On a tepid Signing Day, there’s still reason for UGA to believe
Rodney Garner and Mark Richt meet the press on Signing Day 2010. (Photo by M. Bradley)
Athens – Just as it would be wrong to make too much of one lost recruit or one tepid signing class, it would likewise be wrong to ignore current events. And those are: Coming off its worst season on the field under Mark Richt, the Bulldogs have assembled their lowest-ranked recruiting class, according to Rivals.com, since Richt was so new to the job he hadn’t yet coached a game.
“I don’t expect Bulldog fans to be excited over an 8-5 season,” Richt said Wednesday, briefing the media on a subdued-by-Georgia-standards Signing Day, but that season is done and this recruiting class is essentially complete and the Bulldogs move on. And the question becomes: Is Georgia better suited today to win big than it was 12 months ago?
And the answer is: Yes.
We cannot know how good Da’Rick Rogers will (or will not) be at Tennessee, but we can know this: Georgia was never going to play for another SEC title with Willie Martinez coaching its defense. If firing Martinez and two assistants made for what recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner called “some difficulties,” that’s a trade-off worth making if in fact Todd Grantham, Martinez’s successor, is as clever as advertised.
“That’s why I did what I did,” said Richt, responding to a question about Georgia’s positioning for the future. “That’s the only reason I did what I did.”
As much as Signing Day matters, coaching matters more. Richt’s program had become the place where big-time defensive players came and were left to their own devices. Were recruiting alone the secret to success, Georgia and Richt — eight consecutive Top 10 classes, according to Rivals — would have taken a BCS title by now.
As disappointing as Rogers’ defection was, Georgia fans should nonetheless find reason to believe this February. Because the head coach bears a lean and hungry look. “[Last season] has given me more resolve to get this program where it belongs,” Richt said. And then: “We have everything we need to get that done.”
Last season wasn’t good. (No good seasons lead to Shreveport.) The coaching search took six weeks and included three high-profile turndowns. The recruiting class of 2010 numbered 18 commitments last fall and wound up with 19 signed letters-of-intent. But all that is past now, and what remains is a better defensive staff — couldn’t be worse, could it? — and a rejuvenated Richt. And also this:
“We’ve got some darn good football players,” Richt said. “That’s got me excited about what the future holds.”
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429 comments Add your comment
todd grantham
February 3rd, 2010
4:50 pm
Mark, you’re nicknamed Bark Madley because the Dog fans love you. (And saw you barking at the moon after a late night UGA win).
michael
February 3rd, 2010
4:50 pm
jitterbugdog –
Aside from living in the past, you make generalized, unverifiable claims that are pointless and irrelevant. You should change your name to: bigmouthdogwithnobite.
How many football NC has UGA ever won? One? Three decades ago?
Go SEC!
beatdowns galore
February 3rd, 2010
4:51 pm
How much more you UGA fans gonna live with the beatdowns in recruiting and on the football field. I believe you all have stooped to the level of delusional Gamecock fans. Fla. and Bammer is kickin your arse’s once again !!!!!!!!!
The Dooley Family
February 3rd, 2010
4:51 pm
We all can’t wait to be in Athens next year with the family all dressed up in Tennessee Orange. Oh how we have waited so long to be able to side with a real SEC Powerhouse! We are so proud of Derek and the great job he is doing on The Hill. Poor litte uga ain’t gonna know what hit it.
Wish that I was on ol’ Rocky Top…
tulevol
February 3rd, 2010
4:52 pm
It is always “next year” with GA. You guys consistently have top ten talent, but 8-5 seasons? Jaw dropping blowouts to TN? FL? AL? You’ve got the players, you do not have the coaching. Little Dooley will be coaching circles around CMR, and while you may think you will fire cmr and get Dooley to come to your school, well, there is always “next year”.
Jona
February 3rd, 2010
4:52 pm
GaGator
You guys had more holes to fill. There is a limit on the amount of scholarships you can award. With all the stars fl signed I can see a few transferring later to get some playing time.
NCAA sets the # of recruits allowed
February 3rd, 2010
4:52 pm
Most bloggers on this site do not know about the NCAA guidelines on players and recruiting numbers. This class is exactly the number that we could sign as set up by the rule book. Auburn got more qty because they apparently lost plenty of players. They were allowed to sing more kids and this is true of most of the SEC.
