Georgia football signee Chris Mayes heading to junior college
Georgia can now expect 25 football signees to enroll in camp this summer instead of 26.
Chris Mayes, a 6-foot-5, 295-pound defensive tackle from Griffin, will be heading to junior college instead. Mayes has accepted a scholarship offer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Spalding High School officials confirmed.
Mayes
“Yes, he’s going to Mississippi Gulf Coast,” said Jeff Hyland, athletic director at Spalding. “That’s what the plan is. They’re going to try to get him in summer school. He’ll play his freshman and sophomore years, he’ll graduate in December and be at Georgia that spring. That’s the plan. That’s what they try to do down there.”
Mississippi Gulf Coast is the same school that produced fellow Georgia signee John Jenkins and former Alabama star Terrance Cody. It’s actually good fortune for Mayes to be able to get into the school because it offers only a very limited number of scholarships to out-of-state players.
“They’re only allowed so many out-of-state players the way the Mississippi junior college system is set up,” Highland said. “Most have to come from a particular area of that state. They decided to take Chris and we’re happy about that.”
Mayes was considered a longshot to qualify even before he signed with the Bulldogs back in February. He was a four-star prospect, according to Rivals.com and ESPN.com, and a three-star according to Scout.com. He recorded 34 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss and two sacks as a senior on a struggling Spalding team last season.
Though he was not like to compete for playing time as a freshman at Georgia, he was one of only two defensive line signees for the Bulldogs in this class, with Jenkins being the other.
Mayes is the first member of the 2011 class to fall short of academic requirements. It is not known at this time if there will be any others. Most high school seniors are currently negotiating final exams before graduating. The Bulldogs signed 26 players to national letters-of-intent on Feb. 2.
By Chip Towers, The UGA Blog
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118 comments Add your comment
Must be an academic abortion or something
May 4th, 2011
5:50 pm
It really says something that a guy can’t get into an SEC football school, and has to go to JUCO. These are the kind of mental midgets a “school” like Uga recruits. An abomination really.
Sven Ottke
May 4th, 2011
5:58 pm
Hey Captain, considering Sammy Drummer has passed away try to stay classy and not speak poorly of the fellow. RIP Mr. Drummer. And Sorrels wanted to get out from under the thumbprint of Vince “the Teflon Prince” and actually earn a degree instead of being stashed away in Remedial Studies earning zero credits to a degree. The kid should have been saluted for actually having the desire to get a worthwhile degree and not something in Parks & Recreation or Tourism.
M Holland
May 4th, 2011
6:04 pm
Mayes was not the only other d-line recruit…Ray Drew (Thomas County) was recruited
as DE, and Sterling Bailey was also recruited as DE.
Emanuelle Chriqui
May 4th, 2011
6:09 pm
Chip::
Have you been watching me on The Borgias?
BYRDDAWG
May 4th, 2011
6:11 pm
WOW, we don’t try to throw up our academics everytime we lose like tech does!!!! Queen gaytor, Janoris Jenkins and his 3 arrests for WEED in the last 12 months….LOL LOSER
Atlanta Dawg
May 4th, 2011
6:12 pm
Some of the comments on here indicate a lack of thoughtfulness and thoroughness required for a post to be good.
@WOW – I did not go to UGA, but I feel the standards have changed significantly in 25 years. The acceptance rate has gone down as it has gotten harder to get in and the average SAT score has gone up. Also, UGA has a much stricter policy on academic attendance and accountability than other SEC universities. Though generally kept from the media, there are other colleges where athletes are not required to attend class as they are at UGA. And, leisure studies might sound like an easy major, but it requires an English course, two math courses, 3 science courses, 1 quantitative reasoning course 4 humanities courses and 3 social science courses, which doesn’t sound nearly as much of a joke as your sophomoric mockery suggests.
@Jesse Jackson “they” means the students who don’t take school seriously enough. UGA and all teams have strong and weak students of all races. If you want to read further into “they” you are looking for racism rather than looking for truth
@The General Feeling – defense, defense, defense. Defense wins championships. Since Van Gorder left our defense has suffered under Martinez’s leadership and it takes more than one year to right the ship. I feel very good about the cultural and statistical improvement on defense under Grantham and just like at Alabama, the first year is an adjustment and the second year of the 3-4 it is very effective translating to more wins.
