What, if anything, would losing Da’Rick Rogers mean to UGA?
Da'Rick Rogers: If he's a Vol, is Signing Day sunny for Georgia? (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
Vince Dooley, who knew a thing or two about recruiting and about winning, said of the former: “It’s the way you win in the offseason.” And if that’s the case, would Da’Rick Rogers’ apparent defection to Tennessee — esteemed colleague Chip Towers has the breaking news — constitute a loss? A 45-19 sort of loss?
On the one hand, you can’t lose what you never actually had. On the other, Rogers is considered the best player in the state and is rated No. 9 nationally by Rivals.com. He’d committed to Georgia last summer. Bulldog fans — and Bulldog coaches — had been counting on him for a while. But now it appears he’ll be a Vol instead, and if that’s the case he’ll have spurned a program that has won 90 games in nine seasons for one that changed coaches last month.
I’m headed to Athens for tomorrow’s Signing Day doings, but on SD Eve I wanted to ask you folks: If Rogers does wind up signing with Tennessee — he’s scheduled to make his announcement at 9:45 a.m. at Calhoun High — does that take the fizz off Georgia’s recruiting class? Is this a loss? A Big Loss? Or is it no loss at all?
And with that, the floor is open for what I know will be our usual erudite discussion. Thanks in advance.
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568 comments Add your comment
John
February 2nd, 2010
11:37 pm
It goes back to the basics. Keep the good players in GA from going elsewhere, then you will be successful. If I was CMR I would ask my assistant coaches” how did this happen” UGA cannot keep the good players from going out of state. How can you loose the #1 prospect in the state to UT who changed coaches last month? I like CMR, but if he was on my sells team, I would take him off large accounts and stick him with B prospects until he proved himself again. Good grief, UT doesn’t even have a DC yet. Dooley JR must be a great salesman. Maybe we should hire him.
Technophobia
February 2nd, 2010
11:39 pm
John, I believe UT just got their DC. It’s the DC from Boise State and they seemed to get after it pretty good.
College Sports Fan
February 2nd, 2010
11:39 pm
Just looking at this picture tells me what’s wrong about College sports…..the INMATES are running the ASYLUM! This is an 18 year old kid who thinks he’s a rock star. Shame on all of us for treating these teenagers like they are demi-gods. Before we start bowing down before them, maybe we should wait until they earn our respect with their hard work, determination, focus and HUMILITY.
cmac
February 2nd, 2010
11:41 pm
My favorite report on this da’bozo was from earlier this evening when his high school coach was unsure about this report. He said “I have not had the chance to talk with him because he wasn’t in school AGAIN today.”
Sounds like da’bozo is getting himself ready for the athletic & academic culture at tenn!! Hell, get him a gun, a hoodie & a mask & pencil him in as a starter!!
basiliofan
February 2nd, 2010
11:41 pm
seems that the character issue never was a problem when he was committed to uga, just becomes a problem when he decided to switch. you uga fans kill me that you say UT has no QB…..just what do you have? is joe cocks back? i actually hope he is. seems to me you are in the same boat we are..no QB. you don’t know if murray is any good, wasn’t good enough to beat out joe last year. here is the bottom line – you took marlon brown from UT last year, we seem to be getting Da’Rick Rogers from you this year, we will see who gets the best end.
Urban Meyer
February 2nd, 2010
11:44 pm
KJ – WTF are you talking about? Robey – 5′7″ corner in the SEC. Give me a break. He left because he knew better. He will go be a fair catch caller in the PAC 10. If he plays corner, it does not matter in that conference because they don’t play defense. On the other hand, I would lover for Prince Miller Jr to have been picked up at UGA so I could exploit him with Brantley.
