3 in last 3 years.)
jerry
February 2nd, 2011
9:58 am
SuperB…………Do you actually think that the TCU and BS coaches would recruit the same type players as they now have if either one were the UGA coach?
MD
February 2nd, 2011
9:58 am
Dickson already signed w/ Bama
Bob Sacamano
February 2nd, 2011
9:58 am
I’ve always liked SpaghettiOs…
The Dude Abides
February 2nd, 2011
9:58 am
Isaiah Crowell looks like DeMarco Murray to me, ILL TAKE THAT!!!
Why???
February 2nd, 2011
9:58 am
I’ve never understood how anyone – even an alumnus – could support and take pride in UGA’s football team. When you look at their history for the past forty years, how can anyone ignore Jan Kemp and the “remedial studies” scam, the Jim Harrick fiasco, the DUIs in the athletic office, the DUIs and other arrests of players, the #1 party school tag (i.e., the most drunk students), the suspensions and outright dismissals, the Fulmer Cup, and on and on?
As disgraceful and humiliating as it is, I don’t see many alums and fans demanding an end to this sordid activity. It sets UGA apart as the kind of school most people abhor, and it’s become an embarrassment to the whole state of Georgia.
Will it never end? Apparently not while Mark Richt is at UGA. Richt is perhaps the biggest hypocrite in the United States. But even with all the cheating and lawlessness that he ignores, he still can’t win the SEC.
So you’re paying him to be BCS champions, but he can’t even win his SEC division. So why do you pay him millions of dollars a year?
Just asking.
Mobile Dawg
February 2nd, 2011
9:59 am
Clear = Focus
Blue = Wins
Will, Apples II Oranges, yesterday. Logan Gray was successful in a “spread type offense”. Never really had a chance at UGA. Makes me wonder why CMR recruited him in the first place.
Dawg Fud
February 2nd, 2011
9:59 am
VA Tech is never in the Top 10 in recruiting but their player development is unmatched.
They get guys who fit the system, strength and conditioning is a priority and these guys would cut off their right arm to be Hokie.
Seems to work in Blacksburg.
powerhouse?
February 2nd, 2011
9:59 am
After the first game in Atl, dog fans will be barking about how the Boyz might just do like aubarn…run the table…LOL
Tech Stinger
February 2nd, 2011
9:59 am
Joe Pierce
February 2nd, 2011
9:55 am
Rodney Garner, during an online chat, said the Bulldogs had a “couple” commitments that aren’t public. What does this mean?
That means some 18 year young men are having second thoughts about athens because of the Clarke County Police Department
Tide Roll
February 2nd, 2011
10:02 am
You Mutt Fans are not getting Pagan or Dickson so stop dreaming idiots!!! ROLL TIDE!!!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
February 2nd, 2011
10:02 am
Pictures of kool-aid drinkers
Nice Jeff
The Dude Abides
February 2nd, 2011
10:03 am
@Tech Stinger
OK enough. Come back if another arrest happens. We dont care what you have to say cause its always the same thing.
DMR
February 2nd, 2011
10:03 am
The excitement around recruiting really goes to the heart of the matter that fans have a true love for their school. Yes, Georgia’s last three seasons have been less than memorable. Despite that, quality football players and for the most part, quality kids want to play football and get an education at the University of Georgia. Coaches come and go. So do players, administrators, support staff, etc. The BIG “G”, as we call it in my house will always bring out the fan in me. But for all college football fans, I think it is THAT love that makes Signing Day so important and so much fun. Congratulations to all the kids signing scholarships today. ENJOY!
ga
February 2nd, 2011
10:04 am
Florida has enough to worry about. The tourist convention center in gainesvegas has debated if they should embrace white tank tops or the occassional “dressy” black t back and jorts, gold chains, and hair gel and if they should keep spending money to advertise in New Jersey for future students.
