UGA blog finds new home
Morning all. As I’ve said a couple of times this week, we’re converting this blog over to a WordPress platform and it will be a permanent move the first of next week.
Those of you who are regulars probably know that I’m not what you’d call techno-wizard when it comes to these things. But from what I understand the technology offered in this new format should make the blogging and commenting experience better for all. Of course, I’ll be learning as we go along, too. But I’m hoping to provide more pictures and video and things like that which should bring the blog more to life.
Of course, this blog is nothing without all you guys so I want to heartily invite (read: beg) you to come over to the new site by CLICKING HERE ON THE NEW ADDRESS and save it in your browsers. As of Monday, Feb. 23rd, this will be the permanent home of the UGA blog you so love or, in the case of some of you, love to loathe. If you’d prefer to copy and paste or just memorize, the new address is: http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/.
See at the new place!
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January
January 2009
The day that was
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A looooong day on the UGA beat:
— It’s not incidental that Thursday morning’s firing of Dennis Felton as men’s basketball coach came mere hours after a 26-point loss at Florida. It was Georgia’s 11th straight loss to Florida, which, as you know, also has beaten the Bulldogs 16 of the past 19 meetings in football. By all accounts, athletics director Damon Evans is really, really tired of losing to the Gators in whatever.
— Firing Felton now means getting a jump on finding the next coach, although the next coach, whoever he turns out to be, will be consumed with his current team for another couple of months. There are obvious names that Georgia will consider — some of whom will be interested and some not — but names also will be considered that no one has thought of yet. “I will enlist the services of a search firm,” Evans said. “I believe it’s important to have professionals out there” ascertaining who’s available. Evans: “We are going to go out and identify the best possible candidate for this job. That might mean we have to commit more resources than we have in the past.”
— Wandered over to the Butts-Mehre building, where many football players were working out, in late afternoon. Two more players will miss spring practice because of surgery: DT Brandon Wood (shoulder) and OL Josh Davis (shoulder). This is, as Wood said, “kind of crazy” — 16 players to miss spring practice rehabbing from various surgeries. Sixteen! And counting. “It’s hit us hard,” Wood said. “I don’t know why.”
— Finally, something upbeat: The day that started with a losing team costing a coach his job ended with Georgia’s women’s basketball team upsetting No. 5-ranked and previously unbeaten Auburn in Stegeman Coliseum. It was a good game and a nice atmosphere. It was a welcomed break from negativity. “Once-in-a-lifetime,” Georgia forward Angel Robinson called the experience of beating a 20-0 team. Youthful hyperbole, sure, but hey, what’s wrong with that?
— Nine days ago, the Lady Bulldogs had an 11-7 record, 1-2 in the SEC. “For Georgia [women’s] basketball, we were in a hole record-wise,” coach Andy Landers said late last night. “That many losses that early — that’s crazy… . You’re in that deep, dark hole.” Since then, his team has won three in a row, two over nationally ranked opponents. “We’ve started climbing out of the hole,” Landers said. “And character will allow you to do that.”
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UGA players in the loop this time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At least Georgia got it right this time.
I’m not saying the decision to fire Dennis Felton was right. Time will tell on that one. I’m talking about the protocol they used for informing the players was right this time. It flat-out wrong when Jim Harrick was let go in 2003.
We just got through interviewing selected Georgia players a little while ago. I say “selected” because we didn’t have any choice which ones were made available to us. They brought out the three captains — Corey Butler, Albert Jackson and Terrance Woodbury — along with sophomore point guard Zac Swansey. I wanted to talk to Trey Thompkins because he’s a top-notch freshman and one person in particular profoundly affected by this decision. But we were told he and all the other players were “not available.”
On a separate note, Dennis Felton also was “not available.” He didn’t attend the press conference and he didn’t issue a statement, which I don’t think was the best way to handle it. I made a separate trip out to his house in Bogart and his wife Melanie answered the front door. She went into another room to ask if he’d come talk to me but came back and said he’s “not available.” Very kind, very cordial, just “no comment.”
The important thing is Felton was available to address the situation with the players. According to all accounts, players were summoned via text message and phone calls from ssociate AD Arthur Johnson about 7 a.m. Thursday morning that they needed to be in the locker room at 7:30 a.m. for “a team meeting.” “Of course we knew something was up when Arthur Johnson called us at 7 in the morning,” Butler said. Starting closer to 8, Felton came in and addressed the team and told them he’d been relieved of his duties as coach and Pete Herrmann was going to take over in the interim.
Butler said Felton had nothing but encouraging words. “You know Coach Felton, he was still in there coaching,” Butler said. “He said, ‘guys, stay after it. Keep fighting and keep your heads up.’ He said he was still going to be in touch and making sure we’re doing the right things. He walked through, gave everyone a hug, shook hands, things like that. He said it was effective immediately. Then he left.”
