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.
600 comments Add your comment
BARK MADDLEY'S AT IT AGAIN
February 3rd, 2010
1:12 pm
Bark:
The fans in the south are on to you and Schultzie like Georgia and Iowa were on to Pug’s triple option offense in the last 3 games….Less that 50 yards at halftime vs cornfed Iowa Hawkeyes, and QB had 41 and NFL first round running back had 33 yards vs. dogs…..You guys are so biased, and on purpose, I might ad….Agree with the post above, “MOST NEGATIVE ARTICLES ABOUT UGA WHILE CLAIMING NOT TO BE BIASED AGAINST THEM”….Bark and Schultzie are drunk on Paul Johnson Koolade…..
Any word
February 3rd, 2010
1:12 pm
Any word on the Green kid out of Tampa?
Mark Bradley
February 3rd, 2010
1:13 pm
Coach Grantham, I’d agree. I’d rather have better coaches and lesser recruits than the other way around.
CDAWG
February 3rd, 2010
1:14 pm
David, think about what you are saying. The networks are all about ratings, therefore, UGA must be a bigger draw at the box office. Now doesn’t that make sense?
docdawg
February 3rd, 2010
1:14 pm
I’ve said it before and it needs to be said again–Herschel Walkers,Charlie Trippis,Frankie Sinkwiches,Johnny Rauches,Francis Tarkentons,Champ Baileys,(fill in Dawgs of your choice) are difference makers but they are few and far between! We need GOOD players and GOOd coaching now and then you are lucky to get an outstanding one..Bear Bryant,Papa Joe, Bobbby Bowden,Spurrier and now Meyer and Saban–win with whoever shows up;–Is Mark Richt,in that class?Time will tell!
Mark Bradley
February 3rd, 2010
1:14 pm
Thornton’s signing is reflected in the latest Rivals.com ranking contained in the post. Georgia was 17th before that; it rose to 15th.
Jackets2010
February 3rd, 2010
1:15 pm
It isn’t CPJ koolaid.
Most expected the first two years at a college like GT with our mediocre recruting to produce 2-9 first year and maybe if lucky 6-5 in the 2nd.
That called coaching them up.
Sorry the good Reverend can’t do it.
uga23
February 3rd, 2010
1:15 pm
Lets get them on the field and see. Been in the top ten all these years and look where we have finished at the end of the season. Best rated not always right! #1 pre season poll and we finished no where near just a few years ago!
i hate you mark bradley
February 3rd, 2010
1:16 pm
<————– read the name section. we have since moved in to the top 10, yet i do not see an update correcting your numbers. read the name section again.
tw3a
February 3rd, 2010
1:16 pm
I tell you what i will get all these guys together and you tell them face to face they are not a top 10 class….Wish I could at least say it was good to know you but actually you are not even a top ten writer
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:17 pm
Keep yanking that georgia chain. Love it.
After morning waffling, Lowndes LB Telvin Smith inks with FSU
11:46 am February 3, 2010, by Chip Towers
Lowndes linebacker Telvin Smith postponed his original announcement this morning because he was confused over Georgia and Florida State.
At 9:03 a.m. he told a Valdosta radio station if he had to sign then it would be with the Bulldogs.
At 11:35 a.m. Florida State received his signed letter-of-intent via fax.
01HAWK
February 3rd, 2010
1:17 pm
UGA must recruit nationally to get better. I see only 3 states where there recruits have come from THIS YEAR and that is GA, SC, and FL.
Florida, Texas, BAMA, and Auburn have recruited nationally.
BAMA has committs from the following states: AL, GA, TX, SC, NC, TN, MD, VA, and Miss.
Auburn from AL, KS, SC, GA, CA, MO, MS, AR, TX, FL, and LA
It will be hard to stay in the surrounding states and have a top flight class unless you pull most of the top players from Georgia.
todd grantham
February 3rd, 2010
1:17 pm
Maybe things will be switched now. Team may turn out to be more highly ranked than the recruiting class. That would be a nice change.
