Richt on NCAA probe: ‘We’ll see what they gather’ (UPDATED)
(11:29 a.m. and 12:04 p.m. updates below)
HOOVER, Ala. – Georgia’s delegation arrived here this morning for SEC Media Days and immediately faced questions about Wednesday’s news that the NCAA will send investigators to campus for an “inquiry.”
In interviews before their formal appearances before the media later this morning, Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green said he has “never” been to Miami, where various players’ attendance at an agent’s party reportedly led to NCAA probes at three other schools, and coach Mark Richt said he doesn’t believe the NCAA inquiry will necessarily bring bad news.
“I don’t know if it is [bad news] or not, quite frankly,” Richt said. “By the way you posed the question, you’re saying it’s never good news [when the NCAA investigates]. Then you’re saying it’s bad news. I don’t necessarily think it is bad news.
“I’m sure they’re gathering information, but we’ll see what they gather.”
Richt said he does not believe the NCAA probe will be a distraction to the team, which starts preseason practice on Aug. 2.
Asked if he is worried at this point about having a player or players declared ineligible, Richt said: “I’m not going to make any comment about anything having to do with the investigation.”
Asked if the NCAA is looking into the activities of one player or more than one player, Richt said: “I don’t know at all. And actually I’m asked not to make any comment about it.”
UGA associate athletic director Claude Felton said the NCAA requested that the school’s officials, coaches and players not comment on the matter until the inquiry is completed.
Green, Georgia’s top pro prospect, has said that he was asked by a Georgia official on Tuesday if he attended the agent’s party in Miami and that he said no.
He reiterated this morning that he has “never” been to Miami.
“I’m not even focused on that,” Green said of the tumult about the NCAA probe. “I’m just focused on getting ready for the season.”
Asked if he is worried about what might come of the investigation, Green said simply: “No.”
Asked if it is a hassle, he said: “Not really. Just random stuff, but it’s not a hassle.”
UPDATE 11:25 A.M.:
Before the full media contingent, Richt’s topic turned to his team and the approaching season, of all things.
He seemed decidedly upbeat.
“Everything I’ve seen so far makes me think we’re going to have what it takes from an emotional standpoint, a physical standpoint,” he said.
Despite a turbulent off-season that has included the arrests of seven players, the arrest and resignation of the athletic director and now an NCAA inquiry, Richt said it has been a good offseason from a football standpoint.
“There is an energy we have this offseason we probably haven’t had in a while,” he said.
Richt said the team has high respect for redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray and is rallying around him. Richt said he believes the offense will be improved this season with a good complement of run and pass. He said he hopes Green stays healthy all season and believes he will improve as a blocker.
And to the inevitable question of how he feels about reports putting him on the occupational “hot seat,” Richt said: “I understand the business. I understand how things go. I don’t worry about it.”
UPDATE 12:04 P.M.:
In the big ballroom before the full media contingent here, A.J. Green honored the request by Georgia officials that he not discuss the NCAA inquiry.
Asked if that frustrates him, if there are things he would like to say but can’t, he said: “It’s not my place to comment on it. I don’t feel like I have to.”
On another matter, Green confirmed that he has taken out an insurance policy to protect his future potential NFL earnings against a career-ending injury.
More to come.
Please follow @ajcuga for quick updates from Media Days.
Earlier story updated: NCAA contacts UGA, says it will launch ‘inquiry’
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247 comments Add your comment
yeah
July 22nd, 2010
1:29 pm
Schmeckdawg you may have heard about the little problem at USC involving former players Reggie bush and oj mayo taking benefits. The school is paying for what those two did years ago. From everything being reported every draftable player from last year and this will have been investigated before this is all said and done
Aaron Murray-20 INT's 8 TD's
July 22nd, 2010
1:30 pm
No your school provides plenty for us to talk about. Whether it’s DUI and hit & run arrests, AD’s getting pulled over drunk and with girl’s panties or your best off player lying about where he was and violating NCAA rules. Enjoy your long Summer and Fall AJ. Too bad they don’t teach common sense at UGA.
