Richt tells callers he’s staying and wants ‘Dream Team’ recruits to join him
Mark Richt was outspoken on two topics on his radio call-in show Monday night –- his intention to remain at Georgia and his aspirations for this recruiting season.
- On the recruiting front, Richt reiterated his vision of signing an in-state “Dream Team” that, he said, could make an impact as soon as Georgia’s Sept. 3 season opener against Boise State in Atlanta’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
“We’re trying to recruit guys right now that can make an impact so when we play in that Georgia Dome next year and open against Boise State, we can introduce those kids to the college football world and make a difference at the University of Georgia,” Richt said.
“When you talk about in-state kids, that’s why I’ve been talking about this Georgia ‘Dream Team’, this team of guys that I think are the best players in the state of Georgia. And I believe if they will stay in the state and come together, we can prove to the United States of America that we have the best football in the country [in] the state of Georgia. We need those Georgia kids to stay at home and do that thing for the Bulldogs, and I think everybody is going to get excited about that.”
- In light of recent reports that Colorado and Miami might pursue Richt for their open coaching jobs, one caller implored Richt to “hang in with us, don’t leave us now.”
Richt replied: “I’m definitely going to do more than hang with Georgia. Georgia is going to thrive, and Georgia is going to have a tremendous future ahead of us. And I’m excited to be here.”
Another caller had two questions: Will junior linebacker Justin Houston enter the 2011 NFL draft? And will Richt stay or “jump ship” to his alma mater, Miami?
Richt said he doesn’t know what Houston will do but suggested he could be a top-five or top-10 NFL pick in 2012 if he plays another season of college ball. Houston faces a tough decision, Richt acknowledged.
As for the caller’s second question: “For me, I don’t have a tough decision,” Richt said. “Georgia is the greatest place in the United States of America for me and my family.”
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443 comments Add your comment
DDPO
November 30th, 2010
11:15 am
funny…:
I think the point is that Grantham’s defense wasn’t that impressive. They gave up more points and yards against that offense than Kansas or Duke.
But that’s ok, he was thier first and only choice for DC.
Dawgs73
November 30th, 2010
11:15 am
It’s great that Mark is openly campaigning for a “Dream Team” of in-state recruits to come to UGA. The problem I see with this, is that Richt sounds a little desperate with this statement. It puts him in a very tenuous position of having to come up with some magic on the recruiting trail this year.
The biggest concern/question I have is this…What would be more surprising, Richt winning 10 games or having a similar season to this one? What is it really going to take for Mark to keep his job?
If I am being objective, I would say that UGA is realistically looking at a 2 game increase at best and could possibly finish at the same 6-6 (without AJ and Houston). It’s terribly difficult to go from 6-6 to undefeated in one year (though possible, just not likely). My biggest concern is with the overall state of the program and the direction of the university. From what I have recently seen (factually), Mark maybe in over his head…hope I’m wrong.
funny...
November 30th, 2010
11:15 am
Buckeye really has no clue what he’s talking about. Like a Florida fan just brings up stats and selective information to augment a weak statement. I’d say another person who’s upset with losing to Florida, except I doubt tOSU has a winning record against Florida like UGA.
funny...
November 30th, 2010
11:17 am
Hold on, so now Tech is counting victories in yardage gained?
I’ll end this argument right now.
42-34.
What say you?
funny...
November 30th, 2010
11:17 am
Nothing.
BiGame
November 30th, 2010
11:18 am
RECRUITS – UGA ALREADY HAS TOO MANY 4-STAR AND 5-STAR PLAYERS THAT IT CAN’T COACH. WHY JOIN THEM?
UNTIL UGA LEARNS HOW TO PLAY IN A REAL GAME, IT CAN STICK TO BEING A DREAM TEAM ON PAPER.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
November 30th, 2010
11:19 am
Dream team? There is no dream team, CMR is saying this to construct a distraction to his future committment ot Miami. If Miami calls, he is going.
WDE
November 30th, 2010
11:19 am
funny…, you are just so awesome.
Go Dawgs!