Gen Neyland
February 2nd, 2010
11:44 pm
John : There is a rumor going around up there on a DC. The lack of a DC hasn’t harmed recruiting terribly but I’ll agree that CDD needs to ink one. Go to Rivals and check out our D committs…
One more something and I’m really out of here. Tennessee has three 4 star WR’s on line plus Da’Rick. Milton is enrolled and Hunter and Meline are committs. If Da’Rick’s projection changes Hunter or Meline’s thoughts of coming to Tennessee will be found out tomorrow. Other than that, Dam those War Eagles. They are looking good tonight. We’ll see about it tomorrow.
cmac
February 2nd, 2010
11:44 pm
A defensive coordinator from BOISE STATE?!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! When Boise made the trip to Athens in 2005, they had some kind of unbelievable record. UGA had a ton of new starters on offense, including a new QB … and UGA thumped Boise 35 – 7. Its easy to “get after it” against teams like Hawaii (see UGA in 2008 Sugar Bowl).
Warren
February 2nd, 2010
11:45 pm
No program likes to lose a 5 Star player. But am I missing something or is this still a TEAM sport,one that requires a QB to throw to the WR. As a former Bulldog, I’d rather have a 3-Star athlete with decent hands and big heart on receiving end from guys with moxie and cannons like Murray or Mettenberger than this kid and Nance or whoever tossing softballs. The only mistake here was wasting time recruiting a kid with low character in first place. As for Da’Rick…Big Mistake kid…HUGE and reflective of your heart and character which will not be missed in Athens. Hope to be seeing you in Arena ball in a couple of years when you flunk out of UT
hind tit
February 2nd, 2010
11:45 pm
if he don’t come to ga. the sun want rise in the morning, the ocean will go dry or would that be the cow.never snow in alaska again,all the fireants will suddenly disapear and mark bradley will be the next president of the united states of america.
Dale
February 2nd, 2010
11:47 pm
UT fans glorified Lane Kiffen not 3 months ago. Now it’s Duh’Rick. He’s next in the Prius.
Mark Bradley
February 2nd, 2010
11:48 pm
About the photo: That was shot by the AJC’s Jason Getz as part of our Super 11 package. As you probably know, the Super 11 photos tend to be stylized. (Meaning: Not just a picture of a guy in uniform with a ball under his arm.) The gallery can be found here.
Gen Neyland
February 2nd, 2010
11:49 pm
cmac : It’s hard to leave on that last post of yours. Who cares about 2005. What did Boise St do in 2009..? Laugh all you want but if he comes to Rocky Top, I’ll wager he’ll better your pro guy that got knocked out BADLY by the Vikes. Badly. And I’ll wager he’ll out-flank your OC. Badly…
dawgfan13
February 2nd, 2010
11:51 pm
Lets not forget this is a kid we are tearing down! I am a huge UGA fan and I am disappointed in his decision, but a verbal is nothing set in stone! These kids have a right to change their mind, just like coaches can up and go when the next best job offer comes in. Da Rick has all the physical tools to be great, will he? I am not sure but i wont wish him to do bad because I am a true football fan and I wanna see him do well being a local kid! Until they play UGA. We have some great young recruits at the reciever position and we will be ok. Lets hope this defense can be good next year, that should be the real concern! I think Aaron Murray will be a great QB next year! Only time will tell!
AthDog
February 2nd, 2010
11:53 pm
He couldn’t qualify anyway, they say. Plus, don’t forget we have Marlon Brown just hanging around Athens town, best receiver in Tn last year, the expert said. Give me a two star Thomas Davis or a three star Pollack anyday.
Rogers' Facebook page
February 2nd, 2010
11:53 pm
Personal Information
About Me:
……I TAKE MY SHIRT OFF AND ALL THE HOES STOP BREATHIN…..
Dale
February 2nd, 2010
11:56 pm
Still wish it was Sanford-Dooley Stadium? How great would that serve UT recruiting?
Mark Bradley
February 2nd, 2010
11:57 pm
I was suggesting the stadium be renamed after Vince Dooley, not Derek.
Keith
February 3rd, 2010
12:05 am
He rolled up most of his numbers against bad teams. In the state chamionship game he and the Calhoun QB never got it going.
Technophobia
February 3rd, 2010
12:06 am
Cmac, the BSU DC will have MUCH better players at UT than he had in 2005 when he coached against you guys. BTW, are you sure it’s even the same guy that was there in 2005?
