NG Kwame Geathers becomes UGA’s third junior to declare for NFL draft
Kwame Geathers had 40 tackles, five tackles for loss and a sack while starting four games for the Bulldogs this past season. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
On the day Georgia landed its new defensive line coach, the Bulldogs lost their most important defensive lineman.
Kwame Geathers, a 6-foot-6, 355-pound rising senior and four-game starter at noseguard, informed UGA coaches on Wednesday he intends to enter the NFL draft this year.
“That was the speculation since the bowl game, obviously, but nothing was in writing,” said Chris Wilson, who was officially announced as the Bulldogs’ defensive line coach Wednesday afternoon. “I didn’t get a chance to meet the young man but I know he was one heck of a player watching him from afar. I had yet to get a chance to sit down with him. But it’s one of those deals where you want what’s best for the young man. If him and his family feels that’s the best thing, you wish them the best of luck.”
Wilson had to deal with similar decisions while serving as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator the past three years and while working at his alma mater, Oklahoma. The Maroon Bulldogs lost Fletcher Cox a year early to the NFL draft last year. Cox went to the Philadelphia Eagles with the 12th pick overall.
“It’s part of college football nowadays,” Wilson said. “If you get kids more than three or four years is rare and especially five years now.”
Geathers was redshirted, so he has already been at UGA four years. His departure is not unexpected as he comes from a football-playing family that rarely completed its college eligibility.
Geathers could not immediately be reached for comment. But but he first told the subscription-based website Dawgs247.com of his decision.
“I’m going to go ahead and leave,” Geathers told reporter Gentry Estes. “I felt like I was ready to go. I think I did everything at Georgia that I wanted to do. I felt like it was time to get a jump on the next step in my career.”
Geathers played in all 14 games for the Bulldogs (12-2) this past season. His primary role was to back up second-team, All-SEC starter John Jenkins. But after defensive end Abry Jones was lost to a season-ending ankle injury midseason, Geathers played primarily at noseguard while Jenkins moved outside to end. Geathers started in the Capital One Bowl against Nebraska and had three tackles. He finished the season with 40 tackles, five tackles for loss and one sack and closes his career with 98 tackles, two sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
Geathers’ departure is not a surprise, especially considering his family’s history regarding the NFL. On Wednesday, Georgia announced it had hired Mississippi State defensive coordinator Chris White to replace Rodney Garner as the Bulldogs’ defensive line coach. Garner was extremely close to Kwame and the entire Geathers family, and his decision to leave UGA for Auburn was thought to galvanize Kwame’s decision to move on.
Georgia is hopeful that promising redshirt freshman John Taylor will be able to fill Geathers’ shoes next season. The Bulldogs also moved Garrison Smith inside to noseguard in the bowl game when Geathers had to leave the game due to fatigue. Rising junior Mike Thornton is also waiting in the wings and Georgia is hot on the recruiting trail for several other impact defensive line recruits, including junior college all-star Toby Johnson and high school blue-chipper Montravius Adams.
The Bulldogs had already lost star linebackers Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree to NFL early declarations.
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184 comments Add your comment
dawgs01
January 9th, 2013
11:46 pm
i wonder if he will be like his brother robert geathers did not get many starts at uga left real early want to say redshirt sophomore yr and is a beast for the bengals same with clemons at seattle. clemons being out will really help the falcons chris is one of the best pass rushers in the nfl now. clemons did not stay at uga long either.
Bama fan
January 9th, 2013
11:48 pm
I sit here read about all post y’all put on here and not one time you talk about this guy name sterling bailey its to me that if you not 5 star play you don’t no kind recognition. This guy is going to be good when CTG and CMR give this guy a chance he is 6″5 275 DE tell me chip what going on. Bama fan
RED DOG 77
January 9th, 2013
11:57 pm
Bama fan………..You said it dude………..the story was about Kwamee Gathers [nose tackle]……..not DE Sterling Bailey………….Yup Sterling is a beast, and will do well next season……..but we need a NOSE TACKLE…………as Lake dawg says a young in shape agressive NT………………Me?…………I’m looking to Montravious Adams, we hope………..or mabe Johnathan Taylor………….We’ll see……..RED
RED DOG 77
January 10th, 2013
12:03 am
Oh and by the way………..Bama fan, you are right most people are hung-up on the 5star kids……………….But then again why should you worry ?………most everyone at Bama is a 5star……………Regards, RED
PIERCE COUNTY DAWG
January 10th, 2013
3:12 am
Good luck in the NFL. We wil be fine with all the young talent coming in. Finish your degree Kwame!!!
