Richt calls this recruiting class ‘best bunch’ in his 11 years at UGA (Updated)
Mark Richt and his assistant coaches just wrapped up a visit with the 200 or so fans celebrating Signing Day at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. Some highlights of what the coaches had to say:
- Richt: “We all know our [2010] season wasn’t the best, and there have been a lot of things we have had to battle — maybe a little bit more than other years when it comes to recruiting. But I really believe that this class will end up being the largest and most talented and the best bunch in the 11 years now.”
- As for what’s still to come on this Signing Day, Richt said: “We hope we finish as strong as we think we will. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
- After a fan thanked Richt for his work at Georgia, Richt said: “The best is yet to come, I can promise you.”
- Secondary coach Scott Lakatos called Nick Marshall, from Wilcox County, “one of the most amazing athletes we have in this class. . . . I usually don’t get a chance to coach those kind of guys because they’re usually over on offense. . . . He’s very athletic; he’s physical; he’s got good size to him. We’re looking forward to trying to start him off at corner, and I’m sure we’ll have some things to utilize him on the other side of the ball as well.” To which Richt added: “And if you’re going to run a little ‘wild dog’ formation, he’d be ideal for that with his tremendous experience as a quarterback.”
- Richt on signee Malcolm Mitchell, from Valdosta: “He’s a true playmaker on either side of the ball, and he’s a tremendous return man, too.”
- Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham on signee DE/OLB Ray Drew, the state’s No. 2 rated prospect: “Tremendous athlete. He’s got size; he’s got length; he’s got pass-rush skills in the sense he’s got initial quickness off the ball. He’s got flexibility to be able to bend around the edge. Shows strength as far as being able to jack those guys up when they come at him. I think he’s going to be able to rush on the edge. . . . We’ll play him at the ‘Will’ position, which is where Justin Houston played last year, and we’re expecting big things out of him as a Dog.”
- Speaking of Drew, who enthusiastically tried to sway other recruits to Georgia, Richt added: “I’d say also his greatest strength might be his character — and his ability to recruit. He asked me, ‘Coach, once I’m on campus, can I keep recruiting for the next year’s class?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He’s something special.”
- Grantham: “I think if you look at this class, the vision that I had when I came here is coming true. I mean, if we get the players in the state of Georgia to stay at Georgia, we compete for SEC championships. “
- Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo on quarterback signee Christian LeMay, who already is enrolled at UGA: “Christian, we think, is an outstanding young man that is a phenomenal quarterback. Some guys want to label him as an ‘athlete,’ but we think he’s a quarterback that has got athletic skills in the pocket and will be able to move around and make some plays with his legs, very similar to … Aaron Murray.” Bobo said LeMay has gained 10 pounds since reporting to campus and “I’ve been very pleased with his work ethic in the weight room. He has impressed not only our coaches down there but our players. That’s what you’re looking for in a quarterback — someone who’ll not only lead on the field but in the weight room and the locker room. . . . When players on the team talk about, ‘Hey, Coach, this Christian LeMay, he’s something,’ that gets you excited. I’m excited about working with him in the spring.”
- Richt said coaches are already at work on the “2012 Georgia dream team.”
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218 comments Add your comment
Born2Bark
February 2nd, 2011
2:24 pm
Great class that keyed on all our problem areas! Big John Jenkins is the only missing piece right now, but even if we don’t land him which I think we will, it’s an awesome class!
Kudos to CMR and the other coaches for all the hard work! Now do your best to make sure they come ready to bust their butts, make their grades, and stay out of trouble.
It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog!
Gatormeat
February 2nd, 2011
2:29 pm
The dog recruits are always the best in Feb, but in Oct when it counts the Gators have the best players. This year is no different, you dogs will be leaving Jacksonville crying and making excuses. Again
T-Town Dawg
February 2nd, 2011
2:40 pm
Is there anybody else out there that we can get besides Jenkins? What happened with Turene?
gomdawg
February 2nd, 2011
2:43 pm
TURENE DAWG GOT HIM
Coon-Dawg
February 2nd, 2011
2:46 pm
Great job coaches ! … Under the gun and you came through ! Now prove you can coach um up and go win a National Title ! … Go Dawgs !!!