David
February 3rd, 2010
1:18 pm
CDawg, I understand that. That is why ESPN buttkisses them…I know UGA has a large following. They are up there with the USC and Texas crowd. I find it humorous and annoying as well hah…But, hey at least SEC gets more respect than it did back in 2004…but if we keep up the nonsense we did in bowl games you can forget about it…ESPN will pick up the big 12 games and we all DO NOT want that!
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:18 pm
More broken hearts. Hahahahahaha
WR Kadron Boone ends up with LSU Tigers
11:04 am February 3, 2010, by Chip Towers
No last-minute coup for Georgia on wide receiver Kadron Boone. The four-star wideout from Ocala, Fla., signed with LSU on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs had Boone, a Texas Tech commitment before Mike Leach was fired, in for an official visit two weeks ago. He remained a “soft verbal” to the Red Raiders until now.
todd grantham
February 3rd, 2010
1:18 pm
First Mark?
BARK MADDLEY'S AT IT AGAIN
February 3rd, 2010
1:18 pm
Snoop Dawg:
You are an imposter….But just in case you are a UGA fan, find you another team….Ole Mark gonna be preaching those 10 win seasons for a long time to come. And you are right, most recruits are not stupid enough to be used, except one who signed with Tennessee today….But he got an automobile out of it….Put some big rims on and go on up to Knoxville, cause you are not welcome in Calhoun or Rome anymore…..
SouthGaDawg
February 3rd, 2010
1:18 pm
Hey Mark,
What about Georgia being ranked in the top 10 of ESPN’s rankings?
Does that not matter now? Oh wait…Georgia being out of the top 10 of Rivals is a much better headline than Georgia being int he top 10 of ESPN.
How about you actually do some real journalism and disclose the fact that Georgia IS ranked in the top 10 of another recruiting reporting service?
We’re all waiting.
SSIgator
February 3rd, 2010
1:19 pm
docdawg -
Time has been told. At least you are a realistic puppy fan. Doesn’t matter how many or how highly rated. Question is, how much more time will UGA give Richt to show he can do more with less instead of less with more. Ten years and counting . . .
Vinings Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
1:20 pm
Auburn’s class is better than what we want to give them credit for. They went after and got players at the positions of need. They signed 33 but 5 are already in school and they knwo three won’t qualify. Give them credit, top player in LA, top player in MS top player in ARK.
We have to get more agressive in recruiting or we will get left behind.
Bill
February 3rd, 2010
1:20 pm
Relax people—–recruiting is so overrated. How many national championships did we win with all those top ten classes???
tw3a
February 3rd, 2010
1:21 pm
Give me players who want to play together ove hey look at me i like the drama over being a team player. Rogers planned this all along he will lose in the end. Smooth talkers are not good coaches. I like this Georgia class a whole lot better minus those who jumped to another team.
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:21 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. KEEP STICKING IT TO THE DOGS!
Da’Rick Rogers: Derek Dooley, UT campus why he went with Vols
11:32 am February 3, 2010, by Chip Towers
Calhoun wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers indicated he did not toil greatly over the recruiting decision he had to make Wednesday. In fact, he said, it was fun.
After being committed to Georgia for eight months, the AJC’s No. 1 player signed with Tennessee on Wednesday.
“Other than going through that crazy stuff at the end, I thought it was fun,” Rogers told reporters at his signing ceremony Wednesday morning in Calhoun. “Recruiting is one of the funnest things you can go through as an athlete.”
Rogers was firmly committed to Georgia until Tennessee, under new coach Derek Dooley, convinced him three weeks ago to take an official visit there. That, he said, he when he decided to pull the switcheroo.
“Really when I went up there [on Jan. 22],” Rogers said. “I just fell in love campus lifestyle. The coaches are just like the Georgia coaches. They’re great guys and it’s an amazing program.”
Rogers said new coach Derek Dooley was the main reason he decided to go to the Vols. He wasn’t sure he would have if Lane Kiffin had remained there as head coach.
“Before Dooley, not so interested. After Dooley, a lot interested,” Rogers said. “So it was a big thing for me.”
What specifically did he like about the coaching staff?