November 30th, 2010
11:19 am
Buckeye I HOPE the Buckeyes get their at-large bid to play in the Sugar against an SEC opponent so we can all watch THE ohio st go 0-10 against the SEC. You talk a good game but Ohio st would be Kentucky in the SEC. You guys play in a soft conference. And spare me the we have 3 1 loss teams in the top 10 garbage. The losses all came to each other. We’ll find out during the bowl season who’s for real.
Things have changed greatly
November 30th, 2010
11:19 am
THe SEC right now is far different than they were in September. At that time UGA was sliding badly. We were alone. Alabama, Ole Miss and Florida and UT are basically all damaged amidship. Dead in the water, as they say.
Alabama was hot hot hot and now Nick the Hat Trick Sabin is rumored to be going to Dalllas or Michigan or elsewhere. He has wanderlust and we all know that ………………even very loyal Bama folks. His run is over faster than shi– through a goose. Boom………………3 losses.
SC is short lived. They were a fluke and SC grads know it SS will be gone. Florida is shaky, shaky due to CUM going or staying or whatever he decides.
UT needs another year to be really good. LSU is always a day late. Arkansas will flounder without Mallett and those wide outs. MSU is MSU.
UGA is the TEAM of the Future. Aaron Murray and Co will be augmented by a more experienced D next next year AND some wide body Big Boys from JUCO on the D line. If we add two big time running backs, then we will be fine. Our red shirt frosh O linemen and back ups will be better.
My point is this: UGA is as good a place to play as any of the schools listed here. Um, ah, I left out AU for a reason ………………… the FBI can better explain their future. Also, the SEC office and the NCAA will “splain” it ……………as they say.
Go Dogs.
I-DOG
November 30th, 2010
11:19 am
I’m all for hoping for the best and trying to be positive. I hope that Richt does the very unusual and actually succeeds when given one more year when most coaches fail in that situation.
I can be a strong bulldog supporter and still think there are legitimate reasons to be concerned. we lost 4 games two years ago, we lost 5 games last year, this year we lost 6. Does anyone see a positive trend in those numbers? We won’t lose 7 or 8 games because it is impossible to lose more than 7 games since we will play a few inferior teams and we have talent and resources to just out athlete at least 4 or 5 teams on our schedule. 6 is pretty much as bad as it can get even if we pulled a youth soccer coach off the street and made him head coach next year. He would win 4 or 5 games.
I’d love to see Drew and Crowell in Athens, but how much of an impact can they really have next year as freshman? That is assuming that 1.) they sign 2.) they are actually as good as advertised 3.) They don’t get in trouble and get kicked off or suspended a la Robinson and Mettinger etc… 4.) They are ready to play right away, not easy for a DE especially if he is switching to a OLB role in the 3-4 and 5.) They don’t get injured. Other than that, I agre it is a slam dunk we will 11 games next year because of these two players.
Are any of the new recruits going to be as good as AJ Green? Richt was unable to win half the SEC games with Green on the roster the last three years if you exclude lowly Vandy. Is Crowell 10 times better than AJ? I have my finger crossed.
It is hard to imagine that we are going to get players who are that much better than AJ, Stafford, and Moreno. So… what is changing in Athen that is going to reverse the trend of 4 losses, 5 losses, and 6 losses the last three seasons? Will we commit to running? Will we have 13 arrests? Will the defense get off the field on 3rd and long occasionally? Will we change the strength and conditioning? Will we be able to field punts and kickoffs properly (take a knee if it is kicked in the end zone, hold onto the ball, be ready for onsides kicks?), will we teach ball security to the running backs?
I have not heard Coach Richt address any of that. It is like that line from the movie “A Few Good Men”. In my best Jack Nicholson voice “Please tell me Coach Richt that you aren’t pinning the hopes and dreams of bulldog nation on a couple of high school recruits”. “Please tell me you have an actual plan to change the way UGA football operates.”
funny...
November 30th, 2010
11:20 am
Did you pay Cam’s dad for that post?