Dawg_Mike
February 2nd, 2011
2:58 pm
Dear CMR- NO REDSHIRTS -WIN NOW !!!
johndawg
February 2nd, 2011
2:59 pm
Is today eerily similar to this: Jim Donnan saying “I’ve waited my whole life to coach a team like this…” ?
Or am I just pessimistic because of our recent history?
#1DawginMississippi
February 2nd, 2011
3:19 pm
To: WarEagle
February 2nd, 2011
12:32 pm
I love to hear all you Auburn fans run your mouth now that you won the NC but UGA spanked your A$$ 4 years in a row and you come to Athens this year without your paid QB and Nick Unfairley so we will prove it on the field!!!!! GATA Go Dawgs Woof Woof Woof !!!
WIN WITH RICHT
February 2nd, 2011
3:30 pm
All of those players who signed with Awbarn are going to be severely disappointed when the probation hammer drops.
Destin Dawg
February 2nd, 2011
3:52 pm
Bear Bryant said ” you can’t have chicken soup, if you don’t have the chickens “” well we got the chickens NOW… improved S & C program off season… Grantham & Co. 2nd year with 3/4… Junkyard Dawgs !! more aggressive play calling.. Trickeration.. win the 1st 2 and it will be a special season…
Destin Dawg
February 2nd, 2011
3:53 pm
Dawg Mike… No more redshirts… play’em ALL.. play”em early !!!!
UCF
February 2nd, 2011
4:10 pm
Destin Dawg,
Seems like you guys say that same crap every year. Grantham- your 4th or 5th choice to be def coordinator was an utter failure in the pros and his defense was shredded last year. And oh, he also embarrassed your whole program with the choke signal to the other team- classless? You bet!
You guys will suck like you always do. Your recruiting class wasn’t even top 5. AU was tops overall, the Bammers 2nd or 3rd depending on who you talk to, and even LSU probably had a better class than UGA. Give it a rest loser!
WIN WITH RICHT
February 2nd, 2011
4:17 pm
Todd Grantham is the new Erk Russell. He will have our defense among nation”s elite.
Truly study the game of football, the trends, and what's going on
February 2nd, 2011
4:19 pm
Todd Grantham is no Erk Russell,
and never will be.
mortimer22
February 2nd, 2011
4:30 pm
Georgia’s recruiting looks impressive==even awesome. I wonder. have they reloaded for a return to glory or for another round of the same old stuff?
Fire Mark Richt!
February 2nd, 2011
4:43 pm
I’ve heard this before…CMR, you do a great job of keeping your job by doing everything other than coach the players up to their potential….Great Recruits on paper, but a great coach is able to coach an athlete up to his/her potential…not rely on what a rating is of a prospect coming out of high school!
Signing day heroes and championship ZEROS
February 2nd, 2011
4:53 pm
uga
YANKEEGATOR
February 2nd, 2011
4:54 pm
Don’t mean nothing Dawgs still can’t beat my Gators!! Oh did any of the so called dream team from the Peach state lead their team to a state title?
nash
February 2nd, 2011
4:58 pm
A few new guys come in and a lot of old guys leave. Maybe some of Mark Richt older recruits wanted to leave before a new coach came in. Ga did not get any extra suprise guy’s to explain why the extra scholies where main availible.
run the ball
February 2nd, 2011
5:00 pm
Aaron Murry led his team to a state title. It was in Florida, but it still counts.
run the ball
February 2nd, 2011
5:02 pm
Murray, sorry.
Loyal Dawg
February 2nd, 2011
5:05 pm
Job well done CMR and staff! I can see why CMR is excited about these recruits. Get J. Jenkins and that would be like whip cream on top of the icing on the cake. It’s good to see most of the state’s top talent staying home.