UGA will be SO one dimensional this year. 5-7 sounds about right.
DawginLex
July 22nd, 2010
1:30 pm
If I was AJ Green’s family and I knew for a fact that my boy was at home that weekend, I’d sure be saying so. I’d threaten the NCAA with a lawsuit because all this negative publicity could have a direct influence on his draft status and cost him millions.
I’d tell them to produce solid evidence or shutup and offer an apology or I’d see them in court.
DawginLex
July 22nd, 2010
1:33 pm
20 int, 8td’s,
Dream on little gerbil boy.
mike Jay
July 22nd, 2010
1:34 pm
Kim,
Yes my typing is suspect on a forum but it’s really not that hard to figure out my point. I have to type in a hurry as I am on my lunch break! Congratulations on ignoring my post though and missing the point.
B-ham Dawg
July 22nd, 2010
1:34 pm
Katy… This is a football blog. Bow down to the dominance that is UGA football. We run this state we always have and always will. On another note you can’t just be some dummy and start for a D-1 program like Georgia. There is a lot of smarts that go into playing the game. But, you wouldn’t know anything about that you GT genious. Oh I almost forgot…
30-24 GATA
ugag is irrelevant
July 22nd, 2010
1:36 pm
y’all are dumber than a bag of hammers
Lunchtime links: An unjust system | GameDay Weekly
July 22nd, 2010
1:39 pm
[...] coach Mark Richt says, “We’ll see what they gather” in the NCAA [...]
Richt Video
July 22nd, 2010
1:41 pm
A video of Richt speaking this morning at the SEC Media Days:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lBEbARLZ4k&feature=channel
Lunchtime links: An unjust system | Rebel Country Online
July 22nd, 2010
1:53 pm
[...] coach Mark Richt says, “We’ll see what they gather” in the NCAA [...]
Hunker Down
July 22nd, 2010
1:55 pm
Katy,
You go on a long dissertation about what a terrible school UGA and do not understand why we are so intent on our football team. You ramble about Tech being this higher learning institution and we at GT don’t party. First I would ask the ? if it’s not a big deal football and UGA then why are you on this blog that is a UGA article? I would also point out a couple of other things to you. The AJC once did an article on student athletes. I have friends that are big Tech fans and are always trying to say that the Tech athlete could not compete as easily because they require a higher IQ individual. Well the article showed the falasy as both the UGA and Tech players had about the same SAT scores and both were well sub par of the overall student body. These two schools are no different then any other ACC or SEC teams as it is difficult to get in top flight schools on an academic bases but if you can play some ball then you get in. If you want to gloat about a school look to the IVY League that my understanding is football players do not get a free ride but have to pay like every other student. This appears to me more of a truely student athlete. As far as UGA being a party school my brother went to GT. Made the deans list first semester and ended up flunking out cause he liked to party too much at Tech. If you want to cast stones in here about jobs after graduation consider that 92K mainly grads fill Sanford every Saturday I guess from unemployment checks as you state a degree from UGA is only good for receiving. While UGA is not known in the same light as GT as an engineering school we are obviously better at math and can count cause GT built a stadium that you can only fill 1/3 of the way on Saturdays.
Techs Schedule
July 22nd, 2010
2:09 pm
Tech, You should walk through your first 6 games since you do not have to play anybody. Frankley you play 3 good schools and one of them will beat you again with or without AJ Green. We didn’t need him last year. See you in the fall, settle it on the field.
AJ, just tell them the truth and you will play a full season. Do not make the mistake Dez Bryant made.
SECRules
July 22nd, 2010
2:15 pm
The questions do not surround Green but a couple of our OL’s.
AltamahaDawg
July 22nd, 2010
2:21 pm
surely, you guys recognize “katy” as the nerd that paste that exact same post in here once a week, each time under a different feminine name.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
July 22nd, 2010
2:41 pm
Forsyth Dawg: Why would you call the ACC a second rate conference? Maybe a 4th or 5th rate would be more accurate.
LOL
July 22nd, 2010
2:46 pm
Hey Katy, better look out because I just saw Robert Hall and he said he is going to beat your ass like you were his roommate.
