A most unusual sight: UGA absent from Rivals.com’s Top 10
It’s a strange feeling for Georgia fans, and it has to feel a bit odd to Mark Richt. According to Rivals.com, Georgia’s recruiting class of 2010 ranks 15th nationally and sixth in the SEC. (The ratings — updated as of 10:48 a.m. Wednesday — are subject to change.) That would be the Bulldogs’ lowest national rating since 2001, when Mark Richt had been on the job barely two months.
Over Rich’s first nine years, Georgia finished outside Rivals’ Top 10 only once. A year-by-year look:
• 2001: Sixteenth nationally, third in the SEC.
• 2002: Third in the nation, second in the SEC.
• 2003: Sixth in the nation, third in the SEC.
• 2004: Sixth in the nation, second in the SEC.
• 2005: Tenth in the nation, second in the SEC.
• 2006: Fourth in the nation, second in the SEC.
• 2007: Ninth in the nation, sixth in the SEC.
• 2008: Seventh in the nation, third in the SEC.
• 2009: Sixth in the nation, third in the SEC.
About here, you might be saying, “So what if Georgia’s not in the Top 10 this time? All those highly rated classes really only resulted in one SEC title.” (That being in 2005; the 2002 conference championship was achieved largely with Jim Donnan’s recruits.) Not to be a Gloomy Gus, but here’s what:
When you get used to a school lighting up the recruiting board, it’s significant when it doesn’t. It’s significant when Georgia doesn’t land a single 5-star recruit. (That last happened in 2007.) It’s significant when an Auburn program in Year 2 under Gene Chizik lands 13 spots ahead of Georgia in Year 10 under Richt. And from this we can draw only one conclusion:
Mark Richt needs to rent some white limos.
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600 comments Add your comment
vollball96
February 3rd, 2010
12:46 pm
ESPN is for losers..Noone belives GA is or was ever good besides them..THE SEC NEVER FEARED UGA in the last 20+ years.. But UGS fears UT and Uof every game..
GeorgiaVol
February 3rd, 2010
12:46 pm
They do like your two DTs just did; goof off until the senior bowl.
Jona
February 3rd, 2010
12:48 pm
GaGator
2007 the lizards went 9-4. Which followed several years of top 10 recruiting classes and a NC. Did that signal a downturn in fl football? Give me a break.
Tide Rising
February 3rd, 2010
12:49 pm
All the back and forth smack talking today. This is almost as good as the regular season.
Levi
February 3rd, 2010
12:50 pm
This is a shameful article. Why continuously muckrake UGA and Richt? You seem to be intent on hurting this program as much as possible. At the top of your next column, you should issue a captioned apology for not reporting all of the facts. Report that this class is not comprised of 27-29 signees and should not be measured on an overall point system against teams with 28 signees that have an average of a 3.2 star rating. Whoooooo!!! We loaded up on a bunch of 2 and 3 stars!!! Whooooooo!! UGA has a quality class that has a higher star average than all but Florida and Alabama in conference. Report that cheeseball.
Jona
February 3rd, 2010
12:50 pm
vollball96
The only thing we fear is your players going to our convenience stores while in town,
Yer Coach
February 3rd, 2010
12:50 pm
Hey, you jerks wanted your coaches fired and Richt just followed inorant fans wishes. Read and weep jerks,lol,lol.
Robby
February 3rd, 2010
12:51 pm
This year =
Georgia 37 former players on NFL rosters
Tennessee 36
LSU with 33
Florida with 31
Auburn with 30
Alabama with 21
WANNA BE A PRO? GO TO GEORGIA
Erk
February 3rd, 2010
12:52 pm
We know you love Georgia dropping in the recruiting rankings Mark. Don’t worry, this will be more than made up by not having Willie Martinez as DC. You and Jeff Schultz don’t have just a wee bit of dislike for the Dawgs and a lot of love for Tech do you? At least be a little more subtle about it. Look at the current headlines “Most unusual to not see Ga in recruiting top 10″ and “Tech will be just fine with their recruiting class”. In a couple of days you’ll write a pro Georgia article because you’re a waffler. At least pick one and stick to it because you look like an idiot when you jump on and off Ga’s bandwagon.
Cosby Smith
February 3rd, 2010
12:53 pm
Top tehn in the past 8 yers and look at the 2009 season. Time to recruit players instead of ego’s. Time to have players on the line, both offense and defense, in lieu of someone dancing and prancing on the field. Good coaching and players that actually want to play and win equal a top ten team come December.
Urban Meyer
February 3rd, 2010
12:53 pm
Robby,
And if you want to be a champion don’t go to Georgia!
Robby
February 3rd, 2010
12:54 pm
Lady GaGator,
Im being honest here…at least the georgia quarterbacks dont cry…
they just end up with respect and millions of dollars…
Jeff
February 3rd, 2010
12:54 pm
Lowest ranking since 2000. UGA won the SEC in 2002, the east in 2003
GeorgiaVol
February 3rd, 2010
12:55 pm
Mark gets paid by the looks and posts so every time he ticks some group off, he gets a raise.
