As Georgia appeared on the verge of hiring a new defensive coordinator, the Bulldogs’ best defensive player, Rennie Curran, announced on a teleconference late Sunday afternoon that he is leaving school early for the NFL. Which provided an opportunity, of course, to ask Mark Richt about Kirby Smart.
“I’ll tell you what I’ve been saying all along: that I’m not going to make any comments on the [DC] search until I get my guy,” Richt said.
And is getting his guy imminent?
“I’ll let you know when it happens, I promise,” Richt said.
Earlier Sunday, ESPN.com reported that Smart — the Alabama defensive coordinator — had not decided whether to accept a UGA offer of a multi-year contract at $700,000-plus per year and that Alabama had told him it would “do everything necessary to keep him.”
While basically silent on Smart, Richt had a lot to say about Curran, the junior linebacker who announced the end of his UGA career.
“Rennie has been nothing but awesome for Georgia since the day he got on campus,” Richt said. “He’s been a great teammate; he’s been a great student of the game; he’s really done everything you ask him to do. He’s . . . been a blessing to me personally.
“I wish Rennie well. I think Rennie will do well. He’s a tackling machine. He always has been. I don’t care what level of ball he plays at, he’s going to be that torpedo that can hit.
“I just want to tell him thanks for everything he did for us.”
And please follow me on Twitter for the latest UGA news and notes.
338 comments Add your comment
Hey jerry
January 10th, 2010
9:02 pm
He was buying CMR’s wife a little gift. You know her husband has a man crush on Teebow.
AltamahaDawg
January 10th, 2010
9:04 pm
Is the recruiting class of all time anything like the unbeatable team of all time?
jerry
January 10th, 2010
9:04 pm
“Alabama officials told Smart they would “do everything necessary to keep him”
Game over.
Pugnacious Paul
January 10th, 2010
9:05 pm
Well looks like Nick Saban has shown and taught Kirby Smart the ropes in college football. Kirby knows how to waffle ! Sorry mutt Nation……
UGA Alumn
January 10th, 2010
9:06 pm
BamaMan in GA
-Tech fans and Bama fans are having a hard time hearing you!! speak up!
The Bling Bling is SOOOOOO LOUD b/c of ACC and SEC champ RINGS and that BIG AZZ
Crystal Football Trophy that the TIDE have!! ROLL TIDE!!
———————————————————————–
Do you meen that Crystal football at WalMart? BAMA has to be the biggest rednecks in history. That has to be a Jeff Foxworthy joke! The ACC doesn’t give rings, they give tierras!
Pugnacious Paul
January 10th, 2010
9:06 pm
Altmaha Dawg….. To UGA it is !!!!
jerry
January 10th, 2010
9:09 pm
AJC, can’t you take a joke?
1eyedJack channeling the Blind Seer
January 10th, 2010
9:11 pm
You seek a great fortune, you Dawgs who are now in search of a DC. You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek. But first… first you must travel a long and difficult road, a road fraught with peril. Mm-hmm. You shall see thangs, wonderful to tell. You shall see a… a DC… on other teams getting raises, ha. And, oh, so many startlements. I cannot tell you how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your reward. Though the road may wind, yea, your hearts grow weary, still shall ye follow them, even unto your salvation…..GO DAWGS!!!!
Pugnacious Paul
January 10th, 2010
9:18 pm
Waffles anyone ? : )
1eyedJack channeling the Blind Seer
January 10th, 2010
9:21 pm
…Oh we must think. We must all have waffles and think, each and every one of us to the very best of his ability!
Dawg Stephen
January 10th, 2010
9:21 pm
Pugnacious Paul, I wont serve you waffles, but if I get close enough, i do have five finger knuckle sandwiches catered for such idiots as you.
AltamahaDawg
January 10th, 2010
9:23 pm
You got to feel like a 7 yr old in the back seat to be the reporter who asked him about this for the uptenth time. If you asked him enough, is he is going to change his mind and blow it this close to hiring somebody? geeez.
Louie...
January 10th, 2010
9:23 pm
How is SPSU’s football team this year? Good luck getting those grades up to make it to the big school.
TDAWG
January 10th, 2010
9:24 pm
Thats why he’s called 1eyedJack.
Ron Recruitment
January 10th, 2010
9:24 pm
Christian Green(Ath) out of Tampa who is deciding between UGA, FSU, and Florida says :
“I like the Florida program. I feel like Coach [Urban] Meyer and those guys motivate players to win, and they are going to make you better as a player. That, and they win national championships,” he said. “I think that’s important to go to a school that is going to win national championships and they have proven they can.
