UGA assistant recruiting coordinator for football resigns (UPDATED)

Charlie Cantor, pictured here at the Mark Richt Football Camp last month, resigned as a UGA football recruiting assistant. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

Georgia is going through a transition in its football recruiting office.

Charles Cantor, who has served as an assistant recruiting coordinator under coach Mark Richt since March of 2008, resigned from that position last month. The Bulldogs are currently in the process of seeking a replacement.

UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity, responding to a freedom of information request for details, declined to comment on speculation that Cantor was asked to leave because of his alleged involvement in NCAA violations.

“He just resigned,” McGarity said. “Charles moved on to other things. We wish him well.”

In a one-sentence resignation letter to the UGA Athletic Association’s human resources office dated June 14, Cantor — who went by “Charlie” and “Chuck” — wrote that he was leaving “to pursue other opportunities.” His resignation came four days after Georgia football legend Herschel Walker was in Athens for a two-day visit with the football team.

Cantor’s resignation comes on the heels of the Bulldogs inking a top 10-ranked recruiting class in 2011. However, he has been directly or indirectly involved in several NCAA secondary violations committed by the football program the past three years.

Reached by telephone Tuesday, Cantor declined to answer questions about his resignation but instead offered a written statement, which he sent via email:

“It has been a pleasure working with Coach Richt and the staff at Georgia football,” Cantor wrote. “The future looks bright at Georgia . This past year we assembled an outstanding recruiting class that [the] Bulldog nation should be very proud of and allow the Bulldogs to have the increased competition at every position across the board. It is competition that will allow Georgia to get to the top of SEC. Georgia is in a great position to finish out through signing day with a great 2012 recruiting class. I know I gave my all to Georgia football and every one of the past and present recruits that ever stepped foot in Athens knows that.

“I never knowingly broke any recruiting rules at the University of Georgia . We have worked within the framework of the NCAA recruiting manual to present Georgia as a ideal place for many young men to pursue their college football aspirations. Great opportunities lie ahead in my future and I am prepared to pursue those now.”

Cantor would not say where he will resume his career but acknowledged it will be in the recruiting side of college athletics.

Cantor’s vacated position is an important one in the recruiting process. He served as a human database of information for Richt and his assistant football coaches and was a point person for arranging and orchestrating visits for prospects. His duties are currently being absorbed by recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner and assistant Connie Connelly.

Cantor came to Georgia from Rutgers, where he served in a similar capacity, in March of 2008. Before that he was a graduate assistant coach, graduate recruiting assistant and student manager at Florida State. He holds sports science education and sports management degrees from FSU.