Reply With QuoteWow. Georgia landing 5-stars is not = to om landing 5-stars. Hell, they just played for a natty after winning the sec. How many times did ole hugh do that?
[tweet]https://twitter.com/BWalker_SEC/status/1023683655145861120[/tweet].
Ok - what do y'all think of this? I think it is way off base and starts to sound like whining. This isn't an Ole Miss out of the blue Top 5 class situation. Brandon went on in the replies to make it sound like UGA all the sudden discovered RB's and the recruiting game.
Here is my bone of contention with this line of thinking.
First - UGA was one of the inventors of the recruiting game in and the big business of CFB in the 80s (they were one of the drivers in the lawsuit that opened up more TV exposure). I know from personal experience that UGA has always played the recruiting game - from them placing my grandfather at a JUCO in 1940; recruiting my uncle (a HS all-American LB) in the 60s; and recruiting my teammate in the early 90s (a HS All-American QB). They may not have the volume of Natty to go with it that they should, but it doesn't mean they haven't been a regular machine in recruiting.
Second - if there is any school in the SEC that is going to attract a stable of RBs - regardless of the depth chart - it is UGA. They are the RB U of the South - going all the way back to Sinkwich and Trippi. Look at this list - just post-Herschel of UGA RB's who have made the NFL - Lars Tate, Cleveland Gary (started at UGA and trans to Miami) Tim Worley, Rodney Hampton, Keith Henderson, Mack Strong, Frank Harvey, Garrison Hearst, Terrell Davis, Larry Bowie, Robert Edwards, Patrick Pass, Olandis Gary, Verron Haynes, Musa Smith, Kregg Lumpkin, Danny Ware, Knowshon Moreno, Keith Marshall, Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, and Sony Michel.
That's 22 RB over 34 years. Basically, if you start or share a significant number of carries at UGA, you are almost guaranteed to go on to the NFL. I don't know of any other school that can make a claim that strong. If I were a RB - UGA would be in my top 5 automatically.
Last edited by ScoobaDawg; 07-30-2018 at 09:26 AM.
"After dealing with Ole Miss for over a year," he said, "I've learned to expect their leadership to do and say things that the leadership at other Division I schools would never consider doing and to justify their actions by reminding themselves that "We're Ole Miss.""
- Tom Mars, Esq. 4.9.18
Wow. Georgia landing 5-stars is not = to om landing 5-stars. Hell, they just played for a natty after winning the sec. How many times did ole hugh do that?
Good post.
- You're correct that UGA has always played the game & recruited well. There is just something about what has happened lately that doesn't feel natural or right. Feels very much like Ole Miss's progression from Cutcliffe/Richt - Orgeron/Freeze. I think it's pretty clear why Richt was let go & it's because he wasn't willing to play the game at the level UGA boosters wanted.
- How much of UGA's RB success has to do with the caliber of players they are bringing in vs their level of development? Does this even matter?
- Thirdly, I'm rooting for UGA. We rarely play them but Don & Auburn are about to get ass whippings for the next decade. If UGA's rise shifts the typically even Auburn/UGA rivalry in favor of UGA, then that is awesome for us. Instead of Auburn going 8-4 - 10-2 each year, maybe they regress to being more of a 7-5 - 9-3 type program.
AgreeOriginally Posted by msstate7
I just think we have to be careful in always giving blue bloods the benefit of the doubt. It's dangerous
Kirby Smart is not the new Hugh Freeze, he is Miniature Nick Saban.
Georgia will dominate the East as long as Kirby is there.
I completely agree with you... Put UGA's history with Kirby Smart... who was under in the Nick Saban recruiting machine for 13 of his 14 years as an assistant. No way do I think it points to blatant cheating...and just shows how much some of our people are looking through maroon glasses and crying that we don't get everyone we think we are.
My only question is how long until Smart beats Saban a couple years in a row and Saban decides to ride on out. Does Bama go after Smar or still Dabo?
Richt was let go because he consistently had top level talent and didn't win the big championships. So what changed, the talents getting even better because UGA just played for a National championship...
He had top level talent but Bama still had more & Auburn was close.