fayncdawg
January 10th, 2013
5:57 am
if Kwame plays for teams PERFECTLY suited for him, the he will have as solid an NFL career as Robert.Now if he gets with teams that are not suited for him, then he will be out of the league in three years; hope like you-know-what he got his degree and held on to the little bit of NFL money he made. Let’s just say he might need to live in a 1500 sq. ft. house and drive a Camry till it’s clear that he will be in the NFL for more than eight years!
RHall55
January 10th, 2013
7:26 am
This shows another fault of Rodney Garner when he failed on recruiting more depth on the DL…it was apparent in the SEC Championship game…also the defections of Derrick Lott and Jalen Fields, both went on to play for other Teams (UTC and La Lafayette)….now time to recruit more DL and coach them up!!
The whole story on Georgia’s new D-line coach, Chris Wilson | UGA sports blog
January 10th, 2013
7:30 am
[...] had already lost starters Abry Jones and John Jenkins off the line to exhausted eligibility when fourth-year junior Kwame Geathers informed UGA coaches Wednesday of his intentions to enter the NFL …. Geathers (6-6, 355) was the heir apparent at noseguard, a critical position in defensive [...]
dave
January 10th, 2013
7:48 am
over half the defense will be gone in a few days. add in a much tougher schedule and i see 4 losses easily.
HardHat
January 10th, 2013
7:59 am
Arena league player by 2015
HardHat
January 10th, 2013
8:01 am
needed another year
Joey
January 10th, 2013
8:05 am
Buckeye, you are such an a$$hole.
Geathers’ dad payed in the NFL, and two of his brothers are currently in the NFL. I doubt anybody in his family will be broke in 5 years.
Stop with your stereotyping.
RedDawg
January 10th, 2013
8:09 am
Good luck Kwame in the pro’s thanks for being a dawg. Come on down Mr.Adams help wanted. Need more dawgs.
JFKDawg
January 10th, 2013
8:09 am
Yo, Chip. Second to last paragraph. I think the coach’s last name is Wilson, not White.
Joey
January 10th, 2013
8:12 am
Chris Wilson has bad timing, huh?
Who knows, he may get more out of young, inexperienced D-line players than Garner got out of a bunch of NFLers.
After the horror stories we’ve been getting from recruits, it doesn’t seem like Gardner was doing much coordinating.
I’m really glad he’s gone.
Smooth Operator
January 10th, 2013
8:20 am
BE THERE!!!
(reprinted without permission)
The 2013 playoffs are here, and as Atlanta gears up for a huge post-season game, 680 The Fan is throwing the biggest playoff rally in the city! Join us for the Atlanta Playoff Rally presented by Bud Light. Friday January 11th, at Dave & Busters in Marietta! Chuck & Chernoff will kick things off with a live broadcast from 3-7p but all the rally action will continue until 9! Fox 5 Atlanta will also be live on site as we let the birds know that the 680 nation has their back! Let’s celebrate the playoffs and help get this city ready for a run!
CHDawg
January 10th, 2013
8:24 am
Good luck, Kwame! Make the Dawg nation proud. There is a sadness to college football when your favorites leave, but when a hole is created some young stud always steps in and fills it. We’ll see who does it next year. We already have some serious talent and hopefully we can get some new folks who can make an impact in their first year, especially for depth. Garrison Smith was my favorite player to watch on the line last year, so I expect big things out of him next year. His motor never stops running. Drew was playing well against Nebraska. I’m excited about ‘13!
RedandBlackDAWG
January 10th, 2013
8:25 am
He will have to work a little on his technique, but big guys to clog up the middle are a premium in the NFL. If he works hard, and listens to the coaches, he will be just fine.