Christian is :
#58 on Rivals
#20 on Scout
#52 on ESPN150
TDAWG
January 10th, 2010
9:25 pm
Guess that was meant for Paul.
1eyedJack channeling the Blind Seer
January 10th, 2010
9:28 pm
Yeah, well I know what you were gonna say and I’m telling you to shut up in advance.
Big L
January 10th, 2010
9:28 pm
Somebody tell me what the truth is. I won’t be able t slee tonight if I don’t know. what is goin on. I want my Kirby.
Pugnacious Paul
January 10th, 2010
9:29 pm
a Dawgs Day on hearing news of hiring a DC at UGA :
The Other St. Simons
January 10th, 2010
9:32 pm
ESPN and Rivals reporting its a done deal.
AltamahaDawg
January 10th, 2010
9:32 pm
Stinger, can we conclude then that your goal in life is be no worse than the worst UGA fan on the tek blog? And what do you visualize when you read their comments Stinger? Now put your face on that.
sandman053
January 10th, 2010
9:33 pm
Footballcoachscoop.com says Kirby was hired, of course no one is Tusk-town will admit it if it is true and we all know CMR ain’t talking. So who knows? I have people who know people who know CKS and they swear it is a done deal. Now, do I trust them? I trust the people I know to be telling the truth as they heard it…it is just these extra folks that I trust about as far as GT has passing yards in the Orange Bowl….well maybe a little farther than that lol.
Sports Illustrated: Top Recruits Won't Help Meyer
January 10th, 2010
9:35 pm
Even if Fla gets a #1 recruiting class, it won’t matter according to SI’s crack reporters. Check it out:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/andy_staples/12/24/top-100/index.html
TDAWG
January 10th, 2010
9:37 pm
You know you knowed or you knew? Shutup stupid.
Lee corso
January 10th, 2010
9:37 pm
footballcoachscoop is bogus just like UGa’s football program and recruiting. NOT SO FAST ! KS is staying put !
Pugnacious Paul
January 10th, 2010
9:40 pm
Who is this wimp dawgstephen ? Is he a wannabe or what ? Punch’em in the mouth I say !
ESPN SEC Cred At Stake
January 10th, 2010
9:42 pm
ESPN saying clearly that Smart is staying at Alabama.
David Pollack, known to be dead on on all things Georgia, says Kirby almost a 100% deal coming to Athens. For the record, DAVID POLLACK BROKE THIS STORY, NOT ESPN.
If ESPN is wrong on this one again, their SEC cred is gone.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/7853/smart-plans-to-be-back-at-alabama
1eyedJack channeling the Blind Seer
January 10th, 2010
9:43 pm
Well, I won’t stand for much. And I won’t stand for you if you don’t show some improvement soon. Look at your report card last month — “D” in spelling…. “F” in behavior. A fine state of affairs — no wonder you can’t matriculate, now what were you saying;?
Dawg Stephen
January 10th, 2010
9:44 pm
ESPN CRED??? yes, that story is posted Jan 3rd….
sandman053
January 10th, 2010
9:46 pm
That story was from January 3rd though. Plus he probably had the dips from Gameday help write it since they LOVE UGA sooo much!!!!
ESPN SEC Cred At Stake
January 10th, 2010
9:46 pm
ESPN said Chavis was Richt’s target—haaa haaa haaaa!!!!
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/7705/chavis-on-richts-radar-at-georgia
ESPN SEC Cred At Stake
January 10th, 2010
9:48 pm
ESPN said Koenning will be hired by Georgia:
http://twitter.com/schadjoe/status/6782939876
TDAWG
January 10th, 2010
9:49 pm
Post from Dec.30th.
ESPN SEC Cred At Stake
January 10th, 2010
9:49 pm
ESPN says Foster will be hired by Georgia–haa haa haaa!
http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/7851/georgia-interested-in-vts-foster
TDAWG
January 10th, 2010
9:50 pm
Post from Dec.17.
sc dawg
January 10th, 2010
9:50 pm
check the dates on those links stake . . . i would like an answer, i’d be just as happy with grantham, but what you are citing was up several days ago . . . alot has happened since then
Dandydon
January 10th, 2010
9:51 pm
Kirby is coming to UGA and Saban is going to the pros or USC
"ESPN SEC Cred At Stake" Inquiry
January 10th, 2010
9:51 pm
Who is this guy/girl? Are you on medicine or do you know anything about sports? Please hop on over to the board for functional illiterates.