“I fell in love with their NFL style of coaching,” he said. “Coach Dooley talked about building a brand and I liked that.”
Rogers’ position coach at UT, Charlie Baggett, coached Randy Moss and Cris Carter, among others, in the NFL.
big barney
February 3rd, 2010
1:22 pm
whats the word?
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:22 pm
HEY GEORGIA, WELCOME TO 2ND CLASS STATUS. HAHAHAHAHA
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.”
todd grantham
February 3rd, 2010
1:22 pm
i mean first coach mark
collegedude
February 3rd, 2010
1:23 pm
Bet you really enjoyed writing this Mark.
tw3a
February 3rd, 2010
1:24 pm
I think all these jumpers are more posers than players their spotlight now starts to dim.
Mike Vick
February 3rd, 2010
1:26 pm
You got Brown and we got Rogers!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BARK MADDLEY'S AT IT AGAIN
February 3rd, 2010
1:26 pm
BARK, TELL US WHERE TECH IS ON THIS GLORIOUS RECRUITING WEDNESDAY….SHULTZIE JUST SAYS THEY WILL BE ALRIGHT, BUT NO DETAILS….GUESS YOU COULD HAVE SAID THAT ABOUT UGA, BUT SENSATIONALISM IS PART OF THE JOB, I GUESS, THEY ARE ONLY #15????…MAYBE TECH IS RIGHT IN THERE TOO..YOU’VE TRIED HARD, BUT YOU AIN’T GONNA GET MARK RICHT FIRED..You probably helped get the other 3 Bulldog coaches fired, you should write that down as a major accomplishment..You can stir up some of the Beetle Brain bandwagon “fair weather” Bulldog fans, but the real Bulldog who have a brain know what kind of job Coach Richt has done…
Boca Baby
February 3rd, 2010
1:26 pm
In reality this is exactly what UGA needs. Everybody is now saying that we are second tier and sliding. Coming in under the radar is going to be a good thing. With all the skill players coming back and a “Best in the SEC” two deep offensive line there will be quite a bit of shock and awe in the fall. I will enjoy all the Monday morning, hind-sighted commentary about how this could happen. Of course we will have all the Mark Bradleys out there saying they saw it coming all along. Count on it.
Asylum13
February 3rd, 2010
1:26 pm
according to espn we lost DaRick to ut and Robey to USCw and we still have a better class than both.
9.UGA
10 USCw
11. ut
Gus
February 3rd, 2010
1:28 pm
We’ve under-performed with high-profile talent. Maybe we can out-perform with a so/so recruiting class. Forget the white limos; offer these recruits a blumpkin!
Great Recruiting Year = National Championship?
February 3rd, 2010
1:28 pm
Ok, so what is Bradley saying here:
Great recruiting year = National Championship?
Let’s test that theory.
USC—13 top 100 recruits—7-6 record
Notre Dame– loaded with top 100 recruits year after year–6-7 record
If a top recruiting year yields a 6-7 or 7-6 record or Richt’s average of 10 wins a year, which would Georgia fans prefer?
Bradley Hater
February 3rd, 2010
1:28 pm
Saint Augustine….I’ll bet you right now that Florida loses to Georgia next year by at least ten points and Tennessee gets beat in Athens by 17. I don’t care how high up your recruting class is….the players you now have on campus and are expected to step in and play next year have no experience…none. I’ve seen most the recruits you signed this year and the majority of them are thugs. They’ll be in trouble with the law soon…its gonna happen. How Florida gets them in school is a miracle. At least half wouldn’t even meet minimum requirements at other SEC schools.So keep pointing fingers and patting yourself on the back the fall from the top is gonnna be hard. I can’t wait for Urban Cryer to start making excuses…and hopefully cry again on TV.As far as Tennessee is concerned..Dooley needed to have a good recruiting year. The cupboard is bare in Knoxville. They’ll be lucky to win 4-5 games next season. Its easy to recruit when you can promise athletes immediate playing time. That wasn’t gonna happpen with Rogers. He was gonna have to sit and wait his turn. His buddy Nance will be running the scout team the next four years while Da’Rick is getting a mouth full of helmets each game he plays in. The Vols have ablsolutely no one capable of getting the ball to him…its gonna be a long year in Knoxville. I’d look for either S. Carolina or Georgia to win the East this season. If S. Caroilna can find a QB they’ll be tough and Georgia has ten on offense coming back with the number two rated QB
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:29 pm
sOUTHgAdAWGM
ESPN has not been updated since 9am this morning (when you were still actually in the top 10).
