On a rival’s troubles and a Dawg being jerked around
Richard Samuel's move back to tailback isn't likely to be in his best interest. (Special)
The NCAA/Georgia Tech story was being discussed Thursday afternoon at the afternoon news meeting in our newsroom when one of the senior editors cracked, “Bill, what’s that big smile on your face?”
OK, I’ll admit it, as was probably true with any other UGA die-hard, I couldn’t help taking some pleasure in the “Institute” being caught once again with its frequently trumpeted integrity not quite in place.
But considering the fragile nature of “good standing” in the world of the NCAA, it’s not a good idea to spend too much time crowing about a rival getting slapped, as you never know when your own school is going to have to deal with another eligibility issue.
I will say note, though, that last year Georgia’s coaches determined that they would sit A.J. Green rather than risk using an ineligible player, and that kept Jerseygate from turning into something much bigger and nastier, like what has come down on the Flats.
I’ve no idea what, if anything, will transpire in the Jarvis Jones case. But I’m betting until Mark Richt and his staff know, Jones won’t take the field.
Meanwhile, before it was official yesterday that Richard Samuel would be returning to the tailback position, I wrote that I thought it was a bad idea, and I still do.
Oh, I fully understand why Richt is doing it, and you can make a good case that from the team’s perspective it’s the right move. Georgia has a startling lack of experience at the tailback position right now, and Samuel has experience, albeit in the somewhat distant past.
But for Samuel’s development as a player it’s not the right move. Having already gone from starter to benchwarmer in the backfield once, the young man stood a better chance of getting sustained playing time as a backup linebacker. At tailback, he may start out the season getting a decent number of carries spelling true freshman Isaiah Crowell, but as Crowell gets acclimated to college ball, Samuel’s likely to find himself back on the bench again.
I’d love to be wrong about that and for Samuel and Crowell to develop into a one-two punch in the backfield, but what we’ve seen of Samuel in the past indicates that his best use would be as a linebacker.
The back-and-forth with Samuel brings to mind the UGA career of Kiante Tripp, who the Georgia coaches moved from defensive end to offensive tackle to tight end back to offensive tackle back to defensive end. And he ended up excelling at none of those positions.
I hate to see the same thing happen to Samuel’s career.
Got a question for the Junkyard Blawg? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
Find me on Facebook.
Follow me on Twitter.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
207 comments Add your comment
Thomas Brown
July 16th, 2011
10:45 am
Sean Boudreau Bedford
best know for his CHOP BLOCKS at Georgia tek
is from Gainesville, Florida
received zero scholarship offers to play Division 1-A football
after his college career of losing every bowl game, left the country and was not drafted by the NFL
He is a zero.
Bedford plays “football” with Osos de Madrid, a semi-pro team in Spain, in the LNFA whatever that is.
He says that if the NCAA thinks his CHUMPionship ring is worth $312, he will glady forward it to The NCAA.
Bedford, you are a nobody in football and that is NOT what The NCAA said.
What the NCAA said, Bedford, is that Georgia tek was told by The NCAA not to discuss anything with anybody, especially not
PAUL JOHNSON
But, Paul Johnson was told by your cruddy Athletics Director against the wishes of both everyone else involved for Georgia tek including the man whom The NCAA called, and against the recommendation of your “president” Bud G.P.”Bud” Peterson.
Bud says Dan Radakovich, AD at tek, should not have told
PAUL JOHNSON.
Bedford, what you have is 2 Georgia tek student-athletes who cannot even speak the language both in the NFL today, Demaryius Thomas and Morgan Burnett took gifts from former Georgia tek QB Calvin Booker and then were INSTRUCTED by PAUL JOHNSON to hinder the NCAA investigation only Morgan Burnett told the truth, which prompted then Dan Radakovich and president G.P.”Bud” Peterson to then tell the truth about the purposeful intentional lies to the NCAA.
Thus NO ACC
CHUMP
ionship.
Got it ?