Mike Bobo 17 INT
November 30th, 2010
11:22 am
Look idiots, CMR is going to Miami for several reasons:
1. Miami is a superior program
2. Miami has 5 national titles since the 1980’s
3. Miami has more talent in their backyard than all the state of Georgia
4. Athens is a broken program deeper than CMR
5. Miami has expections of titles, not just a conference title now and then
6. Miami is his home and has much better weather this time of year than Athens
WDE
November 30th, 2010
11:23 am
No, Herschel dropped off the post in his brand new car.
> MEDIOCRE
November 30th, 2010
11:23 am
Let’s see here…6-6 this year with no staff changes. AJ & Houston gone (stupid not to enter draft), our ‘experienced’ OL leaving, being REALISTIC I don’t see much improvement, plus Richt takes the little boys swimming & cancels two-a-days again? You GA. fans need to start being REALISTIC & admit the program is still going downhill..look at previous records & arrest rates to be reminded. Reality sucks doesn’t it? Also the record for 30+ points in games were against terrible defenses..that’s what I thought. Feel sorry for Aaron Murray next year, he’s the only one that knows whats going on out there.
Ryno
November 30th, 2010
11:24 am
Let it die, St. Mark. Your dream is dead. You couldn’t do it with Stafford and Noshow and you couldn’t do it with all that experience on the team this year. You simply cannot do it. You have the same record as Tennessee and they’re starting a bazillion true freshmen. You’re worse than Floriduh and they’re hideous this year.
Get on your coaching level and join your boy at Mars Hill.
Mudcatjoe
November 30th, 2010
11:24 am
More wishful thinking from Dawg fans. Like Mr. Spurrier always said, ” They recruit all these top players but when we play them, we always seem to have the best team!” Something must happen to them when they get to Athens. Hahahahaha!!
Mike Bobo 17 INT
November 30th, 2010
11:25 am
Dawginlex said it best the other day….the dumbest team won which was Georgia. All UGA had to do was take a knee, but instead they blew by GT for a touchdown, this was very poor coaching and they played right into PJ’s hand.
Winston Wolfe
November 30th, 2010
11:26 am
Mr Red…..if you hate Atlanta and the state of Ga so much, I’m sure noone would mind if you packed your stuff and headed on back from whence you came. Are you on house arrest down here? Someone got you tied to a tree? I’ll throw in some money to help buy you a one way ticket to your own little paradise…..just name it.
Mr. Red
November 30th, 2010
11:27 am
Mudcatjoe hits the nail on the head! Great post!
SECWasteManagement
November 30th, 2010
11:27 am
It annoys me to no end when anyone that goes to a NON IVY, public university gets so up in arms when anyone hints that their school might not make them into automatic rich geniuses upon receiving their undergraduate degree (which for the most part are worth garbage nowadays). You all stink…reeking of insecurity and it would make me laugh if I wasn’t busy feeling sorry for you.
JOHN PEAVY
November 30th, 2010
11:28 am
good news for us thanks coach. you negative fans have no idea what a coaching change would do right now. we are so close a few plays here and there and aj not selling a jersey we chave a great year. so you negative fans go climb under your rocks or go join paul johnson and the nerd capital of the world…………………9-1 go dawgs ………
funny...
November 30th, 2010
11:29 am
Nice, we’ve gone from a relevant, topical discussion into Herschel Walker. BOOORRRRINGGGG.
Typical, war damn eagle indeed.
Throw something in there about Fran Tarkenton or Frank Sinkwich.
Better yet, go get your friends in the office, bring them over to your cubicle, show them how great you are that you posted about a guy who played 30 years ago. Do it! Come on, be an internet star!
Hey look, I posted about Herschel’s new car….
WDE
November 30th, 2010
11:29 am
HAHAHA. Why don’t you pack up and LEAVE. Haha It’s so awesome seeing Athens descend into such desperation.
Buckeye
November 30th, 2010
11:29 am
Go Dawgs,
Look forward to the opportunity. Was hoping for a Cam vs. Pryor match up.
Are you heading to Birmingham or Memphis this year?