UGA is stockpiled from 2008, 09 and now this class. UGA got their D needs and losing the Calhoun boy is not big deal. Heck, I would have placed him at running back due to his size and bulk. He would not have played at wide out as a starter ……..no way. Marvelous Marlon Brown will have something to say about that as will Gren,Wooten, King, Troupe and Durden and too mnay other highly regarded TEs and such.
Go Dogs
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2010
4:53 pm
Are these the same folks that had the 2009 Gators as the Best Team in the History of the NCAA too?
Mr Me
February 3rd, 2010
4:54 pm
NoGaGator
February 3rd, 2010
4:49 pm
Please keep up these dellusional thoughts, we actually do better when people underestimate us. Thanks to you and all the other dellusional haters we will be awesome.
beatdowns galore
February 3rd, 2010
4:54 pm
How can you so called UGA fans take anymore????? Florida and Bama once again putting a beatdown on UGA. UGA nation has stooped to the level of delusional gamec0ck fans.
NCAA sets the # of recruits allowed
February 3rd, 2010
4:54 pm
To tulevol;
How did your jaw look when Kiffen spit in your face? HAHAHAHAHHA
Stinger
February 3rd, 2010
4:54 pm
You can’t win with top 10 recruiting classes, just how bad will a top 21 class be? Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha!!!!!!!!!!!! The dawg days are over!! You are now an official bottom feeder of the SEC.
Bradley Hater
February 3rd, 2010
4:55 pm
GaGator….by my count thats 16 thugs…four will be in jail by this time next year and at least five others will be flunking out of school….oh thats right Florida has a system in their football program that socially passes dumb asses who can’t cut it in class (Lawerence Marsh comes to mind)Meyer is a joke…a pompous idiot that lies to his team time and time again. Floridas going down this year…believe me their going down. Its going to be fun to watch.
GatorBob
February 3rd, 2010
4:55 pm
jitterbugdog, “urban meyer will probably resign again after signing day. scared of what might happen without zooks recruiting class”
Stupidity is apparently your hallmark! We probably just had the BEST recruiting class in Florida history! What a tool. You should change your handle to DumbDog.
Kevin
February 3rd, 2010
4:56 pm
Stinger, you and the rest of tech can continue feeding on the bottom of UGA’s gooch though
Carty
February 3rd, 2010
4:56 pm
“And in closing, don’t let uf’s class deter our hope for our program.”
Ok kcg76dawg, if our #1 recruiting class & the ever widening talent gap doesn’t do it, how about loosing 17 of 20 to the GAYTA’s, does that do it?
RedAndBlack
February 3rd, 2010
4:56 pm
Mark, this was my other post with regard to your opinion about the significance of UGA not signing a 5 star recruit and Auburn being so may spots ahead of UGA. Thanks for clarifying that coaching matters more. Thanks for sounding more intelligent on this article than the one ‘A most unusual sight: UGA absent from Rivals.com’s Top 10′. There’s really no need to shake things up and ruffle people’s feathers b/c it actually makes you sound uninformed. But if the purpose of your articles is to rustle people’s feather and get under people’s skin, it seems to work for some who are easily angered. But for your sake and reputation, try to write in a way that you sound well-informed about the matter.
********************************************************************
Hey Mark, have you become and expert in recruiting? UGA has been in the top ten every year yet in 2009, UGA finished the season unranked and an 8-5 record. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have the best talent come to UGA but that’s half the battle in becoming a consistent top ten team year after year. Coaching and having coachable kids have a lot to do with a successful program. Look at what Saban did for Alabama with a lot less talent than Florida. Also, you can’t forget about the 2,3,4 star recruits that made significant contributions to the football program at UGA and have moved to the NFL.
Can you explain in detail how significant it is when UGA does not land one 5-star recruit and when Auburn is umpteenth spots ahead of UGA? There are a handful of schools out there that consistently do not land a top 25 recruting class yet they finish in the top 25 rankings at the end of the season.
Please explain since you seem to be an expert
DirtyDawg
February 3rd, 2010
4:57 pm
To my ‘fellow’ dawg fans…those that seem intent on throwing the coaches, the team and the program under the proverbial bus. Go to hell! We don’t need you…we don’t want you…go pound sand.
