Bradley’s Buzz: The verdict on UGA’s and Tech’s signees
Understand: I don’t believe Georgia’s recruiting class was a disaster, and I’ve already written as much. But even those who insist recruiting rankings don’t mean anything are duty-bound to check them out. And here, as a public service, they are:
• ESPN.com has Georgia 12th nationally and sixth in the SEC.
• Rivals.com has Georgia 16th nationally and sixth in the SEC.
• Scout.com has Georgia 21st nationally and seventh in the SEC.
For most of Signing Day, ESPN was the only site that had the Bulldogs in the Top 10, but they slid out come sundown. Neither ESPN nor Rivals ranked any Georgia signee a 5-star player; Scout awards safety Alec Ogletree of Newnan five stars.
In five years of compiling recruiting ratings, ESPN ranked Georgia No. 13 in 2007 but in its top six the other three years. As noted early Wednesday, Rivals hadn’t rated the Bulldogs lower than 10th since 2001, when Mark Richt had been on the job barely two months. (They were likewise 16th then.) Scout had Georgia No. 15 in 2007 and No. 11 in 2003 but it its Top Ten every other year since 2001.
For comparison’s sake, here’s where the three sites ranked Georgia Tech: 43rd nationally according to Rivals, 41st according to Scout and nowhere nationally according to ESPN, which only assigns numbers to its Top 25. The Worldwide Leader did have Tech sixth in the ACC and assigned it a letter grade of B-minus. (Link requires registration.)
Georgia’s letter grade, as assigned by ESPN’s Scouts Inc.? A B-plus. (Link requires registration.)
Oh, and one curiosity: The Bulldogs dropped from 15th to 16th as per Rivals because they signed wide receiver Lonnie Outlaw of Wilcox County, whom Rivals adjudges a 2-star recruit. Then again, Tim Jennings arrived at Georgia a 2-star recruit, and he’ll be playing in the Super Bowl come Sunday. More about Jennings and signees and impact freshmen is available in this post. So y’all come back, ya hear?
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141 comments Add your comment
Jesse Stone
February 4th, 2010
8:31 am
How sad that UGA fans are using a GT screen name to bash CPJ. In years past, UGA fans were proclaiming future Championships because of their superior recruiting classes. Now, all of a sudden they say the recruiting services don’t know what their talking about. Next year, should they have a stellar recruiting class, they’ll be touting the number of stars they have. Face it, CMR will have to prove that he does more than accumulate talent. He will now have to coach them up. Oh, and the guy that posted the novel at 1:06am has to be BuLLdawg.
if a Georgia fan teases you nerds..you punch em
February 4th, 2010
8:32 am
UA alum, last year was fairly bad in alot of areas for the dawgs, but the playmakers were starting to develop late in the year, witness Ealy and Caleb King..Marlon Brown played sparingly as a true freshman and several other receivers have develop..Green will have plenty of help in 2010 and a quarterback that can throw it where Green won’t have to risk the spectacular and get hurt
if a Georgia fan teases you nerds..you punch em
February 4th, 2010
8:32 am
UA alum, last year was fairly bad in alot of areas for the dawgs, but the playmakers were starting to develop late in the year, witness Ealy and Caleb King..Marlon Brown played sparingly as a true freshman and several other receivers have develop..Green will have plenty of help in 2010 and a quarterback that can throw it where Green won’t have to risk the spectacular and get hurt
Urban Meyer
February 4th, 2010
8:32 am
GT Fan – you better quit worrying about UGA and worry about how you are going to compete with Florida State. I hope you enjoyed your time at the Orange Bowl because you will probably not be going back based on the talent that is now going to Florida State. You will see a return to the top of the ACC by Florida State, which by definition, means you can only come in second or worse. Of course, that is soley based on you saying UGA and CMR should worry because of the recruiting rankings when GT has not see the top 10 ever in recruiting and will not during the tenure of CPJ and his option offense.
