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The coach and the grandmother

2:20 am August 7, 2009, by Tim Tucker

Athens – Pretty entertaining exchange between Mark Richt and reporters at his post-practice press conference Thursday. Thought you might enjoy. . . .

Richt was talking about freshman receiver Marlon Brown’s grandmother, who strongly influenced his decision to come to Georgia (much, you’ll recall, to Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin’s chagrin).

Richt: “Well, she just is a wonderful lady. When grandmothers are raising their grandchildren as the main caretaker, that in itself is a wonderful thing, and you’ve got to give her a lot of credit. But she is a very tough woman, very intelligent. She is a disciplinarian. Marlon is the way he is because of her. And he has the utmost respect for her, and he should. And even in the very end of the recruiting process, when she didn’t like the way things were handled, she jumped right in and took care of business. She is a no-nonsense gal, I’d say.”

Reporter: She didn’t like the way what was handled?

Richt: “Just at the very end, the last day. Once he had made his decision, she felt like it should be a very happy day for him. And there were some people trying to confuse him;  I guess ['confuse'] would be a good word.”

Reporter (sarcastically): People actually  use confusion in recruiting occasionally?

Richt (smiling): “It’s like a,  you know, people say, well, I won’t say it.  I won’t say it. Nah,  I’m not saying it.  I’ve got to watch what I say. People make a bigger deal than it should be.”

OK,  back to our regularly scheduled programming . . .

– The big pieces of news in Bulldogs camp Thursday were that incoming freshman defensive tackle  Kwame Geathers has been cleared as academically eligible by the NCAA after a review of his high school courses, and that safety Reshad Jones will miss some practice time with a “tweaked” hamstring. Richt seemed confident, though, that Jones will be 100 percent by the season opener. Oh, and Chris Davis is back on the first-team O-line and Vince Vance down to second team.

– Here’s Richt’s latest take on the tailback situation: “I do like how our running backs all seem to be very focused and are competing really hard. I think they understand what’s at stake, and I think they truly believe it’s a wide-open competition, which it is.” If you missed it, here’s a story I wrote Thursday on Caleb King’s bid to win the job and play extensively for the first time since he broke his leg midway through his senior season of high school in 2006. Thirty-four months ago.

– I asked Carlton Thomas, another in the tailback mix, to describe what he brings to the table. He said: “I’m a playmaker. I know how to make a play, how to make something happen out of nothing.” And, you know, he showed that in spring ball.

– And Dontavius Jackson summed up the competition/camaraderie among the tailback contestants: “When we go out on the field, everybody is working hard and competing. But off the field, we all are a family, the running-back group.”

– I spent a lot of time after practice Thursday talking with freshmen players, who were made available to the media for the first time, and today will be writing a story about them for Sunday’s paper. Very interesting group. And very important at some key positions for this season.

– Dogs practice Friday and Saturday, are off Sunday, then have their first two-a-days of this camp on Monday.

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66 comments Add your comment

meansonny

August 8th, 2009
8:39 pm

I’ll keep this short and sweet for the NATS fans…
GT has never finished #1 in either the BCS or AP polls.

That’s a lifetime of losing.

jadams

August 8th, 2009
9:34 pm

who won last year?

BuLLdawg

August 9th, 2009
2:59 am

Chipper Towers is taking a real quiet stance these days, never noticed. Then, again, Chipper Towers never did ever have any story even on the front page of the AJ-C sports, ever, even. So, I guess it goes with the territory that we have now the Florida fan Tim Tucker to lead the discussion of UGA sports. I will say this for Tim Tucker : He is a much better sportswriter.

Number 13 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll (Tech number 15)

Tech is always ranked worse than UGA.

Always.

Also, UGA is Top 10 National Football Program, according to ESPN.

Tech number 31, down there with South Carolina – who also has NEVER been ranked Number 1 in any Final AP Poll, ever.

I’d have to say that the comments by Aaron Murray don’t sit well with me. If you don’t like the coaches pointing out what they told you during the recruiting process that BOTH of the 2 QBs on the roster are HIGHER on the depth chart than you are, then don’t go whining that our Staff, Fans, and Media are HIGH on Joe Cox and Logan Gray, who is both TALLER and FASTER than you are. They have been here for years to earn their spot Aaron Murray. You will be our Quarterback, in time. Not this year. Get used to it. We have had 2 freshman quarterbacks who started here at UGA for Coach Richt, and frankly NEITHER were any good their freshman year. You need a year to sit back, BE QUIET, and learn.

Also, mature.

Aaron Murray, sir, you do NOT know the playbook. You do NOT begin to know the playbook. You will NOT know the playbook this entire season. Why haven’t you studied the playbook and KNOW it ? What have you been doing to not know the playbook a couple weeks before the season starts ?

And, you want the coaches to decide whom to play at Number 1 and Number 2 ?