Then Evans and Johnson came in and gave them a pep talk regarding their future and the future of Georgia basketball.
As mundane as all that may sound, the order of events was really important to the players. Last time the Bulldogs had a change, the players found out via the media that their coach had been dismissed and the team yanked from postseason play. And lest we forget, the players are, after all, the ones most intimately affected by these changes.
Said Swansey: “Tough is the word I’d use. It’s been tough all year. We haven’t been able to put it all together. We lost however many games in a row, then this happens. As players we have to continue to fight. You don’t have a choice but to put everything aside. But it was definitely a shock this morning.”
And while they didn’t have a choice, while they had no input, at least they got a chance to hear it from the guy they signed up to play for.
“It’s rare that a walkon gets a chance to be a Divisioin I basketball captain his senior year,” said Butler, who got just such a chance. “So, you know, I have so much respect for this guy, just the fact that he’s given me the opportunities he has to play at this level… . But I did get a chance to say a few words to him and thank him.”
For a player, that means a lot.
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Felton’s run over at UGA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dennis Felton’s 5-1/2 years at Georgia have ended after last night’s 83-57 loss to Florida, which afterward Felton said his team was “overwhelmed.” The school has announced a press conference to discuss the state of the program.
Last night’s game featured these grizzly facts: Georgia’s seventh loss in a row. 0-5 in the SEC, Georgia’s worst conference start since 1998. And Georgia’s 11th loss in a row to the Gators since March 2004.
From Tim Tucker’s blog earlier this morning: This was Felton’s analysis on his post-game radio show: “At halftime, I thought clearly the difference in the game was the turnovers. Clearly if we would have taken better care of the ball — they had seven more shots at the goal than we did at halftime, even though we had out-rebounded them, and it was all because of the turnovers. And several of the turnovers led to straight un-guardable baskets by them and really got their building going. That was the main thing we talked about at halftime. And we came out in the second half and started the half with several turnovers that led to scores, and the building got going. The momentum was clearly in their favor at that point, and it becomes even easier to score and put it in the hole at that point. And we got overwhelmed.”
A few things that jump out at you from the box score: Georgia’s 17 turnovers to Florida’s seven. Just two turnovers in 37 minutes by Dustin Ware, Georgia’s freshman point guard. And of course Nick Calathes’ triple-double for the Gators: 20 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists. He led both teams in all three categories.
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Felton: ‘We got overwhelmed’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chatter:
— Florida 83, Georgia 57. Surely this is rock bottom, or thereabouts, right? Georgia’s seventh loss in a row. 0-5 in the SEC, Georgia’s worst conference start since 1998. And Georgia’s 11th loss in a row to the Gators since March 2004.
— This was coach Dennis Felton’s analysis on his post-game radio show: “At halftime, I thought clearly the difference in the game was the turnovers. Clearly if we would have taken better care of the ball — they had seven more shots at the goal than we did at halftime, even though we had out-rebounded them, and it was all because of the turnovers. And several of the turnovers led to straight un-guardable baskets by them and really got their building going. That was the main thing we talked about at halftime. And we came out in the second half and started the half with several turnovers that led to scores, and the building got going. The momentum was clearly in their favor at that point, and it becomes even easier to score and put it in the hole at that point. And we got overwhelmed.”
— A few things that jump out at you from the box score: Georgia’s 17 turnovers to Florida’s seven. Just two turnovers in 37 minutes by Dustin Ware, Georgia’s freshman point guard. And of course Nick Calathes’ triple-double for the Gators: 20 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists. He led both teams in all three categories.
— This didn’t make the article I wrote yesterday about the comeback trails of football players Trinton Sturdivant and Jeff Owens, but wanted to pass it along here: Sturdivant said offensive line coach Stacy Searels has made it clear the line must shoulder more responsibility in ‘09 because of the loss of playmakers Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and Mohamed Massaquoi. “Coach Searels has straight-up told us that it’s our team now,” Sturdivant said. “We have to make the most impact on offense because we don’t have a Stafford, don’t have a Knowshon, don’t have a Mohamed Massaquoi, the senior leader on our team. We’re going to … will this team to wins.”
— And from defensive tackle Owens: He said the loss to Florida (football, not basketball) provides off-season motivation. “They called two timeouts after they were up big,” he said. “I mean, you just [think] about that. That shows the respect they have for us.”