I think you might be better go ahead and plan to visit Boise a few times before you get back into the BCS….or if you ever get back to the BCS.
Jesse Stone
February 4th, 2010
8:35 am
It wasn’t the development of King and Ealy, it was your coaches dedication to the running game. Mark Mangino could’ve fit through some of those holes….sideways.
layinlow
February 4th, 2010
8:46 am
Robey said he would leave weeks ago if WM left. What did he think we were gonna keep WM to pacify him? lol. These recruits are absolutely delusional. Robey probably thought he was great enough to wield that kind of power. The midget will probably only end up being a punt or kick returner at SC. Good riddance because CTG defense calls for bigger physical corners anyway.
N.GA.DAWG
February 4th, 2010
8:47 am
Check back with me in 4 years and i will let you know who had the best class in 2010.
Bill
February 4th, 2010
8:57 am
Alot of fake GT fans..doing their thing.
Congrat to Coach Johnson for a good year and welcome recruits. I have all the respect in the world for CJ. Have at it…………………………
Congrat to Coach Richt for his recruiting class and best of luck to the Dawgs until they play GT.
Thanks Mark for all the info….in all Sports.
Up with the white and gold
February 4th, 2010
8:57 am
Urban Meyer – GT will not play Florida Stae until the 2013 sesaon. Get well soon.
WonderDawg
February 4th, 2010
8:59 am
Actually UA Alum92, I think Bobo doesn’t get the ball in the hands of playmakers enough. Brandon Smith is the fastest and most elusive player on the field at any time, kinda like UF’s former Percy Harvin. Whereas Myer created plays to get him the ball a dozen times per game, Smith probably handled the ball less than a dozen times all year. And usually he came trotting in to run a reverse, which EVERYONE knew was coming.
I love the DC choice, but think Richt will have to do the same thing offensively after this season to really turn the program around.
WonderDawg
February 4th, 2010
9:03 am
Didn’t know Jesse Stone was a Tech fan. Love those movies with Tom Selleck…
Mark Bradley
February 4th, 2010
9:04 am
As of now, Georgia has Alexander Ogletree listed as a linebacker. So I’ll go with that.
Roger Ramjet
February 4th, 2010
9:04 am
1 out of 9 is a fluke!!!!
30-24!!!
73-66!!!
Read it and whine. jackettes!!!!
Urban Meyer
February 4th, 2010
9:06 am
As of today I think I’ll be coaching next spring’s practice, unless I change my mind.
layinlow
February 4th, 2010
9:09 am
Bradley, there is a good chance his brother could end up at linebacker as well. Alec certainly has the frame to grow into a linebacker. And with Rambo and Hamilton we already have good talent at safety.
Urban Meyer
February 4th, 2010
9:12 am
Uh, maybe not ….
Richt's Butt Cut
February 4th, 2010
9:13 am
None of this means anything. All the recruiting hype is for the media to make money off of. The bottom line is if all these 2-4 star recruits are conditioned and coached properly, we will win games plain and simple.
2001, our class was 16 or whatever and 2002 ended up being a pretty good year for the Dawgs. It’s fun to talk about and I get just as excited/frustrated as everyone else but lets see what happens on the field. Looking forward to the GDay game.
georgia is slipping
February 4th, 2010
9:13 am
the losses to Tennessee and Kentucky hurt badly. it’s showing up in the shreveport bowl, and it’s showing up in the recruiting effort.
make all the excuses you want, denigrate GT all you want, deflect and criticize Rivals.com. Doesn’t change the fact that UGA is slipping.
robodawg
February 4th, 2010
9:24 am
Georgia dropped a spot for ADDING a player to its class? Where’s the logic in that?