JDawg1785
May 4th, 2011
6:14 pm
Sorry to hear this young man has had some trouble qualifying, but good luck to him at MGC. I look forward to seeing him in red and black in the near future.
T Knight
May 4th, 2011
6:22 pm
Yiiiippppeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another rocket scientist headed to UGA!
savannadawg
May 4th, 2011
6:24 pm
And one more thing. This is not about Chris Mayes. I wish him all the well, well can get. But he is no longer a bulldog untill he wears it. Lets move on. This is about a community. A long line of faithful yet urning people. People so excited about THE University of Georgia, that there expectations and exzilleration for it, runneth over. The anticipation, the commroderie of battle, the hits….. and the misses. What enthusiasm we have. What honor we bare. Lets stay in the fight, lets win, win, win, fore I hate too loose. Lets plead to the GOD’s of football let our men stay healthy to carry the fight. For we are The University of Georgia. So now….. lets go lay wast to those that would dishonor us and try to steal our land and take our women.
Chuck
May 4th, 2011
6:26 pm
Yeah right, Ty Sorrells flunked out of UGA because he was so eager to learn – LMAO.
Tech fans can spin anything dizzy.
UGASlobberknocker
May 4th, 2011
6:35 pm
You Tech fans who criticize UGA academics ..dont forget,,you guys accepted a player recently who COULDNT GET INTO AUBURN!!!!
thus proving the academic myth that is Ga Tech.
Now thats funny
WOW
May 4th, 2011
6:45 pm
We accepted a “player” who couldn’t get into auburn because he is a “player”, not because he is a student. The actual students at GT are always smarter than uga
Warren Russell
May 4th, 2011
6:55 pm
Solid info! I wonder if this’ll show up on CoachWatcher. CW is the place to go for all the latest coaching info, news, and rumors. http://www.CoachWatcher.com
footballfan-365
May 4th, 2011
7:19 pm
with a 43% graduation rate tech fans really think they have room to talk. I get it now its a big deal to get accepted but once you are on campus you either sink or swim.
footballfan-365
May 4th, 2011
7:22 pm
@ugaslobberknocker that kid was also denied at tenn st.
Saban
May 4th, 2011
7:24 pm
Can`t blame the kid.
Too many cops in Athens.
Saban
May 4th, 2011
7:26 pm
On the positive side Richt has an excuse for the 50-8 beatdown by Boise State.
Two responses
May 4th, 2011
7:49 pm
A number of posters using “We” in reference to UGA, are obviously fans of other schools.
UGA will be administering the beatdowns, Mr. Saban, not taking them, starting in 2011.
Dawg48
May 4th, 2011
8:14 pm
Look at vandy! If Georgia bama auburn lsu Florida or any major team just got the smart kids fans would be calling for their heads to be fired you can’t get it both ways! And don’t give me Stanford as a school cause they play in the weak PAC 10
Dawg48
May 4th, 2011
8:20 pm
And if a coach wins his conference title every year no matter what he does the fans want to keep him! Look at our buddy buckeye for that example
Captain
May 4th, 2011
8:22 pm
Nice try at revising facts Sven, but that is simply not factual. TS was dismissed because he could not exit remedial studies. Bill Curry sought him and was able to gain an exception from the GT Pres to allow him to enroll. TS was no high achiever in the classroom and it continues to be a mystery as to how he flunked out at Georgia then graduated from GT, amazing I would say, amazing.
I am aware Drummer is deceased, however that alters nothing about his days at GT. A few who were involved in the Kemp situation are deceased.
I find it quite amusing when you GT folks, most of whom never set foot in a classroom there, are so insistent on using the academic argument. GT athletes are no more academically proficient than those at Georgia. GT offered virtually every instate signee in our 2011 class. The average SAT scores are very similar, ours have been higher than GT’s as often as not. As for the majors you cite, I can’t speak to those being any easier than I can as to why 92% of GT players are Industrial Management majors. Must be difficult to put down yellow tape for walkways or orange cones on the highway.
Matthew
May 4th, 2011
8:26 pm
One more dummy-athlete for the dawgtards.
Captain
May 4th, 2011
8:34 pm
BTW – for your loyal and proud yTech apologists and supporters, how’s Flag ( with an “l”) Boy?
Buckwheat
May 4th, 2011
8:54 pm
Forget JC….just go to Auburn now……
Delbert D.
May 4th, 2011
9:27 pm
Pretty good deal, getting the state of Mississippi to pay for the first 2 years of college for non-qualifiers.