Warren
February 3rd, 2010
12:09 am
Why didn’t Georgia offer a package deal to Nance and Rogers to get both of them like Tennessee? We had 3 or 4 scholarships left. It’s a shame to lose the next A.J. Green just because we didn’t make a simple phone call or visit to Nance. He would have gotten Rogers to come to Georgia. Very very poor recruiting move. This is why we will never catch Florida, Alabama, LSU, etc.
Dale
February 3rd, 2010
12:12 am
Mark suggested Sanford-Da’Rick
Rogers' Facebook page
February 3rd, 2010
12:16 am
Warren, don’t you think that’s setting a horrible precedence? News flash WR isn’t the problem
Jarrod
February 3rd, 2010
12:19 am
Yes, there may be question marks and you can talk all you want about Tennessee’s late struggles, esp. the o-line and QB, pretty much everywhere except for the secondary and d-line…BUT it would and IS going to be Huge for Rogers to go to UT…UT is rebuilding with solid o-line prospects coming in, and 3 impressive looking QB prospects. You gotta start somewhere when a coach bails on you like Kiffin did.
?dawg
February 3rd, 2010
12:21 am
Why would Rogers have a “partial guardian”?
Warren
February 3rd, 2010
12:21 am
This is a different Warren suggesting UGA offer a package deal…I would never advocate such stupidity and a class act like MR would never make such a mistake. This kid can’t hold AJ Green’s jock anyway. Change your name to Warren2 or something please, I posted earlier.
Jarrod
February 3rd, 2010
12:21 am
i love how all the UGA fans are dissin’ this dude just because he’s leaving to join his buddy…There’s a reason they verbally pledge and don’t sign right away unless they’re absolutely sure.
Bama 79
February 3rd, 2010
12:22 am
Hey,Don’t worry about Top 10 Class. I just heard Lemming and he had 19 classes in his Top 10.
Rogers' Facebook page
February 3rd, 2010
12:22 am
I thought UT was starting somewhere when firing Kiffin? Remember he was the savior
Jarrod
February 3rd, 2010
12:23 am
as much as I hate Kiffin now that he left… the dude can recruit
Rogers' Facebook page
February 3rd, 2010
12:23 am
Jarrod
February 3rd, 2010
12:21 am
i love how all the UGA fans are dissin’ this dude just because he’s leaving to join his buddy…There’s a reason they verbally pledge and don’t sign right away unless they’re absolutely sure.
It’s not too smart to base your college decision on where your buddy goes
Jarrod
February 3rd, 2010
12:27 am
I agree, but UT and UGA are both great college programs, great tradition, facilities, stadiums. We’ll see about Dooley… and They seem to alternate beating each other every season. Nance provided a little edge to Tennessee, and Rogers bought in to the program
truth hurts
February 3rd, 2010
12:28 am
maybe daddy nance didnt like richt doing carpets of dalton commercials…. or da’rick realized that UT is a program on the rise and UGA is still a middle of the pack SEC east team that still cannot beat UT and FL no matter how many 5 * guys you get. dont say last year was a fluke either (45-19 btw) u guys should be used to getting smacked around by the daddies of the east. bring out the black helmets or whatever the hell it is yall do to get fired up for the UT game next year since it worked out so well last year against FL. go vols
Rogers' Facebook page
February 3rd, 2010
12:30 am
How is Tennessee on the rise? weren’t they just 7-6? I really can’t get it.
yoda
February 3rd, 2010
12:35 am
its a huge loss. georgia isnt going anywhere as it is, but it makes the sting that much worse. georgia is middle of the sec, get use to it.
Technophobia
February 3rd, 2010
12:37 am
UT has 13 four star recruits and the class is ranked #7. That’s a start.
GT3O
February 3rd, 2010
12:38 am
Just an outside observation…
Some dawg fans are being classy about this thing by saying “it’s what ever is with him and we wish him luck”.
Some of you others are full of sour grapes and hypocrisy.
Rumoring he wouldn’t make the grades is cheap at best. If Wayshaun Ealy made the grades last year as low as his scores were in high school, Da’Rick definitely made the grade. Wayshaun Ealy was so close to not even qualifying for UGA it wasn’t funny. Just an observation.
Secondly, you all loved him when he was a dawg. I read comments on here that made me think he was the centerpiece of the class to most of you and now he’s a prima donna and UGA didn’t need him anyways.
