Ok, so I have been what many might call a critic of David Perno and our baseball team this season-or maybe you could say I have been a concerned fan of the program. Either way, I have to say GREAT JOB to our players and coaches for beating two top five teams back to back in elimination games to earn a shot at making a regional-which they did make and will now travel to Corvallis, Oregon, home of the Oregon State Beavers. OSU is the #1 seed in the regional of course, UGA the #3. In the first game, the Dogs will face Creighton with a sparkling record of 44-14. I admit I know little about Creighton but have heard they have an outstanding pitcher-course UGA does as well. Oregon State is surely a solid baseball program, having won back to back titles in 2006 and 2007. All that being said, this is a regional that we at least have a shot in. I would have like to have the team closer to home but school is out, and these guys will get to see an area most may never get to see again in their lives-so not horrible. This team is certainly battled tested and already made a west coast trip earlier this year and went 3-0. As for my thoughts on David Perno, I have stated before my opinion of him has nothing to do with him as a person, the guy bleeds red and black and has had a solid coaching career here. But, I think he needs to become more consistent and I am hoping that will start now-we know he is back next year, let's make next year a springboard off of this year WITHOUT such an incredibly hard schedule. Playing a tough schedule of course did help them make the tourney but it almost kept them out of the tourney-he needs to find a nice balance there. He also needs to recruit better and better. Sure he recruits some top kids but not ENOUGH of them to win. GT for example, they have a very solid FR class this year, they always seem to have higher ranked talent than us AND they always seem to win each and every year. Same goes for Clemson, FSU, UF, SCarolina and more recently, Vandy. Of course in the SEC west, you have LSU, Miss State, Bama, and Ark that have consistently good programs. Our program typically seems to be really good or really bad and I don't quite get that. Like I say, let's hope next year will continue our upward swing and then Coach Perno can keep us on a winning level for many years to come. I personally would LOVE for him to stay on and lead us to a national title-he came within a game of it a few years ago. But, he HAS to get our winning/consistency up to a higher level, plain and simple. This year of course has a chance to be special, and in some regards already has just by making it in against the odds-also have the horrible accident with JT. Here is a little more about the trip to Oregon from the Athens paper.
http://dogbytesonline.com/bulldogs-hit-oregon-trail-45924/
The Lady Dogs softball team had their season come to close in Athens Sunday evening. The Baylor Lady Bears won game 1, then UGA beat them silly in game two but to their credit, they came back and beat us up badly in game 3. You have to give that team a lot of credit for winning the series on the road, then getting beat like they did in game 2, great job by Baylor. That pitcher for them is only a SOPH, she is going to be tough for a couple more years-and she is a great hitter as well. Great job to the softball Dogs and even though they came up short this year, the seniors did make the CWS two out of their 4 years, great job. Here is more about the end of the road.
http://dogbytesonline.com/baylor-denies-dogs-a-third-straight-trip-to-world-series-45911/
We can now scratch off two pretty talented guards from the Dogs list-Ryan Harrow the NCST transfer picked Kentucky and Kevin Ware has picked Louisville-spurning UGA for the third time now. All I can say right now is I HOPE Coach Fox hits it big with the class of 2012. If not, I think he is going to have to hope and pray some of his lower ranked prospects turn into big time college players. He has recruited one elite player thus far in 3 classes, that be Caldwell-Pope. If you remember, CP's HS coach tried to get him to look around after he committed to us, saying he didn't think his decision through basically. I LOVE Mark Fox the coach but there seems to be something missing when it comes to recruiting. Hopefully he will land a top 20 class, as he should considering how LOADED this state is with elite prospects for the 2012 class. I have to hope for the best right now but I am a little concerned. I think Coach Fox can be the man to lead us to basketball consistency but I also think he needs some players to do it. Let's stay tuned over this summer and hope that maybe he gets one 2012 in the fold and then a few more will follow. I REALLY thought Harrow would come here, it was the perfect situation for him to sit out and then take things over for us. Ware, well, it appears that he never intended to come here-not sure why but maybe after he had been so locked in to being a Vol, maybe he just didn't want to have to play against that school two times at least every year-who knows.
One final note, thought this was interesting-Sanders Commings had a try out for the SF Giants recently. Sanders was a promising HS baseball player coming out of HS but decided to go to football. Now, he wants to keep his options open and expects he might get drafted in the upcoming June draft. He still plans to play football this fall but this kid is obviously a talented kid to be in this position. Good luck to him.
http://dogbytesonline.com/commings-works-out-for-giants-45913/
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Baseball team is STAYIN' ALIVE, softball team back in action Saturday
The Diamond Dogs eliminated the Auburn Tigers, with Alex Wood throwing his first ever complete game, a 3-2 victory in which the Dogs trailed 2-0 until the bottom of the 6th when they scored all 3 runs. Next up is a game with SCarolina tonight (I believe game starts at 7:30), the Gamecocks lost in the winners backet to Vandy by the score of 7-2 yesterday. For more details about the game yesterday, check out this article from the Athens paper.
http://dogbytesonline.com/wood-stymies-tigers-dogs-stay-alive-45813/
Tomorrow, the Lady Dogs softball team take on Baylor in a best of 3 super regional in Athens. Game will be on ESPNU or one of the ESPN networks at 7:30. Game 2 is Sunday at 3:30 while a game 3, if needed would be played at 6p on Sunday. Our softball team is looking to make it 3 straight trips to the women's College World Series. If memory serves, they played for the title last year or was it the year before. Needless to say, our program is one of the elite-which is where I think our baseball team should be as well.
Speaking of that, I will refrain from comment about David Perno until the team is officially eliminated this season. That being said, he WILL be back as AD Greg McGarity made that announcement yesterday at the board meeting-a meeting where they voted to increase ticket prices for the UGA-UF football game from $40 to $60. He said Perno would be back for the 2012 season. So, regardless of my opinion or anyone elses for that matter, the man that DOES get to make the call has already made it. I REALLY like David Perno-he bleeds red and black. BUT, I do expect more out of our baseball program.
Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. To all those veterans who might read my blog, I say THANK YOU for serving our country. Thank you for protecting our borders and making America the great place it is. Our country is having tough times right now, and I do worry about the direction we are headed as a society but this country still remains the best country in the world. Thanks to all the folks that serve (or have served) in our armed forces, we are able to have a national holiday to enjoy time with our families or just simply relax and take a break from the day to day because of your service. Hope everyone enjoys the great long weekend and Go Dogs!!
http://dogbytesonline.com/wood-stymies-tigers-dogs-stay-alive-45813/
Tomorrow, the Lady Dogs softball team take on Baylor in a best of 3 super regional in Athens. Game will be on ESPNU or one of the ESPN networks at 7:30. Game 2 is Sunday at 3:30 while a game 3, if needed would be played at 6p on Sunday. Our softball team is looking to make it 3 straight trips to the women's College World Series. If memory serves, they played for the title last year or was it the year before. Needless to say, our program is one of the elite-which is where I think our baseball team should be as well.
Speaking of that, I will refrain from comment about David Perno until the team is officially eliminated this season. That being said, he WILL be back as AD Greg McGarity made that announcement yesterday at the board meeting-a meeting where they voted to increase ticket prices for the UGA-UF football game from $40 to $60. He said Perno would be back for the 2012 season. So, regardless of my opinion or anyone elses for that matter, the man that DOES get to make the call has already made it. I REALLY like David Perno-he bleeds red and black. BUT, I do expect more out of our baseball program.
Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. To all those veterans who might read my blog, I say THANK YOU for serving our country. Thank you for protecting our borders and making America the great place it is. Our country is having tough times right now, and I do worry about the direction we are headed as a society but this country still remains the best country in the world. Thanks to all the folks that serve (or have served) in our armed forces, we are able to have a national holiday to enjoy time with our families or just simply relax and take a break from the day to day because of your service. Hope everyone enjoys the great long weekend and Go Dogs!!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Baseball team gets rolled, Basketball recruit picks Wildcats, Richt sells his lake house
Wow, bummer. The baseball team got mercy ruled in the SEC tourney. 10-0 after 7 innings. Wasted start by the best pitcher we have-he didn't pitch horribly, his D let him down some and then Vandy is just flat out a good team. They shut us out using a couple FR pitchers-far from their aces, and now we sit one loss away from season over. I will refrain from my opinions on the direction of this program until after the team is eliminated for the season. I personally believe that happens today unfortunately. When you get pounded 10-0 with your best pitcher on the hill, I will be surprised if they bounce back today. If they do however, I believe the SC-Vandy loser will await so again, just not really optimistic here. For more about the game last night, you can read below. Game today is around 2pm vs. Auburn on CSS.
http://dogbytesonline.com/dogs-tigers-backs-to-wall-45770/
The NCST transfer point guard Ryan Harrow, who played HS in the ATL metro area, decided to transfer to Kentucky, making his intentions know via his twitter account last night. This is very troubling news for UGA hoop fans because this kid is a talented PG and we will not have a PG after this year, unless you count Vincent Williams. Harrow must sit out this year but then will have 3 years left to play. I understand the HUGE tradition advantage UK has over us in hoops, but I also know the snake in the grass coach they have up there is known for recruiting top notch point guards. I simply can't imagine that Cal will NOT sign a top PG for the class of 2012, thus Harrow is likely to share time when he becomes eligible to play for the Cats. Again, come to UGA and start from day 1 and get plenty of minutes. I just don't get it and again, this troubles me about Coach Fox-I simply do not know that he can recruit to a high enough level. I want to believe he can and I already KNOW he can coach basketball but we have got to start recruiting better locally. There is still a chance we get Kevin Ware, who could play THIS year but has committed to two schools already and still doesn't have a home.
Coach Richt has put his Lake Hartwell home up for sale, which of course is leading to a lot of folks-I am sure our opposing fans and media are having a field day with it, to speculate he thinks he will be fired!!! Yeah, I am sure a football coach has such a lack of ego that he would that. Not like Coach Richt can't afford to have two homes with the salary he makes, and the salary he would still make even if fired. But, still, when a coach is on the hot seat any news like this will draw interest. Here is an article explaining why Richt and his wife decided to sell the house. I have said before, we MUST win 8 games or I will be calling for a coaching change. That being said, firing Coach Richt is not something I even like talking about because there is no doubt in my mind we have one of the best men in all of college football leading our program. Unfortunately, college football is a big business and sometimes you have to make tough decisions but if he has to be fired, it will NOT be something I am giddy about. I will be very disappointed and sorry to see him go. That is why I am so pumped for this season-I want us to win because I always want us to win but this year, I want Coach Richt to prove so many of the doubters wrong-even folks within our fanbase. I want him to prove the media wrong, the opposing fans wrong and of course opposing coaches. There is no doubt the slime balls coaching in Alabama-Satan, I mean Saban, and the total JERK of a man in Kirby Smart, are using the negative to recruit against us. Same goes for the slimeball down in Gainesville, Florida. I want Richt to be able to turn it all around on those guys and beat living crap out of them. Beat UF and AU in the regular season, then beat Bama in the SEC title game. That is my dream for this season. IF that happens, you can rest assured our recruiting will take off and no longer will our enemies be able to tell recruits, well, you know they are going to fire Coach Richt after this season.
http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2011/05/25/mark-richt-says-decision-to-sell-lake-hartwell-property-was-christian-motivated/
One final note and a positive one, Jonathan Taylor is moving from the Shepherd Center to a rehab facility next door. It appears JT is making steady progress and I can only hope in time he can make a full recovery and is able to walk again. He is truly an inspiration to all.
http://dogbytesonline.com/outfielder-paralyzed-in-collision-determined-to-walk-again-someday-45767/
http://dogbytesonline.com/dogs-tigers-backs-to-wall-45770/
The NCST transfer point guard Ryan Harrow, who played HS in the ATL metro area, decided to transfer to Kentucky, making his intentions know via his twitter account last night. This is very troubling news for UGA hoop fans because this kid is a talented PG and we will not have a PG after this year, unless you count Vincent Williams. Harrow must sit out this year but then will have 3 years left to play. I understand the HUGE tradition advantage UK has over us in hoops, but I also know the snake in the grass coach they have up there is known for recruiting top notch point guards. I simply can't imagine that Cal will NOT sign a top PG for the class of 2012, thus Harrow is likely to share time when he becomes eligible to play for the Cats. Again, come to UGA and start from day 1 and get plenty of minutes. I just don't get it and again, this troubles me about Coach Fox-I simply do not know that he can recruit to a high enough level. I want to believe he can and I already KNOW he can coach basketball but we have got to start recruiting better locally. There is still a chance we get Kevin Ware, who could play THIS year but has committed to two schools already and still doesn't have a home.
Coach Richt has put his Lake Hartwell home up for sale, which of course is leading to a lot of folks-I am sure our opposing fans and media are having a field day with it, to speculate he thinks he will be fired!!! Yeah, I am sure a football coach has such a lack of ego that he would that. Not like Coach Richt can't afford to have two homes with the salary he makes, and the salary he would still make even if fired. But, still, when a coach is on the hot seat any news like this will draw interest. Here is an article explaining why Richt and his wife decided to sell the house. I have said before, we MUST win 8 games or I will be calling for a coaching change. That being said, firing Coach Richt is not something I even like talking about because there is no doubt in my mind we have one of the best men in all of college football leading our program. Unfortunately, college football is a big business and sometimes you have to make tough decisions but if he has to be fired, it will NOT be something I am giddy about. I will be very disappointed and sorry to see him go. That is why I am so pumped for this season-I want us to win because I always want us to win but this year, I want Coach Richt to prove so many of the doubters wrong-even folks within our fanbase. I want him to prove the media wrong, the opposing fans wrong and of course opposing coaches. There is no doubt the slime balls coaching in Alabama-Satan, I mean Saban, and the total JERK of a man in Kirby Smart, are using the negative to recruit against us. Same goes for the slimeball down in Gainesville, Florida. I want Richt to be able to turn it all around on those guys and beat living crap out of them. Beat UF and AU in the regular season, then beat Bama in the SEC title game. That is my dream for this season. IF that happens, you can rest assured our recruiting will take off and no longer will our enemies be able to tell recruits, well, you know they are going to fire Coach Richt after this season.
http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2011/05/25/mark-richt-says-decision-to-sell-lake-hartwell-property-was-christian-motivated/
One final note and a positive one, Jonathan Taylor is moving from the Shepherd Center to a rehab facility next door. It appears JT is making steady progress and I can only hope in time he can make a full recovery and is able to walk again. He is truly an inspiration to all.
http://dogbytesonline.com/outfielder-paralyzed-in-collision-determined-to-walk-again-someday-45767/
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Do or die for Diamond Dogs-SEC tourney starts tonight, Hines is dancing champ
So, tonight is the night the Diamond Dogs try to make that steep climb uphill in hopes of making it to the NCAA regionals. The will send their ace, Michael Palazzone against a yet to be determined Vandy starter. For Vandy, they have the luxury of knowing that regardless of what happens, they are easily in the tourney-most likely to host a regional and probably a super regional should they make it. For UGA, we know the drill, must win 3 games or else. You have to win the first one and you have to play it game by game, thus you put your best out there in game 1. Now, if you lose game 1 with your best, it becomes a real tall order to keep going but I understand completely what Coach Perno is doing here. History is not on our side having never won the SEC baseball tourney, but we did win 3 games back in 2009. The game is tonight at 8:30 (probably more like 9 or after), assuming of course all other games run on time which is VERY unlikely the first day of a tourney. Game is being broadcast on CSS. For more information about the baseball team, check the below articles from the Athens-Banner Herald, they do a great job of covering UGA sports-much better than the AJC of course.