BUCKEYE
Mr. Red
November 30th, 2010
11:30 am
Born and raised here you buffoon! Lived here all my life, 49 freaking years, so I know a little something about how dumb most carpet baggers like you are! Atlanta – the town of carpet baggers! Georgia a yankees dream. Yep, I hate what the state of Georgia has turned in to, once one of the greatest places to live, now just another tard in the punch bowl!
funny...
November 30th, 2010
11:30 am
Mike Bobo 17 INT just proved he knows nothing about college football. Move along.
> MEDIOCRE
November 30th, 2010
11:31 am
RIGHT ON MUDCAT!! While watching the games this year I always say to myself “Wasn’t he a 5star player?”
funny...
November 30th, 2010
11:31 am
Its working.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
November 30th, 2010
11:31 am
UGA can recruit, but they cannot play them.
funny...
November 30th, 2010
11:33 am
desperation in Athens is 4 out of 5 against Auburn, LOL
SoCal Dawg
November 30th, 2010
11:34 am
Mike Bobo 17 INT
November 30th, 2010
11:22 am
Look idiots, CMR is going to Miami for several reasons:
Anyone who at this point thinks CMR is headed to the u is an idiot.
GStateBen
November 30th, 2010
11:35 am
Yes, come to Georgia best recruits of the state. Receive lack luster coaching, play in a great conference that you will not win and be tempted to make dumb decisions as their is no leadership in the football program.
You have a 1/9 chance of being arrested while in Athens and we hope you put the work in to get tougher because our strength and conditioning will not do motivate you to do it in the time you are here.
What a joke. A 6-6 team trying to assemble a “Dream Team.” You have a 1st round caliber WR (Green), LB (Houston), QB (Murray) and TE (Charles). An experienced O Line and two highly regarded RBs. You have enough talent, it’s not being utilized or coached correctly.
Good is the enemy of great and the Georgia football program will peak at good.
Time for a Change!!
November 30th, 2010
11:35 am
So, it only took him 10 years to figure that out? Wow great job their coach!! Jim Donnan had it figured out too bad he was a crappy coach! Your best years at UGA were with kids that he recruited. Maybe you should hire Jim Donnan as your Director of Recruiting and send Garner packing! The only place that guy recruits is in Atlanta and as we’ve all seen they may be fast, but they are not that smart and thugs!!
Mr. Red
November 30th, 2010
11:36 am
Yeah he won’t leave Athens because no one demands excellence from him or his program. If he goes anywhere else he might have to actually win something that matters, like a NC!
MURPHY
November 30th, 2010
11:37 am
WDE,
Desperation is going 1-9 !
WDE
November 30th, 2010
11:37 am
“Cam Newton was more of a TE prospect. He didn’t really fit with what we were trying to do at QB.”
Win the Heisman? Break records? Run the table?
Mr. Red
November 30th, 2010
11:38 am
WDE points out the genius that is MR!
SteveW
November 30th, 2010
11:38 am
With the after Tebow hangover at UF, I wonder if Urban is still thinking about leaving?
Everybody says we need a NG for next year. I say give me 2 great WR’s and 2 great CB’s and see what happens. When you have shut down CB’s, you can crowd the line better, which we could not do this season. And great WR’s open up everything else on Offense.
I would love to see us move Aron White and Orson to WR. They’re both the same Ht. and Wt. as South Carolina’s stud, Alshon Jeffrey. We would still have 2 very good TE’s in Figgins and Lynch.
And Searles did great fixing the mess that Callaway left us on the OL. Now where did Searles go this year? I still don’t know that I’m sold on his rotation on the OL. But if Jones and Glenn come back, with Sturdivant, man, we should have an even better OL next year. This years should have been the best in the country, but wasn’t by a long shot.
Big Dawg
November 30th, 2010
11:39 am
CMR is throwing out some strong soundbites. None of that will matter though if he isn’t able to sustain this level of energy. Sounds like he knows he is coaching for his job now, and he is going to turn it on for the next year or so. Question: Has it taken him a full 10 years to figure out how top notch the high school football is in the greatest state in the country? Shouldn’t he have been lining up a ‘Georgia Dream Team’, oh I don’t know, say about 9 1/2 years ago? If they choose to let him stay for the long haul, maybe he will finally figure all this out. Just hope he can make make it quicker before another whole decade passes us by.
