UGA’s record-breaking recruiting streak is over (UPDATED)
UPDATED: UGA’s 10-year Rivals streak was both documented and written about by Rivals in this article by Rivals.com from July. Click on story link
Even after a little help from Josh Harvey-Clemons’ grandpa, UGA’s record-breaking streak in recruiting appears to be over.
The Bulldogs are the nation’s only team to finish in the top 10 of the Rivals’ top 10 team rankings every year since 2002. Until this year.
Loading ...What about this year? After Harvey-Clemons turned in his paperwork on Thursday, UGA rocketed from No. 19 overall to No. 11 – one spot away. Is that Harvey-Clemons really that good? Good enough to move an entire team up eight spots? Yes, he’s good but not that good. The jump also had to do with Rivals recalculating its rankings with the overnight addition of late signees from colleges across the nation.
“It can’t last forever,” Rivals’ Mike Farrell said. “This year’s class was a good but not great like last year. They fit their needs. Wide receiver was the one area that they felt like they needed to hit their needs a little better, along with DB. And they’ll address that better.”
“I also think this was a rare year where it wasn’t as strong and fertile [with talent] in certain other states surrounding Georgia and a lot of people came in. Alabama came in and took some very, very good players away. Auburn came and took some very good players away. It happens. I don’t think it’s anything to be worried about if you’re a Georgia fan. It’s a good class. I fully expect them, especially with the talent in the state next year, to be back in the top 10.”
The marquee name in next year’s crop of Georgia talent is Grayson DE Robert Nkemdiche, who is ranked as the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect by 247sports. He’s denied the rumors that he’s a “secret commit” to Alabama since last year, while saying he’s considering a handful of schools that includes UGA, USC and Oregon. Troup LB Reuben Foster is publicly committed to Alabama but still talks with UGA.
UGA has three commitments for 2013: RB Derrick Henry of Yulee, Fla., safety Tray Matthews of Newnan, and QB Brice Ramsey of Camden County. Ramsey was offered by Alabama last week.
Back to the Rivals record: UGA would have to sign another recruit – maybe the so-called “mystery recruit” – to have a chance to crack the top 10. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are at No. 6 on 247Sports and No. 13 by Scout.
IT’S RAINING RECRUITING STORIES
- Dalvin Tomlinson connection to Alabama “grayshirt scandal”
- Mike Bobo saves day for UGA after tumultuous 2-for-9 signing day
- Justin Taylor and his coach blast Bama
- Now that Harvey-Clemons has signed, how will it affect UGA’s recruiting ranking?
- Winner of Best Recruiting Soap Opera: Harvey-Clemons and Granpda
- Meet the Bulldogs (UGA’s 2012 class)
- Meet the Yellow Jackets (Georgia Tech’s 2012 class)
- “Chick-Fil-A recruit”: LB picks Auburn over Clemson for fast food
- Signing-day stress: JaQuay Williams turns down UGA and Will Adams flips from Georgia Tech
- Josh Dawson flips from Vanderbilt to UGA
INSTANT AJC RECRUITING CLASSICS
- Mark Richt goes to jail for recruiting
- My day with JaQuay
- Will Muschamp and Mark Richt are church visitors of 5-star recruit
Please Follow me on Twitter @RecruitingAJC + Please be my Facebook friend here
– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog
Got an item? mcarvell@ajc.com
- So much is happening so fast. Have you missed anything over the last few days? Catch up with our feed by CLICKING HERE
- BOOKMARK the NEW AJC Recruiting homepage here
- Want to see a list of all the players in the state of Georgia who have either been offered by or are committed to D1 schools? It’s looong. Go here.
Note: Inappropriate BLOG comments and personal attacks will NOT be tolerated. We love the lively discussions but hate-filled, harassing and irresponsible comments are unacceptable.
Please Follow me on Twitter @RecruitingAJC + Please be my Facebook friend here
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
180 comments Add your comment
Crimson Crush
February 3rd, 2012
4:35 am
Derrick Henry is a nice looking running back .
Just Asking?
February 3rd, 2012
4:40 am
Rivals may have UGA at 11 but in terms ow what we got for what we needed, this seems like a GREAT class. Maybe there is still a “Mystery Recruit” out there that will sway Rivals. The other guys were already swayed with the top four players from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. I guess we should have gotten Alabama’s too.
7576DAWG
February 3rd, 2012
4:40 am
Grantham will have a big job replacing the player’s we will be losing after this year. We must reload the Depth. CMR has no excuse not signing 28 recruit’s for 2013 with three coming in early.