http://dogbytesonline.com/bulldogs-try-to-ignore-long-odds-as-they-open-sec-tourney-45756/
http://dogbytesonline.com/baseball-notebook-familiar-foes-for-bulldogs-dores-45758/
UGA improved their APR scores, those would be the scores related to how our student-athletes are performing in the classroom. They basically measure whether the kids are moving toward graduation in the proper amount of time. It appears that all programs are doing a nice job and hopefully that will continue moving forward. Below is an article that goes over all the numbers.
http://dogbytesonline.com/eleven-georgia-squads-improve-on-apr-report-45754/
In going over the depth chart yesterday, I left off a potential contributor from the dream team class, that being Malcolm Mitchell from Valdosta. This kid is a playmaker and has a nice combo of speed and elusiveness-I think he can make a dent in the WR depth this fall and I look forward to seeing what he can do. Of course his teammate Jay Rome might also have a chance but quite honestly, I think it would take an injury for him to see the field-after this year, I think he has a strong shot to start because White and probably Charles as well will be gone. Here is a good Q and A with Ray Drew from the Athens paper as well. I did not like the recruiting garbage (fun as Drew called it) but now that he is on board, VERY excited at this kids potential to be a star.
http://dogbytesonline.com/ray-drew-on-pushing-for-playing-time-the-dream-team%e2%80%99-and-wearing-no-47-45730/
Finally, I admit I have watched a little bit of Dancing with the Stars this season-just because Hines Ward was on the show. BUT, I did not realize the final show was last night-the winner was announced and Hines took the crown. Congrats to Hines and from what I understand, he did a nice shout out to the Dawgnation-hope you Dawg spellers are happy, I did it. Anyway, Hines has always been a great representative of our school and he did a great job dancing from what I saw of him on the show. Here is a little bit about it from the AJC.
http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2011/05/24/did-hines-ward-win-dancing-with-the-stars/
On the recruting front, another GA kid is heading out of state to play football, this time Josh Holsey-a UGA fan growing up is headed to Auburn. Also today the story that Robert Nkemdiche is a secret Bama commit which he denies but I can see that happening, is sure to stir the pot for the fans of UGA. While I am a bit nervous about recruiting for 2012 at the moment, this upcoming season will be the deciding factor for this next class. If we win like I think we should, recruiting will be OUTSTANDING. If we lose again, we likely have a new staff and who knows what happens. But, for big Robert, class of 2013, I am NOT going to get very concerned about that class just yet. Bama dropped off last year and they could easily have about the same type season this year-Saban is reaching the finish line for his time in Tuscie, you never know how much longer he will be there. A LOT can happen in 2 years in SEC football.
http://dogbytesonline.com/bulldogs-try-to-ignore-long-odds-as-they-open-sec-tourney-45756/
http://dogbytesonline.com/baseball-notebook-familiar-foes-for-bulldogs-dores-45758/
UGA improved their APR scores, those would be the scores related to how our student-athletes are performing in the classroom. They basically measure whether the kids are moving toward graduation in the proper amount of time. It appears that all programs are doing a nice job and hopefully that will continue moving forward. Below is an article that goes over all the numbers.
http://dogbytesonline.com/eleven-georgia-squads-improve-on-apr-report-45754/
In going over the depth chart yesterday, I left off a potential contributor from the dream team class, that being Malcolm Mitchell from Valdosta. This kid is a playmaker and has a nice combo of speed and elusiveness-I think he can make a dent in the WR depth this fall and I look forward to seeing what he can do. Of course his teammate Jay Rome might also have a chance but quite honestly, I think it would take an injury for him to see the field-after this year, I think he has a strong shot to start because White and probably Charles as well will be gone. Here is a good Q and A with Ray Drew from the Athens paper as well. I did not like the recruiting garbage (fun as Drew called it) but now that he is on board, VERY excited at this kids potential to be a star.
http://dogbytesonline.com/ray-drew-on-pushing-for-playing-time-the-dream-team%e2%80%99-and-wearing-no-47-45730/
Finally, I admit I have watched a little bit of Dancing with the Stars this season-just because Hines Ward was on the show. BUT, I did not realize the final show was last night-the winner was announced and Hines took the crown. Congrats to Hines and from what I understand, he did a nice shout out to the Dawgnation-hope you Dawg spellers are happy, I did it. Anyway, Hines has always been a great representative of our school and he did a great job dancing from what I saw of him on the show. Here is a little bit about it from the AJC.
http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2011/05/24/did-hines-ward-win-dancing-with-the-stars/
On the recruting front, another GA kid is heading out of state to play football, this time Josh Holsey-a UGA fan growing up is headed to Auburn. Also today the story that Robert Nkemdiche is a secret Bama commit which he denies but I can see that happening, is sure to stir the pot for the fans of UGA. While I am a bit nervous about recruiting for 2012 at the moment, this upcoming season will be the deciding factor for this next class. If we win like I think we should, recruiting will be OUTSTANDING. If we lose again, we likely have a new staff and who knows what happens. But, for big Robert, class of 2013, I am NOT going to get very concerned about that class just yet. Bama dropped off last year and they could easily have about the same type season this year-Saban is reaching the finish line for his time in Tuscie, you never know how much longer he will be there. A LOT can happen in 2 years in SEC football.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Depth chart released, Men's tennis out, Cowboys win title!
The depth chart for fall football was released yesterday and I guess there were not many surprises. You can first look at the SE position, where Marlon Brown is #1 but Michael Bennett is #2, ahead of Israel Troupe. Now, Bennett looked pretty good in the spring game but I am disappointed with Troupe-he came in as a 4 star WR out of Tifton and just really has never panned out. He had a nice TD catch against AU a couple years ago but other than that, just very little playing time when the game was on the line. Maybe he is just not as good as the others but I have always held out hope he would have a big season sooner than later. Now he enters his SR year 3rd on the depth chart.
On the OL, wow, you have to be a little concerned here with the backups. The starters are pretty much as we expected, Glenn, Gates, Jones, Burnette, and Anderson. But the backups, two walkons currently sit as backups, Hugh Williams at a tacklet spot and Ben Reynolds at C. It might be that a couple of our recruits coming in will start the season as #2 or just slightly behind the walk on guys. David Andrews for sure at center, perhaps DeBell or Dantzler at tackle? I think Ward is RS since he had surgery after the season. The backups are guys that have really never stepped on the field. We MUST avoid any further injuries to OL.
A few other minor surprises, Bruce Figgins being #1 at FB. I think Ogletree is a good player as well but Figgins certainly gives us a unique guy at that position-he can catch and he can block. The question, can we ever hand him the ball and let him pick up a yard up the middle. Also you have to look at Malcome being #4 at TB. Based on the spring game alone, I would have him #2 but we didn't get to see all the other spring practices and he did have some injuries in the spring. Hutson Mason being #2 at QB is not a surprise at all. I think it is pretty evident that Crowell will be #2 or #1 on the chart by the time the season rolls around.
On the D, course Kwame is #1 at the nose, many expect Jenkins to come in and take that spot, I say not so fast my friend. Abry Jones is one DE as is DeAngelo Tyson as expected. At LB, Jarvis Jones, Cornelius Washington, Christian Robinson and Alec Ogletree are the 1's. In the secondary, surprising to see Sanders Commings as the #1 corner while Branden Smith is #2 behind Brandon Boykin. I think the Brando(e)n's should be #1 corners, with Commings and Rambo as #1 safties myself. For now, Rambo and Shawn Williams hold down the #1 spots at safety. I think our young guys on D, being Ray Drew, Swann, Nick Williams, Corey Moore-those guys have a very legit shot to come in and get PT. Also probably a middle LB has a shot to come in as well.
Men's tennis lost to SoCal yesterday 4-0. Great season for the team but SoCal was just too tough for them-and they did win the national title last year and are always a great tennis program.
Final note, Cowboys won the title last night, 5-3. In pee wee baseball, that is the equal to a big league game finishing 1-0. Neither team could hit well but played outstanding defense. Proud of my son and his teammates. Glad to be done with youth sports for a few months, his first taste of football will start in July.
On the OL, wow, you have to be a little concerned here with the backups. The starters are pretty much as we expected, Glenn, Gates, Jones, Burnette, and Anderson. But the backups, two walkons currently sit as backups, Hugh Williams at a tacklet spot and Ben Reynolds at C. It might be that a couple of our recruits coming in will start the season as #2 or just slightly behind the walk on guys. David Andrews for sure at center, perhaps DeBell or Dantzler at tackle? I think Ward is RS since he had surgery after the season. The backups are guys that have really never stepped on the field. We MUST avoid any further injuries to OL.
A few other minor surprises, Bruce Figgins being #1 at FB. I think Ogletree is a good player as well but Figgins certainly gives us a unique guy at that position-he can catch and he can block. The question, can we ever hand him the ball and let him pick up a yard up the middle. Also you have to look at Malcome being #4 at TB. Based on the spring game alone, I would have him #2 but we didn't get to see all the other spring practices and he did have some injuries in the spring. Hutson Mason being #2 at QB is not a surprise at all. I think it is pretty evident that Crowell will be #2 or #1 on the chart by the time the season rolls around.
On the D, course Kwame is #1 at the nose, many expect Jenkins to come in and take that spot, I say not so fast my friend. Abry Jones is one DE as is DeAngelo Tyson as expected. At LB, Jarvis Jones, Cornelius Washington, Christian Robinson and Alec Ogletree are the 1's. In the secondary, surprising to see Sanders Commings as the #1 corner while Branden Smith is #2 behind Brandon Boykin. I think the Brando(e)n's should be #1 corners, with Commings and Rambo as #1 safties myself. For now, Rambo and Shawn Williams hold down the #1 spots at safety. I think our young guys on D, being Ray Drew, Swann, Nick Williams, Corey Moore-those guys have a very legit shot to come in and get PT. Also probably a middle LB has a shot to come in as well.
Men's tennis lost to SoCal yesterday 4-0. Great season for the team but SoCal was just too tough for them-and they did win the national title last year and are always a great tennis program.
Final note, Cowboys won the title last night, 5-3. In pee wee baseball, that is the equal to a big league game finishing 1-0. Neither team could hit well but played outstanding defense. Proud of my son and his teammates. Glad to be done with youth sports for a few months, his first taste of football will start in July.
Monday, May 23, 2011
On the brink of elimination, great job by the softball team as well as Mens tennis
So, after the great win on Thursday night, the Diamond Dogs then fell flat, losing 9-3 on Friday night, before blowing up in the 8th inning on Saturday afternoon. In a game where they trailed 6-0, they came back to take a 7-6 lead heading into the top of the 8th, only to watch Vandy score 11, yes that is right, 11 runs in their final two innings. The usually reliable Tyler Maloof didn't get the job done, Vandy got a couple bad hop singles, and the rest just snowballed. So now, the Dogs know what they have to do in the SEC tourney which is a double elimination tourney-win 3 games. They start the tourney playing this same Vandy team again which will NOT be an easy task. Win that one and they will play most likely #1 seed South Carolina in the second game. They have to play it one game at a time but certain they had their chances this weekend and really for the last couple weeks to avoid this type scenario. I would like to say I am optmistic but that would be a lie. I have already gone on record saying if they don't make the tourney, Perno needs to be fired immediately. I stand by that, and some might say I am a guy that just doesn't "get it" but I think I do get it. There are too many really good baseball players in this state for UGA to not be a very good team EVERY year-yes, some you lose to the draft but there are enough that don't go pro out of HS to stock your team. Yes, the team is much improved over last year but it would be hard to be worse than last years team. Three years ago this program was one win away from winning a title, to see how far they have fallen in three years, really unbelievable. Here are the records the past 4 years-including that national runner up team in 2008-
I just think a new direction is needed, and Perno although a great Dog through and through, has been given his opportunity. I feel the same way about Mark Richt, if the football team does not win 8 games in the regular season this fall, he should be fired immediately after the last regular season game. I am realistic enough to understand there will be ups and downs in sports but you can't have too many downs when you are at a school like UGA. I know I am biased but our school has it ALL and then some. There is NO REASON our sports programs should not be every bit as good as UF, Bama, AU, LSU, TN-the other elite level schools in this conference. I am all for giving a coach the opportunity to win, a chance to turn a program around but I think this was the year for Perno-I hope he wins the SEC tourney-they are capable of pulling it off-you never know what might happen in a tourney situation. And, if they make the NCAA tourney, they are just dangerous enough to make some noise. But, there is no doubt they have forced themselves into a corner and it is going to be very tough to escape it. This will be the first tough decision in the big 3 mens sport that McGarity has faced-I don't believe keeping Richt after last season was a tough decision at all.
Better news is the UGA womens softball team took care of business in the Athens regional. They beat up on Ga State first, then UAB, and finally took care of FSU. Final damage for the 3 games, UGA 27-all opponents 4. WOW. Next up they will host Baylor in the super regionals. Baylor is the 11th national seed while UGA is 6th. You have to like their chances, they are 37-4 at home this year, they have 10-0 record over the past 3 years in NCAA games at home. If they can beat Baylor 2 out of 3, they will advance to the Women's College World Series for the third year in a row.
Also good news for the Mens tennis team who beat Tennessee 4-3 to advance to the final 4 of mens tennis, snapping a 5 match losing streak against the Vols-who were the 3rd seed to our 6th seed. I would say that was a great time to end that losing streak. Now, up next just happens to be defending national champ, Southern Cal, who is the 2nd seed. Match will be today at 3p. The ladys tennis team was eliminated in the quarters, losing to #1 and undefeated Stanford 4-0 on their home court.
Some recruiting scuttlebutt, Grayson athlete Denzel Nkemdiche has evidently committed to Ole Miss per the AJC and says he will not visit Athens. He says his brother, the likely #1 prospect in Ga and the nation in class of 2013 will come with him to Ole Miss likely. WOW-I have been covering this story for quite a while and if this does indeed end up happening, I will be shocked. Not that Denzel is headed there but that his brother would go there. Obviously Houston Nutt is a greasy used car salesman-we all know that about him but for him to possibly get this package, WOW. Thing is, if Nutt has another bad season like he did last year, will he even be the coach in 2012?? Course many will say the same about Coach Richt as well but then it all comes back to who has the better program between the two schools and there is NO DOUBT about that, even taking off my red and black glasses. As I have said before, Ole Miss is a beautiful campus, they have nice facilties as well-but nothing on the level of what we have in Athens. There is a chance Denzel does not qualify and if that happens, he will still end up in Miss, but at a JUCO there. So for now, this will continue to be TBD recruting situation.
A very solid 2012 prospect, Josh Holsey, has narrowed his list to UGA, AU, LSU and VaTech and will make his decision tomorrow at 3p. Many speculate that he will head to VaTech as a teammate has already committed there-some say AU is the team to beat. As for UGA, we were the last to offer (sounds familiar-hello Dillon Lee) and he has admitted he grew up a huge UGA fan-but did the late offer ruin our chances.
Speaking of late offers and all the anger this is generating, I am not really sure what to think honestly. On one hand, I think, as the state school we should be out in front with our evaluations and offers-thus we should always be one of the first to offer the elite kids. On the other hand, most kids ARE getting offers before their senior year so not like they have to go out and knock socks off during their senior year to get an offer-that has to be a real comfort to these kids-they know they have a spot locked up before their last year of HS even starts. So, in that way of thinking, why should these kids be offended when UGA waits to offer until they are 100% sure. As has been explained by Coach Richt before, UGA ONLY offers a kid they fully expect to have a spot for. Our opponents, because they are typically in states that do not produce nearly the number of blue chip players as our state, they will go ahead and offer immediately to figure this gives them at least a shot with Ga kids. They might not figure to have any chance to sign the kid but if they offer them, at least the kid knows he has that offer-and sometimes he decides to take the offer. When that happens, the other school might later in the game have to come back to another kid and say, well, we filled up your spot already. Now, I wouldn't mind UGA offering more kids and then it turns into a Texas situation-where a kid that really wants to be a Longhorn, he better take that offer fast or risk not being able to play at Texas. This is why Texas is usually close to finished in recruiting the summer before these kids actually sign on the dotted line. In reading these recruting updates, there does seem to be a lot of kids that "grew up a huge UGA" but then get mad because UGA offers late in the game. I could argue if you truly want to be a Dog, it shouldn't matter when the offer comes in, you jump on it. But, with these elite level prospects, there is something called ego that is involved. That ego/cockiness serves them well on the playing field because it comes with it extreme confidence in their abilities. Confidence is always a KEY ingredient in all sports on all levels. But, with that ego also comes expectations that you should offer me NOW and if you don't, you must not really want me. No doubt it is a tough job, recruting and deciding who you really want and how you go about recruiting these kids.