Danny
February 2nd, 2011
5:10 pm
Coach Grantham buckled down and got his guys, I’m assuming Jenkins will join the dream team on Saturday.
Coach G now has amazing LB’s, world class DE’s in Drew, Sterling, Tyson, and with Jenkins, maybe the best NT in the country.
Awesome recruiting job by Coach G, UGA needed him to step up in year 2 with the 3-4, and now, finally, he’s got the body types he needs to run this thing full throttle.
Gonna be a fun ride UGA fans, nobody running for 100 yards on this defense.
Loyal Dawg
February 2nd, 2011
5:18 pm
Solid job as usual for Saban and Bama. Wow and an unexpected strong close by Clemson. Who saw that coming?
#1DawginMississippi
February 2nd, 2011
5:20 pm
To: Fire Mark Richt!
February 2nd, 2011
4:43 pm
Why don’t you find another team to cheer for because we don’t need any more fair weather fans! We ONLY need fans that support UGA in all aspects. Why don’t you pull for whoever the NC is every year? Thanks CMR for a job well done!
georgia puppy from wrightsville
February 2nd, 2011
5:23 pm
nick marshall is a beast. he shut down zach walker, one of class a’s best players (behind nick of course) in the playoff game against wilcox and johnson co. expect our secondary 2 be better next year, along with our defense in the improving 4-3.
however, southern must be a watch in the fcs, with this walker kid and jaybo graduating, they could open up the passing game even more. i would not be surprised if southern ends up in frisco or chattanooga, where ever they play that championship game at now, with that new coach down in the boro.
i think it is goin 2 be a very positive year for the dogs, and i see us playing in new orleans in one game or another. sUGAr would be nice, but nc would be even better.
p.s: did yall see that 48 year old beast last weekend? herschel made us hometown folks proud, and he could easily have a 1000 yard season in the nfl if he came back. now its time 4 brad jefferson 2 make a wrightsville statement in the nfl. and hopefully 4 years from now, walker and dj rozier, who signed with gmc, and is probably goin 2 southern with zach in 2 years, can join the pride of “the hoop.” aka wrightsville, georgia.
7576DAWG
February 2nd, 2011
5:43 pm
I can’t wait to see how Southern Cal is going to handle their situation over the next 3 years, including this years recruits.If they do not win an appeal then they can sign 45 new recruits starting with 2011 through 2013. They signed 30 today and that leaves 15 that they can sign in 2012 and 2013.
DAWGMAN
February 2nd, 2011
5:46 pm
Dream Team, scheme team, gets old quick. These boys get worse under Coach. Be honest with yourselves girliefans, we need a new head coach. Tomorrow morning, please
Slim
February 2nd, 2011
6:04 pm
Doesn’t matter how this class ends up….UGA and Richt can’t get it done. Eleven years and he’s now saying that this is his “best bunch”…right.
Bama fan
February 2nd, 2011
6:17 pm
7576dawg,
Agreed. Southern Cal lost 30 schollies over 3 years to NCAA probation which means that this year they can only take 15. Yet they signed 30 today? That’s nothing short of bizarre.
Its okay to sign a couple over as Saban has done at Bama to account for academic casualties, transfers, medical redshirts, etc. Saban signed I think 2 over the limit last year, 4 over the limit the year before and yet we always seem to end up usually right at our number of 85 on scholly or 1 scholly under the official limit.
But 15 over the limit by Kiffin? I don’t see how on earth Kiffin can take 30 signatures when, even after allowing for a few academic casualties, he will only be allowed to take 15. That’s just plain crazy.
Bitter vince dooly in south beach
February 2nd, 2011
6:26 pm
let them go 45 over the limit, if by now there are kids that cant figure out bull sh—that comes from the kiffin’s ,then sign-um-up fools
————-signed tennersa fan’s fat as— sistar–kiss-kiss
Rad Penties
February 2nd, 2011
6:47 pm
Do the signees get their red panties when they sign or after they enroll?