Undercover "dawg"
July 22nd, 2010
3:16 pm
“Bruce Mac”, that sounds like a hamburger served in the “Ansley” area of midtown if you get my drift-
dawg gone
July 22nd, 2010
3:19 pm
Rough times in Athens…players arrested, players kicked off the team, bad recruiting year, AD being arrested and forced to resign…now an NCAA investigation…what is going on in Athens???
UGA = Clemson = Perennial Underachievers
July 22nd, 2010
3:20 pm
LOL, did Courtney ever get her red panties back?
ChadDawg
July 22nd, 2010
3:20 pm
F*** GT and you 2 A.J ain’t going no where they ain’t even going 2 have Pro fooball in 2011 dumb ass tech grads
Tech Tony
July 22nd, 2010
3:21 pm
As evidenced by the handle, I don’t care about UGA one way or the other. However, I feel a great deal of pity for AJ Green because the kid is now in a no-win situation. Either he’s telling the truth but will never be believed by half the people reading this or he’s lying and will have to wear that label forever. I wouldn’t want to be in that spot.
adam
July 22nd, 2010
3:23 pm
I am going to throw my 2 cents in about this subject….first off I believe AJ to be a high caliber person. I think he has his head screwed on right. However about the agents in pimping out players, I think players have now gotten to the point where they dont see any of the money these high profile coaches and AD’s making. As much lavishousness that is displayed they want their fair share of what they aren’t getting to play and it is now making its way to the top of the chain. If you dont think this is happening you are naive and dumb, but it is. College Football is the minors of NFL.
dawg gone
July 22nd, 2010
3:25 pm
Tech Tony…I don’t think AJ really cares…before we slit our wrists over feeling sorry for AJ, let’s remember that he will be making millions sooner rather than later…I would change seats with him in a heartbeat.
whatever
July 22nd, 2010
3:26 pm
i don’t understand why you UGA fans get mad when tech fans come on your blog. UGA fans do it all the time, and you know it’s true.
boot
July 22nd, 2010
3:34 pm
macon telegraph and athens banner herald.
Tech Tony
July 22nd, 2010
3:38 pm
dawg gone—I appreciate your point of view but here’s what you seem to be missing: none of us should ever be required to prove our innocence. Green says he has evidence to prove he was not in Miami, and for his sake I hope he’s right, but for his name (and the other players) to come out in this mess without proof of guilt is simply wrong.
(My own guess is that with all the twittering that goes on and all the cell phone cams out there, if he WAS there, we’ll all know soon enough).
Mark Seminole
July 22nd, 2010
4:05 pm
Shannon1776,
As long as you feel the same way about this agent issue as you did about FSU’s infamous Free Shoes University incident, you have some validity. I suspect that most posters here railed against FSU as an out of control university ran by a bunch of goons (namely B Bowden) that let a bunch of criminals into their university. Guess what, this is Karma coming back potentially in your school’s face.
Mike Bobo Seventeen INT
July 22nd, 2010
4:08 pm
Just another excuse when the Dogs crank out another 8-4 or 9-3 season….”we would have been better, but we were distracted by an NCAA investigation.”
There is rumor that the UGA program could receive NCAA penalties for violating the talent abuse rule….Section 12.A.22 “If any Division 1 football team has a tremendous amount of talen and fails to play for a national title within a 10 year period, and settles for a medicre SEC title every once in awhile, then this team is subject to penalties by the NCAA.”
Mike Bobo Seventeen INT
July 22nd, 2010
4:10 pm
ChadDawg
Nice response….classy….way to represent UGA.
Mr. Geogia Football Returns
July 22nd, 2010
4:11 pm
SEC Coaches look forward to a NCAA inquiry the same way the would look forward to a coleoscopy.
Mike Bobo Seventeen INT
July 22nd, 2010
4:12 pm
DawginLex
Put your money where your mouth is…I will take UF even and I want the push.