It’s just a friendly outside observation.
Hypocrisy continue…
Jarrod
February 3rd, 2010
12:39 am
4 losses to UCLA, FLORIDA, AUBURN, and BAMA…combined 20 points. Other than a meltdown agains ole miss we played well considering CROMPTON was our QB. Hopefully we’ll get a good DC. On the rise does not mean better then UGA BAMA and UF. But any good coach, esp. Nick Saban will say that you gotta have the players, and that starts in the recruiting battles. So with a pretty good class so far Tennessee is on the right path, or I.E. On The Rise
truth hurts
February 3rd, 2010
12:40 am
nice answer jarrod. also, there is no reason for UGA to have anything but a top-10 class every year with that talent in state. recruits are avoiding UGA and your lame duck coach like the plague because it seems his success is on the downslide. yeah we finished 7-6 last year but what does that say about the state of UGA now? pretty dim.
Rogers' Facebook page
February 3rd, 2010
12:41 am
I didn’t know moral victories counted…
Rogers' Facebook page
February 3rd, 2010
12:42 am
Key players in that first class are no longer on the team too
Paddy
February 3rd, 2010
12:45 am
You just have to laugh your ass off seeing that picture of Rogers.
Paddy
February 3rd, 2010
12:49 am
Gordon Pittman……..you never saw Tebow play, right? Lets all sing Rose Colored Glasses. Some of our fans should never be allowed in public!
Hairy Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
12:49 am
Vince better had not of traitered Dawg Nation to helping Derrick. We dont have no use for Benedict Aronald.
Good thing Vols just stole sorry primedonna player when we got real thing in AJ who is best reciever in confrence. Dawgs got talent and now we hire best coaches with nobody have any better. Who care if any one is dumb enough to go Vols instead of Dawgs. We hobnail boot them again every year anyways.
Rest of SEC needs take in notice of Dawgs becoming the dominaters. With T-blows done, Dawgs is goning to be punching tickets to the ATL for champs all day.
Dawg1999
February 3rd, 2010
12:50 am
Da’rick is classic UT and so is Nash Nance, hope they come out of the closet soon!
Jarrod
February 3rd, 2010
12:52 am
Bryce Brown- #1 overall RB, still there, And Nu’Keese Richardson, WR, yeah that was a loss, but hey looks like we’re gettin’ plenty of Wideouts this year…AND we kept the best out of the 3 freshman, Janzen Jackson has great potential to be a standout corner in the SEC, come on man, give me somethin’ better than that…what does that mean? “moral victories don’t count” Is that ur best argument That means we are IMPROVING, on the rise, Florida beat UGA by as much as we did…Say what you want, losing to the best of the SEC, UF and BAMA by 12 points is about as much as you can ask for with Crompton at QB
Rogers' Facebook page
February 3rd, 2010
12:54 am
You went from 5-7 to 7-5. How impressive
Ginger
February 3rd, 2010
12:55 am
UGA still has a good signing class on paper….But paper is just that paper ..In other words, the star rating system is sometimes a great projection and sometimes it is not…Not all players live up to a high star rating and some players do much better. Don’t know yet how Rogers will pan out as player….don’t like the attention getting…Remains to be seen what type of player he turns out to be…Best of Luck to him. But for now will concentrate on who UGA has. Proud of the quality players that we will sign and look forward to great things. 3 star players who study the game of football, and work hard to get in great shape–can achieve great things.
Rogers' Facebook page
February 3rd, 2010
12:56 am
Monte Kiffin kept you in a lot of games on Defense, but he is gone
Jarrod
February 3rd, 2010
1:04 am
Do you know what the point of these blogs are dude? You argue against what I say. I said we are on the rise. Ok,
2006 9-4
2007 10-4 Played in SEC Championship
2008 5-7 had a down year, lost a Championship Coach
2009 7-6 Had a great recruiting class, Lost another coach
Losing Monte Kiffin does not mean that we are not on the rise anymore…We’ll replace him, and it was more Eric Berry than Kiffin anyways… 7-6 is better than 5-7 right? I call that improvement.