Personal note, my son plays for the pee wee title today, they have sailed through the winners bracket and even if they lose today, they still get another crack at the title Wed night. Yes, little league sports is all about learning the game and having fun but you don't get many opportunities to win a championship-so it becomes all about winning (yes, that is correct Charlie Sheen). My son is not the greatest baseball player yet- it is amazing how GOOD some of these 7 year old boys are, but he is having fun and loves his teammates and really wants a title. So, usually I reserve this spot for Go Dogs but for my son and his teammates, today I close with Go COWBOYS!! (Oklahoma State)
| 2008 | Georgia | 45–25–1 | 20–9–1 | 1st (East) | College World Series Runner-up |
| 2009 | Georgia | 38–22 | 15–15 | 3rd (East) | NCAA Regional |
| 2010 | Georgia | 16–37 | 5–23 | 6th (East) | |
| 2011 | Georgia | 28–28 | 16–14 | 4th (East) |
I just think a new direction is needed, and Perno although a great Dog through and through, has been given his opportunity. I feel the same way about Mark Richt, if the football team does not win 8 games in the regular season this fall, he should be fired immediately after the last regular season game. I am realistic enough to understand there will be ups and downs in sports but you can't have too many downs when you are at a school like UGA. I know I am biased but our school has it ALL and then some. There is NO REASON our sports programs should not be every bit as good as UF, Bama, AU, LSU, TN-the other elite level schools in this conference. I am all for giving a coach the opportunity to win, a chance to turn a program around but I think this was the year for Perno-I hope he wins the SEC tourney-they are capable of pulling it off-you never know what might happen in a tourney situation. And, if they make the NCAA tourney, they are just dangerous enough to make some noise. But, there is no doubt they have forced themselves into a corner and it is going to be very tough to escape it. This will be the first tough decision in the big 3 mens sport that McGarity has faced-I don't believe keeping Richt after last season was a tough decision at all.
Better news is the UGA womens softball team took care of business in the Athens regional. They beat up on Ga State first, then UAB, and finally took care of FSU. Final damage for the 3 games, UGA 27-all opponents 4. WOW. Next up they will host Baylor in the super regionals. Baylor is the 11th national seed while UGA is 6th. You have to like their chances, they are 37-4 at home this year, they have 10-0 record over the past 3 years in NCAA games at home. If they can beat Baylor 2 out of 3, they will advance to the Women's College World Series for the third year in a row.
Also good news for the Mens tennis team who beat Tennessee 4-3 to advance to the final 4 of mens tennis, snapping a 5 match losing streak against the Vols-who were the 3rd seed to our 6th seed. I would say that was a great time to end that losing streak. Now, up next just happens to be defending national champ, Southern Cal, who is the 2nd seed. Match will be today at 3p. The ladys tennis team was eliminated in the quarters, losing to #1 and undefeated Stanford 4-0 on their home court.
Some recruiting scuttlebutt, Grayson athlete Denzel Nkemdiche has evidently committed to Ole Miss per the AJC and says he will not visit Athens. He says his brother, the likely #1 prospect in Ga and the nation in class of 2013 will come with him to Ole Miss likely. WOW-I have been covering this story for quite a while and if this does indeed end up happening, I will be shocked. Not that Denzel is headed there but that his brother would go there. Obviously Houston Nutt is a greasy used car salesman-we all know that about him but for him to possibly get this package, WOW. Thing is, if Nutt has another bad season like he did last year, will he even be the coach in 2012?? Course many will say the same about Coach Richt as well but then it all comes back to who has the better program between the two schools and there is NO DOUBT about that, even taking off my red and black glasses. As I have said before, Ole Miss is a beautiful campus, they have nice facilties as well-but nothing on the level of what we have in Athens. There is a chance Denzel does not qualify and if that happens, he will still end up in Miss, but at a JUCO there. So for now, this will continue to be TBD recruting situation.
A very solid 2012 prospect, Josh Holsey, has narrowed his list to UGA, AU, LSU and VaTech and will make his decision tomorrow at 3p. Many speculate that he will head to VaTech as a teammate has already committed there-some say AU is the team to beat. As for UGA, we were the last to offer (sounds familiar-hello Dillon Lee) and he has admitted he grew up a huge UGA fan-but did the late offer ruin our chances.
Speaking of late offers and all the anger this is generating, I am not really sure what to think honestly. On one hand, I think, as the state school we should be out in front with our evaluations and offers-thus we should always be one of the first to offer the elite kids. On the other hand, most kids ARE getting offers before their senior year so not like they have to go out and knock socks off during their senior year to get an offer-that has to be a real comfort to these kids-they know they have a spot locked up before their last year of HS even starts. So, in that way of thinking, why should these kids be offended when UGA waits to offer until they are 100% sure. As has been explained by Coach Richt before, UGA ONLY offers a kid they fully expect to have a spot for. Our opponents, because they are typically in states that do not produce nearly the number of blue chip players as our state, they will go ahead and offer immediately to figure this gives them at least a shot with Ga kids. They might not figure to have any chance to sign the kid but if they offer them, at least the kid knows he has that offer-and sometimes he decides to take the offer. When that happens, the other school might later in the game have to come back to another kid and say, well, we filled up your spot already. Now, I wouldn't mind UGA offering more kids and then it turns into a Texas situation-where a kid that really wants to be a Longhorn, he better take that offer fast or risk not being able to play at Texas. This is why Texas is usually close to finished in recruiting the summer before these kids actually sign on the dotted line. In reading these recruting updates, there does seem to be a lot of kids that "grew up a huge UGA" but then get mad because UGA offers late in the game. I could argue if you truly want to be a Dog, it shouldn't matter when the offer comes in, you jump on it. But, with these elite level prospects, there is something called ego that is involved. That ego/cockiness serves them well on the playing field because it comes with it extreme confidence in their abilities. Confidence is always a KEY ingredient in all sports on all levels. But, with that ego also comes expectations that you should offer me NOW and if you don't, you must not really want me. No doubt it is a tough job, recruting and deciding who you really want and how you go about recruiting these kids.
Personal note, my son plays for the pee wee title today, they have sailed through the winners bracket and even if they lose today, they still get another crack at the title Wed night. Yes, little league sports is all about learning the game and having fun but you don't get many opportunities to win a championship-so it becomes all about winning (yes, that is correct Charlie Sheen). My son is not the greatest baseball player yet- it is amazing how GOOD some of these 7 year old boys are, but he is having fun and loves his teammates and really wants a title. So, usually I reserve this spot for Go Dogs but for my son and his teammates, today I close with Go COWBOYS!! (Oklahoma State)
Friday, May 20, 2011
Great start, keep it going Diamond Dogs!!
Wow, what a great win last night for the baseball team. Down early, 4-1, they battled back to tie the game in the 6th and then took the lead in the 7th. The game last night showed a team that took advantage of everything given to them, had some very timely hits and then of course, GREAT pitching by Michael Palazzone, pitching a complete game. Vandy had their ace on the mound and he is likely a 1st round draft pick in the upcoming baseball draft. Yet, the Dogs managed to hit two homers-he had only given up 2 homers ALL year, and then forced him into a couple of walks back to back, and tied the game. Like I say, it was a case of UGA doing all the little things to win a baseball game against a VERY good team. Now they need to win one more of the two remaining to feel they have a legit shot to make a regional. If they could win all three, they could actually afford to lose two straight in the SEC tourney and still finish a game over 500. IF they can take one of the remaining two, they would still need one win in the conference tourney. IF they lose both remaining games, they would have to win 3 games in the SEC tourney. SO, it is pretty obvious they must win one more. You can read more about Thursday nights game below.
http://dogbytesonline.com/palazzone-goes-distance-in-opening-win-45620/
The two teams play again tonight at 6:30pm, I do not think there is any TV for tonight's game or the game tomorrow afternoon at 2p. Here is something to think about though, UF plays UK at home tonight at 7. IF Florida wins the game, they wrap up the east title, since both Vandy and SCarolina lost yesterday. Also, UF holds the tiebreaker over those two as well. So, could or would Vandy turn to their bench players knowing their shot at the east title is over?? I doubt it would happen for tonights game but it COULD happen for tomorrows game. Hey, I am looking for any/every advantage I can for the team to win this series. A series sweep would be so wonderful, you just can't imagine how much pressure that would take off the entire team heading into the SEC tourney. I will say this, IF UGA gets in the tourney, they would be a dangerous opponent simply because they are battled tested. They have faced about 4-5 pitchers this season that have a legit shot to be drafted in the first round of the upcoming MLB draft. They have played the toughest overall schedule in the nation-so they will NOT be intimidated playing whomever they get matched with. I don't think they are good enough to make the World Series but then again, not like they have no chance. That is why getting in the regionals is such a big deal. On the flipside, look at LSU who bombed Miss State yesterday. They sit at 12-16 in the conference, we are 16-12 btw, but overall record is 35-19. I think you can see clearly what happened with LSU-they played a cupcake non conference schedule. But, even though they are most likely not headed to Hoover, they have a shot to make the NCAA tourney-they probably need to root for UGA to NOT make it-that might open a spot for them.
One more note, read today the SEC plans to keep the SEC baseball tourney is Hoover for another 5 years. BOO, I think this needs to change but I guess some SEC fans probably think the football title game should move from Atlanta and rotate. Oh well, it was a nice thought while it lasted, about Coolray hosting the event that is.
In my latest Nkemdiche mention, seems I mention that name almost every day on the blog, after reading about Ole Miss being his leader or words similar, sounds like Denzel has reached out to Bryan McClendon to try to set up a visit this weekend in Athens. When the prospect is contacting the school to set up a visit, WHAT does that usually tell you folks-it tells you the young man wants to visit, take a tour and more than likely commit to UGA. I have said it before and will say it again, in no way do I think poorly of Ole Miss and Oxford, Miss. I have been there for a UGA football before, back in the late 90's, it is a VERY nice place, I enjoyed going there and it helped that UGA won the football game. But, it was a LONG (pretty boring I might add) drive and simply put, Ole Miss does not compare to UGA when it comes to football facilties or program. Both campuses are very nice and pretty, Ole Miss is much smaller but very nice. Still, IF the two brother are serious that they will play college football together, I just am not buying that Denzel is headed to Oxford because I can't see a kid like Robert ending up there. Time will tell, but I can see Denzel heading to Athens, maybe playing special teams or maybe redshirting. This could be the ultimate package deal but I am telling you, Denzel is flat out good football player. He is fast and can really hit. I think he has a great shot to be a player for us, but he just might have more competition in Athens than in Oxford. But, I think the distance will be a factor, also I think he will get a better education in Athens. We shall see what happens, I expect him to make his decision early next week.
Final note of the week, yesterday it was announced that UGA will play the Cincinnati Bearcats in the SEC/Big East challenge. UGA will host the game on Friday, December 2nd. This will be the first meeting between the two schools but Cincy is a GOOD hoops program. They went 26-9 last year, good for 6th in the Big East and lost in the round of 32 to eventual national champ UCONN. As it stands now, 4 of their top 6 scorers return from last year, one player of interest is Cashmere Wright, who is from Savannah, Ga. It will be a TOUGH game for Coach Fox and company but always good to test yourself early against quality opposition.
Hope everyone has a great weekend, weather is supposed to be outstanding in Georgia, one week until the Memorial Day holiday! Go Dogs!
http://dogbytesonline.com/palazzone-goes-distance-in-opening-win-45620/
The two teams play again tonight at 6:30pm, I do not think there is any TV for tonight's game or the game tomorrow afternoon at 2p. Here is something to think about though, UF plays UK at home tonight at 7. IF Florida wins the game, they wrap up the east title, since both Vandy and SCarolina lost yesterday. Also, UF holds the tiebreaker over those two as well. So, could or would Vandy turn to their bench players knowing their shot at the east title is over?? I doubt it would happen for tonights game but it COULD happen for tomorrows game. Hey, I am looking for any/every advantage I can for the team to win this series. A series sweep would be so wonderful, you just can't imagine how much pressure that would take off the entire team heading into the SEC tourney. I will say this, IF UGA gets in the tourney, they would be a dangerous opponent simply because they are battled tested. They have faced about 4-5 pitchers this season that have a legit shot to be drafted in the first round of the upcoming MLB draft. They have played the toughest overall schedule in the nation-so they will NOT be intimidated playing whomever they get matched with. I don't think they are good enough to make the World Series but then again, not like they have no chance. That is why getting in the regionals is such a big deal. On the flipside, look at LSU who bombed Miss State yesterday. They sit at 12-16 in the conference, we are 16-12 btw, but overall record is 35-19. I think you can see clearly what happened with LSU-they played a cupcake non conference schedule. But, even though they are most likely not headed to Hoover, they have a shot to make the NCAA tourney-they probably need to root for UGA to NOT make it-that might open a spot for them.
One more note, read today the SEC plans to keep the SEC baseball tourney is Hoover for another 5 years. BOO, I think this needs to change but I guess some SEC fans probably think the football title game should move from Atlanta and rotate. Oh well, it was a nice thought while it lasted, about Coolray hosting the event that is.
In my latest Nkemdiche mention, seems I mention that name almost every day on the blog, after reading about Ole Miss being his leader or words similar, sounds like Denzel has reached out to Bryan McClendon to try to set up a visit this weekend in Athens. When the prospect is contacting the school to set up a visit, WHAT does that usually tell you folks-it tells you the young man wants to visit, take a tour and more than likely commit to UGA. I have said it before and will say it again, in no way do I think poorly of Ole Miss and Oxford, Miss. I have been there for a UGA football before, back in the late 90's, it is a VERY nice place, I enjoyed going there and it helped that UGA won the football game. But, it was a LONG (pretty boring I might add) drive and simply put, Ole Miss does not compare to UGA when it comes to football facilties or program. Both campuses are very nice and pretty, Ole Miss is much smaller but very nice. Still, IF the two brother are serious that they will play college football together, I just am not buying that Denzel is headed to Oxford because I can't see a kid like Robert ending up there. Time will tell, but I can see Denzel heading to Athens, maybe playing special teams or maybe redshirting. This could be the ultimate package deal but I am telling you, Denzel is flat out good football player. He is fast and can really hit. I think he has a great shot to be a player for us, but he just might have more competition in Athens than in Oxford. But, I think the distance will be a factor, also I think he will get a better education in Athens. We shall see what happens, I expect him to make his decision early next week.
Final note of the week, yesterday it was announced that UGA will play the Cincinnati Bearcats in the SEC/Big East challenge. UGA will host the game on Friday, December 2nd. This will be the first meeting between the two schools but Cincy is a GOOD hoops program. They went 26-9 last year, good for 6th in the Big East and lost in the round of 32 to eventual national champ UCONN. As it stands now, 4 of their top 6 scorers return from last year, one player of interest is Cashmere Wright, who is from Savannah, Ga. It will be a TOUGH game for Coach Fox and company but always good to test yourself early against quality opposition.
