Credit to Richt: A big recruiting yield at a big moment for UGA
Coming off its first losing season since 1996, Georgia is poised to sign the most illustrious recruiting class Mark Richt has assembled, which is saying something when you consider two 2006 signees were among the top dozen taken in the 2009 NFL draft. Obvious question: Who saw this coming?
Said Chad Simmons, the Southeast recruiting analyst for Scout.com/FoxSports: “I am a little surprised … but I’m not that surprised.”
If we’ve learned anything this past month, it’s that the Georgia program might be in a weakened state but that the Georgia name remains a powerful thing. Four different SEC programs have accounted for the past five BCS titles, and yet Georgia, at least on Signing Day 2011, seems positioned to stand with any of them.
Said Simmons: “I don’t think wins and losses make a difference. There’s a chance Georgia, which was 6-7, will outrecruit Auburn, which won the national championship.”
Said Jeff Dantzler, the astute Athens radio man: “This is the most important recruiting class coach Richt has ever had, and it’s one of the most important in Georgia history. And it’s not just because of talent — it’s because of the psyche of our people.”
We pause to insert the disclaimer: Recruiting isn’t an exact science; if it were, Georgia wouldn’t have been 6-7. But such was the discord in and around the program — fans in a tizzy, media (blush) in high dudgeon, the strength coach being re-assigned — that a diminished recruiting class figured to be the next falling domino. But no.
Scout.com ranks Georgia’s class the nation’s seventh-best, and Simmons said there’s a chance the Bulldogs could clamber into the top five. Still in play: The running back Isaiah Crowell of Carver-Columbus, the defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan of Asheville, N.C. and the massive defensive tackle John Jenkins of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Simmons: “If all the chips fall their way, this would definitely be the top class Richt has had. It would throw over the [2006] one with Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno and Reshad Jones.”
Let’s recall: The calendar year began badly. Having lost the Liberty Bowl to Central Florida on New Year’s Eve, Georgia watched Xzavier Dickson of Griffin and Quan Bray of LaGrange use the Jan. 5 Under Armour All-America Game to announce for Alabama and Auburn, respectively. That prompted even more hand-wringing among Bulldog Nation — and much tut-tutting, it must be said, from this observer — but Richt and Co. have since gotten almost everybody worth getting. How?
“It’s a tribute to these coaches for not giving up, for selling Georgia as still being Georgia,” Simmons said. “They want these guys to be difference-makers, the guy who’ll turn it around.”
We say again: With Richt, recruiting has never been the overriding concern. At issue is how well assembled resources have been marshaled. Which leads to this: Should Georgia land Crowell and Jenkins to go with Ray Drew (defensive end, Thomasville) and Damian Swann (defensive back, Grady High) and Jay Rome (tight end, Valdosta), could the Bulldogs win the SEC East next fall?
Simmons: “These next few days [Crowell is announcing Wednesday, Jenkins not until Saturday] will be big for Georgia. Those are guys who can play for Georgia next year. They’re big pieces in this class. Jenkins is the 6-foot-4, 340-pound nose guard that [defensive coordinator] Todd Grantham needs for his 3-4 defense.”
Let’s see. Big interior lineman from a junior college: Didn’t Auburn just win it all with one of those? (The name was Nick Fairley, in case any Bulldog fans have forgotten.) And a hotshot freshman runner: Didn’t the arrival of Marcus Lattimore lift South Carolina to a breakthrough SEC East crown? Said Simmons: “Crowell can be that same type of player for Georgia.”
We pause here for breath, and also to remember: Georgia went 6-7 and didn’t beat a team with a winning record. But such is the promise inherent in recruiting, and no school knows better than this one. In 1979 the Bulldogs were 6-5. They signed Herschel Walker (running back, Wrightsville) on Easter Sunday 1980; on New Year’s Day 1981, they became national champs.
By Mark Bradley
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523 comments Add your comment
Mel from Atlanta
January 31st, 2011
5:56 pm
Anyone know what kind of cash Au is throwing around this year?
Better Dawgs
January 31st, 2011
5:57 pm
MSWho- chew on this for a min.
MSU and UGA first faced off in 1914, playing most recently in 2006.
UGA holds a 16-5 advantage in the series (76%).
UGA is 11-2 vs MSU at home.
MSU is 3-5 vs UGA at home (including Jackson, MS).
Average Score in this match up: UGA- 21 MSU-12.
UGA beat MSU in 2005 (23-10), and in 2006 (27-24).
MSU hasn’t beaten UGA since 1974 (38-14).
