Bradley’s Buzz: Tech, UGA both among early-entry losers
Derrick Morgan and Morgan Burnett: They're gonzo. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
This won’t be surprising to those among us who follow college football. Still, it’s jarring to see in megapixeled black and white. Both Georgia Tech and Georgia rank among the nation’s biggest losers regarding early entry to the NFL draft.
For the Bulldogs, there’s good news amid the bad. Tech is seen as having been hit harder, and Florida is the consensus choice as having been hit hardest.
Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com rates Tech the second-biggest loser, Georgia the fifth-biggest. His reasons:
“Georgia Tech: I was tempted to make the Jackets No. 1 on this list because every player who realistically could consider declaring did. Tech says goodbye to its two best defenders in DE Derrick Morgan and safety Morgan Burnett as well as quarterback Josh Nesbitt’s top two weapons, running back Jonathan Dwyer and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
“I still think Nesbitt, RB Anthony Allen and RB Roddy Jones are big-time players, but the offense takes a huge hit, especially when you consider that Thomas accounted for about two-thirds of the team’s receiving yards this past season. Meanwhile, Morgan had half the team’s 25 sacks.
“Tech could’ve been a preseason top five or six. Now I think it might not be in the top 20 …
“Georgia: The Dawgs’ defense has been really shaky the past few seasons and is in rebuilding mode. A new defensive coordinator is coming from the Dallas Cowboys (Todd Grantham), but he’ll have to retool Georgia’s scheme without the team’s two leading tacklers, LB Rennie Curran and safety Reshad Jones. Curran, a fireplug, had 130 tackles last season, while Jones, who put on a dazzling show against rival Georgia Tech, also picked off four passes this past season.”
Stewart Mandel of SI.com sees it pretty much the same. He has Florida first among his list of four losers, with Tech second and Georgia fourth. His comments:
“Georgia Tech: The defending ACC champs had a chance to return a staggering 19 starters, but leading rusher Jonathan Dwyer, leading receiver Demaryius Thomas, second-leading tackler Morgan Burnett and ACC sacks leader Derrick Morgan all turned pro. The Jackets’ running game should be fine with Josh Nesbitt and Anthony Allen, but Thomas was their lone receiving threat, Morgan and Burnett their best defenders …
Georgia: The Bulldogs’ defense struggled in 2009, costing coordinator Willie Martinez his job. New coordinator Todd Grantham would have inherited a depleted unit regardless, but his job wasn’t made any easier by the defection of Georgia’s two best juniors, linebacker Rennie Curran and safety Reshad Jones. The defense will now return just four starters.“
My take: Just because they fall under the same heading doesn’t mean all losers are equal. Georgia lost two good players. Tech lost four of its five best players. Tech got hit way harder. Way harder, I say.
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
266 comments Add your comment
Big John
January 19th, 2010
10:33 am
I agree with ranking UF the biggest loser for 2009.
Big John
January 19th, 2010
10:36 am
Georgia was also the biggest gainer this year.
We gt Grantham, the guy that turned down and spurned Saban.
Steady GT Fan
January 19th, 2010
10:39 am
I trust Paul to coach his players up and have another great season. Al should make a positive difference as well. They are both good coaches. We may not win the ACC but we will definately compete. VT should be very good again, as well as, Miami and Florida State. I’m hoping for 10 or more wins again. Go Jackets!
Blindog
January 19th, 2010
10:39 am
We may only have four starters returning but there is a lot of talent remaining on the defence.Great article Mark, thanks.
Denver Dog
January 19th, 2010
10:40 am
GT in Raliegh, you are probabally correct especially since Tech dosn’t have William and Mary on the schedule. Groh will do some good things, but his record on defense is not that great of recent years. Wishing you guys the best til the end of November.
Chomp, I’ll have what you are smoking! You wouldn’t be running off at the mouth about UT if it were true. I think the biggest threat to UF is the NCAA which is currently investiagting the Tebow Ministry Fund for paying players. Be ready for it when it happens, it is going to be a blockbuster. Check around in your town there buddy and you will see that it is happening right now.
papadawg
January 19th, 2010
10:40 am
I hope Coach Richt has learned that to be a successful head coach you have to have strong assistants for every part of your team. All good college programs lose coachs every year but it the recent past how many has Georgia lost. Hire yourself a good staff Coach
Big John
January 19th, 2010
10:41 am
Grantham will go out and get the guys to replace the losses that he needs. Or he’ll just coach up the guys he has. Won’t be a problem. 2 of his defensive lineman went to the Pro Bowl this year. And 2 of Lakotas guys went to to the NFL.