Thomas Brown
July 16th, 2011
11:00 am
The NCAA says it cannot be on Georgia tek’s webpages
The NCAA says it cannot be in the media guides
The NCAA says that records for that year, 2009, shall reflect that the game NEVER HAPPENED
And, that Georgia tek did NOT win the ACC CHUMPionship
Your ring is a
SHAMED
ring.
As TAINTED as The NCAA Investigation itself was due to PAUL JOHNSON and Georgia tek telling your 2 football players what to say.
We don’t have to pry it from your finger
BEDFORD
It means NOTHING
It’s like making up a headlines for a newspaper and standing in front of it as if you did do something.
You did
NOT.
The game never happened. That 1 game.
If there is any ACC Champ for 2009, it is the Climpsum Farmers.
You MOST ASSUREDLY are NOT the ACC CHUMPion.
Your memories of the game, are shattered.
Your sanctimonious open letter to the NCAA likewise means nothing, other than you FAIL to have read the PUBLIC REPORT where your players on your team made FOOLS of Georgia tek :
“Me and Thomas got us some Adidas wear from Calvin Booker.”
NCAA : “Did you then leave and go purchase these clothes, or were they already in the house?”
“They was in the house already.” The Georgia tek student-athlete says Me and Thomas went there and got us some Adidas wear from Calvin Booker. Were the clothes there or did you go out and purchase them ? They was in the house already.
These are some really great smart Georgia tek football players, right ?
chazzo
July 16th, 2011
12:49 pm
I just don’t remember Samuel looking all that bad as a 17 year old. Seems he coughed it up a couple of times, but I remember thinking that he had a lot of potential. Now, he is bigger, stronger, faster. We will see.
Wally My Butts
July 16th, 2011
1:40 pm
For all of those who seem obsessed about this move ruining Richard Samuel’s career, I would offer this: Is his career better served by sitting on the pine behind better players at LB for the next two years, or, is his career better served by getting on the playing field and showing the next level what he can do? If you were RS, which would you pick? Heck, if you even thought that you had no pro possibility and only a college career, what would you do, get on the field or ride the pine?
Now, from a TEAM perspective, if you lost both your best (arguably) RBs in one summer and were painfully thin at RB for the upcoming season, wouldn’t you look around and see who could help you out by being the best position switch candidate in order to make the team stronger? So, what would you do?
You know, RS wasn’t that bad at RB before (except for a few fumbles and failure to follow his blockers thru impatience). Give the kid a chance. If HE thought that he would have seen more playing time at LB, then HE (not the coaches) might have chosen differently. It was HIM that made the decision, right? And, apparently, the coaches have enough confidence in him that they are willing to give him the chance at playing time.
So, bottom line, Bill, is that it is a good team move. Good for the team and good for the individual.
Wally My Butts
July 16th, 2011
1:46 pm
And, as far as Kiante Tripp and Justin Andersen go, if they were first string or starters at the positions offered to them, they would have never been moved. Fact is that they couldn’t make it up the depth chart but were both good enough athletes that the coaching staff tried to get them on the field somehow. Hey, just because they are 4 or 5 “stars”, whatever that really means, in high school doesn’t mean that it translates into 4 or 5 “stars” in college. The road is littered with plenty of washouts. (I just hope that Crowell isn’t one of them).
utah
July 16th, 2011
8:41 pm
not a fan of either school but what is comical to me Mr King is that you and your so called friend laughing at another school. All your school’s five star commitments and you didn’t perform any better than Tech. I mean losing to UCF for heaven’s sake.
Out of curiousity if you want to be honest, is this blog photo of you actually the way you look? Have you leaned over and touched your toes in the last 20 years? Or is it that redneck inbred mentality that you do not have to cause your a dog fan. Any chance you could lay off the donuts? At least change thoses glasses that went out in the 80’s that you probably wore to the national championship game but that was 31 years ago. And how bout shaving that awful gray beard. geez update yourself and put a bag over your head and be the unknown blogger, that face isn’t good for tv, radio or print
chazzo
July 17th, 2011
10:29 am
Check out this letter from a former GT player. I really can’t run these guys in the ground as annoying as the trolls may be.
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/43888/former-gt-center-sean-bedford-responds