Uh, not you, sir.

So, quit talking about it.

Frankly, you could also work on your speed.

And, you need to be more consistent.

But, first off, learn the playbook son.

Marlon Brown’s grandmother wouldn’t let him go to the vols because Lame Kitten didn’t recruit her. They tell us how great the vols coaching staff today is at recruiting and then they admit this in public that they don’t know what to do about Marlon Brown’s grandmother not liking the facts that the vols are in fact invested with the worst coaches in America. And, they LOST CHIEF, who would have been a big improvement here for us.

BuLLdawg

August 9th, 2009
8:07 am

How do you determine who is the better college football program August 2009 ?

Recruiting Rankings every year show UGA at Number 6 in the nation. When consistently, you recruit the 6th best class every year, then you have a football program with a wealth of talent. Would you agree with that ?

AP Final Poll shows your football program Ranked every year for a Dozen Years Consecutively, as UGA has done now today, and there isn’t another college football program who has done that anywhere, then certainly you are 1 of the top college football programs. Correct ?

Fans flock to follow UGA Football (which is the number 1 reason why the recruiting rankings are always at the very top, every single year) as indicated by the fact that only 5 other college football programs have more attendance than UGA. Are all these fans wrong ?

Schedules are telling when it comes to who is the better football program. Better football programs just are able to get games every week like UGA does. This season we play they say, Ole Miss (or Alabama) if we make it to The SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome – something UGA had accomplished 3 of the 4 years PRIOR to Matthew Stafford’s arrival and subsequent 3 year debut for the NFL. We also play We also play Oklahoma State, who is ranked Number 9 in the country. We play Arizona State, another ranked team. We play Georgia Tech ranked Number 15. We play Florida ranked Number 1. We play LSU, another ranked team. Auburn certainly has been a team who was ranked every year, and while they are not currently ranked, there is little doubt that with their annual Number 12 or 13 or 14 recruiting rankings, that Auburn would beat the crap out of a schedule so SOFT as Georgia Tech’s again this year as it was last year and as it always is in the not ready for prime time ACC. Certainly, the vols are a team that has been ranked most years forever and their fans demand success, so it makes sense that the vols should be good. Not sure their coach knows squat, but the fans and players certainly are extremely good as a college football program. How good a college football program is South Carolina, when ESPN reports yesterday that South Carolina is just as good a football program as Georgia Tech. I believe you could argue that Arkansas clearly is a good college football program too, and we play them as well. Be realistic please and note that in fact 5 of the Top 13 teams in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll today are SEC teams. How good is a PAC-10 team, when there are only 2 PAC-10 teams ? How good is the Big XII with only 3 teams in the Top 13 of the Coaches’ Poll today while The SEC has 5. I am confident that we all look at schedules and say the Big 10 just doesn’t have a relevant schedule. The Big XII either, the ACC either, the Big East either, and PAC one. Does who you play have any bearing on what actually is a better football program ?

Won/Lost. Until Matthew Stafford got here, UGA had only had 1 season where we did not win double-digit wins, David Greene’s redshirt freshman year. Coach Richt’s staff is a double-digit win college football program, never mind the fact that we play all these great ranked opponents every single solitary year. We are a solid football program. We play a top 5 strength of schedule every year and have a very nice record.

National Championships. I am not making any excuses here. We have been ranked in the very same polls that ranked Georgia Tech in their claims 6 national championships, in 6 ourselves as well. The very same Polls. However, UGA has been ranked Number 1 in the Final AP Poll, which Georgia Tech never has been. It was 29 years ago. I was there. Have we had a National Championship since – while The Entire SEC has gone UNDEFEATED in National Championship Games ? Nope. We were close in 2002 and close 2 years ago. We are not an embarrassment in Bowl Games, after playing weak schedules, have great team speed and talent, have the 6th largest fan attendance, make the most money of any college football program (but cannot afford an indoor practice facility), are ranked every year in the Final AP Poll, but we are consistent at not winning the national championship. Fact.

Podunk teams, do they beat you while you did not make up for that by Wins over Top-Ranked Teams ? UGA does not have zero wins over good teams and LOSSES to PODUNK teams. We don’t This is a measure of a college football program, right ?. Our losses last year were to 3 Final AP Poll teams, one ranked WORSE than UGA at Number 22, Georgia Tech, to our Number 13 Final Ranking. We are not thrilled by the idea that 3 teams who beat us, scored 29, 31 and 46 consecutive points against us. And, there aren’t any excuses. UGA did not lose to Podunk teams. Maybe we could have beat 2 of them, but we did not. I am not ashamed of that, after that grueling schedule. The year before last we lost to 2 teams who both were ranked BEFORE we played them. Those were not losses to Podunk teams, were they ? As the season unfolded, those teams did not look very good, either of them; but we beat a ton of really good teams, too, to balance it. If you want to say that the vols the year before last and South Carolina were not good teams, were in fact Podunk teams that year, then you have to admit that we did beat Virginia Tech in a game I went to who was ranked Number 14 and we BEAT GEORGIA TECH who was ranked Number 16 when we BEAT TECH. We also beat Number 18 Auburn. We beat Number 22 Kentucky. We beat many really good teams, all of these at the end of the season. We also beat Number 15 Alabama. We beat Number 10 Florida.