Bradley, I speculated on the Schultz post earlier – or at least asked the question – if the roles had been reversed would the two of you have taken the same tack? Would you be praising Tech’s class while asked ‘what’s wrong with Georgia’?
And for the guy that dogged Georgia for having beaten a way overrated Hawaii team a couple of years ago…a win that set us up for that #1 ranking. I challenge the hell out of any team that wins a National Championship to do so with the number of injuries to starting players at critical positions that Georgia had. Show me some of those ’stats’ and we’ll talk. And even with those injuries and big losses to Florida and Alabama – loses that with an even-handed called game at critical points, very well would have ended differently – and three points to Tech that was an aberration as proven by the ‘09 game and we still doubled up on a ranked Michigan State in the Citrus Bowl. And you take the forty or fifty million dollars that Stafford and Moreno decided they would go for and have those kids return for another year – then who knows what we’re talking about here. Point is stuff happens and speculating about all this is just that – speculation.
We’ll be waiting and watching you, Bradley, just to see if you’re capable of any kind of a sustained positive treatment of the University of Georgia’s athletic teams.
Dawg Fud
February 3rd, 2010
4:57 pm
“If firing Martinez and two assistants made for what recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner called “some difficulties,” that’s a trade-off worth making if in fact Todd Grantham, Martinez’s successor, is as clever as advertised.”
EXACTLY!
As an alumnus, i would am happy with this class and no Martinez than a top 5 class and more Willie.
stan
February 3rd, 2010
4:58 pm
The Dawg fans always suck.Whine & complaine
78UGAGrad
February 3rd, 2010
4:59 pm
I hate to reveal my ignorance, but how many signees did we have room for? I see other schools signing 27 players. Obviously we didn’t need that many, but how many did we need? If we played in the ACC or the Big East, we’d win it every year. Just our luck that 4 other SEC schools are ahead of us. I think Schultz is right, coaching is what counts. I hope Grantham is as good as advertised. If so we’ll be fine. How many of these great recruits that other schools got will be riding the pine in future years? And even the pros make mistakes (Ryan Leaf).
Stockdog
February 3rd, 2010
5:00 pm
I agree that the firings disrupted what would have been a top ten class. However, sometimes one has to take a step back to go forward. I think that Grantham will be a huge addition for player development. Iowa never has a top 20 recruiting class but seems to end up in the top10 or 15 every year. So, I think player develop is equally as important as recruitment. We all saw top ten classes with Martinez, but it was rarely reflected on the field. At this point, I am willing to sit back and give it a year and see what Grantham can do.
GrantP Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
5:01 pm
I am still trying to figure out why Tech people come here to gloat. What the hell are you gloating about? Actually, keep on coming. Let’s me know you are still hurting!
Mr Me
February 3rd, 2010
5:01 pm
stan
February 3rd, 2010
4:58 pm
Seems like you guys are the ones who are whining and complaining. And plus you’re on a UGA BLOG if you are not a FAN, GET OFF.
Bling and blang
February 3rd, 2010
5:01 pm
Its official: Urban Meyer just stated on ESPN he will be back as Florida’s coach next fall. Sorry Dawgs
jellybeandawg
February 3rd, 2010
5:02 pm
tulevol while I agree that Richts time has come and gone and believe he needs to move on you toothless inbred hillbillies don’t have any room to talk. I can take abuse from Florida and Bama fans because even though I don’t like it, its the truth but your program has been worse the UGAs over the last decade so screw off.
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2010
5:03 pm
tulevol, I am going to guess, that before a month ago you had never even heard of Derek Dooley, but now you are positive that you know all about his coaching skills? uh huh, sure you do. Tell us all, what film have you been watching, what replays of his performances, what games that he coached, has brought you to this revelation? Do tell. Oh yea, your AD sent out an SOS, and he answered his phone, so thats proof positive for you , eh?
BTW, no we do not consistantly have 8-5 seasons.
