Recruiting nearing the end

Only 48 hours now until decision day for high school football stars across the nation. Most of course have already made their decisions, it is just a matter of them making it official by signing on the dotted line. But, for some high profile kids, Wed is the the big day where they announce and sign. Of course UGA awaits a few decisions, probably the biggest one will be at 1:30 when Isiah Crowell makes his decision between UGA and Bama. This year more than any I can EVER remember it seems that most of the elite kids in the state of Ga were down to Georgia and Alabama. I realize that Saban made it a high priority when he took over that job  to make sure he recruited our state second only to his home state. It really does make a lot of sense but it is good to see our coaches digging in strongly this year and winning most of the battles. Because our state is SOOOO loaded with division one talent, and only have two D1 schools in state (and no offense to GT but the elite kids have various reasons not to attend there), we are always going to have to fight off out of state schools. You have SCarolina with two big schools battling and not nearly the talent base, you have Tenn with two school and very little talent, you have Alabama with two big schools and not enough talent-Ga helps supply every neighboring state with a lot of talent. Even UF, in a state LOADED with talent moreso than Georgia, will still come up and try hard to get our elite kids. So, with that being said again you have to just really give our coaches a lot of credit for the job they have done thus far this recruiting season. You know a lot of schools are doing a lot of negative recruiting against us with our head coach truly being on the hot seat. Matter fact, check out this article by Chris White I found on Seth Emerson's blog, where the Carver head coach is talking about Isiah Crowell being the savior to a program, or saving a coach's job and feeling that pressure.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/01/29/1440044/crowell-shuts-out-media-as-pressure.html

Ok, well, where do I start. Pressure to save a coaches job? This kid has NEVER set foot on our campus as a college football player-why does he or his coach think he alone will determine Coach Richt's fate. I think Crowell will really help us should he decide to come to Athens but I don't think he will have the Lattimore impact, at least not right off the bat. Still, you KNOW where that information is coming from-Nick Saban, Kirby Smart anyone. This is an example of the negative recruiting going against us, and the fact we are beating Bama on these recruits is VERY satisfying because I have a feeling Saban/Smart are two of the best when it comes to putting these negative thoughts in a kids head. I think that was part of Drew's call out when he made his announcement on Friday-he was basically telling the kids are you up for the challenge. A kid with the talent of Crowell and as highly recruited is going to face pressure from day 1. Now, maybe less pressure at Bama because they already have a stable of backs over there so he will not be expected to be the man right away, but in this day and age I believe most kids WANT the challenge and pressure to come right in from high school and make an immediate impact as a college freshman. Hopefully Crowell realizes his opportunity-not to be a savior but to be a key ingredient to getting our running game back in gear.

Here is a video from Dawgpost, most of you probably have already checked out but in case you are here and don't go to Dawgpost, here is a link so you can view the new additions to the Butts-Mehre building-the indoor facilty, the new weightroom, new computer system, player lounges, coaches offices etc-there is no doubt this facility is top notch and very impressive to recruits. Some will scoff at the size of the indoor facility but I don't. Let's face it, how often will that be needed? I believe basically it will be used for walk throughs, maybe get some drills in but unless there is a lightning storm, the coaches are still going to want to practice a good bit outdoors because you neve know when you will have rain in a ballgame-so you really need to practice in all types of weather. The facility serves the purpose it was intended, to provide an indoor spot at the complex to get some work done-instead of having to go to the student center. Check it out below.

http://georgia.scout.com/2/1044130.html

So now to look at our recruiting numbers, from my count we have 61 kids on scholarship, that total includes Reuben Faloughi and Ty Frix, both former walkons. I would think both could have their status revert back to walkon if need be-especially Frix since we have a long snapper as part of this recruiting class. That being said, I would imagine since Frix has done a great job his first two years, he will snap this fall and Theus would redshirt-that to me is a no brainer. But still, walkons know that they are truly on a year to year basis, especially when they do get extended the full ride. Faloughi looks to be part of special teams and may also get some snaps this season as OLB but what works in his favor is that he is a gifted student and thus can qualify for academic scholarship money if need be. Anyhow, I will bump the number back to down to 60, that gives us a full 25 spots open on the roster. The rule as I understand it, although I admit I really don't understand the rules especially since so many schools oversign every year, is you can sign 28 kids each year, maximum 85 on scholarship at a time. The theory goes, I ASSume, you sign 28 (or over 30 if you are Ole Miss, Bama, AU, Ark, LSU, SCarolina) and figure several will not qualify. You also figure on some additional attrition (in the case of many schools, kids deciding to transfer on their own-wink, wink) or a kid deciding to give up the sport due to a medical reason. Now, if you have early enrollees, they don't count toward the 28 number you can sign. Ok, confused yet? If I have it figured correctly, we have 23 commitments, 2 of which have already signed and are enrolled in classes-Christian LeMay and Chris Conley. This means we have 21 technically for this year so we can sign up to 7 more kids although that does not seem likely at this point. I do firmly believe we sign 25-26 though. From all indications, we will have at least one kid likely headed to Prep or JUCO, that being Chris Mayes from Spalding High school-that is not the official word, just what I have heard.

So, with all that in your head, here are the kids I think UGA will be in play for on signing day. First of all, of course you have Isiah Crowell. Also, Jeoffrey Pagan from Asheville, NC, strong rumors are he will sign with us. Also, Kent Turene out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla, just decommited from Southern Cal and now will decide between UGA, Texas Tech, Nebraska and Southern Cal. Antonio Richardson out of Nashville, Tenn will decide between Tenn and UGA most likely. There is still some speculation that Xzavier Dickson could switch although that to me seems unlikely. You also have Jonathan Jenkins, the big NT out of JUCO who is expected to sign on Saturday, the 5th. IF and that is a big IF, we land Crowell, Pagan, Jenkins, Turene and Richardson, that would be of course 5 spots which might just be class closed. If we lose a couple of those kids-likely to be Richardson and Turene, it will be very interesting to see who might be plan B guys that I am sure our coaches have been in contact with, the Kenarious Gates of the 2011 class if you will. Many will agrue we already have a couple Gates in this class, those being Sanford Seay and Quintavious Harrow but there could be another under the radar guy coming our way on Wed. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow I will break down the Razorbacks but here is a little bit of information about our next hoop opponent. They have the same exact record we do at 14-6 but they are a game better in SEC play, 4-3. As I mentioned yesterday, they just went into Nashville and beat Vandy-VERY impressive I have to say-not only to win but to win by 11. This team has NOT lost a home game all year, that being said, this is a game where we really need to bounce back. Do you realize we only have 10 regular season games left. For us to have a chance to make the NCAA tourney, we have to be at least at 20 wins, perhaps 21 before the SEC tourney. This means going 6-4 or better down the stretch. We do have some very winnable games coming up-home againt AU, Xavier, SCarolina, Vandy and LSU. Out of that group, Xavier and Vandy look to be the toughest. We have road games at Arkansas, South Carolina, Tenn, Fla and Bama. I am thinking we need two wins out of that 5. If we lose a another home game, we need 3 road wins in my opinion. I love Coach Fox and I really do like our team but they MUST find a groove here soon and go on a nice run to down the stretch. I would hate for us to miss the dance this year and have Thompkins and possibly Leslie, along with Price and Barnes, leave Athens without a NCAA appearance-Price and Barnes I believe went their FR years but that team was NOTHING compared to this team. Time to step it up boys.