Did anybody look at some of the big guys upfront for the Redskins and Seahawks, this past weekend. Big guys a plenty and guts sticking out of their jerseys all over the place. For that fact, the NFL is full of big guys, that aren’t exactly models of nutrisystem but go on to have successful careers in the NFL. It is a big mans game on the line.
The young man played with as much heart as anybody else did on the football field for the DAWGS so how about some of you showing a little class, if possible, and if you have nothing good to say, do not say anything. These kids do their best to not only secure a future, at least for a lot of them, in the NFL, but to represent the DAWGS and entertain the fans for very little monetary compensation, other than a few bucks given by the bowl sponsors and a few gift certificates to a sponsor store. How about showing some class, and respecting what they contributed. I don’t expect the trolls to do that of course, but true UGA fans should try at least.
Smarticus
January 10th, 2013
8:49 am
Hope this new DL coach is better than Rodney Garner. Garner and Geathers have a lot in common when you think about it, an not good stuff. Garner will fit right in at Auburn where everything’s under the table and corrupt. Geathers said that he had accomplished everything at UGA, but since he didn’t earn a degree I guess it must be a family tradition for him. He is too lazy to really perform in the NFL in any meaningful way. UGA will be better off without him because the new talent knows that they can get playing time now.
air of mendacity
January 10th, 2013
8:55 am
Kwame will get his money, but I am concerned about his technique – he tends to stand straight up at the snap and gets pushed around easily (see recent bowl game where he disappeared and was pretty much dominated) – NFL nose tackles get very low and have leverage – he will be lucky to get any snaps – but again, he will have the money so good for him. You can’t coach 355 lbs.
air of mendacity
January 10th, 2013
8:58 am
red and black – don’t misunderstand – I am happy for him and I understand the decision – but don’t say he will have to work on technique a “little” – more than that is involved – some players have trouble getting low and it is the difference between a force and a below average player in the NFL.
Dawglasville
January 10th, 2013
9:10 am
Good luck Kwame. Don’t be part of the 85%. Be smart with your money. Stay humble and you will be fine.
dawgfan
January 10th, 2013
9:10 am
I hope Kwame knows that the first tape the NFL guys are going to look at in evaluating him is the Alabama game. Good luck with that.
Its hard to get too torn up about any of these defensive guys leaving early quite frankly. We’ll miss Jarvis Jones big play ability but other than that I fail to see how we could possibly be any worse off. I think Ogletree is overrated. There. I said it. I’m sorry.
Thanks.
n257s
January 10th, 2013
9:11 am
BIG mistake Geathers but Good luck and hope you prove us wrong and will last more than 2-3 years at the next level. Our Dawgs will keep up the fight just fine.
Just In...........
January 10th, 2013
9:13 am
The Cincinnati(Bulldawgs)Bengals will get him in the fourth round, He’ll line up besides GENO ATKINS who people thought was just average in Athens, and become a beast like ATKINS has. Then BullDawg nation will be saying why he never played like that on Saturdays? Then it’ll hit the minds of many to blog abou the coaching, realizing you had all this talent(Like Spurrier said) ad another one got away.Next year watch Garrison Smith and John Atkins along with Mike Thorton and the kid coming outta JC perform at a high level, but here me out folks, if They went 4-3 , instead of a3-4, this would be the #1 D in America. Lacy and Yeldon could not have run on UGA if they had Big bodies commanding double teams. Good luck Kwame, and ya;ll keep sending them big boys back to UGA. Some of us will miss you.
Nick
January 10th, 2013
9:14 am
After the horror stories we’ve been getting from recruits, it doesn’t seem like Gardner was doing much coordinating.
Yeah he was busy doing a lot of coaching. Funny how all the Garner bashing on this blog leaves off the long history of successful NFL Defensive Lineman that CRG has put in the League.
Burger King Manager
January 10th, 2013
9:19 am
Is a 4 game starter that cant even make it through a college game because he’s too out of shape ready for the NFL? No, but its his life. Best of luck to you.
lancer
January 10th, 2013
9:31 am
So… UGA hired both Chris White and Chris Wilson away from MSU?
