Dream Team aside, here’s a big reason to pull for Mark Richt
Mark Richt knows there's more to coaching than just winning. (Associated Press)
I first heard the story of James Eunice last Sunday when a post from UGA superfan Mark Dunbar showed up in my Facebook news feed.
Here’s what Mark passed along:
James Eunice, 17, from Valdosta, fell from a boat three weeks ago and drowned while duck hunting. He was found this Monday and his funeral was yesterday. James had been accepted at UGA, and his intention was to try and walk-on the football team. During the busiest time of his year, Coach Mark Richt sent a letter stating James had made the team, and a UGA jersey with his name on the back, was presented to the family.
One word came to mind and I added it as a comment to Mark’s post: Classy.
The story of Eunice is filled out by reports in the Valdosta Daily Times and Thomasville Times-Enterprise. Eunice had played baseball and football at Valdosta High School and had been accepted to the University of Georgia. He had contacted Richt about walking on as a football Bulldog.
Then came the drowning in the hunting accident. During Eunice’s funeral, two of his Valdosta teammates who have signed to play for Richt, Jay Rome and Malcolm Mitchell, got up to speak. Rome read a letter to the Eunice family from Richt in which he talked about his hearbreak over the young man’s death. At the end of the letter the coach added, “Oh yeah, James made the team.”
John Eunice holds up a jersey that Georgia coach Mark Richt sent to his family in honor of his brother, James Eunice. (Eunice family photo / Valdosta Daily Times)
Then Rome and Mitchell unveiled an official UGA jersey with Eunice’s last name and the No. 23 he had worn at Valdosta. The tearful crowd at the funeral stood and applauded.
The letter and jersey were a simple gesture, but as Mark noted on Facebook, the timing made it all the more impressive, considering the strains of wrapping up easily the most important recruiting campaign in Richt’s coaching career with his job possibly on the line.
“I’m going to play for an incredible man,” Rome said.
Added Mitchell: “It made me proud to be a Bulldog.”
Sometimes, in the fervor over ranked recruiting classes and won-loss records that permeates big-time college football these days, fans can lose sight of some of the more important things.
I’ve heard some UGA fans who’ve lost faith in Richt actually fret that he’ll win just enough games this year to keep his job. Frustrated by the Dogs’ mediocre performances the past couple of years, they’d rather start over with a new coach than see this one get his program back on track.
I certainly don’t think Mark Richt is a perfect football coach and there are plenty of things about his program I’d like to see improved. But the James Eunice story is just one of the reasons I’m really pulling hard for Richt to get back on top.
Like I said on Facebook, he’s a classy guy. And that’s kind of rare in college coaching these days.
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— Bill King, Junkyard Blawg
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312 comments Add your comment
Sports with Mike - Mark Richt and Georgia Football: A Great Story About a Great Man
February 14th, 2011
3:56 pm
[...] thanks to Bill King of the AJC for bringing this story to light. [...]
Jim Woods
February 14th, 2011
5:26 pm
Both are Damn Good Dawgs
ValdostaMom
February 14th, 2011
5:31 pm
Obviously Kevin has no children. I can’t imagine any parent not wanting their sons to play for a
Man like Coach Richt. What a wonderful thing to do for this family who have lost their precious
Son in such a tragic manner.
Mean Machine
February 14th, 2011
6:32 pm
The best storyline in sports is “the comeback”. Can you think of a better man than Coach Richt for just such a story. How great would that be to see UGA return to the top under Coach Richt’s leadership. I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t admit that I have my doubts. But you gotta pull for Coach to do it.
Lance
February 14th, 2011
7:33 pm
The dawgs will be fine.Mark Richt has proven he is a great coach. He doesn’t have to prove that to me again because I know he will turn things around. With that said, not only do we have a class act coach but he is a christian man and most players that play for him will leave better young men because of his leadership and example.The Eunice story is just one example of why I think we have the overall best coach in the nation.Thanks coach Richt for all you have done and will do in the future. Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!!
Lleann Cepek
February 14th, 2011
8:05 pm
CHARACTER Is what you are and who you are when No one else is around.