Paul in RDU
February 2nd, 2011
10:04 am
@Over the last 20-25 yrs at UGA
SEC records since 1985 from http://football.stassen.com/records/confres.html
Florida 159-49
Tennessee 138-62-3
Alabama 132-71-2
Auburn 126-72-4
UGA 120-79-2
LSU 117-83-2
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
February 2nd, 2011
10:06 am
Dawg Fud
What seems to work in Blacksburg
Im confused
VT is 1-24 against top 10 teams what is working there. Winning in the worst conference in college football come on
Please tell us what is it that is so successfull in Blacksburg
DawginLex
February 2nd, 2011
10:06 am
You lose credibility referencing TCU. They have beaten Wisconsin. Whooppee to do!!!!!!!!!!
They would be a .500 team in the SEC.
Katherine
February 2nd, 2011
10:08 am
It’s amazing to me how the haters come on the uga blog just to make sure they tell everyone how bad they are. Come on guys…..this is supposed to be an exciting day for uga fans. Yes yes , we know how bad the past few years have been. Yes, we know how you like to go on and on about how your team is superior and all dawg fans are idiots. Can you just please give it a rest? Go to your teams blog and pat each other on the back for being masters of the universe or something.
Tech Tard
February 2nd, 2011
10:08 am
Enough of this “player development.” It comes down to your schedule. ACC, WAC, Mountain West? Really people?
Blackberry Cobbler
February 2nd, 2011
10:09 am
CMR hasn’t done squat with the talent he’s recruited in the past. What makes us think things are gonna change now?
The fact that the star recruits have not been developed with wins as a result is the main reasom CMR is on the hot seat.
KeepDreaming
February 2nd, 2011
10:09 am
NO MD: Dickson has not signed his LOI as of this post.
Ken
February 2nd, 2011
10:10 am
It does not matter who UGA signs, Pastor Richt will destroy any & all potential they may have. UGA sucks
monty
February 2nd, 2011
10:10 am
Jason Robards- “Simply put: while who you have on your team matters, the guys on the OTHER side of the field matter just as much, if not more.”
Yeh, tell that to CFU, Colorado, MIss St. and FLA every year.and on and on it goes. The fact is we put many players into the NFL. No reason to lose to Fla “every” year. We have similar talent to Fla.and better than the other teams that beat us.
Apples II Oranges
February 2nd, 2011
10:12 am
I do not remember many UGA fans anointing Gray as the saviour. At that time w/ Stafford it was next to impossible to get an “elite” qb in Athens. Also note that Cox was in Athens at the time, and everyone was still in awe of him in how he brought the team back against Colorado. So it is essentially a lie that UGA fans had established so much hope in Gray as the next great QB.
Mark Richt is a Clown !
February 2nd, 2011
10:12 am
How and Why do we lose people? Mark Richt is a joke Fire this Clown !
James Norwood
February 2nd, 2011
10:12 am
Georgia’s biggest problem now is keeping their players oout of jail. Time will tell.
Jeff Schultz
February 2nd, 2011
10:12 am
Collegeballfan — Thanks for the comments. … Most kids want playing time, which is why I believe Crowell will pick Georgia over Alabama. But that’s just a guess.
Rolls Tied
February 2nd, 2011
10:12 am
“@Over the last 20-25 yrs at UGA ”
Auburn 1 NT
Bama 2 NT
TN 1 NT
LSU 2 NT
FL 3 NT
UGA ZERO
HAHAHAHAAHAHHAHHAHAAHHAHAHHA
You've been Da"Ricked
February 2nd, 2011
10:13 am
Pagan now and Crowell is next to Roll Tide. Saban has once again out foxed CMR.
Rolls Tied
February 2nd, 2011
10:13 am
“They would be a .500 team in the SEC.’
And UGA is a below .500 team.
Dawgs Real
February 2nd, 2011
10:14 am
Ga blows out boise state in game 1—they will not be able to deal with SEC size and speed. Plus, the Ga Dome will be filled with 99.99% dawg fans, drunk, loud, wild and crazy! Ga 45 BS 20–bet the house.