UGA has taken it to another level
UGA is recruiting at an elite level because they are an elite recruiting school (they basically were under Richt as well) and have an elite recruiter. It's that simple.
1. Smart played at UGA and knows the recruiting grounds and what he's got to work with.
2. He's a good damn coach.
3. UGA is like LSU. They get who they want in GA. And they've got more to choose from than LSU.
4. Athens is a great place and easy to recruit to.
5. They should (SHOULD) be the top program in the SEC. They have no competition for instate talent and can pull from FL. Even AL can't say that.
6. Easy to win in the East.
They've been a sleeping giant for a long time.
I'm guessing Auburn, Bama, Miami, Florida State, Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, USC and possibly Ok State, Notre Dame and UCLA can compete with UGA on NFL RB history. Haven't looked it up though.
They may go after Smart, but he isn't going anywhere.
I can verify that Richt played the recruiting game. Personally, I think Richt had just gone stale with the UGA fan base and they were ready for a change. UGA has huge Bama envy and always has. They were wanting to fire Dooley in the late 70s for the same reasons they wanted Richt gone. Dooley wasn't doing what Bryant was doing - therefore he needed to go. Didn't matter that the Bear was a once in a generation coach at the greatest football powerhouse and Dooley was arguably the best coach they had ever had. Same with Richt and Saban. Big question for me is will Kirby be able to get over that hump?
"After dealing with Ole Miss for over a year," he said, "I've learned to expect their leadership to do and say things that the leadership at other Division I schools would never consider doing and to justify their actions by reminding themselves that "We're Ole Miss.""
- Tom Mars, Esq. 4.9.18
Uga has never recruited at this level. Ever. Smarts first three full cycles will result in the number 3 class (2017) and back to back number one classes (2018 and, barring an epic collapse, 2019). All of which began on the heels began of a 7-5 season in his first year with a brand new staff (sound familiar?).
Y'all are looking at the micro (uga has always been a good recruiter and signed great running backs so no big deal) and Walker is looking at the macro (uga has never recruited this well in its history and this began on the heels of a 7-5 season with a new and unproven staff).
Smart has take uga from the number 9 composite recruiter in the six years before him (2010-2015 cycles) to the number 1 recruiter. Freeze took Mississippi from the number 23 recruiter (2008-2011 cycles) to the number 11 recruiter (2013-2016 cycles).
There's very little difference in the top spot and the rest of the top 10. If UGA is cheating, AL & AU will be all over them and the NCAA will follow.
Yeah, it's kind of obvious
And I think that is walkers point. It wasn't the result of a gradual grind of building relationships. It was a 7-5 unproven staff immediately becoming the best recruiting program in the country.
You don't feel that smart had prior relationships at bama to the recruits he signed that first year? Not like smart was at ark state, and all the sudden started recruiting blue chips... he's been recruiting blue chips for years now
It's not whining, because I started saying this publicly a few weeks ago, long before Emery committed to UGA.
For whatever reason, we have fans that want to excuse UGA and put them on a pedestal to excuse what's happening. Is UGA a better recruiting school historically than Ole Miss and therefore expected to sign better classes? Yes. But that doesn't change the fact that UGA is absolutely changing the game right now in how they are acquiring talent. They are emptying the wallet. It's not just Emery. i took the part about Fields out. You're right. Shouldn't have posted that
I'm not guessing here. When Freeze started recruiting well at Ole Miss, their network upped the game and went all in, deciding to sign any 5-star they could with no regard for how it looked. I'm in Georgia. I've talked to some recruiting insiders in Athens. I asked why Fields would sign with UGA, and one flat out said "If the bag is big enough, kids don't care about the depth chart.
So yes UGA is a good school. Yes they are in a talent-rich state. But Kirby Smart isn't getting these guys because he works hard. Their boosters are changing the standard of how the recruiting game is played.
If you think it's whining, that's fine. But the standard of cheating is being changed in Athens, Georgia right now. And it has nothing to do with John Emery or Mississippi State or me getting upset.
Last edited by Brandon Walker; 07-30-2018 at 02:03 PM.
Yeah. He’s been hammering on this a bit lately. He also gets pissed when people disagree with him. He sounds like Hank Hill when you shit talk propane if you disagree with anything he says.
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