This Coach was in the movie “Facing Your Giants” put on by that little Church there
in GA. This was a POWERFUL Movie!!! Now he is facing his giants. To MARK RICHT,
Keep your chin UP~ don’t focus on your Giant….or YOU will fall. Tell your Giant how big
your God is! Focus on God and your Giants will fall to the ground! You are an AWESOME
Man of God Coach, and don’t you EVER forget that! Prepare YOUR soil, and get ready for
the RAIN!~
Dumb Dawgs
February 14th, 2011
9:51 pm
Here’s to next year, Dawg fans! As in 2012.
WDE
February 14th, 2011
9:54 pm
“I’d be willing to say that Saban and all the other coaches who have won recent National Championships will have at least two off seasons.”
Saban had an off year last season. Bama will probably lose 3-4 games this year because of rebuilding. A lot of people are saying that Auburn will go 7-5 but I would be willing to bet that they lose 3 at the most. Auburn is loaded.
USC east will find a way to screw up. UGA has a great chance of winning the east this year, but I said the same thing last year. UF is down and it may take a few years to get back to being good. TN is nothing. Other than that, UGA looks like it could be the king of the East.
Fire Mark Richt
February 14th, 2011
10:49 pm
WIN WITH RICHT
Florida had many outstanding teams during Dooley’s era, including quite a few that would have won SEC championships during his era if not for losing to Georgia. ‘66, ‘75, ‘76, ‘80 come to mind. Florida was ranked no. 1 in ‘85 when Georgia beat them 24-3. Even with the loss to Georgia that would have been an SEC Championship team if Florida hadn’t been on probation.
Richt is 2-8 against UF, including 1-2 against Ron Zook’s 5-loss teams. The excuse that Florida has been so good during Richt’s tenure just doesn’t fly when you consider that Florida has a losing record against Ole Miss and Miss. St. since 2000. Auburn, LSU and Alabama play them about even, and have for years.
Richt’s Georgia teams have underachieved big-time in the biggest conference game, year in and year out. Dooley’s teams often overachieved in that game. The records speak for themselves.
The SEC is a bit overrated. True, our top 1-2 teams have been the best teams in the country since around ‘06. But our 3-12 teams are no better than anyone else’s 3-12 teams. SEC dominance doesn’t explain bad losses to teams like Oklahoma State and Colorado. Richt just isn’t getting the job done. I don’t like it any more than you do, but I stopped being in denial about it quite awhile ago.
woebegong
February 15th, 2011
4:20 am
Paddy,
I think CMR will turn this team around, but I also think too many people are expecting instant success this year. It will take a year probably before most of these new recruits really have an impact on the team, with the exception of a few of them. UGA has a fair amount of talent already playing for them before these recruits. With the new changes CMR and staff have made, I think they can still be pretty good this year.
Boise can be beat if you can pressure their quarterback, becaaue they are breaking in all new receivers. They do have some big folks on both lines, but if we can put some pressure on them, and our offense can control the ball, they are beatable. I also think S.C. is beatable if Lattimore can be contained and as other teams proved last year, it can be done. Mr. Jenkins will have to earn his keep, right off the bat, if that is to happen. QB Garcia , from what I have seen for the last three years, is always one interception from a complete meltdown, so S.C. is beatable.
I believe it is realistic to think that UGA can win 9 or 10 games.
GOOOOOOOOO DAWGSSSSSSSS
And let the negative trash talk begin.
GaDawg
February 15th, 2011
6:10 am
Mean Machine
February 14th, 2011
6:32 pm
@Mean Machine WOW!!!…… Wouldn’t that story make for a great book? I’d love to buy a copy!
Yellow Hammer Bulldog
February 15th, 2011
7:57 am
It appears that he finally figured out his recruiter needs to recruit from schools that know how to win and are connected to UGA via local, family and friends. I did a review of last years roster and he had more player from Braswell Institute that bastion of champions~LOL that he had collectively from the powerhouse 5A, 4A and 3A finalists – not a single player from N. Gwinnett, Lowndes, Camden, Griffin, Sandy Creek, Peachtree Ridge, Buford, the list goes on and on