Georgia need’s to keep both Henry and Matthews , probably will both end up 5 star by next fall. We also need to try to flip Foster. Foster committed before Grantham proved he was the real deal as defense coordinator. It is important that the defense expand’s on a great 2011 result’s. That alone could make Foster decide to come to Georgia.
Bama Ben
February 3rd, 2012
4:47 am
Nick SabaN invaded Georgia and dominated while Richt was in Hondarus. Did you see Saban on signing day? He and his staff were in meetings all day about juniors. Juniors!!!! They weren’t sittinng around watching a bunch of clowns on TV pick from hats or looking for somebody’s grandfather. Nkmdiche has already been delivered to Alabama by his coach and Reuben Foster is speaking Dawg nonsense just to get to make friends with other recruits that we’ll steal. roLL Tide
.
February 3rd, 2012
4:59 am
@Bama Ben — Grow up.
.
February 3rd, 2012
5:05 am
@ Bama Ben — Also, “other recruits the we’ll steal”? Unless you are on the staff or the team at Alabama there is no “we”. What Alabama does or doesn’t do is no reflection on you or your accomplishments. You are just a fan, that’s all.
gbal
February 3rd, 2012
5:09 am
who could the mystery guy be? whos left unsigned>?
Columbus
February 3rd, 2012
5:14 am
Bama offered Ramsey huh? LOL. Good luck with that! He is going to be the best UGA QB EVER! he is Dawg through and through! He was born for this and at only one place. Athens, GA.
Saban had to come to GA because their isnt enough talent in Bama.
Granthan will have a BIG job to replace the players hes losing this year? Nope. He has GREAT players already signed and they are HIS players and we will finally start to see HIS recruits takign over the defense the next 2 years. The ONLY need on D is D-backs and we arent hurting, just need a few good ones next year. The defense is loaded and will continue to be loaded.
Henry is a great back. If he signs with UGA along with some OL and receivers, the rest of the SEC is looking up at the Dogs without a doubt.
The next 5 years are going to be incredible at UGA. All the criticism of Richt astounds me. He is hitting his prime asd a head coach, when all the great coaches finally come into their own. Only 3 head coaches ever won a NC in their first 10 years. You know how MANY coaches their have been? Bryant took 18 years. Dooley about the same. Bowden a long time. Paterno only won 2 NC’s in his 45 years! You people do not realize these things. Was Paterno not a great coach? Richt has done better than 95% of coaches in history the first 10 years as a head coach. Heck Saban took 12 years I think to win his first NC. Coaches jsut dont hardly EVER come out and win one in their first 10 years unless they have a SPECIAL, SPECIAL player on offense and along with a great defense… like a Tebow or Newton.
Stop hatin’. Know your history. You got a great coach. It takes years to learn things and learn from mistakes and get it all together as a head coach. It is Richts time and he has the team set to win BIG the next 5 years. UGA will be a dominating factor in the SEC and will be in several SEC championships the next 5 years. Win the SEC and 9 times out of 10, you play for the NC. UGA will play for the SEC title this year. Bama is losing a lot of players. UGA is not and the D is goin to be STRONGER and the offense is going to be STRONGER. UGA might with the NC this year and you people are on here criticizing Richt and some wanting him replaced? Amazing. You are not getting Saban or Miles. We ahve invested 10 years in Richt and it is HIS TIME and you idiots want him replaced? When HE has got the team set to WIN BIG the next 5 years?! AMAZING!
Your college football I.Q is very low. Certainly not smart as you think. You arent seeing the big picture. You got a great coach but ALL great coaches have a 10-12 year learning curve and its Richts time. Its UGA’s time! Are you people blind? Have you watched UGA or NCAA football for more than 10-15 years? Do you know anything about a coaches timeline? Do you know how many coaches have a winning percentage as hig as Richts in their first 10 years as being a head coach? FEW and ONLY the greatest ones. And only 3 won a NC in their first 10 years because they had a special special player and a great defense….
See me in a year. See me in 5 years….! Richt is not going anywhere. You better open your mind and get on the bandwagon and Richts driving it.