WIN WITH RICHT
January 31st, 2011
5:58 pm
Mel from Atlanta
With Newton and Fairley jumping ship, they freed up a lot of salary cap room.
The Truth
January 31st, 2011
5:58 pm
WIN WITH RICHT
January 31st, 2011
5:55 pm
The Truth
Since Richt has been at UGA, he has won as many SEC titles as Fla or Aub. And he has won more than Bama!
Richt won those SEC titles with the previous coach recruits and you know it
WIN WITH RICHT
January 31st, 2011
5:59 pm
Better Dawgs
Amen!!!!!
av8rdawg
January 31st, 2011
6:00 pm
Great story Mark!
WIN WITH RICHT
January 31st, 2011
6:02 pm
The Truth
Richt took some of his’n and some that weren’t his’n and turned them into SEC Champions. Enough Said!!!!!!
Dan Mullen and the real bulldogs of MSU
January 31st, 2011
6:02 pm
MSU hasn’t beaten UGA since 1974 (38-14).
2010 24-12 loser
Tech Stinger
January 31st, 2011
6:03 pm
And how many convicts have been arrested from Thuga since that fluke SEC Title in 05
Bleu_Bayou42
January 31st, 2011
6:06 pm
It’s not 1980.
The Truth
January 31st, 2011
6:06 pm
We all know Jim won those SEC titles and not pretty boy Mark
WIN WITH RICHT
January 31st, 2011
6:06 pm
Dan Mullen
You are talking mighty big. Be ready to back it up in Athens this year.
After all MSU beats UGA about once every 20 Years. So, it will be a long time before it happens again.
WIN WITH RICHT
January 31st, 2011
6:08 pm
The Truth
I seem to remember Mark Richt on the sidelines when UGA won SEC titles in 2005 & 2002.
Better Dawgs
January 31st, 2011
6:09 pm
Not sure there is a comparison here? MSWho is the Vandy of the west. You get lucky sometimes. Stinger go study!
WIN WITH RICHT
January 31st, 2011
6:09 pm
Tech Stinger
Impotent insect is probably more accurate.
msd
January 31st, 2011
6:10 pm
per SOS – Georgia always has these great recruiting classes – something must happen to them once they get there….
tom
January 31st, 2011
6:12 pm
Everyone in Bulldog Nation and the local biased sports radio guys are so excited about the recruiting class about to be announced. Even if all this happens the Dogs will not see immediate results from a bunch of Freshman. Coach will still not win a SEC Championship next season. He will probably be gone when these guys mature into Championship status.
Another Dawg Fan
January 31st, 2011
6:13 pm
I have never seen an evaluation of the star system and its accuracy. I would bet that being number 5 or number 10 is not of much significance. This is especially true if they just take the average of the star rating. Think about it. If school X takes the top 3 running backs and team Y gets number 4, the guy on team Y is going to get more opportunities in practice while as X, three guys are competing. Competition is great but so are reps. Do we really believe there is that much difference between number 1 and 4, that it will hold up over time? Also, averages don’t take into account numbers, positions, school needs.
I am happy the Dawgs appear to be doing a great job recruiting. Its a start, but only a start. Get them on campus, coach them up, get them to class, and keep them out of jail. There is still a lot to be done to be successful again.
woebegong
January 31st, 2011
6:15 pm
Charlotte DAWG,
Wasn’t this the first year that Geathers played on the nose. A different defensive scheme, and I believe that Geathers had said early on, he wasn’t too sure he would like being the NT in a 3-4, since it was a new scheme, he had never played. Not so sure about the S and C issue, but it sure seemed like we got out muscled a lot of times.
Better Dawgs
January 31st, 2011
6:16 pm
Mark it down: UGA wins the east/ LSU west
UGA 24
LSU 21
Tech Stinger
January 31st, 2011
6:18 pm
Everyone in Bulldog Nation
Is this guy serious? Bulldog Nation hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaahaha
hahahahahahaahahahaahahahahahahahaah
GT Jeenyuss
January 31st, 2011
6:19 pm
1st!!!
Hoopster
January 31st, 2011
6:19 pm
Actually Mark, with them being ranked at #7, this would be their 6th highest class out of the last 8 and not the greatest class ever. Dream Team, methinks not. See below:
2008 5th per Scout
2009 4th per Scout
2006 4th per Scout
2005 4th per Scout
2004 6th per Scout
If they get Jenkins, Crowell and Pagan, they are saying UGa would jump to 5 and then it would be tied for their 4th best class out of 8. What does this all mean? They get the least out of the most and that the coach is a great gimic artist.