As far as rankings, I dont believe you fellows were getting #67 ranked classes all those years of sitting home during bowl season, now were you?
jitterbugdog
February 3rd, 2010
5:03 pm
good post dirty dog
gagator i wish you the best mr. fla alum. i hope you can still be proud this time next year. as for dumb dog i will think about it. but the last fla alum i knew that was on my porch the only way i could get him off of it was to pay him for the pizza.. (hated to do that but you had to start getting nasty to me when i wasn’t to you. that is the way you gator fans are.)
Snoop Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
5:03 pm
The recruits have figured out that Mark Richt has been fleecing UGA while derelect in his coaching duties. He would rather be the CEO! Keep drinking that Koolaid, Bulldog Nation and get used to mediocrity on a good year. Richt will make the Dawgs bigger losers each year he is retained…
michael
February 3rd, 2010
5:05 pm
Mr Me -
Yes, I noticed you had indicated player ratings vary, and yes I was talking about team. But the player ratings vary for all teams, not just UGA. In order to smooth out the variability you noted, take a larger viewpoint…the team.
I sympathize with your concern about numbers versus “quality”, etc. On the other hand, I’d suggest that in any given year the number of available scholarships vary, but that doesn’t diminish the quality or quantity of players on other teams! More good players is better than less. As you point out, a 2-star may end up being better than a 5-star. But we don’t know that yet. In order to compare today, some measure has to be used, but if you prefer to howl in joy one year, then complain the next, I’d say you can’t have it both ways.
To use “average” stars, benefits those with only few “quality” players, eg USC, but ignores that there are 22 positions (plus kickers) to field for a game. It also minimizes the value of those 2 or 3-star players who may be better than the pontificator’s grading.
jellybeandawg
February 3rd, 2010
5:05 pm
I like Urban. He will probably die of a heart attack on the sideline one day soon (I hope not) but it will be doing what he loves and he is one heck of a coach.
GATruth
February 3rd, 2010
5:06 pm
To ALL GATOR FANS on this page:
Turn down the Michael Bolton, put down the latte, telll your high-school aged girlfriend to leave teh room while you get a dose of the truth…
Urban is rock solid, the program is class A, and the recent record is as godd as it gets, and you fans can take NONE of the credit. As the Dawg fans put on our classy red and black with the beautiful G, and #1 mascot in college sports, you Obama supporters have to put on some maggot-gut color of orange and head off to a stadium called the swamp – so named because of its smell and the leach-like vermin in the stands. I would rather have my kids go to the University of Saudi Arabia than Florida because they might come home with a more acceptable, well-educated, boyfriend. Take all the Tennessee fans in Appalachia and let them in-breed for a hundred years and you get a stadium full of gator fans. In the anals of college football you gaotr fans are right there on the first page – because anal and gator fan is redundant so…
Dunwoody Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
5:07 pm
So where did we fall in the rankings … between 10 and 20? Still not that bad and who knows which prospects will actually be productive. We may actually have a higher percentage of kids excel. If so, this class might be just as good as some of the top 10 classes in the past.
I’m excited about things. Can’t wait to see Murry (my guess is it’ll be him at QB) and I’m especially fired up for our new DC. We signed some great guys on the defensive side of the ball … Garrison Smith, Alec Ogletree, Mike Thornton and TJ Stripling.
I’m not saying I wouldn’t have liked a Top 5 class, but I don’t think things are quite as bad as people (like Mark Bradley) make them out to be.
G
February 3rd, 2010
5:07 pm
Get a grip , this is from the same loser who applauded tech’s class . This class is mainley defensive and very impressive it’s a small class but good one. Another headline say’s ” dooley saves top class at ut” Why is our’s tepid???? Do you just dislike the Dawgs or what?
Dawg Fud
February 3rd, 2010
5:10 pm
stan,
such an erudite post. you come up with that all by yourself?
well, two can play that game.
your face is a fire hydrant and i am urinating on it.