Hope everyone has a great weekend, weather is supposed to be outstanding in Georgia, one week until the Memorial Day holiday! Go Dogs!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Big baseball series starts tonight
As I have mentioned all week, baseball team starts a crucial series tonight against Vanderbilt at Foley Field. Tonight's game starts at 7:30 and will be televised by ESPNU. I have already covered what needs to happen over these three games, at least 2 of 3. Do I think that happens, honestly I have to say no. The team has NOT been playing great the last couple weeks, losing two very winnable series-albeit on the road-against AU and UK. I don't have a lot of confidence they can get the job done because Vandy is very good, and they are 14-4 on the road this year last time I checked-that is VERY good. The team has improved over last year but let's be honest, last year was flat out embarrassing-it is hard not to improve on that. You can read more about the series in this Athens Banner-Herald article.
http://dogbytesonline.com/bulldogs-can-make-life-easier-vs-dores-45592/
Also of note is we now know who UGA will open with in football for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. UGA will open the 2012 season at Death Valley on August 31st, 2013, and will host the Tigers in Athens August 30th, 2014. If you are counting at home, that would mean a senior Aaron Murray will lead us in the game at Clemson, while Christian LeMay or ??? would lead us at home in 2014. So now we know we will open 3 of the next 4 seasons with quality non conference opponents. 2012 currently has us kicking off with Buffalo on Sept 1st, per the information I have. Of course before reading about Clemson kicking off the 2013, it was supposed to be North Texas. The bottom line, I personally favor the strong opening opponent so your players have something to really work for during the off season. They HAVE to be ready to go from the start when they play a quality opponent.
We should find out Monday if Denzel Nkemdiche will play this fall at Ole Miss or UGA. He just returned from his Ole Miss visit raving about how he loved it there and thought he could get instant playing time this fall. He plans to meet with his Dad and younger brother to make his decision. Now, he might end up going to Ole Miss but IF he does, I don't think the brothers will be playing together in college. No disrespect to Ole Miss but that program is just not on the same level as UGA, and I simply can't see Ole Miss coming into this state in 2013 and plucking perhaps the best player in the nation to attend school in Oxford. Having visited there before for a UGA football game, I can say I was impressed with the place-it is very nice and the tailgate setup in the grove is really cool to see. All that being said, no way does it compare to UGA in any shape, form or fashion. Not to mention it is about a good 6 hours away from the Grayson area, as opposed to an hour away to Athens. I had thought Denzel was making a trip to Athens this weekend but I am not sure about that. Grasyon HS is holding their Green/Gold spring game Friday night, so he might can go up Saturday. We shall see how this plays out but I honestly didn't give Ole Miss a shot until I read his comments today. Then again, I have read a TON of recruiting updates about kids that LOVED UGA only to commit the next day to another school. So, you take everything you read with a grain of salt.
http://dogbytesonline.com/bulldogs-can-make-life-easier-vs-dores-45592/
Also of note is we now know who UGA will open with in football for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. UGA will open the 2012 season at Death Valley on August 31st, 2013, and will host the Tigers in Athens August 30th, 2014. If you are counting at home, that would mean a senior Aaron Murray will lead us in the game at Clemson, while Christian LeMay or ??? would lead us at home in 2014. So now we know we will open 3 of the next 4 seasons with quality non conference opponents. 2012 currently has us kicking off with Buffalo on Sept 1st, per the information I have. Of course before reading about Clemson kicking off the 2013, it was supposed to be North Texas. The bottom line, I personally favor the strong opening opponent so your players have something to really work for during the off season. They HAVE to be ready to go from the start when they play a quality opponent.
We should find out Monday if Denzel Nkemdiche will play this fall at Ole Miss or UGA. He just returned from his Ole Miss visit raving about how he loved it there and thought he could get instant playing time this fall. He plans to meet with his Dad and younger brother to make his decision. Now, he might end up going to Ole Miss but IF he does, I don't think the brothers will be playing together in college. No disrespect to Ole Miss but that program is just not on the same level as UGA, and I simply can't see Ole Miss coming into this state in 2013 and plucking perhaps the best player in the nation to attend school in Oxford. Having visited there before for a UGA football game, I can say I was impressed with the place-it is very nice and the tailgate setup in the grove is really cool to see. All that being said, no way does it compare to UGA in any shape, form or fashion. Not to mention it is about a good 6 hours away from the Grayson area, as opposed to an hour away to Athens. I had thought Denzel was making a trip to Athens this weekend but I am not sure about that. Grasyon HS is holding their Green/Gold spring game Friday night, so he might can go up Saturday. We shall see how this plays out but I honestly didn't give Ole Miss a shot until I read his comments today. Then again, I have read a TON of recruiting updates about kids that LOVED UGA only to commit the next day to another school. So, you take everything you read with a grain of salt.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Big win for Diamon Dogs, more attrition
The baseball team took care of business Tuesday, with a 9-4 win over Kennesaw State. Next up, 3rd ranked Vandy-although I have also noticed them being called #1 ranked, I am not the polling expert when it comes to college baseball but let's just say, they are a VERY good team heading to Athens for games tomorrow thru Sunday-SEC series are pushed up a day because the SEC tourney starts next week in Hoover, Alabama. I think UGA should make a push to get the SEC tourney moved to Coolray Field in Lawrenceville. Being a native of Gwinnett county, I have been to that stadium, home of the Triple A Gwinnett Braves, two times this season with my kids activities. It is a VERY nice ballpark, very easy access to the interstate, great parking lot, comfy stadium etc. I am not sure what the contract is with Hoover but I think the SEC tourney should rotate locations like the basketball tourney. Course I just think ATL and state of Ga is better equipped to run major events than the other states in the SEC, except for perhaps Florida but as far as easy access-great facilities, hotels etc, Coolray would fit the bill.
Back to Vandy for a second, UGA now sits one game over 500. Simply put, if they lose all 3 to Vandy, they will be two games under 500 which means the ONLY way they qualify for the regional is winning the SEC tourney. Win one of three, you sit at 500 entering conference play which means you have to win 3 games in the SEC tourney before losing 2 and being eliminated-in a tourney, that pretty much means playing until the final 4 or even title game but they would not HAVE to win the tourney. If they win 2 of 3, they would be 2 games over 500 entering the tourney which means they would have to win one game to remain over 500. Looking at the potential matchup in the SEC tourney, here is the way it would set up as of now.
1. SOUTH CAROLINA (Series win vs. VU;UF)
2. ALABAMA (Winner of 4-way tiebreak)
3. FLORIDA (Won 2 of 3 vs. VU)
4. VANDERBILT (Lost 2 of 3 vs. UF)
5. GEORGIA
6. MISS. STATE (Lost 2 of 3 vs. Alabama)
7. AUBURN (Won 2 of 3 vs. ARK)
8. ARKANSAS (Lost 2 of 3 vs. AU)
So, our opponent the next three days COULD be our opponent in game 1 of the tourney-talk about a BAD draw. We would be better off being the 7 seed to play Bama or even the 6 seed to play UF. Bottom line is, we really need to win this series to have any shot in my mind. Vandy has plenty to play for, if they sweep us and SCarolina and UF both drop one of 3 against Bama or Kentucky, Vandy could get that top seed. I just noticed, I thought SCarolina hosted Bama but they play at Bama-that series has HUGE implications for both schools because both are in 4 or 3 way ties within their division. Bama is 13-14 in conference play, tied with Miss State, Ark and AU but currently would be the winner of the tiebreaker. Of course SCarolina is in a 3 way tie with UF and Vandy, all at 20-7 in conference. It will be an interesting last weekend in SEC baseball but for our Dogs, the season will all come down to this 3 game set with Vandy, and/or winning the SEC tourney which is NOT going to be an easy task with Vandy, SCarolina, and UF all involved. Game tomorrow against Vandy will be at 7:30 and televised on ESPNU.
More attrition for the football team, this time it is AJ Harmon, the backup OT that came to Athens predicting he would be an NFL superstar but never really panned out. My buddy from the Dawgpost, Lowndes25 made the following post yesterday-
So, because a coach does everything in their power to motivate a kid (i.e. One-on-one meetings, early morning runs, etc.) to reach their potential but the kid is determined not to study the playbook, take plays off during practice, not listen to the other guys around him about what to do, not apply himself to his studies in the classroom, etc. and you want to blame the coaches?!?! Trust me, there is nothing else our coaches could have done to try and get Harmon's attention than what they did so, no, I will not blame them for Harmon's wasted potential. You recruit a kid based on not only how good they performed during high school but how good you project them to be at the next level but there is only so much that a coach can do with a kid who is certifiably lazy both on and off the field. JMHO though.
I don't know what connection Lowndes has with UGA program, but I value his information-he was VERY on target with his recruiting updates and seems to have a lot of inside information. In regards to Harmon, I think he is spot on from all I have gathered in following this kid. If you remember, when he was recruited, he wanted to play DL coming out of HS-Coach Garner said he would give him that chance IF he got his weight down which he never did. He never could crack the starting lineup and then of course had academic issues which caused him to be ineligible for the Liberty bowl. It sounds like this kid needs to go to a smaller school, concentrate on his academics and play against maybe a little lesser quality of opponent, then hopefully turn his life around and play in the NFL. He has the size for the NFL but does he have the work ethic-as of now you would have to say NO WAY. Thing with Harmon, he has already used his redshirt year so his options are very limited. I wish him well for the future and hate that he didn't have a great career in Athens. I think now everyone can see that when you sign a recruiting class, you can always sign 1-2 more than maybe what openings you have because EVERY year there is attrition-you never know where it will come from but it happens. We have lost 2 now in 2 weeks, per Coach Richt, he thinks this will be it. But, as we have come to find out, summer can sometimes be a problem for football players in Athens. Let's hope our guys have learned from previous mistakes but between Ealey and Harmon, then Dowtin and Williams (think I missed someone here) you can see we have enough spots to have a nice sized class in 2012 and also add one more to the 2011 class-I think that will happen next week, probably around Thursday/Friday, after final exams and final grades are determined at Grayson HS.
Finally, here is an interesting article in the preseason mag Athlon-picking UGA to win the east and giving us a national rank of 14. Now, I am not ready to say we win the east but I think we have as good a shot as anyone this year. But, for us to win the east and be ranked 14th means two things, they are not confident in us winning more than 10 games and they think the SECw winnner will be the SEC champ. Fine by me, but I would prefer them not even pick us to win the east. I like being the underdog and flying under the radar.
http://uga.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1222758
Back to Vandy for a second, UGA now sits one game over 500. Simply put, if they lose all 3 to Vandy, they will be two games under 500 which means the ONLY way they qualify for the regional is winning the SEC tourney. Win one of three, you sit at 500 entering conference play which means you have to win 3 games in the SEC tourney before losing 2 and being eliminated-in a tourney, that pretty much means playing until the final 4 or even title game but they would not HAVE to win the tourney. If they win 2 of 3, they would be 2 games over 500 entering the tourney which means they would have to win one game to remain over 500. Looking at the potential matchup in the SEC tourney, here is the way it would set up as of now.
1. SOUTH CAROLINA (Series win vs. VU;UF)
2. ALABAMA (Winner of 4-way tiebreak)
3. FLORIDA (Won 2 of 3 vs. VU)
4. VANDERBILT (Lost 2 of 3 vs. UF)
5. GEORGIA
6. MISS. STATE (Lost 2 of 3 vs. Alabama)
7. AUBURN (Won 2 of 3 vs. ARK)
8. ARKANSAS (Lost 2 of 3 vs. AU)
So, our opponent the next three days COULD be our opponent in game 1 of the tourney-talk about a BAD draw. We would be better off being the 7 seed to play Bama or even the 6 seed to play UF. Bottom line is, we really need to win this series to have any shot in my mind. Vandy has plenty to play for, if they sweep us and SCarolina and UF both drop one of 3 against Bama or Kentucky, Vandy could get that top seed. I just noticed, I thought SCarolina hosted Bama but they play at Bama-that series has HUGE implications for both schools because both are in 4 or 3 way ties within their division. Bama is 13-14 in conference play, tied with Miss State, Ark and AU but currently would be the winner of the tiebreaker. Of course SCarolina is in a 3 way tie with UF and Vandy, all at 20-7 in conference. It will be an interesting last weekend in SEC baseball but for our Dogs, the season will all come down to this 3 game set with Vandy, and/or winning the SEC tourney which is NOT going to be an easy task with Vandy, SCarolina, and UF all involved. Game tomorrow against Vandy will be at 7:30 and televised on ESPNU.
More attrition for the football team, this time it is AJ Harmon, the backup OT that came to Athens predicting he would be an NFL superstar but never really panned out. My buddy from the Dawgpost, Lowndes25 made the following post yesterday-
So, because a coach does everything in their power to motivate a kid (i.e. One-on-one meetings, early morning runs, etc.) to reach their potential but the kid is determined not to study the playbook, take plays off during practice, not listen to the other guys around him about what to do, not apply himself to his studies in the classroom, etc. and you want to blame the coaches?!?! Trust me, there is nothing else our coaches could have done to try and get Harmon's attention than what they did so, no, I will not blame them for Harmon's wasted potential. You recruit a kid based on not only how good they performed during high school but how good you project them to be at the next level but there is only so much that a coach can do with a kid who is certifiably lazy both on and off the field. JMHO though.
I don't know what connection Lowndes has with UGA program, but I value his information-he was VERY on target with his recruiting updates and seems to have a lot of inside information. In regards to Harmon, I think he is spot on from all I have gathered in following this kid. If you remember, when he was recruited, he wanted to play DL coming out of HS-Coach Garner said he would give him that chance IF he got his weight down which he never did. He never could crack the starting lineup and then of course had academic issues which caused him to be ineligible for the Liberty bowl. It sounds like this kid needs to go to a smaller school, concentrate on his academics and play against maybe a little lesser quality of opponent, then hopefully turn his life around and play in the NFL. He has the size for the NFL but does he have the work ethic-as of now you would have to say NO WAY. Thing with Harmon, he has already used his redshirt year so his options are very limited. I wish him well for the future and hate that he didn't have a great career in Athens. I think now everyone can see that when you sign a recruiting class, you can always sign 1-2 more than maybe what openings you have because EVERY year there is attrition-you never know where it will come from but it happens. We have lost 2 now in 2 weeks, per Coach Richt, he thinks this will be it. But, as we have come to find out, summer can sometimes be a problem for football players in Athens. Let's hope our guys have learned from previous mistakes but between Ealey and Harmon, then Dowtin and Williams (think I missed someone here) you can see we have enough spots to have a nice sized class in 2012 and also add one more to the 2011 class-I think that will happen next week, probably around Thursday/Friday, after final exams and final grades are determined at Grayson HS.
Finally, here is an interesting article in the preseason mag Athlon-picking UGA to win the east and giving us a national rank of 14. Now, I am not ready to say we win the east but I think we have as good a shot as anyone this year. But, for us to win the east and be ranked 14th means two things, they are not confident in us winning more than 10 games and they think the SECw winnner will be the SEC champ. Fine by me, but I would prefer them not even pick us to win the east. I like being the underdog and flying under the radar.
http://uga.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1222758
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Baseball today vs. Mercer before showdown with #1 Vandy
Today marks the last non conference game of the season for the Diamond Dogs, who right now you could say are REALLY sitting high on the NCAA bubble. With a 26-26 record and needing to finish above 500 overall to have a shot at regional, the game today is beyond crucial, especially with #1 Vandy coming to town Thursday-Saturday. If the Dogs lose this one, I fear the odds of making the tourney are slim to none, it would take winning the SEC baseball title to get the job done. The way this team has played down the stretch, I think the idea of them winning the SEC tourney title is more than a bit unrealistic. But, that is why you play the games. As I mentioned though, first up is Kennesaw State, a team that beat UGA 12-8 earlier this year and has won two straight in the series. You can read a little more about the game clicking on the link below.
http://dogbytesonline.com/baseball-preview-kennesaw-st-at-georgia-45533/
On the recruiting front, we lost out on Dillon Lee, brother of current UGA OL Dallas Lee. Dillon is headed to Alabama, he chose the Tide over us, FSU and Southern Cal. I had thought we had a chance with this one due to having his brother on our roster, but it really came down to Bama offered a long time ago and we offered May 2nd. Now, a big part of that late offer is because we are on our 3rd LB coach in 3 years. Every LB coach has a different style they like and recruit, it appears our last LB coach, Belin liked other kids better than Lee. Our new coach, Olivadotti liked Lee and extended the offer but it was just too late. I wish the kid well, he appears to be a solid prospect but if he were my son, I would be a little concerned about him heading off to Bama to be honest. While there is NO DOUBT Nick Saban is a great college football coach, he is a college football coach with a pro coach mentality. If you come in and can't win a job, you will be replaced and after a couple years likely will be on your way to make room for the next recruit. I also, and this is just my opinion, don't see Saban staying at Bama for more than another year or two. Look at his track record-I know Bama is maybe considered different but eventually a place like that burns you out when you have Nick's personality. Course Bama fans will NEVER believe that to be true.