GeoffDawg
January 19th, 2010
10:41 am
Mr. Chomp – you should probably wait to see if you even have a head coach come September before you claim yourself far ahead of anyone. At least UT knows who’s going to be on their sideline.
Dostoyevskiy
January 19th, 2010
10:41 am
UNC, who had a top-6 defense, many members of which were going to be drafted very high, returns all of them. They collectively stated that they had unfinished business. Rivals has their defense at no. 1 for next year. People just keep ignoring UNC, but they are going to be right there in your face next year. You may want to ignore them, but you won’t be able to once they line up against LSU in Sept. in the Ga. Dome.
Mark Bradley
January 19th, 2010
10:44 am
ACC Coastal is going to be very difficult next season.
The Other St. Simons
January 19th, 2010
10:45 am
GT Fan -
It’s “you’re cool” not “your cool.” Since you are FAN and not GRAD, I can see where you might have missed that.
Regarding your question, how can a team that barely got 30 yards in the first half of the Orange bowl AND lost its only…best players even think of repeating the magic?
And, may I remind you, you lost to UGA’s worst team in decades.
Who cares about preseason polls anyway. You can be #1 preseason for all I care. You still suck.
GaGators
January 19th, 2010
10:45 am
Pat Forde says whether Meyer returns or not, it’s probably the end of an area:
check it out:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls09/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=4784908
Denver Dog
January 19th, 2010
10:46 am
Dostro, UNC looked really dominate in the Cooper Tire Bowl. Who cares what Rivals has them, have you ever seen those yahoos that run Rivals? We will see about the game int the dome, it will be the make or break game for Les Miles’ career at LSU.
GT in Raleigh
January 19th, 2010
10:47 am
The Other St. Simons – remember how great of a season UGA had when they were breaking in Stafford? Without the Ginger Ninja – Cox, UGA will be experiencing serious growing pains at QB this season. Before you talk trash you should consider that next season is going to be very painful for all you puppies.
Rather than worrying about where Tech will be ranked in the meaningless preseason polls (which UGA proved two years ago); you should be worried how UGA is going to stop the likes of Arkansas (Mallet is returning), Kentucky, Florida (no down years there – just reloading), Miss State (Dan Mullen in his second year is going to be only tougher), Auburn (only will be better in year two), and a TN team that believes they OWN UGA. Just saying you have a bunch of other things to worry about besides where Tech is ranked in a preseason poll. Heck, Idaho State and Colorado could be nail biters with a QB that has never started a college football game!
Lowcountry Bulldawg
January 19th, 2010
10:47 am
Tech was decimated with early entry candidates. Not close. UGA loses is amplified by the fact that it now only returns those 4 starters, but the defense can’t regress to much.
GeoffDawg
January 19th, 2010
10:47 am
The Other St. Simons – I don’t know if I’d say “decades” but it’s definitely Georgia’s worst team since Donnan’s 5-6 debut in ‘95.
Mark Bradley
January 19th, 2010
10:50 am
Worst Georgia team in almost decade in a half (the 2009 one, I mean): Let’s settle on that. (Donnan’s first season was 1996, by the way.)
Kenny "Bulletproof Tiger" Powers
January 19th, 2010
10:51 am
That’s what recruiting is for; and when you DC doesnt coach up good recruits, you fire them; UF wont miss a beat, GT can’t recruit anyway, so it is UGA that the microscope is on.
GeoffDawg
January 19th, 2010
10:52 am
GT in Raleigh – Likewise, Georgia believes that they OWN tech. What’s the point? Every team is going to point out positives and make the case that they’re going to be better next year. Doesn’t mean a lot.
GeoffDawg
January 19th, 2010
10:53 am
Thanks Mark, my mistake on the year.
Mark Bradley
January 19th, 2010
10:56 am
That’s OK, Geoff. There’s a 75 percent chance I’ll miss whenever I use a number. Which probably means there’s an 85 percent chance.