Jesse Stone
February 4th, 2010
9:24 am
WonderDawg- In honor of the author, Robert B. Parker who died a couple of weeks ago.
layinlow
February 4th, 2010
9:25 am
I’m a UGA fan and I will give an honest assesment of CPJ. He is without a doubt the best coach at GT since Bobby Ross. He has done a good job and GT fans should be happy. However, some of you cross the line when you begin to mention his name and greatness. Come on, he has a long way to go before we can take it to that level. He has lost both bowl games as coach but I say wait until year 5 before you can really make a concrete judgement in that regard. But overall I would say the GT program is in pretty good hands.
I will also make an assessment of CMR. Early he had incredible success in both recruiting and results. There was talk of National championships and based on results that talk was prudent. However, UGA’s program has now slid closer to mediocrity than greatness. Richt is at a crossroads with the UGA program. Can he turns things around and get UGA back on top or will he become thee next Phil Fulmer? I believe the hiring of a new DC is a good start and if CTG can get the GATA back at UGA then Richt has a real chance to get us back on top.I also hope to see UGA pound teams with the running game like they did at the end of the season. A great defense and solid running game can take a team a long ways. Only time will tell if Richt can get things turned around.
Webster
February 4th, 2010
9:39 am
Urban Meyer, look whose talking! Why you telling GT to stop worrying about UGA, you need to worry about whether your even gonna coach next year ya sissy! I think Urban is heartbroken from losing his favorite boy friend qb Tim Tebow. Can I get an amen fellas!!? Lol
JoeFann
February 4th, 2010
9:39 am
You know, it’s funny. Everybody cries and moans like their heart’s broken. It’s Signing Day, folks. Just another Wednesday in February. Eventually, the sun WILL come out. UGA addressed needs and got quality athletes at important positions. The class was gonna be small due to scholarship limits. CMR gave D’Rs scholarship to a project with a great attitude that won’t count against us until he gets to campus. You’ve got to expect the coaching turmoil to have had an effect on a few defensive prospects, but other than D’R, who else that was strongly committed to UGA changed their mind? As I recall, the others were “considering” several schools, none with a strong verbal commitment. This class will be fine. Sometimes, these underated kids are like “pound puppies.” No pedigree, but they make the best, hardest working, loyal teammates. The “pure breds” are often temperamental and injury prone–high maintenance. I’ll take a hard hat, lunch pail crew every time.
I’m amazed at the CPJ bashing by Techsters. Here was a nondescript program in a second tier conference who was no longer looked at as a rival by the flagship in-state school. He’s brought passion, discipline and a conference championship in two years and you’re whining! Really? Admittedly, I think the spread option is even more faddish than the spread, and it certainly requires more specialized offensive athletes. So don’t be surprised if his recruiting targets are somewhat different than what the other BCS schools go after. Also, GTs limited academic majors will always be an issue. Only exceptional athletes will want to major in math or sciences, and there aren’t enough “general” or “liberal arts” degrees there to suit everyone. If you want to compare GTs recruiting rankings, then compare them to schools with similar requirements–Duke, Vanderbilt, Stanford. CPJ is good for GT, and good for in-state football.
If you’re concerned about the efficacy of CPJs offense, consider this. It’s an offense very different from what most teams prepare for week in and week out. So different, and requiring so much defensive discipline, that teams struggle to get ready for it in one week. If you check CPJs record against BCS teams in either a season opener, a bowl game, or against a team with a bye week before (like UGA this year,) you’ll find that defenses with more than a week to prepare play much better against this offense. The offense works, but it requires specialized athletes and special circumstances to be consistently effective. That’s almost a gimmick, and I think it will deny GT the chance to compete at the highest level consistently.
Aside to “still443,” a commitment really isn’t. It’s only a verbal indication of which way the athlete is leaning, completely non-binding. Only when the LOI is signed and delivered (yesterday,) is the commitment real. I would, however, suggest that maybe the rules should be tweaked so that once a verbal commitment is made, other schools should be limited in their contact with the recruit. Of course, these are 17-18 yo kids, and they’re gonna change their minds. I would require that all kids take their “official” visits between the end of state football playoffs and a teams’ bowl game. If a kid makes a verbal commitment after that, no other on campus visits allowed, and other schools could only contact the kid electronically. The other side of the argument is that you want the kid to do what’s best for the kid, and not limit his choices. I could see both sides, but no system will be perfect.