In an interesting development, it appears Robert Nkemdiche's older brother Denzel is going to qualify academically after all. He played corner at Grayson High, UGA had helped place him at a JUCO in Miss, but now has offered him a spot in Athens. Per Denzel, there is a 100 percent chance that Robert will attend the same school he attends. The brothers are very close and they want to play college ball together-again, per Denzel. In recent interviews I have watched, Robert has hinted it could work out that way but it might not. Some might say, Denzel is only getting an offer from UGA because of Robert but don't sell the older brother short, I feel sure he would have received a lot more offers had his academics been in order-but certainly a LOT of schools would be willing to give older brother a shot in order to land younger brother who likely will be the #1 prospect in the country as a SR in high school-he is THAT good. But Denzel is a good football player too. Right now it appears to be between Ole Miss and UGA, I think it is a no brainer that UGA will get him at this point. He would be a solid addition to the dream team class, he likely will redshirt but then would have a shot to play the next fall. I have feared that Bama would come in and steal Robert in the end and they still worry me just because the head coach at Grayson bleeds Crimson and white, but this is a good start for UGA and let's just hope it is indeed a package deal.
http://dogbytesonline.com/baseball-preview-kennesaw-st-at-georgia-45533/
On the recruiting front, we lost out on Dillon Lee, brother of current UGA OL Dallas Lee. Dillon is headed to Alabama, he chose the Tide over us, FSU and Southern Cal. I had thought we had a chance with this one due to having his brother on our roster, but it really came down to Bama offered a long time ago and we offered May 2nd. Now, a big part of that late offer is because we are on our 3rd LB coach in 3 years. Every LB coach has a different style they like and recruit, it appears our last LB coach, Belin liked other kids better than Lee. Our new coach, Olivadotti liked Lee and extended the offer but it was just too late. I wish the kid well, he appears to be a solid prospect but if he were my son, I would be a little concerned about him heading off to Bama to be honest. While there is NO DOUBT Nick Saban is a great college football coach, he is a college football coach with a pro coach mentality. If you come in and can't win a job, you will be replaced and after a couple years likely will be on your way to make room for the next recruit. I also, and this is just my opinion, don't see Saban staying at Bama for more than another year or two. Look at his track record-I know Bama is maybe considered different but eventually a place like that burns you out when you have Nick's personality. Course Bama fans will NEVER believe that to be true.
| Overall | 134–53–1 (college)[a] 15–17 (NFL) |
|---|---|
| Bowls | 6–6 |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
|---|---|
| 1972–1974 1975–1976 1977 1978–1979 1980–1981 1982 1983–1987 1988–1989 1990 1991–1994 1995–1999 2000–2004 2005–2006 2007–present | Kent State (GA) Kent State (D. Asst.) Syracuse (D. Asst.) West Virginia (D. Asst.) Ohio State (DBs) Navy (D. Asst.) Michigan St (DBs/DC) Houston Oilers (DBs) Toledo Cleveland Browns (DC) Michigan St LSU Miami Dolphins Alabama |
In an interesting development, it appears Robert Nkemdiche's older brother Denzel is going to qualify academically after all. He played corner at Grayson High, UGA had helped place him at a JUCO in Miss, but now has offered him a spot in Athens. Per Denzel, there is a 100 percent chance that Robert will attend the same school he attends. The brothers are very close and they want to play college ball together-again, per Denzel. In recent interviews I have watched, Robert has hinted it could work out that way but it might not. Some might say, Denzel is only getting an offer from UGA because of Robert but don't sell the older brother short, I feel sure he would have received a lot more offers had his academics been in order-but certainly a LOT of schools would be willing to give older brother a shot in order to land younger brother who likely will be the #1 prospect in the country as a SR in high school-he is THAT good. But Denzel is a good football player too. Right now it appears to be between Ole Miss and UGA, I think it is a no brainer that UGA will get him at this point. He would be a solid addition to the dream team class, he likely will redshirt but then would have a shot to play the next fall. I have feared that Bama would come in and steal Robert in the end and they still worry me just because the head coach at Grayson bleeds Crimson and white, but this is a good start for UGA and let's just hope it is indeed a package deal.
Monday, May 16, 2011
The good and the bad of the weekend
The Diamond Dogs HAVE clinched a spot in the 8 team SEC tourney coming up next week in Hoover, Alabama-that is the good news. They are 15-12 in conference after losing two of three at Kentucky, which is the bad news. The Dogs lost the first two games with their best two pitchers going, then held on to win the last game 7-6. Our overall record is at 500 now, 26-26, and we have 4 games before the SEC tourney. In an ideal world, we would win 3 of 4 but is that realistic?? Probably not considering we have the #1 ranked team in America coming to town starting Thursday in Vandy. They are 42-8 overall, 20-7 in the SEC. They are fighting to win the SEC overall and Eastern divison title, because SCarolina and Florida also have 20-7 conference records. SCarolina hosts Bama this weekend while UF hosts Kentucky. I would strongly favor Florida to win the division and SEC based on the opposition and playing at home. Course Vandy just beat UF two out of three over this past weekend, Vandy also has by FAR the best road record in the SEC with an amazing 14-4 record. First up though is a MUST win against Kennesaw State tomorrow in Athens-they beat us already this season in Kennesaw, so this is NOT going to be easy. If we could win that one and somehow find a way to win the Vandy series, we would stand a good shot at making the regionals. Anything short of that, I think a run in the SEC tourney is our only chance.
Ladies softball team will host a regional and is the national #6 seed. They lost the SEC conference tourney to UT over the weekend on a walkoff homer. They will host Ga. State, and also have UAB and FSU in their regional-they SHOULD have no trouble advancing in that regional. They will look to make a 3rd straight trip to the Women's college world series.
The 8th ranked women's tennis team and the 6th ranked men's tennis teams have made the round of 16, which means they will have a shot to compete for the national title, this year hosted by Stanford. Mens team will take on number 12 Duke, women will take on 8 seed (assuming our team got the 9th seed even though they are ranked 8th) California.
A few recruiting notes, Dillon Lee will make his college choice tonight, between FSU, Bama, UGA and USC. Most think it will be a FSU-Bama decision. Of course Dillon's brother Dallas is currently a UGA football player, and UGA offfered him only on May 2nd. Two weeks after that offer, he will make his announcement. Does this mean that UGA will get him, he was waiting on that offer OR did UGA wait too long and he already had his mind made up before our coaches offered. I am not sure when he came up with his decision date but I would imagine that would tell the true story. IF he decided to announce on this day BEFORE UGA offered, I would tend to agree UGA is on the outside looking in. However, if he made the date known a few days after the UGA offer or a week after whatever the case, I would think we have a shot. I also read that Denzel Nkemdiche is close to making a qualifying test score and UGA/Ole Miss have offered him a spot-not sure what happens here but if so, he would be added to the 2011 class and MAYBE that helps us with his brother Robert who I can assure you, barring injury will be possible the #1 recruit in the nation for the class of 2013.
All for now, I tried to post last Friday but the blog was giving me issues. Hope you all had a great weekend.
Ladies softball team will host a regional and is the national #6 seed. They lost the SEC conference tourney to UT over the weekend on a walkoff homer. They will host Ga. State, and also have UAB and FSU in their regional-they SHOULD have no trouble advancing in that regional. They will look to make a 3rd straight trip to the Women's college world series.
The 8th ranked women's tennis team and the 6th ranked men's tennis teams have made the round of 16, which means they will have a shot to compete for the national title, this year hosted by Stanford. Mens team will take on number 12 Duke, women will take on 8 seed (assuming our team got the 9th seed even though they are ranked 8th) California.
A few recruiting notes, Dillon Lee will make his college choice tonight, between FSU, Bama, UGA and USC. Most think it will be a FSU-Bama decision. Of course Dillon's brother Dallas is currently a UGA football player, and UGA offfered him only on May 2nd. Two weeks after that offer, he will make his announcement. Does this mean that UGA will get him, he was waiting on that offer OR did UGA wait too long and he already had his mind made up before our coaches offered. I am not sure when he came up with his decision date but I would imagine that would tell the true story. IF he decided to announce on this day BEFORE UGA offered, I would tend to agree UGA is on the outside looking in. However, if he made the date known a few days after the UGA offer or a week after whatever the case, I would think we have a shot. I also read that Denzel Nkemdiche is close to making a qualifying test score and UGA/Ole Miss have offered him a spot-not sure what happens here but if so, he would be added to the 2011 class and MAYBE that helps us with his brother Robert who I can assure you, barring injury will be possible the #1 recruit in the nation for the class of 2013.
All for now, I tried to post last Friday but the blog was giving me issues. Hope you all had a great weekend.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
That one HURT
Baseball team lost to Mercer 4-2 yesterday, I had warned this would be a tough game but c'mon guys, 2 runs off Mercer?? Dogs now are 25-24 on the season as they head to Lexington this weekend. A sweep of the Cats is what the doctor orders but can they do it-UK as mentioned yesterday is pretty tough at home so it will be a tall order but as I listened to some of the game yesterday, Jeff Danztler said 30 was the magic number for the Dogs. We have 7 regular season games left, then will make the SEC tourney which will also be chances to add to the victory total. Bottom line though, very little margin for error and that game yesterday was a chance to get to 3 games over 500-just a crucial loss. I think if we don't make the regionals, it will be a VERY tough decision for Greg McGarity. Yes, David Perno has had success in Athens but he has NOT been consistent enough. I am pulling for Perno and the team to get it done down the stretch but with every loss like yesterday, it gets tougher.
So now that Washaun Ealey has left the program, yesterday all over the message boards there is talk of Caleb King being ineligible. Also AJ Harmon not making his grades. Also talk of John Jenkins not being able to get in school. Is it me or do UGA fans-or those that claim to be fans, become the most paranoid people on the planet this time of year. Coach Richt was speaking to a Bulldog club in Greenville, SC didn't know a thing about King's status, considered him eligible. I am huge UGA fan, I have followed the program since the late 70's-as a kid, attended school in Athens, had season tickets for over 10 years, watch every game or listen, and I admit I usually try to be very positive/optimistic when it comes to Georgia football. However, if I see a negative, I am also not going to refuse to take off my red and black tinted glasses-in other words, I like to keep it real. But I can say this without hesitation, UGA has some of the best fans in the nation but also some of the worst. I guess every school could also make that claim but when it comes to UGA fans, you have so many that will always look for the negative to talk about. Our team can score 30 points in a game but Bobo and the offense will still get blamed. Our team can play great D but give a long scoring play, Grantham or whomever MUST go. Rumors are always starting about someone not qualifying for admission, or someone failing out. The AJC of course never helps, any and every bit of negative news they can print out our program they will do in a hearbeat-the negative news sells/draws more attention than the positive news, heck, just watch your local newscast and you see that. I guess sometimes I just get sick of all the negative-sick of all the rumors, sick of all the stuff our student athletes are doing wrong. Again, in no way do I think UGA faithful should sit around and ignore anything negative going on with our programs, just take a look at my comments about our baseball program earlier on this blog. I guess I just get tired of there always being something rumored-grades, not qualifying, coaches that can't coach, players that don't care, etc etc. So to sum up, UNTIL UGA announces that Caleb King (or whomever) will not be playing football for us this fall, I refuse to believe that he is not eligible, or he is ineligible but is appealing, or whatever other rumor is out there.
Speaking of positive, I heard a very positive interview with Aaron Murray this morning, caught part of it yesterday afternoon. Buck Belue interviewed him and wow, what a very quality young man we have playing QB for us. He is very articulate, very positive, just sounds like a great leader. He had a lot of good things to say about the offense, he also said he really thought the D would be much improved. He said he was heading home for a little bit to work out and just relax. Guessing the players have from now until maybe first of June to spend at home, I am glad they get to have this break. It has to be nice to get back to your hometown, see your buddies, eat Mom's cooking etc. The guys just need to relax and stay out of trouble, the HS kids need to buckle down, pass their classes and enjoy the end of high school. Then everyone come back focused and ready to work to start off June.
So now that Washaun Ealey has left the program, yesterday all over the message boards there is talk of Caleb King being ineligible. Also AJ Harmon not making his grades. Also talk of John Jenkins not being able to get in school. Is it me or do UGA fans-or those that claim to be fans, become the most paranoid people on the planet this time of year. Coach Richt was speaking to a Bulldog club in Greenville, SC didn't know a thing about King's status, considered him eligible. I am huge UGA fan, I have followed the program since the late 70's-as a kid, attended school in Athens, had season tickets for over 10 years, watch every game or listen, and I admit I usually try to be very positive/optimistic when it comes to Georgia football. However, if I see a negative, I am also not going to refuse to take off my red and black tinted glasses-in other words, I like to keep it real. But I can say this without hesitation, UGA has some of the best fans in the nation but also some of the worst. I guess every school could also make that claim but when it comes to UGA fans, you have so many that will always look for the negative to talk about. Our team can score 30 points in a game but Bobo and the offense will still get blamed. Our team can play great D but give a long scoring play, Grantham or whomever MUST go. Rumors are always starting about someone not qualifying for admission, or someone failing out. The AJC of course never helps, any and every bit of negative news they can print out our program they will do in a hearbeat-the negative news sells/draws more attention than the positive news, heck, just watch your local newscast and you see that. I guess sometimes I just get sick of all the negative-sick of all the rumors, sick of all the stuff our student athletes are doing wrong. Again, in no way do I think UGA faithful should sit around and ignore anything negative going on with our programs, just take a look at my comments about our baseball program earlier on this blog. I guess I just get tired of there always being something rumored-grades, not qualifying, coaches that can't coach, players that don't care, etc etc. So to sum up, UNTIL UGA announces that Caleb King (or whomever) will not be playing football for us this fall, I refuse to believe that he is not eligible, or he is ineligible but is appealing, or whatever other rumor is out there.
Speaking of positive, I heard a very positive interview with Aaron Murray this morning, caught part of it yesterday afternoon. Buck Belue interviewed him and wow, what a very quality young man we have playing QB for us. He is very articulate, very positive, just sounds like a great leader. He had a lot of good things to say about the offense, he also said he really thought the D would be much improved. He said he was heading home for a little bit to work out and just relax. Guessing the players have from now until maybe first of June to spend at home, I am glad they get to have this break. It has to be nice to get back to your hometown, see your buddies, eat Mom's cooking etc. The guys just need to relax and stay out of trouble, the HS kids need to buckle down, pass their classes and enjoy the end of high school. Then everyone come back focused and ready to work to start off June.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Ealey wants to be the man, baseball today vs. Mercer
So, if the quotes I have read this morning are true, I think Washaun Ealey leaving was in the best interest of WE most certainly and UGA more than likely as well. I don't want a kid that is wants to be given something without competing for it-but then again, entitlement is something our program has struggled with recently and our country struggles with today-everyone is not entitled to a house, car, insurance, nice clothes, etc etc-you work for what you get, or at least that is the way our country was set up originally. Here is the unofficial quote I have read this morning-
“I’m a person where I want to be a premier back,” Ealey told the website. “If I was to play here, I would have had to share the backfield with Caleb and Carlton also. Then they were going to try to give the freshman Isaiah his chance. He probably was going to get some carries at the beginning of the year too. I just felt like I didn’t want to be in that mix of things anymore.”