Probation is certainly a measure of a college football program, isn’t it ? Take Alabama for example who has been on Probation forever, and is again now too. What has it done to their program ? The new coach is averaging, not the double-digit plus Coach Richt is over 8 years now, but only 7 wins a season average for Nick Saban at Alabama. And, before Nick Saban, and their soft schedule of last season, Alabama has in fact averaged just 6 wins a season since 1993, 16 years. During this span, Alabama has been on Probation, every year.

Grades are a measure of a college football program. Georgia Tech’s football team, specifically, has done a poor job of getting their student-athlete football players to be suited for the purpose for which they were recruited. I am not picking on Tech, but the fact of the matter is that these are ALL AREAS of measuring a good college football program where Georgia Tech absolutely sucks compared to UGA.

NFL is a measure of college football programs, too, now, isn’t it ? The Bulldogs find only 2 other college football programs with more on the opening day rosters of the NFL. We had the top pick again, Number 1 Draft Pick in the 1st Round. We had a slew of our last year’s team taken by the NFL, yet again. Will UGA actually have the MOST PLAYERS ON NFL rosters ? It will be close, won’t it ? And, we have had Five Former Bulldogs who have Won the MVP of the NFL Championship Game.

Travel well is a measure of a college football program. Correct ? UGA travels as well or better than every football program in America. Tech does the poorest job of this, yet claims to have grads everywhere. Really ? They DON’T FOLLOW YOUR DAMN FOOTBALL PROGRAM nerds.

Bad Press is a measure of college football programs, and this Summer, unlike every other Summer, UGA is looking pretty darn tidy on this point. If you want to measure a football program in college, right now, August 8, 2009, you would have to give UGA Football players an A plus for this point today.

Awards are a measure of a college football program. All America. All Conference. Individual Awards.

Season Tickets are a measure of a college football program. Georgia Tech CLAIMS they have sold 19,000 season tickets, but UGA fans have bought 14,000, so how many Season Tickets has Tech sold ? Bobby Dodd field only holds 55,000 seats after they blew up half the seats, and Bobby Dodd is a college dropout from the University of Tennessee at ObKnoxiousville vols. You have a NOTHING of a college football program Tech fans, both of you.

Girls are a measure of a college football program. Parties. UGA is always ranked at the top for our women and for our rankings as a Party School. Excuse me there is more to life than propeller top hats and geeks. You need to be well rounded. All work and no play, makes Johnny a dull boy.

Mascots are a clear and indicative extension representing college football programs. What an insect, who waves a baton in a sissy outfit, is supposed to be great ? And, what is this crap about Tech not wanting to admit that a train wrecked on return to Atlanta from Athens in 1893 and a photo snapped with the CHEATERS on the train who PLAYED FOR GEORGIA TECH, but were NOT STUDENTS AT TECH, and that that is how Tech became known as the Ramblin’ Wreck. Instead, we are to believe that an automobile (NOT TRAIN) from 30 years later is where you get the nickname Ramblin’ Wreck. It has NOTHING to with the origin of the Ramblin’ Wreck from 30 years prior when the AJ-C headlines proclaimed, RAMBLIN’ WRECK returns to Atlanta. By stark contrast, UGA has well UGA. And, UGA is the Number 1 Mascot in the nation. And, the most well known.

So, while you sit over here contemplating your bloody navels in the UGA Bulldogs’ blog daily, stick that in your pipe and smoke it. That is all you do down there in the slums and bowels of Atlanta you call your campus, anyway. Drug infested, Crime-ridden, sorry campus where no one is safe and no one cares.

Your football program does not measure up.

GR82BAG8R

August 9th, 2009
9:47 am

Bulldog, does Florida’s program measure up. How do all you Georgia fans know that Saint Simons is really a Tech fan. He could well be a War Eagle, Vol, or Gator, or even a Bulldog pulling your chain and getting you all in a frenzy.

It remains entertaining to read the blogs here and see the UGA faithful gnashing their teeth about their losses last year. Be prepared for more this year as you watch Florida win another NC.

DAWGHATER

August 9th, 2009
11:22 am

Hey Redneck Dawg: I will be happy to correct you, as you are illiterate. You play preseason ranked teams, those being, UF = loss, OSU = loss, LSU = loss and GT = loss. No other teams you played are ranked and most aren’t even receiving votes. However, the Jackets play, VT, Miami, UNC, FSU and your sorry overated UGAG team. The majority of the other teams we play are receiving votes. By the way, last time I looked Tennessee Tech is picked to win the NC. Maybe, your sory azz RB King can jump one of their players. LMAO! GO GATORS AND GO JACKETS! RAMBLE ON!