LSU Tiger_Fan_in_GA
February 3rd, 2010
5:12 pm
From ESPNU:
The top 10 has remained fairly steady throughout the day (with the exception of Georgia’s freefall)
tulevol
February 3rd, 2010
5:12 pm
NCAA sets the # of recruits allowed
Is that the best you got? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! UMF
Flabama hater
February 3rd, 2010
5:12 pm
Laugh and point fingers all you want to “Gay”tor fans. Your team is going to take a huge hit this year and Meyer will be crying again on TV blaming everone but himself……. Bama fans have a lot to look forward to but your team is beatable. Tennessee showed everyone that…luck plays a big part in an unbeaten season and you won’t admit it but Tenn. should have won your game this past year…… I like Georgias position right now. Everyones taking a potshots at them…no ones taking them seriously…the Dawgs have got you right where they want you. When they beat the sh_t out of Florida this year and take Tennesse to the woodshed in Athens they’ll have the last laugh and it will be fun to watch all you idiots start making excuses. I’m looking forward to playing Bama in the SECC….I’m already wearing my alligator belt and shoes and drinking my moonshine….I feel good carma coming my way!
Whopper Dawg
February 3rd, 2010
5:13 pm
Mark,
WAY too much weight is given to the fictitious star and class ratings bestowed by Rivals, et al. There are countless examples of 5 star busts and 3 star success stories. Hell, half the first round picks in the NFL are busts, tell me how you can truly evaluate a seventeen year old. What a joke.
If we lost a couple of recruits to get rid of 1/4 Willie, that is a job well done.I look forward to seeing a real defense for the first time since BVG left.
dawgfan17
February 3rd, 2010
5:13 pm
Curious how everyone quotes rivals that dropped UGA the most but doesn’t mention that we are still in top ten by ESPN and that quality wise (average stars per commit) is top ten in all the major services, just not the numbers of other schools.
Mark Bradley
February 3rd, 2010
5:13 pm
Georgia is 16th according to Rivals, 21st according to Scout, 9th according to ESPN.
king gator
February 3rd, 2010
5:13 pm
GATruth.. very funny and sad at the same time. Go Gators! now get back to work before you they find someone to replace you as a “sandwich artist” dawg fan.
SSIgator
February 3rd, 2010
5:13 pm
UGA fans are always good for a laugh. Chasing players that “are the best at their position in the country” and “will put UGA in a position for a NC” then when they choose another school instead “the guy is a bum” and “we have a solid class without him” and “he really is not as good as they say”. Keep dreaming puppies. 1980 – so long ago . . .
dawgfan17
February 3rd, 2010
5:14 pm
and for the guy who said 8-5 seasons, we have had 6 top ten finishes in 9 years under Richt. Top ten talent generally finishing in the top ten.
tulevol
February 3rd, 2010
5:17 pm
AltamahaDawg, our 67 class beat your top ten class. And you guess wrong. Dogs suck.
LSU Tiger_Fan_in_GA
February 3rd, 2010
5:17 pm
dawggone1204
February 3rd, 2010
3:48 pm
16 returning starters, boat loads of playmakers on the O, big time recruits on the D, boykin will become an all american, aj green will be top 5 in the heisman race, and aaron murray is the next favre!! DOGS WIN THE EAST HANDS DOWN!!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
WOW, what are you smoking??? There is NO WAY UGA wins east…..you do know Florida is still in the east, right?
jellybeandawg
February 3rd, 2010
5:18 pm
GATruth isn’t a subway sandwich artist. At his job he is required to says” Welcome to Popeye’s, may I take your order please..” anytime someone pull in the drive through.
Dennis
February 3rd, 2010
5:18 pm
How about an article on how much money UGA ’s poor coaching cost everybody else. LSU $250,000, Alabama $350,000, Virg Tech $250,000. At least is cost UGA a bundle as well. It is amazing that negative results had to cost all the other schools.
Toole
February 3rd, 2010
5:20 pm
FSU fans have told me for years that Chuck Amato made those great teams at FSU. He was a real hard-a** on the players. When he left that is when the program started to decline. Richt never had a coach like that. Hopefully Grantham or Lakatos will be the hard-a** we need. Richt needs to step back and let his coaches make these players tough. I don’t care if they are a 5-star or a -5 star. I want us to get players that are coachable and play with heart. It’s time for Georgia to have players beg to come to UGA, not us beg them.
tulevol
February 3rd, 2010
5:22 pm
Jellybeandawg
You’re right, us hillbillies ain’t got much room to talk, but it shore is fun to kick you dawgs every now and then. Then you all get lucky and bite back, maybe “next year”. Dennis, great idea!!