Columbus
February 3rd, 2012
5:19 am
We got a couple offers out to players who decided to wait to make their decisions. I think one announces on the 9th or something and I am not positive about the other guy but I believe there were 2. I cant remember who they were but I am sure they are on one of the recruiting lists here on AJC. Might be just 1 player…..but I think 2.
dean
February 3rd, 2012
5:32 am
The epitome of classless is to criticize Richt’s religous pursuits. Sure Bama, you can be Goliath in this scene. Just remember what happens to him in the end. Go Dawgs!
dawgcrzy
February 3rd, 2012
6:08 am
@ tim stfu you’re stipid
dawgcrzy
February 3rd, 2012
6:08 am
stupid
Victorious Sakrete
February 3rd, 2012
6:15 am
Rivals is a running joke with their rankings. No one, NO ONE thinks they are credible. They have admitted ranking players they have never seen play. ESPN, the network I can’t stand, does a far better job.
JT
February 3rd, 2012
6:17 am
@dawgcrzy you are a great example of a UGA fan. Hilarious!!!!!!
We Run the East
February 3rd, 2012
6:19 am
Columbus, you need to give Tim a big glass of your Kool-Aid. And by the way Tim, NO Obama supporters allowed on this blog. Conservative SEC football fans only. NO takers, only makers!
JT
February 3rd, 2012
6:20 am
Rivals is a joke and ESPN is worse than them. Kipp Adams doesn’t have a clue when it comes to evaluating football talent. Watch his tweets. They are rehashed information from Chad Simmons and Rusty Mansell.
tony
February 3rd, 2012
6:24 am
It seems like the whole state of ga have bought into Mr Richt’s child psychology. Remember the black out game @bama: what about when he send his whole team out the football field against the gators: then comes the 2011 “Dream Team”: remember when Mr Richt told a concern fan “I know what the hell I am doing”. Really! Why in the hell did it take you 5 years to know that you needed a better DC when everybody else did know?
Here’s the truth. The man is a good recruiter but a terrible hc. Most fans outside of the state of ga knows that he is a terrible hc. The man should of won at least 3 or 4 national championships between 2002 and 2011 with those recruits. If he recruited players @Kentucky level, there’s no way he would have a winning record because every team in the sec would crush him.
SC, ARK, LSU and ALA would go through our 2012 schedule unscathed but Mr Richt will find away to lose at least one of those games.
Bridesmaid
February 3rd, 2012
6:29 am
SEC teams like Mike Bobo as OC. He will never get the job done and as long as he continues to lead the Bulldogs offense Georgia will always be the runner up no matter how much talent they bring in to the program.
Rivals is overrated
February 3rd, 2012
6:32 am
Rivals and Scout both give more weight to the amount of recruits as opposed to the quality. ESPN has a better view on it. They weigh the team needs, and quality of players a team gets to fill those needs. The only reason UGA wasn’t ranked in the top 10 on Rivals is because they only had 19 recruits as opposed to Alabama’s 32 which is awful abuse of the rules. Seven kids will lose scholarships this year at Bama. Seven kids that Saban made promises to in their parents living room. Weighing needs and the quality of players UGA got, this class is just as impressive as last years, maybe even more so. Top 5 class without a doubt.
Paddy
February 3rd, 2012
6:32 am
Tim……….WOW that is right out of the 1960’s playbook. What a Maroon!
JB
February 3rd, 2012
6:33 am
Tim………….Yea, I’m glad the state of Alabama has no racial history and any feelings of racism over there…..Whew.
We Run the East
February 3rd, 2012
6:43 am
Tim- You got that right Conservative football fan all the way. go play in the ACC with GT, where the football players can’t play fooaball and the cheerleaders tie a ham to their neck to try to attract men. Makers yes, Takers move to Yankee town or California or Oregon. You know, progressive states that are FLAT BROKE and filled with progressive takers, not many makers.
Destin Dawg
February 3rd, 2012
6:45 am
we have a tough schedule this season… S. C. Missouri, Auburn.. all road games and Florida is ALWAYS a road game for us .. should be played home/home or Atl./Jax… Go Dawgs !!
Top Dawg
February 3rd, 2012
6:48 am
Will Nkemdiche get “taylored” by Saban before signing day, 2013?
slydog
February 3rd, 2012
6:50 am
@We Run the East
February 3rd, 2012
6:43 am
“Tim- You got that right Conservative football fan all the way. go play in the ACC with GT, where the football players can’t play fooaball and the cheerleaders tie a ham to their neck to try to attract men. Makers yes, Takers move to Yankee town or California or Oregon. You know, progressive states that are FLAT BROKE and filled with progressive takers, not many makers.”