BTW–I recall (back in the stone age) that when a coach left one school for another, coaches with integrity would not contact their former recruits unless they were already being recruited by their new school. My, how times change.
Go Dawgs!
Fans
February 4th, 2010
9:48 am
Each school offered for kids they wanted. A lot of those kids signed and are going to school on a free scholarship next year. Congratulations to those kids and best of luck. Congratulations to the schools for signing the kids they wanted (otherwise why would they have offered). This whole comparison about RECRUITING is ridiculous. It’s just a way to sell website access and magazines. The only people foolish enough to buy (literally) into the hype are the fans. So you people that make a big deal about this are just being self-delusional. No one knows what will happen with these kids. Some will pan out and others will disappoint. Some of you fans forget that these are teenagers for the most part, one foot into adulthood and a foot still in childhood. Some of the criticism on these blogs about these kids by supposedly grown men is pathetic.
Somebody had to say it, so I did.
Declining UGA
February 4th, 2010
10:02 am
Both UGA & GT were mostly hurt by the size of the classes they signed and in Tech’s case also because they signed a kicker which actually dropped them 7 spots according to Scout as soon as that was announced. NUMBERS, NUMBERS, NUMBERS in a class is needed to break into the higher ranks. Tech’s recruits minus the Kicker were superior to Ole Miss’ class but they signed 28 to GT’s 18.
UGA was hindered by not having as many academic drop-outs, or jail sentences as the normal year. Richt cleaned up the police blotter (except where driver licenses are involved) and thus could not sign the usual large class of 25+. Thus, both programs had small recruiting classes which distorts their rankings.
Jesse Stone
February 4th, 2010
10:04 am
JoeFann- Those weren’t Tech fans bashing CPJ. They were UGA fans using one of many bogus screen names.
Dawg fan agrees
February 4th, 2010
10:16 am
georgia is slipping
February 4th, 2010
9:13 am
the losses to Tennessee and Kentucky hurt badly. it’s showing up in the shreveport bowl, and it’s showing up in the recruiting effort.
make all the excuses you want, denigrate GT all you want, deflect and criticize Rivals.com. Doesn’t change the fact that UGA is slipping.
Very true, but many of my fellow dawg friends here don’t want to beleive or admit it. It’s much easier to delve back into our trusty history books or Rivals archieves than to face the facts. But we have been slipping in football since the day we were named preseason number one (August 2008). It’s almost like we have been playing scared or “afraid to lose” instead steadily and methodically kicking people’s a$$es like Alabama of late. We need to get back to an offense that talks quitely but carries a big stick and the junkyard dawg defense that get’s going when the going gets tough. Hopefully Grantham and company can add that spark. Lastly, we need to lose the mouthy Georgia fans that bring out the st simons/yellow fuzz, Outback Auburn war Eagle, Bama Stan’s and Fla Gator’s, etc.
Paul in RDU
February 4th, 2010
10:36 am
layinlow @9:25 – excellent post, sir.
damail
February 4th, 2010
10:44 am
Hi Mark…only a casual reader…a DOG fan…only fan to be in Georgia…you seem to be all over the board when it comes to Georgia articles/comments…enjoy reading you though…thanks!
Paul in RDU
February 4th, 2010
10:45 am
JoeFann – I have to quibble with a couple of points in your, otherwise, excellent post.
UGA did not have an off week before winning the GT game in 2009. They had the off week in 2008 – the year they lost. This leads to my next point – perhaps one of the reasons for GT’s poor offensive showings in the bowl games (and some major miscues in the first game of the last 2 seasons) is that the offense requires precision and timing and they lose the edge without playing games.
LSU and Iowa (especially) played well on D and looked well prepared, but it takes 2 to tango.