If you are confident in your abilities, you stay and fight. But then again, Ealey feeling this way combined with his off the field issues, I just think it is best for all parties to move on. Course you read this morning that Ga. Southern, "has not been and will not be in conversation with Washaun Ealey,” Rose Carter, Georgia Southern assistant athletic director for athletics media relations, said by email this afternoon. That is pretty harsh there. I have heard Valdosta State is a possible destination, maybe Albany State or Savannah State (do they play football), course also Ga. State but doubt Curry would touch him. The interesting thing is, per his Mom in the paper yesterday, she had no idea he had made this decision. You would think/hope a kid would be getting some advise/support from his family in making this big decision. But evidently that was not the case. I just hope this kid will get another chance and do well, on the surface it sure seems like he is someone that needs to get his head screwed on straight and then move forward.
Tonight is a big game for the baseball team, hosting Mercer at Foley Field, game starts at 5p. UGA beat Mercer down in Macon earlier this year 8-6. A win tonight puts us back at 3 games over 500, before we head to Lexington to take on Kentucky, a team that is 5-19 in conference. One scary number though in looking at UK's team, they are 18-9 at home this year, 2-14 away. Before we get to Lexington though, we MUST beat Mercer. These in state mid week games usually are a big concern, and I am still concerned but I believe this team understands the importance of every game from here on out and so I am hoping they play like a team on a mission today. Mercer is a good team, beating GT twice this year and they come in with 29-17 record. To read more about the game today, read the link below.
http://dogbytesonline.com/mercer-baseball-at-georgia-45425/
“I’m a person where I want to be a premier back,” Ealey told the website. “If I was to play here, I would have had to share the backfield with Caleb and Carlton also. Then they were going to try to give the freshman Isaiah his chance. He probably was going to get some carries at the beginning of the year too. I just felt like I didn’t want to be in that mix of things anymore.”
If you are confident in your abilities, you stay and fight. But then again, Ealey feeling this way combined with his off the field issues, I just think it is best for all parties to move on. Course you read this morning that Ga. Southern, "has not been and will not be in conversation with Washaun Ealey,” Rose Carter, Georgia Southern assistant athletic director for athletics media relations, said by email this afternoon. That is pretty harsh there. I have heard Valdosta State is a possible destination, maybe Albany State or Savannah State (do they play football), course also Ga. State but doubt Curry would touch him. The interesting thing is, per his Mom in the paper yesterday, she had no idea he had made this decision. You would think/hope a kid would be getting some advise/support from his family in making this big decision. But evidently that was not the case. I just hope this kid will get another chance and do well, on the surface it sure seems like he is someone that needs to get his head screwed on straight and then move forward.
Tonight is a big game for the baseball team, hosting Mercer at Foley Field, game starts at 5p. UGA beat Mercer down in Macon earlier this year 8-6. A win tonight puts us back at 3 games over 500, before we head to Lexington to take on Kentucky, a team that is 5-19 in conference. One scary number though in looking at UK's team, they are 18-9 at home this year, 2-14 away. Before we get to Lexington though, we MUST beat Mercer. These in state mid week games usually are a big concern, and I am still concerned but I believe this team understands the importance of every game from here on out and so I am hoping they play like a team on a mission today. Mercer is a good team, beating GT twice this year and they come in with 29-17 record. To read more about the game today, read the link below.
http://dogbytesonline.com/mercer-baseball-at-georgia-45425/
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Ealey gone, good-bad-indifferent reactions??
As most probably know by the time you read this blog, Washaun Ealey and UGA have parted ways. Coach Mark Richt announced he was granting an unconditonal release to Ealey which means he is free to attend any school he wishes with no restrictions. Course if he transfers to a D1 program, he would have to sit out a year but he does have his redshirt season remaining. Most have speculated he would transfer to Georgia Southern since it is about 30 or so miles from his home. Whatever he chooses, I personally wish him the best. A lot of folks have been trashing the kid but I don't see why. He played pretty well most of his career-minus the two HUGE fumbles last year, he had the off the field problems yes but not like he is the only player we have with problems off the field. Hopefully he will find a home and prosper. I think this does mean, what I have said all along has a great chance to play out against Boise State-Isaiah Crowell will be on the field for the first snap.
There is no doubt a lot of pressure on Crowell to produce for us, a lot of our fan base will expect he will have a similar impact as Marcus Lattimore. While I am not ready to say he will blow up like Lattimore did, there is no doubt he will have a big impact because he is truly the most gifted running back all around we have had since Moreno. Some will say, what about the hype for Caleb King or Ealey-not the same. Had King NOT been injured his senior year, I think the case could be made that Caleb came in with just as much hype as Crowell because there is no doubt King was on that level-BUT, he suffered the broken leg in I think game 4 of his senior year. Ealey was well known within the state, broke Herschel's TD record but played at a very small school in the smallest classification in state. He was recruited but not a national recruit like Crowell was. Crowell in fact is probably the most hyped back to come to UGA since, well, possibly HW himself. Again though, I do NOT think he makes the impact of even Lattimore because we have some depth at the position-he is not going to get 30+ carries a game. He is going to get maybe 15-20 a game tops and probably will catch a few screens.
So the question really is, what do most UGA fans think about Ealey being gone? Are they happy he is gone, sad that he is gone or just fall somewhere in the middle. I say I fall in the middle. I never am happy or glad to see one of our talented players leave the program but, no doubt this kid had problems off the field, had some crucial fumbles last year, there were many rumors around that he was not the best teammate around, you just have to believe this move is the best for both parties involved. In the grand scheme of things, it means Crowell better come ready to play and better be in the best shape of his life, Caleb King needs to report to camp ready and focused. He is without question our most experienced back on campus and this is his final season-he can make a name for himself this year as he has talent and this is his last chance to prove to everyone that he was worth all the praise coming into school. He knows the offense, he has speed, good vision, he has it all but just needs to put it together. Ken Malcome will now get his shot-he redshirted and then had to deal with all the hype surrounding Crowell. The kid looked solid to me in the Gday game, he is a big brusing type back that could be the perfect compliment to the more elusive Crowell and King. Carlton Thomas is insurance in case of an injury but has a LOT of experience going for him as well. I think the fact that King is gone after this year, Thomas is a SR next year and not likely in the plans for the RB position, should help us land another elite back in the class of 2012. From what I understand, the kid up in North Carolina, Keith Marshall, is the back our coaches have put the target on. A lot of folks I have read on message boards (take it with a grain of salt) have said if we land Marshall, we will have the best TB tandem since Ingram and Richardson at Bama. We shall see but certainly with some of these latest moves, you can see where attrition ALWAYS plays a role on a college football roster. Our 2012 class continues to expand in numbers and will be a great class, provided we can win football games this fall.
I found this on the UGA blog from the AJC-
Do you agree that the offensive skill players are the biggest reason for concern? Bigger than the unsettled secondary, where one of the safety positions is still a big question mark? Bigger than the reshuffling of an already suspect offensive line after the injury of Trinton Sturdivant?
What makes you the most nervous about the 2011 Dogs?
For me there is no doubt what I worry most about, the skill positions on offense. Sure, we have Murray coming back but who else that is proven? Charles is a stud TE but he was absent most of last season, save the Florida game and you know teams will plan to limit his touches. Tavarres King is a solid WR but he has never been the #1 WR, I think TKing is a good WR but can he be a great one? Do we have another WR or two that can step up? Durham and TKing were great #2 and #3 WR's last year, do we have anyone that can be as good as those two guys, to take some pressure off Charles and TKing. Of course already discussed is the RB position. We do have a SR with talent and of course a top rated RB coming in but will these guys provide us with enough of a run game to help out Murray? You could point out the OL and maybe I am a fool to say but I have more confidence about the OL this year than last year. I think highly of Glenn, Jones, Gates, and also look for Bean Anderson, AJ Harmon, Chris Burnette and some of the younger guys to step up-I really do have confidence the line is going to be improved. As for the D, I think getting Tree, Samuel, Jarvis Jones and company playing LB, having the big NG that can cause serious problems in the middle of the line, I really do think the D can be really good. The secondary I think will be fine with Smith, Boykin, Rambo, Commings and Shawn Williams back there. I personally think this unit will make a big splash this season and will really help get our offense going.
So what do you all think about Ealey, or what concerns you the most about the upcoming season? Comments are always welcome.
There is no doubt a lot of pressure on Crowell to produce for us, a lot of our fan base will expect he will have a similar impact as Marcus Lattimore. While I am not ready to say he will blow up like Lattimore did, there is no doubt he will have a big impact because he is truly the most gifted running back all around we have had since Moreno. Some will say, what about the hype for Caleb King or Ealey-not the same. Had King NOT been injured his senior year, I think the case could be made that Caleb came in with just as much hype as Crowell because there is no doubt King was on that level-BUT, he suffered the broken leg in I think game 4 of his senior year. Ealey was well known within the state, broke Herschel's TD record but played at a very small school in the smallest classification in state. He was recruited but not a national recruit like Crowell was. Crowell in fact is probably the most hyped back to come to UGA since, well, possibly HW himself. Again though, I do NOT think he makes the impact of even Lattimore because we have some depth at the position-he is not going to get 30+ carries a game. He is going to get maybe 15-20 a game tops and probably will catch a few screens.
So the question really is, what do most UGA fans think about Ealey being gone? Are they happy he is gone, sad that he is gone or just fall somewhere in the middle. I say I fall in the middle. I never am happy or glad to see one of our talented players leave the program but, no doubt this kid had problems off the field, had some crucial fumbles last year, there were many rumors around that he was not the best teammate around, you just have to believe this move is the best for both parties involved. In the grand scheme of things, it means Crowell better come ready to play and better be in the best shape of his life, Caleb King needs to report to camp ready and focused. He is without question our most experienced back on campus and this is his final season-he can make a name for himself this year as he has talent and this is his last chance to prove to everyone that he was worth all the praise coming into school. He knows the offense, he has speed, good vision, he has it all but just needs to put it together. Ken Malcome will now get his shot-he redshirted and then had to deal with all the hype surrounding Crowell. The kid looked solid to me in the Gday game, he is a big brusing type back that could be the perfect compliment to the more elusive Crowell and King. Carlton Thomas is insurance in case of an injury but has a LOT of experience going for him as well. I think the fact that King is gone after this year, Thomas is a SR next year and not likely in the plans for the RB position, should help us land another elite back in the class of 2012. From what I understand, the kid up in North Carolina, Keith Marshall, is the back our coaches have put the target on. A lot of folks I have read on message boards (take it with a grain of salt) have said if we land Marshall, we will have the best TB tandem since Ingram and Richardson at Bama. We shall see but certainly with some of these latest moves, you can see where attrition ALWAYS plays a role on a college football roster. Our 2012 class continues to expand in numbers and will be a great class, provided we can win football games this fall.
I found this on the UGA blog from the AJC-
Over at ESPN.com, Edward Aschoff took a look at the biggest reasons for hope and concern for the Georgia Bulldogs this season. As you’d expect, the return of quarterback Aaron Murray was one of the reasons for hope, along with a talented linebacker unit, which he said “could be the most athletic in the league.”
Biggest reason for concern, Aschoff says, is Georgia’s unproven offensive skill players: “The Bulldogs have a ton of offensive talent, but only Murray, wide receiver Tavarres King and tight end Orson Charles have really made any sort of impact. Those three are reliable, but the rest of the group has yet to prove themselves. The Bulldogs haven’t found that elite running back. Washaun Ealey’s future is unknown and senior Caleb King was solid this spring, but has yet to really break out. Ken Malcome and Carlton Thomas struggled with injuries this spring. Incoming freshman Isaiah Crowell will have a ton of expectations to live up to when he arrives and he will immediately be in the thick of the running back competition. At receiver, King will be the go-to-guy, but after him there is a cloud of uncertainty. Marlon Brown seemed to come along at times this spring, but was inconsistent. Rantavious Wooten might be the most athletic receiver, but he, too, was inconsistent this spring and didn’t play in Georgia’s spring game. The rest of Georgia’s group hardly has any experience.”Do you agree that the offensive skill players are the biggest reason for concern? Bigger than the unsettled secondary, where one of the safety positions is still a big question mark? Bigger than the reshuffling of an already suspect offensive line after the injury of Trinton Sturdivant?
What makes you the most nervous about the 2011 Dogs?
For me there is no doubt what I worry most about, the skill positions on offense. Sure, we have Murray coming back but who else that is proven? Charles is a stud TE but he was absent most of last season, save the Florida game and you know teams will plan to limit his touches. Tavarres King is a solid WR but he has never been the #1 WR, I think TKing is a good WR but can he be a great one? Do we have another WR or two that can step up? Durham and TKing were great #2 and #3 WR's last year, do we have anyone that can be as good as those two guys, to take some pressure off Charles and TKing. Of course already discussed is the RB position. We do have a SR with talent and of course a top rated RB coming in but will these guys provide us with enough of a run game to help out Murray? You could point out the OL and maybe I am a fool to say but I have more confidence about the OL this year than last year. I think highly of Glenn, Jones, Gates, and also look for Bean Anderson, AJ Harmon, Chris Burnette and some of the younger guys to step up-I really do have confidence the line is going to be improved. As for the D, I think getting Tree, Samuel, Jarvis Jones and company playing LB, having the big NG that can cause serious problems in the middle of the line, I really do think the D can be really good. The secondary I think will be fine with Smith, Boykin, Rambo, Commings and Shawn Williams back there. I personally think this unit will make a big splash this season and will really help get our offense going.
So what do you all think about Ealey, or what concerns you the most about the upcoming season? Comments are always welcome.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Thank goodness for 9 run 9th innings!!!
The baseball team avoided what would have been a disaster by pulling out a miracle come back win yesterday in Auburn. Instead of being 24-24, 13-11 in conference, amazing what one game can do-25-23 and 14-10 in conference play. Despite two solid pitching efforts on Friday and Saturday, the Dogs had managed to score only 3 runs in 18 innings against a team that was LAST in the SEC in pitching. On Sunday, they were down 8-0 after just one inning-but managed to scored 9 in the top of the ninth to win 14-11. You can read more detail about the win in the article below. I keep preaching on winning series and this one got away, but next up in SEC is last place Kentucky in Lexington. Losing the series to AU only makes it a MUST to win 2 or 3 games next weekend. We finish with Vandy and they are likely one of the top 5 teams in the nation, needless to say that series even at home figures to be tough. First things first though, we need to take care of Mercer on Wednesday in Athens. Win that one as we should, 26-23, win 2 of 3 in Lexington, 28-24, beat Kennesaw in Athens next week, 29-24 which puts us in great shape going into the final weekend against Vandy. In conference, should we take 2 of 3 against the Cats, we would sit at 16-11, guaranteed a winning mark in the SEC for the season even if Vandy sweeps us. Now I believe school is out or will be in the next day or two, hopefully that will help the Diamond Dogs focus and close the season out strong. Great job to salvage the win yesterday. The team might look back on that game and realize its importance as this season plays out, that could play a huge role in them making the regionals.
http://dogbytesonline.com/bulldogs-escape-sweep-with-nine-run-ninth-inning-45387/
Here is an article from the Athens paper about the APR scores of the Georgia sports teams. I admit to knowing very little about how the numbers are calculated but will just say, all UGA sports have passed and will not face any penalties. In fact, the overall program score increased by 3 points this year. So, while we have not been having quite the success on the field that we would hope for, at least our kids are taking care of their responsibilities in the classroom. Congrats to the kids, the coaches and the academic support staff that helps out tremendously.
http://dogbytesonline.com/apr-scores-headed-in-right-direction-for-georgia-45341/
A few final notes for today, the Lady Dogs softball team finished the regular season with a 44-10 record, after taking a weekend series at home against Miss State. Amazingly, with that record, they head to the SEC tourney as the 5th seed-I think that tells you how good women's softball is in the SEC. The UGA team is ranked 7th but yet finished 5th in the SEC-WOW.