Course with a lot of you, it doesn’t take much.
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
12:55 pm
GaGator
February 3rd, 2010
12:42 pm
Saint Simons, explain something to me. How can Richt have 8 top ten classes
and go 8-5 last year, then I hear all the dawgs say it doesn’t matter that this is
a #15-20 class, and all we need to do is coach’em up. Makes no sense to me.
Georgia fans are like a Family Fued team. One guy says the wrong answer, they all knows it’s wrong, but cheer together “good answer” “good answer” hoping it will some how change it. They did the same thing with every DC candidate they had. It cracked me up!
dawg gone it
February 3rd, 2010
12:56 pm
So what did all the past highly rated classes get us? We should know by now it’s not just the talent, but the coaches that make a difference.
Ponte Vedra Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
12:56 pm
Mark, I know you are enjoying this a great deal. A top 10 ranking would be nice, but we are filling some big needs on the lines.
Robby
February 3rd, 2010
12:56 pm
Georgia has been winning championships since the 1940s…
oh goodness where were the gators through the years? i mean how can you win every game for a generation and still not lead the overall series?
inept football for a long long time…thats how
Matt
February 3rd, 2010
12:57 pm
maybe #5 in the sec alphabetically.
Jim
February 3rd, 2010
12:58 pm
For those of you who haven’t already seen it, at least we’re not as bad off as these characters at Peachtree State:
http://www.atlantasportssoup.com/recruiting/yellowjackets/pics/
Enjoy
Matt
February 3rd, 2010
12:58 pm
What UGA QB other than Stafford has EVER amounted to anything in the NFL??
Ponte Vedra Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
12:59 pm
Stafford has not amounted to anything yet, but Tarkenton did!
NYC DAWG
February 3rd, 2010
12:59 pm
Mark Bradley = spoon for the pot.
atown
February 3rd, 2010
12:59 pm
All Dawg fans stop reading AJC.
Jona
February 3rd, 2010
12:59 pm
What UGA QB other than Stafford has EVER amounted to anything in the NFL??
Fran Tarkenton. Ever heard of him?
GeorgiaVol
February 3rd, 2010
12:59 pm
Erk is that u?
Just think of the football program Uga would have had if u hadn’t split for your own show at Ga Southern?
A real pitty.
GaGator
February 3rd, 2010
1:00 pm
Robby
Why can’t those pros win any National Championships?
Inquiring minds want to know.
chDawg
February 3rd, 2010
1:00 pm
AJC SETS NEW MARK – MOST NEGATIVE ARTICLES ABOUT UGA WHILE CLAIMING NOT TO BE BIASED AGAINST THEM
Wow this smart a$$$ headline thing is easy.
Tired of this negative attitude from ajc. I understand it from some of the fans because we would like to get every 5 star athlete available. The truth is that this is a very strong class on the defensive side of the ball and that’s exactly what we needed. Nobody should expect us to set the recruiting world on fire with the year we had but there is no way this thing fell apart. Defense isn’t sexy but it wins and another 5 star wide receiver wouldn’t have helped us that much.
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:00 pm
Georgia is holding steady at #19 at Scout but rumour has it the lineman from Briarcrest is leaning toward Tennessee
kerryb
February 3rd, 2010
1:01 pm
I guess Mark wrote this before Thornton sign and jumped us back up to #9 in ESPN rankings.
Kyle
February 3rd, 2010
1:02 pm
Fran Tarkenton played QB at Georgia and he did pretty well in the NFL
Much To Do About Nothing
February 3rd, 2010
1:02 pm
Yes, every UGA fan wants the recruiting class to be in the Top 10 every year and that does tend to lead to more wins. HOWEVER, look at the average rating per recruit UGA signed? There are a lot of schools currently ranked ahead of them that are ahead merely on volume of recruits. If you look at ESPN.com, UGA is still in the Top 10 and that was BEFORE Thornton signed. Of course, mentioning ESPN would put a damper on Mark’s alleged story here.
BARK MADDLEY'S AT IT AGAIN
February 3rd, 2010
1:02 pm
To our great surprise Bark is homering to Georgia Tech again today, by pointing out that Georgia is not in the top 10 in recruiting..He would say he is only reporting the facts, but somehow the facts always place UGA in a bad light..Schultz is homering also saying with the positive spin that Tech will be fine, although not talking a lot about the koolade Paul gives him when he goes over at Tech about WE DON’T HAVE ANY TALENT, BUT WE ARE GREAT COACHES….He’s gotten ole Bark and Schultzie to drink enough of that GREAT COACHING WITH NO ATHLETES koolade that they gonna put Pugnacious up for the ACC Hall of Fame….But FSU and Miami won’t be down forever….
Robby
February 3rd, 2010
1:03 pm
matt…there have been a few through the years…rauch, bratkowski, zeier, carter, Fran Tarkenton of course…
CDAWG
February 3rd, 2010
1:03 pm
Mark Bradley’s Mom, now that was some funny stuff; I don’t care who you are.