Jeffro Bodeen
February 4th, 2010
10:51 am
Face it….5 star offensive players do not want to come to UGA because they know that after this next year, there will again be turmoil on the coaching staff. It’s only a matter of time before there is a loud and raucious call for the pink slip of Mike Bobo.Noone wants to come in now and face the possibility of an offensive philosophy shift so early in their careers. It’s a comin’ …..Oh yeah….It’s a comin!!!!
Walker
February 4th, 2010
11:17 am
Until Paul Johnson can win a bowl game and beat above .500 teams ooc he’s not all that. Until the ACC champion can win BCS bowls the ACC will continue to be percieved as cupcake central and nothing that happens there during the season means much. 9-3 and 10-2 got GT nothing but beat at season’s end 2 years in a row.
juvenal
February 4th, 2010
11:27 am
MB, if we’re getting stopped at the line next year, do you think we have a real option qb that can come in?
Walker
February 4th, 2010
11:27 am
JoeFann judging from the Liberal Arts programs offered at Tech below I don’t think you can play the limited majors card. That dog stopped hunting long ago.
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
Economics
BS: Economics
BS: Economics & International Affairs **
BS: Economics & International Affairs – Int’l Designator **
BS: Global Economics & Modern Languages **
MS: with a Major in Economics
History, Technology, & Society
BS: History, Technology, and Society
BS: History, Technology, and Society – Int’l Designator
MS: History and Sociology of Technology & Science
PhD: with a Major in History and Sociology of Technology & Science
International Affairs
BS: International Affairs
BS: International Affairs – Int’l Designator
BS: International Affairs & Modern Languages **
BS: Economics & International Affairs **
BS: Economics & International Affairs – Int’l Designator **
MS: International Affairs
PhD: International Affairs, Science and Technology
Literature, Communication, & Culture
BS: Computational Media
BS: Science, Technology, and Culture
BS: Science, Technology, and Culture – Biomedicine & Culture Option
BS: Science, Technology, and Culture – Gender Studies Option
BS: Science, Technology, and Culture – Media Option
BS / MS: Literature, Communication, & Culture (5 Year)
MS: Human-Computer Interaction **
MS: Information Design and Technology
PhD: with a Major in Digital Media
Modern Languages
BS: International Affairs & Modern Languages **
BS: International Affairs & Modern Languages – Int’l Designator **
BS: Global Economics & Modern Languages **
BS: Global Economics & Modern Languages – Int’l Designator **
Public Policy ****
BS: Public Policy
BS / MS: Public Policy (5 Year)
MS: Public Policy
PhD: with a Major in Public Policy
Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC)
Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)
Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)
Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)
College of Management
Management
BS: Management
BS: Management – Int’l Designator – Option 1
BS: Management – Int’l Designator – Option 2
FRED
February 4th, 2010
11:52 am
There are a lot of you people whistling through thr grave yard. wake up people we (UGA) are not growing our program. And you would see it if you would open your eyes. CMR is the new Bobby Bowden the college game has passed him buy at least Bowden was 80 years old. Look, people we all respect CMR he is a find man and god knows we need more of his type in this world today. however we must decide if we want a wonderful man leading our program down to mediocrity or if we want a winner. Me personally i want a winner how about you?
juvenal
February 4th, 2010
11:53 am
the above are all B.S. degrees,& require at least some math, unlike B.A(liberal arts) degrees, which Tech does not grant-that is why GT is not a university…
It is "over" at these schools - soon enough
February 4th, 2010
12:26 pm
SC- Spurrier has the seasoned QB and the running back to win big this season. He is on an “alum watch” if he does not win and win big this year. W.O. the frosh back, SC had another poor to fair signing class and the alums are watching him in 2010 w. or w.o that back. He iwll be gone by 2011.
UT- Yes, UT. Derek was bought in to demonstrate “institutional integrity” and to show that “UT has a handle” on the problems there that Blame left them with. Why else was Dooley brought in? What has he done for ANY school? Unfortunately, cruel fate with the Nash kid and his meddling $$ car daddy may in fact bring more bad news, as far as the NCAA scrutiny goes. This is gasoline on a fire that was left smoldering by Blame. It will get worse by summertime.