UGA golfer Russell Henley won the Stadion Classic at the UGA golf course yesterday. What is the big deal you say, well, Henley became just the second amateur player ever to win a Nationwide tour event-and because he is indeed an amateur, he could not take the prize money associated with the win, $99,000. WOW, that is a great honor but sure would be hard to know you won that much money but have to say NO THANKS!! Course this kid is currently an all american player in college, he will become a professional golfer in due time and will make MUCH more than 99K. Congratulations are in order for Russell for his big win.
Finally, I just found this article in the Athens paper, I will put in on my blog because 1) it is a good story and 2) Rennie Curran is one of my favorite all time UGA players-doesn't hurt that he also attended my high school and was a great player for the Broncos as well. Rennie left UGA early and while I hated to see him go, I knew he had a child to take care of and in this article, you can read that he also has his homeland that he wants to help out. Rennie loves UGA and gave all he had to the school during his playing years, if only all our players played with as much effort and heart as Rennie, we would be tough to beat.
http://dogbytesonline.com/curran-returns-to-native-land-after-22-long-years-of-waiting-2-45032/
http://dogbytesonline.com/bulldogs-escape-sweep-with-nine-run-ninth-inning-45387/
Here is an article from the Athens paper about the APR scores of the Georgia sports teams. I admit to knowing very little about how the numbers are calculated but will just say, all UGA sports have passed and will not face any penalties. In fact, the overall program score increased by 3 points this year. So, while we have not been having quite the success on the field that we would hope for, at least our kids are taking care of their responsibilities in the classroom. Congrats to the kids, the coaches and the academic support staff that helps out tremendously.
http://dogbytesonline.com/apr-scores-headed-in-right-direction-for-georgia-45341/
A few final notes for today, the Lady Dogs softball team finished the regular season with a 44-10 record, after taking a weekend series at home against Miss State. Amazingly, with that record, they head to the SEC tourney as the 5th seed-I think that tells you how good women's softball is in the SEC. The UGA team is ranked 7th but yet finished 5th in the SEC-WOW.
UGA golfer Russell Henley won the Stadion Classic at the UGA golf course yesterday. What is the big deal you say, well, Henley became just the second amateur player ever to win a Nationwide tour event-and because he is indeed an amateur, he could not take the prize money associated with the win, $99,000. WOW, that is a great honor but sure would be hard to know you won that much money but have to say NO THANKS!! Course this kid is currently an all american player in college, he will become a professional golfer in due time and will make MUCH more than 99K. Congratulations are in order for Russell for his big win.
Finally, I just found this article in the Athens paper, I will put in on my blog because 1) it is a good story and 2) Rennie Curran is one of my favorite all time UGA players-doesn't hurt that he also attended my high school and was a great player for the Broncos as well. Rennie left UGA early and while I hated to see him go, I knew he had a child to take care of and in this article, you can read that he also has his homeland that he wants to help out. Rennie loves UGA and gave all he had to the school during his playing years, if only all our players played with as much effort and heart as Rennie, we would be tough to beat.
http://dogbytesonline.com/curran-returns-to-native-land-after-22-long-years-of-waiting-2-45032/
Friday, May 6, 2011
Let's go Diamond Dogs!!
Big weekend for our baseball team as they travel over to Auburn, Alabama for a weekend series. ALL our series are big from here to the end of the season for one simple reason in my book, OVERALL record. I think our strength of schedule and conference mark, as well as record against top 25 teams is good enough to get us in RIGHT NOW but the overall record must be above 500 and right now we only have a 3 game cushion. AU is a decent team but one that I think we should win 2 of 3, even on the road. We need our #1 starter, Alex Wood to regain his early season form. Here lately, he has been struggling big time. Course he also has to always face the #1 pitcher on the opposing team so that doesn't help. With #2 Michael Palazzone and #3 Craig Gullickson pitching solid baseball recently, especially Palazzone, if Wood can regain his early season form, this team can really be dangerous. The two teams have basically the same overall record but UGA is well ahead in conference play. In fact, UGA would be 3 games up in the SECw, they have won every series so far against the west and have a 9-3 record against those schools, not counting another non conference win over Bama at Coolray Field early this year. AU is a good hitting team but is last in the SEC in pitching so hopefully our pitchers can contain that AU offense and then our hitters can take it from there. We need to take 2 of 3, next week we have last place Kentucky in Lexington but finish out with a VERY good Vandy team in Athens.
BTW, the 13-10, 14-12 is home record, 8-10, 6-9 would be road and 3-1 and 3-0 would be neutral field record. UGA comes in after taking 2 of 3 from Arkansas, AU comes in after being swept by SCarolina.
I read on the AJC blog, written by Bill King, that UGA will not recruit a QB for the class of 2012. He was asking if this was a mistake. Well, we have two sophs (it is possible Mason could red shirt) and a FR (who might redshir). We have been down this road before and honestly, I just don't think you need to recruit a QB every year-you certainly are not going to get elite QB's every year. The best guys are typically not going to go where another top guy is already in place and sit-this is why getting LeMay was a surprise. But, this idea that we need another guy in this class, I don't buy it. Even if one our backups were to leave, I just don't see a need to have more than 2-3 at any give time on scholarship. So, if Hudson Mason decides he has a better shot going somewhere else to play, thus leaves our program to use his redshirt season at another school and be in position to get a starting spot, I say let him leave. I like Mason and think he is a good looking QB but I think LeMay has more upside. I also think we all have to remember, UGA was the biggest offer Mason had coming out of HS, he also was offered by Miss State but otherwise, not a lot of big time offers. Now, some say LeMay might be the one that leaves but I can't see any reason he would do that. He enrolled early, he has to believe he will eventually get the starting nod. The perfect plan in my book is to redshirt LeMay and keep Mason as the backup. Obviously if Murray gets hurt for more than a game, that pulls the shirt off LeMay but otherwise, let him RS and learn the playbook, get him another year of separation from Murray. Also keeping in mind, besides Gday and the other scrimmages this spring, LeMay has not gone live since his JR year of HS. Bottom line, even if one of our QB's leave, I still wouldn't offer a QB just to fill a spot. I would wait this year out and then offer a kid in the 2013 class, there is a good one at Mason's high school that would be a good catch.
If ever there was a recruiting class that will be watching our results on the playing field this year, it is the class of 2012, followed closely by the class of 2013. Assuming we have a nice rebound year, I think Dream Team 2 will be every bit as impressive as the first group. They are just playing a wait and see game at the moment I believe. The season is far from being here but there are a lot of elements coming together that at least has me optimistic. First, the return of our QB, the fact he is a bright kid and he did experience success and failure in his career already. He also faced 4 games without AJ, so that will not be something that will cause him a lot of concern. Second, the second year of playing our new 3-4 D. I think if you look at most schools that make changes like we made (changing your entire scheme is drastic in my book), it is going to take time to adjust. Third, the scheduling to start the year. I think a team heading into a season on a mission to get back to playing winning football, they need to be challenged early-it will give them a sense or urgency during fall camp. Fourth, the incoming talent base. UGA routinely has great talent coming in most years but I get a sense this class is different. Reason being, this group was sold on the idea of coming in together and together turning UGA back around, together as mostly in state kids, pride in the red and black. This class also just seemed to bond so much during the recruiting process, this group is hungry and they have been promised the chance to earn immediate playing time. They are confident enough in their abilities to where they believe they can and will come in and play right away. This in turn gives us the 5th reason, the upperclass kids in the program are feeling the heat. It is one thing for coaches to feel the heat but quite another for the players to feel the heat. So, the players now are playing for their jobs-you tell me that doesn't motivate kids to give 100% of their effort at all times. I firmly believe there was way too much entitlement running wild within our program. Too many guys getting fat/lazy/complacent-and that goes for the coaching staff as well. I think you see the success at Bama, at UF etc, you get the feeling from the outside looking in, there was more urgency within the top programs in our conference. Again, that starts at the top and I think Coach Richt for the first time in his career IS feeling the heat. He is realizing now that he can be fired, it is a possible result for him where as before, he could relax a bit.
My thought process for our 2011 season has been and continues to be, we need to find a way to win game 1 and game 2. This team played a LOT of close games last year, finding ways to lose rather than finding ways to win. I fully expect that games 1 and 2 will be close, it will come down to what team finds a way to make a play, force a turnover, make a critical tackle on 3rd down, convert a crictical 3rd down-if this team can dig deep and find ways to win those games, I really do believe we will win the SECe and stand a good shot to win the SEC title this year. If we see 2010 come back into play, we see fumbles on the goaline, we are unable to make the key stop on 3rd and long, we can't convert 3rd and inches etc, I believe the season will finish much like last year and we will be searching for a new head coach for the 2012.
Hope everyone has a great weekend, if any Mom's read the blog, HAPPY MOTHER's DAY (my Mom might be the only one might read here).
| Georgia | 13 - 8 | .619 | 24 - 21 - 0 | .533 | 13-10 | 8-10 | 3-1 | W2 |
9 - 12 | .429 | 23 - 21 | .523 | 14-12 | 6-9 | 3-0 | L3 |
BTW, the 13-10, 14-12 is home record, 8-10, 6-9 would be road and 3-1 and 3-0 would be neutral field record. UGA comes in after taking 2 of 3 from Arkansas, AU comes in after being swept by SCarolina.
I read on the AJC blog, written by Bill King, that UGA will not recruit a QB for the class of 2012. He was asking if this was a mistake. Well, we have two sophs (it is possible Mason could red shirt) and a FR (who might redshir). We have been down this road before and honestly, I just don't think you need to recruit a QB every year-you certainly are not going to get elite QB's every year. The best guys are typically not going to go where another top guy is already in place and sit-this is why getting LeMay was a surprise. But, this idea that we need another guy in this class, I don't buy it. Even if one our backups were to leave, I just don't see a need to have more than 2-3 at any give time on scholarship. So, if Hudson Mason decides he has a better shot going somewhere else to play, thus leaves our program to use his redshirt season at another school and be in position to get a starting spot, I say let him leave. I like Mason and think he is a good looking QB but I think LeMay has more upside. I also think we all have to remember, UGA was the biggest offer Mason had coming out of HS, he also was offered by Miss State but otherwise, not a lot of big time offers. Now, some say LeMay might be the one that leaves but I can't see any reason he would do that. He enrolled early, he has to believe he will eventually get the starting nod. The perfect plan in my book is to redshirt LeMay and keep Mason as the backup. Obviously if Murray gets hurt for more than a game, that pulls the shirt off LeMay but otherwise, let him RS and learn the playbook, get him another year of separation from Murray. Also keeping in mind, besides Gday and the other scrimmages this spring, LeMay has not gone live since his JR year of HS. Bottom line, even if one of our QB's leave, I still wouldn't offer a QB just to fill a spot. I would wait this year out and then offer a kid in the 2013 class, there is a good one at Mason's high school that would be a good catch.
If ever there was a recruiting class that will be watching our results on the playing field this year, it is the class of 2012, followed closely by the class of 2013. Assuming we have a nice rebound year, I think Dream Team 2 will be every bit as impressive as the first group. They are just playing a wait and see game at the moment I believe. The season is far from being here but there are a lot of elements coming together that at least has me optimistic. First, the return of our QB, the fact he is a bright kid and he did experience success and failure in his career already. He also faced 4 games without AJ, so that will not be something that will cause him a lot of concern. Second, the second year of playing our new 3-4 D. I think if you look at most schools that make changes like we made (changing your entire scheme is drastic in my book), it is going to take time to adjust. Third, the scheduling to start the year. I think a team heading into a season on a mission to get back to playing winning football, they need to be challenged early-it will give them a sense or urgency during fall camp. Fourth, the incoming talent base. UGA routinely has great talent coming in most years but I get a sense this class is different. Reason being, this group was sold on the idea of coming in together and together turning UGA back around, together as mostly in state kids, pride in the red and black. This class also just seemed to bond so much during the recruiting process, this group is hungry and they have been promised the chance to earn immediate playing time. They are confident enough in their abilities to where they believe they can and will come in and play right away. This in turn gives us the 5th reason, the upperclass kids in the program are feeling the heat. It is one thing for coaches to feel the heat but quite another for the players to feel the heat. So, the players now are playing for their jobs-you tell me that doesn't motivate kids to give 100% of their effort at all times. I firmly believe there was way too much entitlement running wild within our program. Too many guys getting fat/lazy/complacent-and that goes for the coaching staff as well. I think you see the success at Bama, at UF etc, you get the feeling from the outside looking in, there was more urgency within the top programs in our conference. Again, that starts at the top and I think Coach Richt for the first time in his career IS feeling the heat. He is realizing now that he can be fired, it is a possible result for him where as before, he could relax a bit.
My thought process for our 2011 season has been and continues to be, we need to find a way to win game 1 and game 2. This team played a LOT of close games last year, finding ways to lose rather than finding ways to win. I fully expect that games 1 and 2 will be close, it will come down to what team finds a way to make a play, force a turnover, make a critical tackle on 3rd down, convert a crictical 3rd down-if this team can dig deep and find ways to win those games, I really do believe we will win the SECe and stand a good shot to win the SEC title this year. If we see 2010 come back into play, we see fumbles on the goaline, we are unable to make the key stop on 3rd and long, we can't convert 3rd and inches etc, I believe the season will finish much like last year and we will be searching for a new head coach for the 2012.
Hope everyone has a great weekend, if any Mom's read the blog, HAPPY MOTHER's DAY (my Mom might be the only one might read here).
Thursday, May 5, 2011
One recruit headed to JUCO, could there be others?
As most probably know by now, DL signee Chris Mayes out of Spalding High will be going to Gulfport JUCO-yes, the same place Mt. Cody and John Jenkins played, also the place that Denzel Nkemdiche is headed (Robert's older brother). Seems that place has become the pipeline for producing some quality D1 players. Anyway, I have heard there could be another one or two kids that will also be headed to JUCO out of this class. It is my understanding that when you head to JUCO, you have to stay until you graduate-someone can correct me if I am wrong. That typically means 2 years although I had heard for Nkemdiche, he might only stay a year which is why I say, correct me if I am wrong. I know kids can go to prep school and that is basically and extension of high school-kids that need to get their test scores up but otherwise are ok to qualify. But thinking JUCO is another story, maybe you need both grades and test scores. Anyway, assuming Mayes is out of the mix for 2 years, that does open up another spot in the class of 2012.
Just read an interesting post on dawgpost, giving the records of Mark Richt in seasons where he has an experience QB vs. when he has an inexperienced QB-thanks to Mercyflush for the stats, of which I did not verifty, taking his word for it but looks accurate to me-
****Edited to note, MAMATOLDMESO first posted about this on dawgpost****
With Returning QB 55-11.
02: 13-1 (3)
03: 11-3 (7)
04: 10-2 (7)
07: 11-2 (2)
08: 10-3 (10)
When he doesn't return a starting QB? 41-23.