Sports Illustrated: Top Recruits Won't Help Meyer
January 10th, 2010
9:55 pm
Sports Illustrated, the REAL source for sports news, says there is NO POSITIVE CORRELATION between TOP recruits and Championships. So who really cares if ESPN is once again giving the top recruting crown to someone besides Georgia (surprised anybody?), it just doesn’t matter.
These top recruits arn’t hungry, feel entitled, and were often riding somebody’s coattails. Very few live up to their ESPN hype according to Sports Illustrated’s research:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/andy_staples/12/24/top-100/index.html
It doesn't take a genius
January 10th, 2010
9:57 pm
Fellas, the ESPN SEC Cred At Stake person is trying to explain that ESPN doesn’t know everything. He/She is posting all the past screw ups by ESPN on UGA’s DC search.
Pugnacious Paul
January 10th, 2010
9:59 pm
Jeff Owens just twittered fat girls are rioting at waffle house.
sandman053
January 10th, 2010
10:00 pm
It doesn’t take a genius: thanks for pointing that out. Obviously, I am too tired to read this stuff anymore. Maybe tomorrow will bring a new DC, so I’ll go to bed.
ESPN SEC Cred At Stake
January 10th, 2010
10:06 pm
Deedeedee…I like tater tots!!
ESPN SEC Cred At Stake
January 10th, 2010
10:07 pm
ESPN was wrong with all the rumors, which means either:
1) They have NO IDEA what’s going on in the SEC college football world and are literally clueless with no contacts to Georgia or Mark Richt at all–ths option is not good, means we should start looking elswhere for SEC college football sports news like Sports Illustrated
2) They have an anti-Georgia agenda and were trying to hurt Georgia’s recruiting by spreading false rumors
Based on the ESPN track record of denying Georgia an invite in 2002 after the 13-1 season, where Richt was SEC Champs, and the 2007 Kirk Herbstreit gaff where Kirk campaigned to get Georgia demoted from #1 to #4, it doesn’t look good for ESPN. Did I mention Georgia BEAT Kirk Herbstreit when he was a QB at Ohio St. and he HATES Georgia?
sc dawg
January 10th, 2010
10:13 pm
oops, good point, the dates of ESPN’s stories are irrelvant, ESPN either knows what’s going on, or they don’t. Apparently, they’re clueless.
ESPN SEC Cred At Stake
January 10th, 2010
10:15 pm
Ok, going to bed, some goon is trying to steal my identity.
If you see another post under this handle, it’s my imposter.
Good night.
Maddog
January 10th, 2010
10:22 pm
This may have already been said, but the word I’m hearing is that Kirby will also be the “head coach in waiting”, the new concept that seems to be keeping a lot of OCs and DCs in place.
Valdosta Native
January 10th, 2010
10:25 pm
It’s a done deal. Kirby Smart coming to UGA. I had a conversation with VSU’s coach David Dean who still has a strong relationship with Kirby from his days as a Blazer coach. As has been mentioned, two of UA recruits are now considering switching/strongly considering UGA: DE Adrian Hubbard QB/ATH Phillup Simms both being four star recruits. Strength/Conditioning Coach Sal Sunseri has been mentioned as part of the deal. An announcment will be made tomorrow mid-day or afternoon, the only hang-up in the deal has been who will be a fit for UGA’s staff Kirby wants. The word is he wants someone, yet to be mentioned, as the secondary coach (Not Willie Martinez) but not necessarily a hang up on the whole deal, as long the university will shell out the cash for whoever he wants as DB coach (yet to be mentioned). Believe it or not, just what David Dean had to say on the matter.
J Dog
January 10th, 2010
10:29 pm
“Footballcoachscoop.com” just posted that Smart has accepted the DC position at UGA.
Ed
January 10th, 2010
10:34 pm
Wow, wierd ESPN stuff.
I did check and it looks like Captain Kirk Herbstreit did play in a Bowl games as Quarterback for Ohio State in 1992 against Georgia.
Captain Kirk Herbstreit lost that Bowl Game as starting QB.
Must be where all his bias came from in 2007 as he tried so hard to get Georgia demoted from #1 to #4, I remember that, it was really wierd considering 2 teams went to the National Championhip without winning their conference.