Dennis
February 2nd, 2011
7:11 pm
Donnan’s last year was coaching the “most latented team I have ever coached” this will be the best year for CMR, looks like the kiss of death and a vote of confidence.
Browndog
February 2nd, 2011
7:24 pm
Good job by the UGA coaches!
Jborodawg
February 2nd, 2011
7:45 pm
Great class and great job by all the coaches and staff!
But, am I missing something? Only one D lineman and no fullback?
Jborodawg
February 2nd, 2011
7:49 pm
To clarify, I mean beef on the line; besides the DEs…?
cmorris
February 2nd, 2011
7:57 pm
Get it CMR! So excited…Go DAWGS!!!!
Ramguy
February 2nd, 2011
7:59 pm
@Truly study the game of football, the trends, and what’s going on
Todd Grantham is no Erk Russell, and never will be
Erk was a great coach and deserves his due but with all due respect he never had to face the offenses like they have today. Both Russell and Dooley would have to adjust to the modern game (Dooley proved he couldn’t) or they would be the at the top of the AJC Blogs hit list. That’s just the cold hard truth.
Liberty Bowl Revenge
February 2nd, 2011
8:04 pm
I look forward to this influx of new talent leading the Dawgs to seek redemption by going back to Memphis and beating Conference USA’s finest!!!!!
Ramguy
February 2nd, 2011
8:05 pm
Don’t ya just love the way some people take swipes at these guy who are 18 or 19 years of age? Nothing like internet tough guys popping off at people who you couldn’t give a months salary to say the same things to their faces.
MikeP
February 2nd, 2011
8:17 pm
So Richt gets his “Dream Team” and it’s still third in the SEC behind Auburn and bammer. Some dream!
Bazooka Joe
February 2nd, 2011
8:21 pm
Bama Fan – the way I understand it (based on press so I guess we take it with a grain of salt…) is that because USC appealed the punishment everything is on hold until the NCAA renders their final decision. So basically they put it off for a year by appealing.
FL Dream Catcher
February 2nd, 2011
8:25 pm
Guess the “Dream Team” ploy is working… The Dog fans are in the Richt transe again. Wonder how long before they wake up from the dream this year. We gators will come up with a new marketing ploy for Richt next year again so you all can keep him around forever. I have heard Richt’s “This is the best class Ever”"This is the best Line we have ever had” speech before. Keep on Dreaming Dogs as I guess that’s all you have these days….. This makes what the 10th Year of top ten recruiting and ??????????????????????
harold
February 2nd, 2011
8:25 pm
AND YET GEORGIA TRAILED ALABAMA AND AUBURN BOTH! TENNESSEE DID WELL AT #1O ON SCOUT AND #12 AT RIVALS! DOOLEY AND RICHT CAN’T COACH LIKE SABAN AND CHIZIK.RICHT HASN’T EVEN BEEN TO THE TITLE GAME IN SIX YEARS!
run the ball
February 2nd, 2011
8:31 pm
Last
BillGoldberg-DGD
February 2nd, 2011
8:43 pm
So i guess ucf people are coming on here now and bashing us. Cant help but laugh . Poor little ucf gotta make them self’s feel better i guess. it was a fluck get over it
Mr. Tony Geinzer
February 2nd, 2011
8:47 pm
I feel that Hype won’t help these Dawgs as I feel there needs to be leadership.
Fool me once.
February 2nd, 2011
8:54 pm
These exact type comments were made by Mike Dubose at Alabama the year he was fired.
Check it out, will we see the same thing with the dawgs?
Dream Team
February 2nd, 2011
8:58 pm
Fear is in the air if you look at the reaction to UGA’s Dream Team. Dog opponents are coming out of the woodwork looking for support from others jealous of the Dogs. Lots of insecure fans out there. Some legitimate posts about UGA, but hysteria is the overriding theme.
Hunker down, SEC, the Dogs are coming for YOU!
TampaGator
February 2nd, 2011
9:12 pm
Richt has always been able to recruit top talent….but he still has to coach ‘em up….let’s see if he can…..story to be continued in the fall. Good luck with that!