Krystal Burger Cop
January 10th, 2013
9:35 am
Live update from Miami……
We are about to leave town and think we have secured all participating Krystal’s. This has been a tough yet exciting job to keep the Bama fans and their pants in check this year. We had a few close calls due to ND fans passing out but we located them to safe zones within the establishment. ND fans were very cautious as well not to drink too much because they knew it could end up with a naked Bama fan sitting on your shoulders. Also, university officials did a great job of explaining to the fans base that while being naked in Krystal’s is tolerated in the state of Alabama, it is not tolerated in places like New Orleans or Miami. Great job by UA!
P.S. I hope Bama does not make it to the BCSNCG next year so we are not required to work security.
McDawg
January 10th, 2013
9:53 am
see ya on Sunday-watching the NFL playoffs was like watching a UGA alumni reunion
HutsonMasonAdvisor
January 10th, 2013
9:58 am
At least Jumpy has Man-ed up. Been in School four years, time to move on.
Unlike Murray.
HutsonMasonAdvisor
January 10th, 2013
9:59 am
*Kwame
Lee
January 10th, 2013
10:12 am
The bottom line is that big time college and the NFL are meatgrinders. You only have so many years of football in that body before being shown out the door.
You read about the multi-million dollar salaries and signing bonuses paid to the star players, but the reality is that the NFL minimums are extremely lucrative and if you manage your finances, you can be set for life after a few years in the NFL.
For the 2012 season, minimum NFL base salaries are …
1) Rookie – $390,000
2) 1 year – $465,000
3) 2 year – $540,000
4) 3 year – $615,000
5) 4-6 year – $700,000
6) 7-9 year – $825,000
7) 10+ year – $925,000
Case in point, I thought Danny Ware was crazy when he left college for the NFL. Here was a guy who went from 1st string tailback in his freshman year to 3rd string in his junior year. But, he is still in the NFL and made a minimum of $700,000 last year. How many of us on this blog make that kind of scratch? Yeah, I thought so.
So, that extra year gives Ware an extra $7-800k in earnings potential. You could argue that if he stayed, he might have gone higer in the draft, but as has been mentioned before, that is no guarantee and he could get hurt and not make anything.
Geathers is in much the same situation as Ware. If he stays, does he really improve his draft opportunities? Maybe, maybe not.
Good luck to him.
Columbus Dawg
January 10th, 2013
10:29 am
This clown sees the writing on the wall. He knows that John Taylor is going to be the next BIG thing on UGA’s D line, and it would be embarrassing to have to get behind a redshirt freshman on the depth chart. Richt and Grantham know full well that they must put the best talent on the field in order to keep their jobs at this point. Geathers has been a joke just like John Jenkins, and it is now time for the highly over paid Grantham to produce, no matter what. The Dawg Nation can only hope that the reports on John Taylor are true. Seth Emerson’s article in Macon paper states that Geathers received a third thru sixth round evaluation. I’d like to know just what this idiot thinks he has accomplished at UGA. Good riddance.
Buzz 2011
January 10th, 2013
10:30 am
Kwalm down Dogs!! Your defense was no good anyway!
TERRY Y
January 10th, 2013
10:32 am
yea, thanks and good luck…those O linemen in the NFL are alot tougher than Alabama’s of which Geathers had a tough time competing against…one more year may have helped his draft status quite a bit…but, being short sighted is certainly what a lot of the younger kids and young adults let themselves make a rash decision. Good Luck.
Truth shall prevail
January 10th, 2013
10:39 am
Everyone has an qpinion about who should step up on the D-line. We heard about the workouts on Sterling Bailey. Coaches were very impressed in Orlando. He healthy and he’s a big kid! Yes there are others coming in that can contribute but remember the ones that have been there working behind the big time players! They want their chance too!
Truth shall prevail
January 10th, 2013
10:40 am
Good luck and God’s speed to Kwame. We will miss you!
LawDawg
January 10th, 2013
10:44 am
Wow. A lot of a-holes posting today. A lot of a-holes who seem to know little about football and apparently do not know what they are looking at in the trenches. The only time KG got “pushed around” was the SECCG and (you may have noticed if you understood football) but the Bama line pushed everyone around this year.
LawDawg
January 10th, 2013
10:47 am
dawgs01 – Clemons was at UGA for 5 years. That is pretty much as long as you can stay.