Florida- Yes, FLORIDA. Urban is very likely puffing up his bed pillow right now at the Florida Central State Rehab facility in Perry, Florida. He will be seeking peace and quiet and peace and quiet and peace and quiet. Shhhhhhhhhhhhh Urban needs to take a long, long rest. He will not be around this fall. Shhhhhhhhhhhh , do not wake the man.
KY has a new coach in Joker Phillips and we all know how that can go. That lelaves UGA in the East and we will be just fine. Our O will roll over most teams this year. Our D will be on the attack. The D will easily add two or three wins to UGA’s 8 win season in 2010.
This leaves LSU where the fans want Les MIles gone unless he wins it all in 2010 and Arkansas where Bobby did not recruit well and when Malllett leaves …so will Bobby.
Mississippi State and Ole Miss are always what they are. That leaves Auburn with all the soon to come NCAA recruiting scrutiny and then Bama. Saban bolts in January 2011 when he wins his second NC title there. He will be gone and Alabama will be re building ………….. yet again.
Looks good for my dawgs, as we are the only really stable program right now in the SEC. Tech? CPJ will be gone in 1.5 years, as ALL of his 8?? predecssors there leave or get dumped after 4.5 years and he is in his third season. Gulp for tech fans or maybe not.
You heard it here first.
We Ruin This State
February 4th, 2010
5:52 pm
Wow, UGA is really lucky that Da’Rick went to TN. What was Richt thinking ? This could have been a disaster. If DaRick had accepted
the whole year would have been a diaster. CMR needs to thank the coaching staff at TN for taking this guy off his hands.
Wreckmaniac
February 4th, 2010
5:53 pm
Its a lot easier to laugh at these rating services than it is to take them seriously.
Jared
February 5th, 2010
11:14 am
There was a time earlier in the week that GT had the exact same class as Miami, I think, but had one more 3 star player. That 3 star brought their average star rating down and therefore they were ranked lower than Miami for having one more 3 star player, everything else being equal. That’s ridiculous enough for me to never focus on recruiting class rankings ever again.
I think the services probably do a good job of giving ballpark estimations of talent and are probably right more than they are wrong on an individual basis. But their compiled rankings are a joke. A recruiting class is too subjective. Fill your needs with the amount of schollies available and go on about your business. I feel GT did that this year (and last) so I’m prett happy and looking forward to a bumper crop of dual-threat QB’s and stout RB’s for the 2011 class.
jborodawg
February 8th, 2010
12:32 pm
I think most of the analyses by the ’services’ are correct, as is M.B. Not a stellar result and who else to blame but CMR and CRG. When we have a ‘down’ year, we tend to poo-poo the rankings. On ‘up years’, they’re spot-on. Yes, it’s a crap shoot; ya never know until they strap up; and then evaluate that particular class when they’re seniors. We get way too excited, even mesmerized, by recruits and signing day.
There are also studies showing the top recruiting teams tend to be top finishers in the polls; not 100% accurate but fairly accurate for the most part. See Flawduh, Bama, Texas, USC, Ohio St, etc….even UGA with top 20 teams the last few years, along with top 20 recruiting. So, recruiting does matter.
On the other hand, ya got ur Cincy, S.Fla, Louisville, Utah, Boise St, TCU etc.
CMR says we got players with ‘character’ and who wanted to be Bulldogs…and that’s important too. We went for D this year and loaded up; that’s good too cause ‘ya win with D’.
So, I’m disappointed we din get Rogers and Thornton, which would’ve gotten us into the top 10. On the other hand, we did pretty good filling needs on the D side of the ball. Not stellar, but acceptable. Definitely not ‘disastrous’. Worrisome to the extent that we shouldn’t let it happen again next year. Otherwise, we’re okay.