1970Dawg

August 9th, 2009
2:07 pm

SaintSimon, I am amused at your continued bragging about your narrow victory over Ga last year. I guess when you rarely do something, it is a really big deal. Please note that our players read this blog also and I for one appreciate you giving them a little extra incentive so just keep piling it on and we’ll see you and that high school offense this Nov. By the way, we saw the way LSU manhandled you in the Bowl game and we have game film.

BruffDawg

August 9th, 2009
6:29 pm

HA! I thought it was a car! Thanks bulldawg. Just more for the nerds to be ashamed of. HA!

GR82BAG8R

August 9th, 2009
6:36 pm

1970Dog, SaintSimon is bragging because about their narrow victory because you were heavily favored, in your house, ranked pre-season #1, against a group of inherited players, and up by 16 at halftime. You went from national pre-season #1 to #2 in your state in 15 minutes.

That game has to be one of the most embarassing in Georgia history. It’s actually good that Alabama and Florida exposed you to be so overrated earlier by stomping you into submission. Otherwise, you would have given the SEC an even bigger big black eye.

Tech’s coach is different than their old one, in that he will make adjustments. All Richt will do is gather his players for a sideline pep rally, similar to endzone celebrations designed to draw a penalty.
You know how that ended.

Florida will call timeouts before halftime and at the end of the Georgia game this year so you will not have any doubt who is the superior team. Get ready for another Gator beatdown. You know it’s coming and you can’t do anything about it except look at your recruiting class and dream of future success against Florida.

As long as Richt is at Georgia and Meyer at Florida, you know you have no hope. You may win a game now and then, but Florida owns you.

So, enjoy your needling of Tech while you can. Once Johnson gets his players, you can count on at least two losses each year. Last year was just the start.

DAWGHATER

August 9th, 2009
10:15 pm

Hey UGA: Aj who?

WIDE RECEIVERS
● Stephen Hill, WR, 6-4, 196: Hill has the size and speed (4.4 in the 40) that most college coaches dream of.

And, he’s confident. He said the pace of learning is fast, but he’s just as fast. He also said it’s his goal to earn a starting spot by the season-opening game Sept. 5th.

He thinks that his height, combined with the height of wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (6-3) on the other side of the formation, could cause matchup problems for other teams.

“That’s going to help the offense a lot,” Hill said “For one, [most] cornerbacks are 6 feet and under. Speed that I have, and height, I can really stretch the field. It’s going to be a big experience. Fans are really going to like what they see.”

Oh, by the way, Roddy Jones justs scored again. 45-42 and Uf 49 UGAG 10 Gator Romp !!!!

THWG!

DAWGHATER

August 9th, 2009
10:21 pm

Hey UGA: Caleb who? LMFAO! Read this and weep!

Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com Insiders presented his list of the nation’s 10 best backs, and he ranks Jonathan Dwyer of Georgia Tech No. 2. (Who’s No. 1? Caleb King? Uh, no.)

THWG! RAMBLE ON! Oh no, Roddy Jones just scored again! LMFAO!

BuLLdawg

August 9th, 2009
10:34 pm

Quoting ESPN on Georgia and Georgia Tech ?

2 days ago, ESPN says that Georgia is a Top 10 College Football Program and that Georgia Tech is down there with South Carolina at Number 31.

Mike T.

August 10th, 2009
12:45 am

Richt will do is gather his players for a sideline pep rally, similar to endzone celebrations designed to draw a penalty.
You know how that ended the same.

Yeah in a 42-30 Georgia victory.
Every stupid moron Gator and Tech fan forgets the Dawgs are 2-3 against the Gators in the last 5 games.4-1 against Tech in the same time frame.

chemdawg

August 10th, 2009
12:50 am

The “Saint Simons” character is an automated bot written by some tech nerd, and ajc IT dept. is too out of it to prevent this.

GR82BAG8R

August 10th, 2009
5:20 pm

Hey Mike T., what happened the following year? Florida stomped your team, then Meyer called time out just to let it sink in. All artificial rah-rahs do is incite the opposition.

Take a look at number of penalties the refs call on Georgia before the 2007 Florida game and since then. There is a notable increase. Has Georgia’s been causing more penalties or are the refs showing they don’t like teams to purposely ignore the rules of the game.

Mike T.

August 11th, 2009
6:39 pm

Hey Mike T., what happened the following year?

Nobody is disputing what happened the next year. You said we need to win to make it a rivarly
and your too stupid to know we have won 2 out of the last 5. We all know Florida has had an upper
hand in the recent series, however we were dominant once and will be again.

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