Relax everyone, what we learned today is that the sun does not rise and set to UGA. We needed a good kick in the Azz to get our attention. I really think we should have accomplished more with all the talent that we have landed over the last 10. Hopefully, CMR has learned something, if not he will be doing his tent revivals earlier than later. A good Coach learns from mistakes.
BigGAdawg
February 3rd, 2010
1:03 pm
It would take Auburn people to think that that puke looking pimp-mobile is a classy ride.
Class rankings are based on player rankings–if only those player rankings were trustworthy then I would worry about a drop.
I remember last year a reporter asking CMR about a particular player’s time in the 40. He answered, “He’s fast enough.” The Coaching/recruiter staff and seen what they were looking for and did not base their offer on a couple of timed sprints but rather on what they had seen in games and game film–his overall ability.
So this class going to be Good Enough. It is mostly about defense this time and I can’t wait to see what our new defensive coaches with their new defensive attutude can do with this very talented bunch of guys.
BTW, if the rumors are true that Rogers went to TN because they gave his underqualified buddy a full ride, (as in a package deal,) I wonder how much time the NCAA will have him sitting on the sideline. And how many scholarships it will cost the program (as this is not the only question I have heard raised about their process) TN still has to answer for any violations that may have happened under Kiffen and staff.
collegeballfan
February 3rd, 2010
1:04 pm
Scout has UGA at 19 and GT at 39.
Rivals has UGA at 15 and GT at 42.
Does anyone really believe this?
Reality
February 3rd, 2010
1:05 pm
Don’t worry boys…your ranking is good enough to get you back to Shreveport.
Mark Bradley
February 3rd, 2010
1:05 pm
Georgia is ranked No. 9 by ESPN. It is ranked No. 19 by scout.com. Again, I stipulate that rankings can change. But for those suggesting I picked the lowest rating to make my point … I didn’t. I picked Rivals.com because it seems, at least to me, the most established in the field of recruiting.
Robby
February 3rd, 2010
1:05 pm
Lady GaGator,
UF has won 3…listening to gator fans youd think they are on a level with alabama…
theyve won 13 i think!
georgias got 2…when murray lands one for cmr well be tied with you crack heads
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:06 pm
Tampa Catholic ATH Christian Green eiliminated the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday night and will pledge his services to the Florida State Seminoles according to Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The decommit marked a horrible week for the Georgia coaching staff, which not only lost Green, but also watched prized recruit Da’Rick Rogers decommit for hated Tennessee — Dawgs’ fans thought it was bad when Lane Kiffin was at the Helm — and wavering DB Nickell Robey of Frostproof looks like he might be headed to Southern Cal.
The mass exodus leaves the Bulldogs at 17 commitments and several holes to fill one day before National Signing Day. The recent events led AJC recruiting writer Chip Towers to say, “I can’t remember when I saw Georgia finish this poorly in the recruiting season. This may be the worst ever.”
Reality
February 3rd, 2010
1:07 pm
What Mark is saying is that coaching trumps recruiting in many cases. that’s why GT will be ok and UGA is in trouble.
Tech flavored Losers
February 3rd, 2010
1:07 pm
the paper is bias just like the person who wrote this. when was the last time tech had a top ranked class? but their they met all their needs in their class…… yeah, so what if that kid went to tenn, Ga will be fine.
NYC DAWG
February 3rd, 2010
1:08 pm
Mark, this story was written by 10am. It’s signing DAY, not hour… give me a break.
STIR THAT POT
David
February 3rd, 2010
1:09 pm
ESPN butt kisses UGA..we ALL know this…UGA could be the worst team in the nation but they will get at least 6 primetime games on ESPN.
Also, are you all questioning AU’s recruiting class? Just b/c they have 28-30 recruits? Look at the boys they are bringing on. Best kicker in the country. Best Running back in the country. Ju Co transfer who is going to run the offense next year..so on and so on
GeorgiaVol
February 3rd, 2010
1:09 pm
Mark was last year a career year for u with looks or will u top it this year?
MB is pitiful
February 3rd, 2010
1:09 pm
So when tech doesn’t get the 4 & 5 star recruits, Bradley the Tech homer says that those stars don’t matter. But when Georgia loses 1 or 2, all of a sudden this is a “low point” for UGA and it all of a sudden DOES matter how many stars these kids have. You do real well MB, in this field you’ve chosen, that Bobby Knight would say is “one or two steps above prostitution.”
Different strokes « Get The Picture
February 3rd, 2010
1:10 pm
[...] Jump to Comments After reading what Mark Bradley and Jeff Schultz have to say about the recruiting classes for Georgia and Georgia Tech, I’m [...]
Robby
February 3rd, 2010
1:10 pm
LOL lets just keep jawja in the top 20 of public universities…thats the ranking im proudest of
Snoop Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
1:11 pm
These recruits aren’t stupid. They have figured that Mark Richt is a stuffed shirt, a scam artist. He sure isn’t a coach. He likes to think he’s a CEO. He’s not even that. Connect the dots and extrapolate. Richt will need to go in order for UGA to rise to expectations. Otherwise, get comfortable for some miserable seasons in the future.