And what are conservatives making nowadays idiot? You idiots must realize it’s the Romney’s and the Obama’s who are in bed with each other and the banks. Duh!!! Most people who use their own brain knows that. There is nothing left to make or take. So, what do conservatives do when they lose their jobs? Get food stamps and medicaid like everybody else. Get federal and state assistance to modify their home loan. File for bankruptcy. The list goes on. Just like everybody else.
slydog
February 3rd, 2012
6:53 am
@Tim
When did you crawl out of that hole? 2008? If what you say makes any sense, I guess MLK wasted his time and should have went home?
Tampa Gator
February 3rd, 2012
6:57 am
Guys….lets get back to football.
I don’t see how anyone can look at Georgia’s class and not see the quality of the recruits they signed, especially at RB. The numbers were low and that impacted their ranking. But the talent need they signed was outstanding. Bama kicked butt again, no doubt. And they will as long as Saban is there. Also, Muschamp kicked butt for his first full year recruiting. And he is already kicking butt big time for 2013.
P.S. It was interesting to see Miles show his true colors yesterday by ripping an eighteen year old kid in public like that. That was uncalled for and highly unprofessional, I thought. Also interesting what the Wisconsin HC said about Meyer’s recruiting tactics yesterday…..since Meyer said one of the reasons he left the SEC was the recruiting tactics of some coaches in the SEC.
Tampa Gator
February 3rd, 2012
7:02 am
Slydog….
You are one with your eyes wide open. One of the main problems in America today is that the conservatives and the liberals and the moderates….or anyone in government…..has done nothing in the last 25 years to stop greedy corporate execs from sending most of our jobs overseas so they can make millions more for themselves and their powerful investors. Go out there and try to make something. Good luck with that….as soon as you make it…..it will be sent to China to be made cheeper.
We Run the East
February 3rd, 2012
7:02 am
Sly- You are wrong. If you are conservative you understand the purpose of any employee is to help make a profit for the company. Your salary, rent payment, health care benefits all are a function of the company making a profit. Therefore, conservatives (makers) are the last to go and can find another job because they bring value to the equation, not just a gimme-gimme attitude. Once you realize YOU and YOU ONLY are responsible for your self, you will achieve. If you put your non-woring nose in the air and think “I am owed a living, I don’t need to work hard, don’t dissrespect me”, then you are worthless as a memeber of society and part of the problem. And an Obama Zombie! Go away Takers and other liberals. Go to jay bookman’s blog, he loves liberal blather and nonsense.
Tampa Gator
February 3rd, 2012
7:03 am
Sorry……I got off the topic as well. Accept my apologies.
slydog
February 3rd, 2012
7:03 am
Ga Tech is more progressive? Ask the Black students at Tech how fairly they are judged in contrast to their White and/or Asian peers at the school overall, and inside the classroom. Yeah, another subject that won’t be talked about. So what? Black folks know what they are faced with everyday. It’s up to them stand up, brush that stigma off and not live it, and do it better and cleaner than the next man.
We Run the East
February 3rd, 2012
7:07 am
Tampa- Unions ran off the jobs to overseas. USA must compete globally. We overpay for labor jobs because of Unions..Corporate greed (selling products at a profit to customers who pay of their own free will)? What a joke! Take responsibility for your self. Govenment GREED is the actual problem.
sogadog
February 3rd, 2012
7:08 am
UGA was no 15 according to Rivals in 2010, so the big headline “First time out of top ten in ten years is not accurate.”
slydog
February 3rd, 2012
7:11 am
@We Run the East
HAHAHA. You can have it the buddy. My mother worked everyday, almost 12-14 hours a day until 4 years ago. She was an Accountant. Her past 3 jobs were bought out by multinationals. Hence, her 401k and retirement was either reduced or taken away. Her small portfolio shriveled even further. She became disabled from the stress of it all 4 years ago. She lost her job and benefits during the sickness. She was too young to get medicare and her SS disability was $200 too much for medicaid. For 2 years, with no health coverage, she had 2 more smaller strokes and a heart attack. Now she has medicare but she is too young for the supplemental. This is a real story. Not FOX News, Not John Boehner speaking to me like some child. Not Obama saying one thing and doing another. Not Eric Cantor, who basically told people to sell everything and apply for medicaid, a program he says he wants to eradicate. THIS is a real story. Sounds a lot like a human being, not some conservative or some liberal. So keep at it. The conservative way.