Mr. Geogia Football Returns
July 22nd, 2010
4:13 pm
Mike Bobo Seventeen INT =
Your good dude! Keep’em coming.
tdog
July 22nd, 2010
4:15 pm
Instead of red shirts we have red panties, we have players the coaches cannot keep control of, and now finally getting investigated for it. What did we expect, a national championship? No one will let this mess die. It will go on and on.
Mr. Geogia Football Returns
July 22nd, 2010
4:37 pm
Correct me if I am wrong but………………….
Aren’t you suppose to win the National Championship and then get investigated? What happens if you go 7-5 in the regular season like Georgia and get a NCAA inquiry?
Richt’s Turn at the Podium | Dawn of the Dawg | A Georgia Bulldogs blog
July 22nd, 2010
4:38 pm
[...] Georgia beat writer Tim Tucker has a piece up on the Day 2 of the SEC Media Days, specifically Mark Richt’s time at the podium. As expected, [...]
Lashauntavious
July 22nd, 2010
4:51 pm
You need to be more “pacific”.
Mike Bobo Seventeen INT
July 22nd, 2010
5:19 pm
Mr. Geogia Football Returns
Thanks…I think we have something in common….here are some No Show Moreno Highlights, just another overrated UGA/NFL pick…by the way, have the Lions made the playoffs yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO5iGBEaGHQ&feature=related
Mike Bobo Seventeen INT
July 22nd, 2010
5:23 pm
Just some additional reasons UGA is not respected in college football.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I42PYAKXKm4
Number1DawgInMississippi
July 22nd, 2010
7:27 pm
According to SI.com the NCAA plans to look into sports agent violations at UGA. It’s unclear if Green is part of that investigation.
NorthGADawg
July 22nd, 2010
7:32 pm
Katy, I will be at Athens First tailgating in a few weeks, please stop on by and I will give you that big bear hug you need; when he said he’d call, he really meant to I bet. Maybe his phone died and he lost your number and now he has been trying like the devil to find you cause from what I can gather, you probably made a great impression on him and he cant wait to get to know you better; sure you have that “I’ve been hurt before” rough exterior but he saw you for who you are and knows, deep down, you just want to be held and gazed at longingly…sure you’ve been burnt before by those flashy guys in the AV dept., but this guy was different, he didn’t care you got drunk and let those things happen with the D-Line. I for one am rooting for you Katy, Godspeed.
Also I get it now, “thUGA” cause our school’s name is UGA and if you put it with “th” it spells a version of a word that could be substituted for a word that implies criminals are only enrolled at the school…classic. So if they made artificial sweetener in Athens could we call it “sUGA sUGA” ? Wilson Pickett would.
Shreveport Shorty
July 22nd, 2010
8:49 pm
UGA fans—we’re keeping the PBR cold for your return trip to our city in December. Remember–that motel 6 books fast by the freeway, so go ahead and make your reservations!
medwa
July 23rd, 2010
12:25 am
The more I read about AJ, the more I am impressed with his poise and his attitude. He seems to be a humble man who keeps his composure when it is most important, and I think he is a great face for this UGA football team.
dawg gone
July 23rd, 2010
12:26 am
Tech Tony…I’m not missing your point. I am just saying that he was either there or not. In the tech savy world that we live in now, it’s not hard to prove where someone is or has been….or not. If he was there, then he’ll get what is coming to him…if he wasn’t, he’s fine. Trust me though…AJ isn’t sitting around thinking about due process.
bobbydoddsghost
July 23rd, 2010
3:32 pm
Would Would Damon Do?
8 out of 9
July 23rd, 2010
8:34 pm
Can one of you Tech fans send me a link to the AP Preseason rankings? I can’t find them anywhere. Are you sure you aren’t making them up?
NCAA investigating Georgia for potential sports agent violations – SI.com | The Fresno News
August 8th, 2010
6:02 am
[...] Media Days: Change only half the story at GeorgiaNOLA.comESPN (blog) -FOXSports.com -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 87 news [...]
Totaluga.com
August 12th, 2010
5:34 pm
Summing up, Green NCAA update, etc….
Found your post interesting. I’ve added a Trackback to it
…