Tdawg
January 31st, 2011
6:19 pm
CHARLOTTE DAWG, I do believe that you are right. When he played in that Army all star game I believe it was, he was in the 300lb or better range. In that game he could not be blocked and looked pretty darn impressive. I could only think wow that kid is going to be a monster in college. I have no idea what has gone wrong. Maybe the o linemen in college is a lot better and he hasn’t adjusted to that level of play yet. In my opinion the kid needs to get a chip on his shoulder and get nasty. He has all the tools to be a great one if we could just get him motivated.
Dan Mullen and the real bulldogs of MSU
January 31st, 2011
6:20 pm
WIN WITH RICHT
January 31st, 2011
6:06 pm
Dan Mullen
You are talking mighty big. Be ready to back it up in Athens this year.
After all MSU beats UGA about once every 20 Years. So, it will be a long time before it happens again.
Once Again Loser 24-12 and try beating Florida before you talk to the real bulldogs of MSU loser
woebegong
January 31st, 2011
6:21 pm
UGA89,
Your comparison to the records of UGA and Tech. would only be valid, if they played in the same conference. Surely, you do not think that the caliber of the two conferences is equal? How do you think UGA might have finished if they were in the ACC, these past few years.
Mike
January 31st, 2011
6:27 pm
Great class of kids coming in which i know disappoints you Bradley. Let’s hope they perform well on and off the field. Just as Dooley recovered after a terrible season losing to Miami of Ohio so will Coach Richt recover next year which will also disappoint you Bradley and these so called Dawg fans who write such silly things.
Better Dawgs
January 31st, 2011
6:35 pm
MSWho – again you want UGA to win next season. If not we will take your coach and any dreams you may be having.
Snoop Dawg
January 31st, 2011
6:37 pm
Refcruiting the big high school stars is nice, but Snoop Dawg wants a Top Five season. Actually, I want a National Championship.
Football players, like sheep, will mill around aimlessly until a leader emerges. Does anyone think that Richt really has it in him?
Better Dawgs
January 31st, 2011
6:39 pm
Snoop- 100% y
football guy
January 31st, 2011
6:40 pm
Any school can get good recruits. You need quality coaches!
tide roll
January 31st, 2011
6:44 pm
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET YOU TO EVALUATE THE RECRUITING CLASS BY POSITION ??! IT IS BY FAR THE WORST GROUP OF OFFENSIVE LINE RECRUITS EVER ! FACTORING THIS IN, HOW CAN ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND CALL THIS A DREAM TEAM. MARK, LOOK AT LSU’S OFFENSIVE LINE RECRUITS LA EL COLLINS 6′5″ 285 lb. 5 STAR OT, JONAH AUSTIN 6′7″ 305 IB. 4 STAR OL. TRAI TURNER 6′5″340 lb.,4 STAR OL. COREY WHITE 6′5″ 280 LB. OL 4 STAR. THIS IS A UNIT THAT MAKES UP A TEAM. The day UGA Signs Offensive lineman the calibre ot these guys is the day they can claim a “dream team” Otherwise, GIVE IT A REST !
Sergeant Joe Friday, LAPD
January 31st, 2011
6:44 pm
Hope the cops gets their fingerprints/DNA on file….I see the crime rate going up next year.
tulevol
January 31st, 2011
6:49 pm
UT had the third ranked class in 2007, and look at us. Big whoop. GA has great classes every year, and you guys are coming off one stinker of a season. Recruiting stars, please, that and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee at the Waffle House. You gotta coach ‘em up.
Thuga's incoming Convicts
January 31st, 2011
6:50 pm
Thug U has struck gold with this incoming class of future convicts. Half of them will be gone by 2012
woebegong
January 31st, 2011
6:50 pm
Tech Stinger,
Typical classless remark from people like you as usual. Is Tech. going to ba able to field a team this year? Heard their recruiting class was getting a little shallow. Jealousy is one of the worst emotions and makes people say irrational and stupid things. Hummm, now who does that renmind you of?
UGA Reels in Great Recruiting Class |
January 31st, 2011
6:52 pm
[...] Richt is feeling pretty good right about now, as are many UGA fans. The recruiting class has many fans [...]
PHIL
January 31st, 2011
6:53 pm
Tide Roll did you know that you are a moron? I don’t say that to be beligerent ( look it up). You say the same thing over and over and over. All those guys you named are from LA. What school did you think they were going to, BYU? Montana? You are such a moron. Keep posting the same thing over and over and showing everyone. You are the poster child for the Alabama jokes that people in GA tell. I have a photo of an Alabama bass boat and I now know it is you that engineered it. You might need to look up that “engineer” word, too.