IL Jacket
May 4th, 2011
10:20 pm
I agree that Tech’s graduation rate for athletes is abysmal both for football and basketball players. We can and must do better, hopefully CPJ coming from the Naval Academy will do better. Based on what I have read seems like he is making it a bigger priority.
The thing that strikes me about situations like Mayes is how frustrating it must be for the coaches recruiting these athletes. They put so much time and effort into the process, literally hounding them for two years to get the commitment, putting up with their preening and inflated sense of entitlement and then the kid doesn’t take care of his end of the deal and fails to meet, quite frankly, very minimal standards. I’m sure it makes them want to pull out their hair. Also makes one wonder if this is the sort of kid you want in your program, even after two years somewhere else.
superDawg
May 4th, 2011
11:01 pm
il you nerd bast—-.UGA is on top of the situation and you do not need to concern your nerdismn self with it.He will be on the field next year or the year after to whip teks behind.NUFF SAID!
Chip Towers
May 4th, 2011
11:26 pm
Emanuelle Chriqui: I have not check out The Borgias yet, Sloan, er, I mean, Emanuelle. Is it worth a look?
icedawg
May 4th, 2011
11:45 pm
No worries. Good opportunity for the young man. Hope he gets the academics down and keep his fb skills up. Hopefully we’ll see him in a couple of years.
MS Bully
May 4th, 2011
11:57 pm
Bring yourself to Mississippi and maybe in 2-years the real Bulldogs will offer you a scholarship. Mississippi State is the team on the rise.
Team Dream
May 5th, 2011
12:06 am
@superDawg … wow! was that English?? me thinks there was an attempt at a retort there, but it is hard to tell.
@footballfan-365 … yes, once enrolled at GT you DO either sink or swim. There is no nurturing. There is no coddling. If you ask a Professor for help, or tell them you don’t quite understand something … they’ll probably tell you that you’re not smart enough to be there. That’s just the type of Academic environment that GT is. It is a tough school to get into and a tough school to graduate from. Spin it any way you want to, but that’s just the way it is.
Outside Observer
May 5th, 2011
12:46 am
Captain, here is that story you mentioned about SAT scores. The one where Georgia Tech football players have the highest of the 53 teams investigated, and the highest high school GPA. I promise I always try and stray away from the argument but you did bring it up…
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2008/12/28/acadmain_1228_3DOT.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab
I can also tell you have never stepped foot in a Georgia Tech classroom before as you decided to call GT fans out for. Most football players are management majors (earning a concentration or certificate in fields like accounting, finance, information technology, human resources, etc). None of those result in the guys putting orange cones on the highway. Nice try though. Considering the huge majority of athletes who go into business after athletics, it’s a smart major for them. And believe me, it’s far from easy.
S'paw_99
May 5th, 2011
2:26 am
I’m a GT Management major, and I have gotten a chance to meet some of the athletes. Just like at any school, you can tell that some of them are smarter than others (a lot of that has to do w/ how much effort they’re willing to put into the academics).
I believe that the academics should be very important to the athletes, & I will try to tell some of the ones I meet that as a friend, my best advice is that you need to get your degree. I understand everyone has dreams of playing on Sundays (I’m sure a lot of us on this blog did as well), but very few are able to do that. So if you get your degree, you have something to fall back on, you can make a living w/ a business degree.
If I was a college coach, my goal would be to graduate 100% of my players, I believe it’s very important.
All I will say about the recruiting is that I have never heard of a GT commit not qualifying academically and going JuCo. I also know that Tech doesn’t recruit from the JuCo ranks, personally I think they should have this yr, to try to find a big 330 lber to play Nose if we’re gonna run the 3-4
joe suggs
May 5th, 2011
6:16 am
Hey Jesse , talking about athletes ! Play the race card idiot !
footballfan-365
May 5th, 2011
6:41 am
@team dream you may not be familiar with the benefits of being a student athlete. Every school including gtech provides an academic support system that includes tutors, mentors. At tech the average student may be left to figure things out on their own but thats not the case for athletes. While tech fans love to put their athletes up on pedestal they have the same resources as anybody else and with a 43% grad rate tech athletes simply do not take advantage of the help that they have.