01: 8-4 (22)
05: 10-3 (10)
06: 9-4 (23)
09: 8-5 (NR)
10: 6-7 (NR)
I think you can see that when we have experience behind center, it has made a HUGE difference, the only double digit win total without a returing QB was 2005 but we really did have a returing QB because we had a DJ Shockley-who had not started but had played a LOT of snaps the previous years. This is not to say I predict a double digit win total but I do FIRMLY believe that schools with veteran/experienced QB's tend to be the ones that are playing for titles, whether it be SEC or national. As much as we all hate to admit it, look at what school last year in the east had the most experience, Garcia. As for AU, well, they just had such a gifted kid behind center, a one man wrecking crew, that was the exception to the rule. I think because of Garcia, Lattimore and Jeffery, SCarolina will be the favorites to win the east again. But, if we can beat them in game 2, I REALLY like our chances.
I continue to believe that if we can win one or two of the first two games of the season, this could be a very special year in Athens. I also continue hoping that one day the SEC will change up the schedule-wouldn't it be nice to swap say AU and SC one year or maybe change out Tenn and SC or just a number of variations. Reason I say this, SCarolina most every year, if not every year, seems to come out strong out of the gate because they are healthy and hungry for the new season. But, because they usually can't match the quality depth of the traditional SEC powers, UGA included, they usually stumble down the stretch-even last year they did stumble for a stretch. We catch them early every year and that is when they are playing their best-and we usually tend to play our best down the stretch. I just think it would be interesting to jumble the schedules up a little bit from time to time but I guess that is likely never going to happen. I know Spurrier when he took over at UF was able to get the SEC to change his AU-UGA back to back, giving him his off week every year before UGA. Seems it is something that could be looked at. Anyway, Boise is a quality team as is SCarolina but I continue to believe, if we play solid football, limit turnovers, we will win both those games. I believe we have a talent advantage on both and they both are home games-the Dome will be a big home field edge to UGA in regards to crowd, Boise will get edge in the fact they play their games on turf, but we do have a turf practice field so I don't think that is much of an advantage for them. Long time before September rolls around but it is already May, time is moving fast to me.
This weekend of course the baseball team is back in action over at AU. AU has about the same overall record as we do, much worse conference record. We need 2 of 3 in that series without question. Hopefully the players will be ready to play after having this week off for final exams.
One final note, I found this on the dawgpost as well, and since I have been critical of Mark Fox's recruiting efforts at times, I thought this link was worthy of a post here so those that follow this blog can see that maybe his recruiting is not so bad, and maybe the guy can take what most consider "project players" and turn them into NBA players. Pay attention to #'s 14 and 17 on the list. Thanks to TripleB from the hoops forum of dawgpost for this interesting find.
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/story/Jeff-Goodman-Top-20-hidden-NBA-draft-gems-since-2000-042911
Just read an interesting post on dawgpost, giving the records of Mark Richt in seasons where he has an experience QB vs. when he has an inexperienced QB-thanks to Mercyflush for the stats, of which I did not verifty, taking his word for it but looks accurate to me-
****Edited to note, MAMATOLDMESO first posted about this on dawgpost****
With Returning QB 55-11.
02: 13-1 (3)
03: 11-3 (7)
04: 10-2 (7)
07: 11-2 (2)
08: 10-3 (10)
When he doesn't return a starting QB? 41-23.
01: 8-4 (22)
05: 10-3 (10)
06: 9-4 (23)
09: 8-5 (NR)
10: 6-7 (NR)
I think you can see that when we have experience behind center, it has made a HUGE difference, the only double digit win total without a returing QB was 2005 but we really did have a returing QB because we had a DJ Shockley-who had not started but had played a LOT of snaps the previous years. This is not to say I predict a double digit win total but I do FIRMLY believe that schools with veteran/experienced QB's tend to be the ones that are playing for titles, whether it be SEC or national. As much as we all hate to admit it, look at what school last year in the east had the most experience, Garcia. As for AU, well, they just had such a gifted kid behind center, a one man wrecking crew, that was the exception to the rule. I think because of Garcia, Lattimore and Jeffery, SCarolina will be the favorites to win the east again. But, if we can beat them in game 2, I REALLY like our chances.
I continue to believe that if we can win one or two of the first two games of the season, this could be a very special year in Athens. I also continue hoping that one day the SEC will change up the schedule-wouldn't it be nice to swap say AU and SC one year or maybe change out Tenn and SC or just a number of variations. Reason I say this, SCarolina most every year, if not every year, seems to come out strong out of the gate because they are healthy and hungry for the new season. But, because they usually can't match the quality depth of the traditional SEC powers, UGA included, they usually stumble down the stretch-even last year they did stumble for a stretch. We catch them early every year and that is when they are playing their best-and we usually tend to play our best down the stretch. I just think it would be interesting to jumble the schedules up a little bit from time to time but I guess that is likely never going to happen. I know Spurrier when he took over at UF was able to get the SEC to change his AU-UGA back to back, giving him his off week every year before UGA. Seems it is something that could be looked at. Anyway, Boise is a quality team as is SCarolina but I continue to believe, if we play solid football, limit turnovers, we will win both those games. I believe we have a talent advantage on both and they both are home games-the Dome will be a big home field edge to UGA in regards to crowd, Boise will get edge in the fact they play their games on turf, but we do have a turf practice field so I don't think that is much of an advantage for them. Long time before September rolls around but it is already May, time is moving fast to me.
This weekend of course the baseball team is back in action over at AU. AU has about the same overall record as we do, much worse conference record. We need 2 of 3 in that series without question. Hopefully the players will be ready to play after having this week off for final exams.
One final note, I found this on the dawgpost as well, and since I have been critical of Mark Fox's recruiting efforts at times, I thought this link was worthy of a post here so those that follow this blog can see that maybe his recruiting is not so bad, and maybe the guy can take what most consider "project players" and turn them into NBA players. Pay attention to #'s 14 and 17 on the list. Thanks to TripleB from the hoops forum of dawgpost for this interesting find.
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/story/Jeff-Goodman-Top-20-hidden-NBA-draft-gems-since-2000-042911
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
A couple of assistant coaches with raises?? Interesting and more stuff
I read yesterday that two UGA football assistant coaches recently received raises, due to the fact they were offered jobs at other schools. The two coaches, Bryan McClendon and Tony Ball. It is further interesting that McClendon drew some questions recently at the Bulldog club meetings, prompting Coach Richt to talk about what a great coach he is and what a great recruiter he is. Ok, so let's look at it this way, as a coach he has been on staff now for a couple years, coaching running backs. This would include the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Granted, we didn't have a Moreno back there but let's be honest here, our running backs have been very average at best the past two years, save maybe a 4 game stretch at the end of 2009-the best game of course being against the Nerds over in Atlanta-the famous, "WE RUN THIS STATE" game. Bryan is a legacy kid, meaning the kid of a former UGA star player, Willie of course from back in the late 70's. Bryan himself was a good player for us back in the mid 2000's as a WR. He is a young guy and so there is no doubt I think he IS a great recruiter-a recruiter on the rise in fact. Now he will get the chance to coach a great back, let's see how that goes before we say he is a great coach. I would say at this point, he is pretty good coach and a great recruiter-nothing wrong with that but just keeping it real.
As for Tony Ball, he came to UGA from VaTech-and had done good work for the Hokies. He has coached RB's and now WR's at UGA. During his time at RB position, he got to coach Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno, while at WR coach, Kris Durham and of course AJ Green. So, you could say he is a great coach or has he just been fortunate to have great talent working for him?? He also is a solid recruiter as well so for Tony, I give him a slight edge over Bryan in coaching but probably McClendon the nod in recruiting. I would have to do some research to see exactly what recruits each brought in for this past years class but I am pretty sure, McClendon was involved with more of the dream team than was Ball. Of course the best recruiter we have going right now, especially of QB's and in south Ga, is Mike Bobo. People will constantly talk about his play calling, myself included, but he has emerged as a top flight recruiter-no doubt about that. If you want a brief update on the rasises to the two coaches, click below. Considering that assistant coaches put in a TON of work and their contracts are for one year (except Grantham), I am all for paying these guys as much as it takes to keep them, provided they are doing a good job of course.
http://dogbytesonline.com/hefty-raises-given-to-dogs-assistant-coaches-45283/
I will now turn my attention the hoops program. We have five kids now that have officially signed letters of intent, meaning they will be part of our program if they graduate and get past our admissions board-sometimes easier said than done. However, we continue to hear about Kevin Ware considering UGA, and now another name I have mentioned, Ryan Harrow who would be a transfer from NCST. Both kids are guards which we NEED, both can play point although Harrow is a true point guard and many have said Ware is not really a true point, he has been compared to Mike Mercer in that regard. Harrow is a true point guard, was a 5 star recruit coming out of HS. Currently claims he has offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Texas and UGA. I have heard Harrow's dream school is Kentucky?? If so, did they not offer him out of high school, he could have come in this year and competed with Brandon Knight but in reading an article about him, I think he wants the starting spot to be his after he sits out a year. In that regard, UGA certainly would offer that opportunity because we lose two guards after this season, we don't have another PG on campus now (unless you count Vincent Williams) and most of our targets for 2012 are wings and forwards, not point guards. So, you have to figure we have a legit shot with him and if I were our Coaches, I would stack all my eggs in the Ryan Harrow basket. Kevin Ware, I am just not sure he is the answer honestly. Now, technically we have two spots, with Nolte and Bucklin both getting our last two spots, those two guys could come off scholarship and thus we would have spots open. But, then that leaves only two spots for the class of 2012, one of the best and deepest classes in quite some time. I think you could probably see some attrition from the team after next year though, Vincent Williams being one that I could see leaving the program to go back to a smaller school in Florida, so that would possible open up a 3rd spot. That being said, I would love to add Harrow, then save the other spot and thus have at least 3 spots for 2012.
Below is an interesting blog from the great Schultz of the AJC, ranks our basketball program 4 and our football program 6 while the Nerds check in at 7 and 10, reverse order football and then hoops.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/05/03/how-they-really-stand-from-braves-1-to-jacket-hoops-10/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog
I would have to trade Falcons for Braves on his list, I would go with Hawks as third but not sure I could put our hoops ahead of football after just one good year. Football yes had a bad year in 2010, I STILL don't consider 2009 that bad of year, I have mentioned before, we started 2009 at Okie State-they actually had Dez Bryant for that game and he made a BIG impact. We lost Strudivant early in that game, we were playing a QB that had the flu, we had ZERO running game and Carlton Thomas put the ball on the ground, yet the game was very close thoughout. The UK game, Joe Cox and Branden Smith basically handed that game to the Cats on a silver platter. Our turover ratio was beyond pathetic that year, I mean every team in our neighborhood in that category had losing records. We still managed to win 8 game despite all of that. SO again, a step down from the previous years yes but not a horrible season all things considered. Last year, that was a HORRIBLE season, I know Miss State was much improved but Ealey's fumble changed that game-we score there and I honestly think we win going away. Miss State was a team that had yet to prove to themselves they could beat one of the big boys, our game with them finally proved they could win against a traditional power in conference and I think the win against us propelled them to the season they had-I really do. The Colorado game, simply no way we should have lost that game.
My point is, this year is HUGE for our program but I am not ready to say our hoops program has passed our football program just yet. I guess I am shocked that our football program is now ranked ahead of GT's football program, maybe the AJC love affair for Coach PJ is over, at least with Schultz who also took a shot at what a jerk Johnson is. Tech hoops, well, new coach and now without Shumpert, still not sure they should rank below the Thrashers but they certainly are not a very solid program right now.
As for Tony Ball, he came to UGA from VaTech-and had done good work for the Hokies. He has coached RB's and now WR's at UGA. During his time at RB position, he got to coach Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno, while at WR coach, Kris Durham and of course AJ Green. So, you could say he is a great coach or has he just been fortunate to have great talent working for him?? He also is a solid recruiter as well so for Tony, I give him a slight edge over Bryan in coaching but probably McClendon the nod in recruiting. I would have to do some research to see exactly what recruits each brought in for this past years class but I am pretty sure, McClendon was involved with more of the dream team than was Ball. Of course the best recruiter we have going right now, especially of QB's and in south Ga, is Mike Bobo. People will constantly talk about his play calling, myself included, but he has emerged as a top flight recruiter-no doubt about that. If you want a brief update on the rasises to the two coaches, click below. Considering that assistant coaches put in a TON of work and their contracts are for one year (except Grantham), I am all for paying these guys as much as it takes to keep them, provided they are doing a good job of course.
http://dogbytesonline.com/hefty-raises-given-to-dogs-assistant-coaches-45283/
I will now turn my attention the hoops program. We have five kids now that have officially signed letters of intent, meaning they will be part of our program if they graduate and get past our admissions board-sometimes easier said than done. However, we continue to hear about Kevin Ware considering UGA, and now another name I have mentioned, Ryan Harrow who would be a transfer from NCST. Both kids are guards which we NEED, both can play point although Harrow is a true point guard and many have said Ware is not really a true point, he has been compared to Mike Mercer in that regard. Harrow is a true point guard, was a 5 star recruit coming out of HS. Currently claims he has offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Texas and UGA. I have heard Harrow's dream school is Kentucky?? If so, did they not offer him out of high school, he could have come in this year and competed with Brandon Knight but in reading an article about him, I think he wants the starting spot to be his after he sits out a year. In that regard, UGA certainly would offer that opportunity because we lose two guards after this season, we don't have another PG on campus now (unless you count Vincent Williams) and most of our targets for 2012 are wings and forwards, not point guards. So, you have to figure we have a legit shot with him and if I were our Coaches, I would stack all my eggs in the Ryan Harrow basket. Kevin Ware, I am just not sure he is the answer honestly. Now, technically we have two spots, with Nolte and Bucklin both getting our last two spots, those two guys could come off scholarship and thus we would have spots open. But, then that leaves only two spots for the class of 2012, one of the best and deepest classes in quite some time. I think you could probably see some attrition from the team after next year though, Vincent Williams being one that I could see leaving the program to go back to a smaller school in Florida, so that would possible open up a 3rd spot. That being said, I would love to add Harrow, then save the other spot and thus have at least 3 spots for 2012.
Below is an interesting blog from the great Schultz of the AJC, ranks our basketball program 4 and our football program 6 while the Nerds check in at 7 and 10, reverse order football and then hoops.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/05/03/how-they-really-stand-from-braves-1-to-jacket-hoops-10/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog
I would have to trade Falcons for Braves on his list, I would go with Hawks as third but not sure I could put our hoops ahead of football after just one good year. Football yes had a bad year in 2010, I STILL don't consider 2009 that bad of year, I have mentioned before, we started 2009 at Okie State-they actually had Dez Bryant for that game and he made a BIG impact. We lost Strudivant early in that game, we were playing a QB that had the flu, we had ZERO running game and Carlton Thomas put the ball on the ground, yet the game was very close thoughout. The UK game, Joe Cox and Branden Smith basically handed that game to the Cats on a silver platter. Our turover ratio was beyond pathetic that year, I mean every team in our neighborhood in that category had losing records. We still managed to win 8 game despite all of that. SO again, a step down from the previous years yes but not a horrible season all things considered. Last year, that was a HORRIBLE season, I know Miss State was much improved but Ealey's fumble changed that game-we score there and I honestly think we win going away. Miss State was a team that had yet to prove to themselves they could beat one of the big boys, our game with them finally proved they could win against a traditional power in conference and I think the win against us propelled them to the season they had-I really do. The Colorado game, simply no way we should have lost that game.
My point is, this year is HUGE for our program but I am not ready to say our hoops program has passed our football program just yet. I guess I am shocked that our football program is now ranked ahead of GT's football program, maybe the AJC love affair for Coach PJ is over, at least with Schultz who also took a shot at what a jerk Johnson is. Tech hoops, well, new coach and now without Shumpert, still not sure they should rank below the Thrashers but they certainly are not a very solid program right now.
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