The Other St. Simons
January 19th, 2010
10:57 am
GT Fan,
I agree, mostly. Particularly on the part about me not worrying about GT preseason ranking. The Stafford Dawgs proved that preseason rankings are useless.
As far as next season, we will see. Last seaon? I think 30-24 might ring a bell.
Scoreboard. Period.
Alabama Jack
January 19th, 2010
10:58 am
You know for a “high school” team that everyone says isn’t any good because it plays in the “Almost Competitive Conference”, we did turn out some playas didn’t we?
GT Alum
January 19th, 2010
10:59 am
GT lost to the worst UGA team, and two years ago we beat the best UGA team… that’s why they play the game. I disagree with the stress on Tech’s losses. Some star strengths may be lost but Tech grows in depth at almost every position (stress the lines on that one). We also return all receivers other than Thomas and gain a few injured ones for next season. Not to mention Nesbitt has another year to try and spread the ball around better. Expect a consistent Tech team next year and a much better UGA team. Both 10+ win teams. Here’s to making GA a serious football state again.
Dostoyevskiy
January 19th, 2010
11:00 am
Denver Dog, I believe the pros like the UNC defensemen; I think that is why they are so highly-rated.
GT in Raleigh
January 19th, 2010
11:01 am
GeoffDawg – My point is not whether I believe any school OWNS another. If I cared about that, I would be a UGA fan who chases cars and barks at the postman. My point is that UGA fans have a bunch to be worried about and should stop talking trash and take a sedative. We get it – you are the best and everyone else sucks. You run this state and everyone else must bow – blah-blah-blah-blah. Rather than barking so much you should realize that the “cone of shame” awaits the mutts next year (little Up reference – I have toddlers).
The Other St. Simons
January 19th, 2010
11:03 am
GT Alum-
Solid points. The good news is tha you really don’t need receivers. Nesbitt can’t pass and he doesn’t need to do so.
Good DC hire should be a factor for y’all as well.
And I agree, “Here’s to making GA serious football state again.”
BadgerDawg
January 19th, 2010
11:03 am
Every team that plays Tech has a chance. Just force them to have to throw a pass and you can win fairly easily. That even goes for teams that play in that weak conference.
The 2008 Georgia Bulldogs
January 19th, 2010
11:04 am
“Who cares about preseason polls anyway. You can be #1 preseason for all I care. You still suck.”
Hey, that sounds familiar…
G Dawg
January 19th, 2010
11:06 am
When will you Grantham haters such as Smittystheman and others realize that he was the D-line coach for Dallas and not responsible for the entire Dallas defense? Was Grantham responsible for the Dallas’ offense mistakes that cost them the game? Think not. Think again.
The Other St. Simons
January 19th, 2010
11:06 am
hahahhaha.
Good one.
papadawg
January 19th, 2010
11:08 am
Why is everyone concerned about the Gators. They have enough 5 star recuits come to them,they could win 10+ games every year. They don’t hardly have to recruit, just choose who they want. They always have enough talentthat even M. Bradley could coach them to a BC title
bro
January 19th, 2010
11:10 am
Who really cares. Neither team is ready to compete on an upper level. The just win a few games and lose the really big ones against quality teams. Tech was very lucky they won as many games as they did with their lack of defense. Only their ability to score allowed them to win most of their games. They did not do very well against teams with decent defenses. UGA’s victory over Tech was not a good win. They just had the better defense and Tech had the worse defense. Two poor teams with no consistency.
GT in Raleigh
January 19th, 2010
11:11 am
Dostoyevskiy – UNC will be tough next year on D. UNC will be overrated next year. Overrated???Those defensive players don’t play both ways. Your QB will not improve and your defense will be demoralized by how much the offense sucks. That is if they aren’t demoralized by the UNC fan base first. As someone who lives in the Triangle and listens to the sports fans here and knows how important football is to UNC – UNC fans would rather have you cut away from the LSU broadcast so that they can watch a UNC basketball practice. UNC is not a football school and will never be a football school. It will take Butch Davis a few more years to figure that out. But he will be gone and the UNC fan base will have a one less distraction before basketball season. BTW – what did you think about the beat down in the Dean Dome?
BullyDawgs
January 19th, 2010
11:11 am
Depleted? I hardly think so. Look at the UGA roster, we have some talent, Grantham will demand the best, and he’ll get the best..watch out florida, we’re knocking your snaggle teeth out this year.