Big Dawg
May 5th, 2011
6:41 am
Must be an academic abortion or something
You are an idiot and a closed minded and mean spirited bigot, You need to go look in the mirror and then pray to YAHWEH the Father through Jesus the son to soften your heart and truly start caring about your fellowman. You don’t know this young man or his situation. This gives him an opportunity to improve himself through an education that hopefully will make him a better, more responsible and dependable citizen. Which is something this country and world needs a lot more of. Anyway I wish this young man all the best and I hope and pray that he first finds salvation through Jesus, that he gets a good education and that he becomes succesful in life.
Go Dawgs
Paddy
May 5th, 2011
6:46 am
Larry…..I agree with you. But you are never going to get a college coach to take a good smart football player that runs a tad slower and is a little smaller. He will not risk his 1mil $ deal. This only happens in the movies and at Vanderbilt. Sorry
FanSince59
May 5th, 2011
8:11 am
Mayes probably won’t be all that Richt loses before the 2011 season is over.
Mershon Dawg
May 5th, 2011
8:55 am
I totally agree with the comment rendered by Rome Dawg. Your Education should come first!!!!!
Buzz Me
May 5th, 2011
9:12 am
guess he couldn’t meet the rigorous academic standards at uga!
1eyedJack
May 5th, 2011
9:14 am
This will continue to be a problem until a certain segment of society starts placing a premium on education and stops making excuses. The last two to three generations have been basically fatherless. If you don’t believe me ask Bill Cosby.
MikeP
May 5th, 2011
9:15 am
Quoting Chip: “Georgia can now expect 25 football signees to enroll in camp this summer instead of 26.”
That’s handy, since the NCAA limit is 25 enrollees per year. How were they going to enroll 26 anyway?
Jborodawg
May 5th, 2011
9:21 am
“savvanadawg” … what rock have you been under for the last 50 years? I started to say “every” school goes after marginally academically eligible players; but I don’t have the actual, written stats. So, it’s “many” or “most”. It’s also a fact that most years UGA takes someone who excels in the classroom but rarely plays a down of football. EG, ever heard of Josh Sailors? He’s been on the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year he’s been a Dawg. Ever seen him play Between The Hedges?
Just because one doesn’t have the grades doesn’t mean that person lolly-gagged. He might have worked very hard on academics but just could make the grades or “progress” required. There’s also plenty of examples in which someone with marginal HS academics actually ends up doing well in college and even gets a degree. Guess what? Yours truly was a “C student” in HS. But at Ga State I was on the Deans List every quarter and graduated in four years while working full-time jobs most of those four years.
Perhaps Chris Mayes is of high character and a great athlete; someone you’d want to give a chance. Good luck to him!
Ole Swole
May 5th, 2011
9:25 am
No one from Griffin ever qualifies.
Druid City
May 5th, 2011
9:26 am
After reading the article above, anyone who says Georgia does not oversign is feeding you B.S.
Bulldog Winner
May 5th, 2011
9:28 am
Once they sign with us, we should be able to squeek them in somehow. Everyone knows that these kids are in Athens for FOOTBALL, not school. I blame UGA for not making this happen somehow.
Disappointed. I really wanted to see this kid in red and black this year…
Georgia Fans Eats Idiots Sandwiches
May 5th, 2011
9:49 am
Just another dumb ase for UGA. Nothing new from Mark Richt.
bitter DA' slick rogers bigger orrannge vOOOls
May 5th, 2011
9:50 am
I should have went the way of J.C. and just maybe have gotten some play-in time!!!!–sux bee-in on the bench all the time!!!!!————-ole rocky top uu will all ways beeee
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 5th, 2011
9:51 am
Some of you still do not count correctly or things like simple addition confuse you. Of the 26 signees, two were from the prior year due to the fact that two of them were already in spring semester. What in god’s earth is it so hard to understand about that? You are so anxious to put down anything UGA that you do not even do your homework before you open yourself up to showing your lack of knowledge. 26-2=24, got it now? This translates to one lower than the maximum as dictated by NCAA rules.
As for this young man, I am only wondering one thing. How was he allowed to play high school football, if he was having trouble with his academics? Is it the fault of his parent(s), the fault of his coaches or just a fault of the low standards of education that allows him to become a great athelete but not a average student? We need to change the standards in what is required for high school kids academically. We pay the taxes that pay for most of the schools and if Georgia is ever to improve it’s academic standings in the high school education area, compared to other states, changes have to be made.
There are no Academics at UGA
May 5th, 2011
9:53 am
Heck everybody knows that !