Mr. Red
November 30th, 2010
11:42 am
He’s saying the same thing he did when he was hired. Keep the talent in state. win the recruiting war in state. What has MR been doing the last 10 years? Most of you are probably to young to remember, this is laughable and you folks know it!
Go Dawgs!
November 30th, 2010
11:42 am
Buckeye – when’s the last time Oh St beat an SEC team in football?
Buckeye
November 30th, 2010
11:44 am
11/28 BCS Rankings…..
Northern Illinois ranked ahead of thUGA. Seriously? Talk about perspective….
Rank School Total Prev Rank
1 Auburn (12-0) .9779 2
2 Oregon (11-0) .9777 1
3 TCU (12-0) .9167 3
4 Stanford (11-1) .8413 6
5 Wisconsin (11-1) .8185 7
6 Ohio State (11-1) .7632 8
7 Arkansas (10-2) .7189 12
8 Michigan State (11-1) .6980 10
9 Oklahoma (10-2) .6780 13
10 LSU (10-2) .6067 5
11 Boise State (10-1) .5805 4
12 Missouri (10-2) .5148 14
13 Nebraska (10-2) .5071 15
14 Oklahoma State (10-2) .4630 9
15 Virginia Tech (10-2) .4396 16
16 Alabama (9-3) .4201 11
17 Nevada (11-1) .4043 19
18 Texas A&M (9-3) .3910 17
19 South Carolina (9-3) .3817 18
20 Utah (10-2) .2254 20
21 Florida State (9-3) .2125 22
22 Mississippi State (8-4) .1630 25
23 Arizona (7-4) .0713 21
24 West Virginia (8-3) .0542 NR
25 Northern Illinois (10-2) .0482 NR
SteveW
November 30th, 2010
11:46 am
And if Garcia goes Pro at South Carolina, look for them to be just a middle of the pack team next year, even with Lattimore and Jeffrey.
Can anybody say we lost to 4 of the top 22 teams in the country, including #1, with 3 of those games on the road with a Freshman QB, and 3 in the 1st 4 games of the season without our best player since Herschel? The other 2 losses were out of state against good competition coming off bye weeks. Bye weeks can’t be over emphasized. Ask the best team in the country, Alabama. Get a grip people! Wait, that’s Ealey and King who need to get a grip, and we may have won at least 1 more game last year (KY) and 1 more game this year (Colorado, and maybe SC).
Buckeye
November 30th, 2010
11:46 am
Go Dawgs,
You must have missed it. I ackowledged the 0 and 9 a while ago. You didn’t answer my question…
Birminingham or Memphis?
BUCKEYE
MURPHY
November 30th, 2010
11:47 am
Go Dawgs!,
To answer your question(post11:42) Bout the last time a TECH class had a winning record against UGA
MURPHY
November 30th, 2010
11:47 am
Steve W,
Garcia wont go pro this year.
SECWasteManagement
November 30th, 2010
11:48 am
Buckeye fans are like Steelers fans. You can go anywhere in the US and you will find one of them somewhere, band-wagoning it up. I bet you could walk into a bar in Nome Alaska and find a Bucs fan and Steelers fan tugging each other.
Go Dawgs!
November 30th, 2010
11:48 am
SteveW
November 30th, 2010
11:38 am
With the after Tebow hangover at UF, I wonder if Urban is still thinking about leaving?
Everybody says we need a NG for next year. I say give me 2 great WR’s and 2 great CB’s and see what happens
The NG is the key. The best shut down corners can’t cover all day. The WR has the advantage and if there isn’t pressure on the QB eventually someone will get open.
Remember when the Redskins had Champ Bailey and Fred Smoot but had a horrible d-line? Teams were able to throw on them all day, because QBs never felt any pressure. The game is won and lost in the trenches.
SoCal Dawg
November 30th, 2010
11:48 am
Buckeye- I’m hoping for Memphis.