LogicalUS
January 10th, 2013
10:49 am
“John Taylor is going to be the next BIG thing on UGA’s D line, ”
“Geathers has been a joke just like John Jenkins”
Geez, no wonder that other SEC fans laugh at the disney dawgs. Your rant contradicts itself within a space of two sentences.
Why couldn’t the new “next big thing” beat out the two jokes on the UGA DL and was riding the pine while UGA would getting landblasted for 370 yds a game?
Funny, it was just a short time ago that Jenkins was the coming messiah of UGA defense, now he is a bum.
Suspect that this Taylor is just another of UGAs “Richard Samuel is just a bigger, faster Trent Richardson, Marcus Lattimore” delusions.
UGA Insider
January 10th, 2013
10:55 am
A player can be mediocre while at UGA and have incredible NFL careers….
Chris Clemons-sack leader for Seattle
Geno Atkins-best Dlineman in the NFL
Kwame will be a good pro and an NFL team will get him into good shape.
DawginLex
January 10th, 2013
11:00 am
Sorry Logical, you are wrong again.
We got gashed versus the running game because our linebackers are pass rushers and not run stoppers. Christian Robinson? He might weigh 220. Jones and Tree were very good players but struck no fear in a running game. Our D-Line lost some players due to injury and transfer and the depth killed us. Part of the 16 open scholarships. That gets exposed when you play quality teams.
Our nose tackle of the future is being redshirted-J Taylor. That is why we are not desperately going after JUCO NG’s. We have 3 other young players ready to step up too.
Geathers should have come back but the problem is, he wasn’t even guaranteed to start for us in 2013. His draft stock might be as high as it could ever be.
DawginLex
January 10th, 2013
11:02 am
Insider
Garner and Atkins had a running feud the entire time Atkins was in Athens and he took him out of the games and limited his snaps.
DP
January 10th, 2013
11:03 am
He did everything at Georgia he wanted to do?
Never started for a full season at his position, don’t think he ever made even Honorable Mention All SEC
Didn’t earn a degree (I’m assuming based on him being there only 3 years if he finishes this semester which is probably unlikely)
Didn’t play on a team that won an SEC championship or BCS championship
I would guess Richt would like to see his players have goals a little bit higher.
Ladies and gentlemen, Wrestling Two!
January 10th, 2013
11:23 am
Kwami Gaethers played more like Kawmi Brown, former number 1 bust. Sure he’s big, but he was ALWAYS going backwards. Did anyone notice te HUGE holes up the middle this year? I wish the guy the best, but to slow, too weak and needed to lose about 50 elbows and gain more foot speed. Those guys in the NFL are going to kick his a…..They are hardly intimidated by a big fat guy. I’m sincerely hoping — seriously hoping — I’m wrong. But I’m not. Sure, I’d love him in a Falcons suit in the 6th or 7th round. But didn’t we just draft a giant rooked at six six three thirty who hasn’t seen the feild? Good luck, kid.
LogicalUS
January 10th, 2013
11:30 am
“nose tackle of the future is being redshirted-J Taylor. That is why we are not desperately going after JUCO NG’s. We have 3 other young players ready to step up too. ”
Excuse the language, but horse pukey.
If the kid was he as great as people want to pretend now that the prior saviors are leaving then there is NO CHANCE that the coaching staff would have sat him when the UGA defense was having the huge problems it was having this season in slowing down the decent teams they played. Would not happened.
It would be like sitting Gurley because UGA had enough of a running game to get by….
Disney indeed.
David
January 10th, 2013
11:33 am
I though after the bowl game we could lose all four juniors because the NFL is out there for them. Now, it is time to bring in a new group and get them ready for the NFL, too. Three years is good enough for them and sometime in Jarvis Jones situation; he could left last year in two years and be playing now in the NFL.
Hunkerdown2013
January 10th, 2013
11:53 am
All I gotta say is good riddance, selfish players like him need to GTFO. Gathers name will be forgotten in a year or two.
DawginLex
January 10th, 2013
11:57 am
logical
Can you not read? The linebackers are the playmakers in the 3-4, not the freaking nose guard.
Good lord
Why do I even waste my time with someone who has no reading comprehension skills and who understands zilch about football