GT in Raleigh
January 19th, 2010
11:13 am
Link to the cone of shame – http://tinyurl.com/y9rv4pt
Enjoy!!
Dostoyevskiy
January 19th, 2010
11:15 am
GT in Raleigh, you are not qualified to speak on this. I have lived in NC all my life, and I graduated from UNC probably before you were born. UNC is just as passionate about football as basketball. Now you transplants might want to change channels, but not UNC fans. Also, your post makes you appear to be young and immature. It is more like I understand a flame to be. I pull for State as well. I believe you need to grow up.
collegeballfan
January 19th, 2010
11:15 am
I agree with GT in Raleigh that UGA should be a better team next year.
They should have been a better team last year (2009). Top 10 recruiting classes every year Richt has been there. We all know that there is no logical reason UGA should not have had at least one BCS championship out of that kind of recruiting. Or at least been in the championship game!
Richt & staff have spring, fall camp and the La-Laf game to get ready for the season. Every player on the team will be from a top 10 recruiting class. Anything less than an SEC championship is not acceptable. Correct?
Now GT is the opposite. One top 30 recruiting class (2007), the others all in the top 40s (43 this year so far). FSU, VT, Clemson, Miami & NC have all recruited better than GT the last few years. Anything other than a middle of the conference finish is gravy. To tie for a Division in 2008 and win the conference in 2009 is way beyond expectations. This is the problem Johnson now faces, expectations. There is no logical reason to expect the 2010 GT team to finish in the hunt for the conference championship. Not with the recruiting classes they have had. Yet that expectation is there.
My best to both coaching staffs.
Nate
January 19th, 2010
11:17 am
It’s going to be funny to watch uf beat uga again even with some players leaving. Just a shame that Richt wasn;t smart enough to start another qb to give him some PT. Fla will once again beat the joke in Athens and go to the sec champ game. I am more worried about SC than you guys.
Nate's Jorts
January 19th, 2010
11:19 am
Has anyone seen my mullet?
Flo-Ri-Duh!
January 19th, 2010
11:19 am
Sometimes it’s good when players leave. For example, the safety position at UGA should be much better off next season with Jakar Hamilton and (most likely ) Rambo starting. The coverage and tackling of last years starters was inconsistent (at best). The DT’s will be missed (no Doubt) but there is good talent returning. Rennie Curran will be missed the most. He was dependable and played all out all the time.
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
January 19th, 2010
11:21 am
This was actually a pretty decent post.
Florida is, without a doubt, gonna take a big hit. They lose at least 3-4 games next year. Their talent isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but they don’t have a helluva lot of experience. Look at Southern Cal this year. They had great talent but no experience and lost 3 games because of it. That, in combination with the loss of Charlie Strong will cost Florida (Bama also rotates onto their West schedule, which doesn’t help).
Georgia Tech is also taking a big hit. It’ll take some time (5 or six games, I’m guessing), but I think they’ll be able to start filling those holes their departing juniors left; however, I don’t see them winning their division (or UGA) next year, to say nothing of the ACC as a whole.
Now with my Dawgs, I honestly don’t know how much of a hit we’re taking. Yes, Curran was a terrific linebacker, but we rotated guys out enough to where our other LBs got at least some valuable playing time. That, in combination with Grantham coaching LBs, will lessen the potential impact of Curran’s departure.
Jones, on the other hand, was really hit or miss. Don’t get me wrong, he played great his last few games (he almost single-handedly fended off Tech’s final drive), but he wasn’t always in the zone the rest of the time. Considering our new defensive backs coach (Lackatos) and all the talent we have at the position (Boykin, Smith, etc.), I don’t think this area’ll be hit all that much.
As for the defense as a whole, I think it’s good that Grantham is getting a younger squad to start with. They aren’t all set in the 4-3 and will be more willing and capable of picking up the 3-4 in a shorter amount of time. I could be wrong there, but we’ll see.