MR is a Hypocrite
February 3rd, 2012
7:11 am
Does not matter what the quality of the recruits is! They will either end up in the Athens jail or be undercoached by the dismal coaching staff recruited be the Bobby Bowden clone head coach. As long as they don’t play anyone the dawgs red necks with 43 IQs can thump their chests and claim they are better than they reallly are!
cgee
February 3rd, 2012
7:14 am
@Tim – Was that farter figure as in the GT coach?
sogadog
February 3rd, 2012
7:14 am
I checked again, Rivals.com ranked UGA’s recruiting class number 15 in 2010. So the streak of top tens ended in 2010 and this year’s no. 11 is better than 2010’s 15. Of course what Rivals thinks doesnt matter.
JB
February 3rd, 2012
7:15 am
With last years haul and the talent in this years class, Dawgs will have enough front line players to go toe to toe with anyone. My concern, as always, is depth. We get in slug fest brawls in the SEC, and not having talented subs is a killer for UGA.
Beast from the East
February 3rd, 2012
7:16 am
Dawgs may not have had a top 10 class, but it is still a solid class that will do well. Too many times these rankings end up being wrong when the players actually hit the field. Like UF, the Dawgs fell a bit short on o-linemen and WR’s. Other than that, solid group.
JB
February 3rd, 2012
7:17 am
Rivals is political, and really not player by player graded. They have THEIR top 150 players, and grade accordingly as to where those guys sign. Coach’s don’t put a lot of stock in it. The fans do.
slydog
February 3rd, 2012
7:17 am
@We Run the East
“Unions ran off the jobs to overseas.”
All I can say is that is a naive statement. You have done no research nor can you prove anything that you say. Anybody, once again, using their own brain, knows that unions were only a small part of this wider globalization. Businesses simply didn’t want to comply with labor laws and found cheaper labor? Why? Because the Europeans, the Chinese, and the Japanese wanted to subvert the trade imbalance agreements they made with the U.S. In order to maintain this imbalance, they globalized and US companies followed suit in order to keep up. Start there and finish up.
JB
February 3rd, 2012
7:18 am
My answer to Bama’s haul……They can’t play but 11at a time. It’s not cowboys and Indians.
BAMATOOTHLESS
February 3rd, 2012
7:19 am
Congrats to Alabama on GREAT signing class but remember this your COACH has NO class! Saban is a jerk and doesn’t care about the kids! I hope BAMA gets what it deserves when Saban leaves for Dallas next year and little Kirby is gone too!!
Tampa Gator
February 3rd, 2012
7:21 am
Run the East…..
Keep drinking that concervative, right wing kool-aid. They like you drunk on it. You really believe unions “ran off” our jobs? It is that simple, is it?
Tampa Gator
February 3rd, 2012
7:24 am
Time to go…..this site has lost its purpose and its civility.
Lars Taint
February 3rd, 2012
7:24 am
You mean the streak that ended in 2010 when we were ranked 15th?
JB
February 3rd, 2012
7:31 am
Labor makes up 75% of the expense dollar to manufacture something. If you are making Footjoy golf shoes in New York State…and they were, and you were paying 26.00 an hour on the plant floor, and they were, and another $7 and hour in benefits, and they were, and pensions they couldn’t afford, and they were…..And you get a chance to go to the Far East, and they did, and cut your labor cost to $4 and hour, and it is, with no benefit worriers, and there aren’t, you’ve just greatly improved your bottom line. I’m not writing this to support or be against it, but it’s a fact, and it’s real, a165 people in NY lost a good job…….For not sitting down with Management. Unions need to wake up. The definition of capitalism: PAYING PEOPLE LESS THAN THEY PRODUCE. Footjoy did not go to the negotiation table and say, ok, with take all the profit and divide it by 165. That’s NOT the American dream or way things work. WHY would ANYONE go in business…..To give it all away?
Crimson Crush
February 3rd, 2012
7:34 am
@JB
Your are correct in observing that 11 are allowed on the field at any one time .
Of course there is currently a discussion over on one Bama site about Coach Saban saying it was the BOTTOM FORTY players on a roster that determined the success of any program .
Take Georgia’s last appearance in the SECCG . One could easily argue the Dawgs were matching LSU in talent … exceeding them in game plan … exceeding them in execution …
Then the second half started …
Dawg_Mike
February 3rd, 2012
7:36 am
Recruiting rankings ? Whatever.
Get back to me on the class of 2012 sometime in the 2013 season. Then lets see how these prized kids have turned out.
This will be AFTER some fail academically, MOST of them redshirt the 2012 season and others are medically DQ.
Crimson Crush
February 3rd, 2012
7:44 am
While I understand being a little down about the Dawgs getting a smaller class than they should have … don’t you think that is being just a little Uber pessimistic Mike ? Some of these kids might turn out better than you think for Georgia …