Wartown Demons
January 31st, 2011
6:53 pm
6′3 wideout Chris Allen from Warner Robins has just committed to UGA. GO DAWGS. Waiting on the big DL James Reddick out of Warner Robins to commit now. He de-committed from WV.
tulevol
January 31st, 2011
6:55 pm
@PHIL
Wow, Tide Roll just got smacked!! Keep ‘em coming PHIL!!
BILLY JACK
January 31st, 2011
7:15 pm
tide roll clearly has some kind of wierd fixation with UGA and OL in particular.The fact of the matter is Dantzler Lebell and Ward are terrific recruits that bama wish they had.They will need a redshirt year and will be ready to go.This class will be better than Alabama in everyones book.We also redshirted some outstanding OL players from last year.Now we need a big time OL coach to be back competing for national titles as we shouild be every year.
PHIL
January 31st, 2011
7:16 pm
Charlotte Dawg, I realize that you are a non professional observer who gives opinions like you were a professional observer. So I thought I’d help since after all you aren’t local and can’t possibly know all there is to know about each and every player, although you are always willing to pontificate as though you do.
Richard is local to me. Richard Samuel was the number three or four ranked RUNNING BACK in the country as a high school senior depending on which scouting service you go by. If not offered to play RUNNING BACK at UGA he would have signed elsewhere. As a RUNNING BACK he is a faster Boo Malcolm, whom many believe will be an important part of the offense this year. As a RUNNING BACK Richard was better. His problem as a RUNNING BACK is fumbling at the college level. That is not to say that he isn’t a better linbacker, only that the “evaluation” you always bring up was not incorrect nor was it avoidable. Or maybe it was but he would be at another school if he hadn’t had the opportunity to play running back.
As to Geathers one problem is being able to assimilate D-1 responsibilities. As a man among boys in high school it’s not so hard just to tell him to get the guy with the ball. Doesn’t work at the BCS level. Another thing he doesn’t seem to be able to do is play with the leverage or the pad level it takes to produce at this level, or hasn’t been able to so far. If you read the coaches answers to questions every time someone mentions him, you’d know that. And I assure you if the UGA offensive line can block him in practice, he wouldn’t have much of a chance against another SEC line.
There is no problem with wondering what is going on or why this doesn’t work or why that doesn’t work, or why they lost to UCF. But to continually give commentary like you know more than those that are closer to the situation gets old. Especially from so called supporters.
The Rest of the SEC
January 31st, 2011
7:17 pm
Solid class for the Dawgs but we’ve seen this before. What’s more important is they still have Richt.
Herschel Talker (Transvestite Tech fan)
January 31st, 2011
7:19 pm
I come on here every day with the same babble. I never played football but i did spend alot of time watching the players in their tight little uniform while i was blowing on the tuba in the high school band. I hate CMR because he’s a christian and against homosexual marriage and i can’t marry my boyfriend Stan
Concern
January 31st, 2011
7:19 pm
One or two excepional player can carry a team to a National Championship. Example Auburn, UGA next yr.
matt
January 31st, 2011
7:29 pm
im not sure “top 12 dozen” makes any sense
David Granger
January 31st, 2011
7:29 pm
Mark, I sure hope you’re right.
But recruiting has not been a problem under Coach Richt. In fact, being a good recruiter is one of the two real strengths he has. When was the last time we DIDN’T have a recruiting class that wasn’t rated in the top 20 nationally? (And most of ‘em have been top 10.)
There’s just been a big disconnect lately between what the team looks like on paper, and what it ends up doing on the field.
I wish Coach Richt luck.
tdog
January 31st, 2011
7:31 pm
Here we go again. Big class of recruits, no pumpkin in the pie. I get sick when I see everyone get excited about how great it is going to be next year. I am afraid things will not change. With all the “great recruits” we already have should have kept us in the top tier of college football.
War Eagle
January 31st, 2011
7:34 pm
Hey dawgs, you been here before, Richt can`t Win a BIG…GAME… FORGOT HOW MANY BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES HE HAS EVEN COME CLOSE TO ESPECIALLY PLAYING FOR A NC??? SERIOUSLY, HAS HE WON ANYTHING EXCEPT WITH COACH DONNAN RECRUITS?
kral
January 31st, 2011
7:37 pm
signing day is always exciting to me tdog…because it does not guarantee anything,but it provides hope..I like to hope something good is going to happen….not something bad…