And one more thing, I HATE this “they don’t rebuild, they reload” thing. It’s simply not true. Every team has to rebuild. The only reason Southern Cal was able to seemingly “reload” for so long was because the rest of the Pac-10 was TERRIBLE until this year. Hell, Oregon woulda won the Pac-10 in ‘07 if Dennis Dixon hadn’t blown his ACL. Speaking of ‘07, Florida lost 4 games that year, too. Reload? Yeah, right.
bkbroila4224
January 19th, 2010
11:21 am
UGA only lost 2 starters from last years unit going into 2009, and they stunk worse than 2008…Starting over from scratch might not be a bad thing after all…Willie Martinez had a bad habit of letting the better players ride the pine so that Upperclassmen could play…New Team, New Scheme…Can’t be worse than they’ve been the last 2 years…
All I'm Saying Is...
January 19th, 2010
11:21 am
G-Tech definitely the bigger early entry loser versus UGA because they historically have had less talent depth.
UGA has unfortunately been a Bermuda Triangle type football program: a place where high school all-americans vanish as their accolade generating performances are never to be heard from on the playing field again. As a result, theoretically, UGA should have some players to plug-in and fill some of those gaps left by early leaving kids. Plus, defense is usually the side that is most responsive to a quick fix meaning their new defensive coordinator could have an immediate impact with a new scheme and some new players (who are more likely to buy-in than returners) deploying it.
With all the coaching personnel changes coupled with the players coming and going, the 2010-2011 college football season for the two leading schools in Georgia should be an especially intriguing one (without even mentioning the ‘change’ at Florida and the fact that there will be new coaches on the scene at Virginia, Tennessee, etc.).
Technophobia
January 19th, 2010
11:23 am
The biggest tragedy here is when a player leaves early and doesn’t get drafted or gets drafted so low that it does not benefit them. They end up sacrificing their future because of a poor decision. This is different than doing something wrong it’s just a mistake. Why is the NCAA more forgiving of someone who commits a felony than it is of a player who overestimates his skills and reputation. That’s just not right. An undrafted player should be allowed to return to the NCAA. If their former team doesn’t have an open scholarship, then let them transfer to a school that does. College athletics should be about the student athlete, not the fans or anything else for that matter.
Just the Facts.....
January 19th, 2010
11:24 am
Georgia will make “huge” headlines in 2010 as one of the comeback teams of the season, the only thing that really concerns Dawg nation is QB play. Whomever starts under center will have some Big Targets to hit. A.J. Green, will not have the chance to get doubled people with a more mature Marlon Brown, a thicker more polished O. Charles, your #2 in the nation WR Da’Rick Rogers coming in. Plus you have Rantavious Wooten, and T. King who has shown they can both stretch the field, If we can get the kid outta S.C. to come play Tailback and have Ealey, and King really pushing each other during the off season, it’s gonna be big! The “D” is definately gonna do big things this year. Plenty of big time talent in the Db’s, and J. Hamilton, ranked #2 corner in the nation coming outta Juco is huge. Word is he can shut down half a field by his self. The development of Brandon Smith is complete, now it’s time for him to be the shut down corner that he is. Todd Gratham’s hire is definately going to motivate the “two” best DT’s to come to UGA, when they realize that he can help them get to the next level. Ga Tech fans, look for 6 more beatings before you smell victory again, and that’s being nice!
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
January 19th, 2010
11:25 am
Also, and I’m dead serious when I say this, I think UGA wins the BCS Championship either next year (’10) or the year after (’11). ‘Nuff said.
GT in Raleigh
January 19th, 2010
11:28 am
Dostoyevskiy – Sorry to hurt your feelings – Getting on a AJC message board to talk about CFB is not a common practice for UNC fans. You can’t honestly say that UNC is just as passionate about football as they are about basketball. Really??? Sorry that this hurt so much. I can only assume that the loss this past weekend got you really down. Good luck with the whole football thing and I will try and stay off your lawn old man. Really young and immature? solid comeback – I’m older than you!!! – woooo – you nailed me
BobinBuford
January 19th, 2010
11:28 am
UGA has to be better – they replaced Arizona State and Oklahoma State with Idaho State and Colorado. You know, the UF and Alabama OOC schedule.
SOUTHGADAWG88
January 19th, 2010
11:28 am
Jones will be missed more than Curran.Burnett is making a huge mistake but he may get drafted before Renne.GT took a much bigger hit than UGA hand’s down. CPJ is working on his 3rd class here so he’s going to need to show he can recruit at least as good as Gailey.