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:30 pm
Asylum13
February 3rd, 2010
1:26 pm
according to espn we lost DaRick to ut and Robey to USCw and we still have a better class than both.
9.UGA
10 USCw
11. ut
ESPN has not been updated since 9am this morning (when you were still actually in the top 10).
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
The Head Ball Coach
February 3rd, 2010
1:30 pm
The pressure will be on when Richt loses to South Carolina in the 2nd game.
JDW
February 3rd, 2010
1:30 pm
All this recruiting class hoopla means little and does not transfer to the field. Take a look at this…
http://blog.al.com/solomon/2010/02/many_top-ranked_signing_classe.html
Give me a group that wants to play over the likes of DaRick anyday.
Matt
February 3rd, 2010
1:30 pm
I don’t think it should come as much of a surprise that we ended up with a recruiting class less stellar than normal: We had a down season on the field and coaching turnover off it. We still got some solid recruits, and next year we’ll have a chance to generate some of the right kind of momentum with the new DC.
Asylum13
February 3rd, 2010
1:31 pm
Its really not important in this class to have a big name wr….Although I really wanted DaRick, I still wish him the best. Orson will move to wr at #3 and the 2 TE will be White and Lynch. Georgia needed defense in this class…..I really hope we pull a late DB.
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:31 pm
Barring an absolute miracle, Georgia will fall to about 25-30th later today. I know Tech doesn’t normally go after 4-5 star guys but they just moved from 48th to 39th at Scout in the last 2 hours.
Asylum13
February 3rd, 2010
1:32 pm
really cause im watching it live on espnu at 1230 and they just discussed it and we are still 9
hahahahahahahaha
ohhhh someone has more channels
jellybeandawg
February 3rd, 2010
1:32 pm
Bradley Hater you are on some serious drugs or suffer from major delusions if you actually believe that BS. Get of drugs and get your life back my friend. Get help for you and your family.
Dawg on the brain
February 3rd, 2010
1:32 pm
None of this matters if you can’t get the best out of your players. Bottom line is to take who we have and who we have signed and use this talent to get us back to where we need to be. It still boils down to not where you start but where you finish
Boca Baby
February 3rd, 2010
1:34 pm
I guess Marcus Lattamore had to figure out where it would be best for him not to lose to UGA. He got to pick between Auburn (four straight losses) or South Carolina (three out of the last four losses). Percentage wise it was best for him to stay in state. Hey, that matches South Carolina’s last eight games over the past two seasons (seven of eight losses) not counting the bowl games. If you want to count those it’s nine out of ten losses. Of course hope springs eternal in Columbia in the spring. Reality sets in in December.
Saint Augustine
February 3rd, 2010
1:34 pm
JDW
February 3rd, 2010
1:30 pm
All this recruiting class hoopla means little and does not transfer to the field. Take a look at this…
http://blog.al.com/solomon/2010/02/many_top-ranked_signing_classe.html
Give me a group that wants to play over the likes of DaRick anyday.
I’d say the same thing if my recruiting class just fell to sh#t too
Dawg?
February 3rd, 2010
1:34 pm
Spin Spin Spin…stats are stats and can be manipulated. But there is now denying that UGA is slipping…on Saturdays and in recruiting…UT had a better class after all the mess they went through? we’re in trouble
Christian Green 56th Most Search on google in last Hour
February 3rd, 2010
1:34 pm
Apparently, this is VERY uncertain what Green’s gonna do.
I say, he picks Georgia.
Boca Baby
February 3rd, 2010
1:35 pm
The Head Ball Coach
You still got Garcia playing QB right? Enough said. What a flake.