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On Trey’s slump and Gators’ streak …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hope you don’t mind if I change the subject to basketball today:
— Still one of two Georgia players averaging in double figures (13.2 points per game), freshman Trey Thompkins is in a serious slump: 7-for-32 from the field in the past three games. “He’s such a great offensive player,” coach Dennis Felton said, but in Saturday’s loss to Mississippi State “just about every 3-[pointer] that he missed was a real easy, good look except one.” Thompkins says he has had shooting slumps before, “and I know I’m going to have more. It’s no confidence shaker or [anything] like that. Just something I’ve got to get through.”
— The other Georgia player averaging in double figures — senior Terrance Woodbury [13.4 ppg] — has played all season with pain in both ankles. Felton said Woodbury got an injection in one ankle Monday and will get the same in the other on Thursday.
— As you’d expect amid a six-game losing streak, players are searching for an answer. “As far as what it is, we’re trying to figure it out,” Thompkins said. “We try to approach a different angle every day just to make sure we’re covering every aspect.”
— The players clearly are hoping the faster-paced, more aggressive offense shown in the second half against Mississippi State continues. Thompkins again: “It let us know that when we play together and just play basketball and not slow the game down and run a million sets, it helps us.”
— Yes, tonight’s game at Florida starts a daunting stretch of games: four of the next five on the road, where the Bulldogs have a 9-47 record — a .161 winning percentage — over the past five-plus years. Felton doesn’t want his team thinking in terms of a stretch of games. One at a time, you know. “I quite literally look at it that way,” Felton said. “I can’t tell you how many times during the season I couldn’t tell you who we play next after the upcoming game. It’s the honest truth. This is a really, really tough league; every game is tough regardless of where it is played.”
— Felton: “When you look at the teams that are struggling most in the league right now, they are the youngest teams — like us, Vanderbilt and Arkansas.” The key, he said, is “just staying optimistic and encouraged and enthusiastic about the next opportunity.”
— I asked Dustin Ware, the freshman point guard, the best advice he’s been offered by older teammates. He laughed. “The best advice? To not focus on the media or anything. Just go out and practice. Hate to say that to y’all, but that’s it.”
— You know all about Florida’s winning ways against Georgia in football: 16 wins in the past 19 games. Similar pattern developing in men’s basketball: The Gators have won 10 in a row over the Bulldogs since March 2004 — the past nine by double digits. Expect anything different tonight?
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Green finds fuel for ‘09
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chatter:
— After a recent workout in the Butts-Mehre building, A.J. Green admitted to disappointment about falling short of 1,000 receiving yards in his freshman season. “That’s my focus,” he said. “That’s what’s driving me right now — how short I came of that 1,000 yards. It pushes me to work even harder.” You’ll recall that a 1,000-yard season was well within reach for Green entering the Capital One Bowl. But Michigan State’s defensive strategy shut down Green and Mohamed Massaquoi and opened up a big day for Michael Moore. Green caught just one pass for 12 yards, finishing the season with 963 yards.
— Green, by the way, said the strained groin muscle that bothered him all season continues to be an issue. “Still rehabbing and trying to get it right,” he said. “I’m not going to rush it.” No surgery is contemplated — just rest and rehab, he said. He’s not sure about his status for spring practice. But having led the SEC in receiving yardage despite the season-long injury, he seems excited at the thought of a healthy sophomore season. “I’m going to have to show the fans [what I can do] when I’m 100 percent.”
— Green added that he talks to Massaquoi almost every day and that Massaquoi, who sprained an ankle during Senior Bowl workouts last week, will be back to 100 percent soon. “He’ll be good to go for the [NFL] combine.”
— NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock ranks prospects by position for the April draft. He has Matthew Stafford ahead of Mark Sanchez as the No. 1 quarterback, Knowshon Moreno as the No. 2 running back (behind Chris “Beanie” Wells), Brannan Southerland as the No. 3 fullback, Dannell Ellerbe as the No. 4 inside linebacker, and Asher Allen not among the top five cornerbacks.
— And defensive tackle Geno Atkins was in action over the weekend — in his other sport. He won the shot put for the Georgia track and field team at the Carle/Health Alliance Classic in Champaign, Ill., with a sesaon-best effort of 55-6.50.
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Is UGA competitive with its checkbook?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I hope everybody got a chance to see the story I did on assistant football coaches’ salaries. If not it ran in the Sunday paper and here’s THE LINK.
This is one of those stories you really don’t take much joy in writing. I mean, really, can you get any more personal than what how much money someone makes? But with Tennessee and Auburn — and Alabama, as always — throwing around jack like they have been this winter, and all these institutions of higher learning being subjected to sunshine laws, it was simply my journalistic responsibility to take a look at what Georgia was doing and try to put it into perspective. And once you get into researching something like this, there are just layers and layers of qualifiers and stipulations, so many that you just can’t get it all in print.
For instance, Florida’s assistant coaches actually made only $31,000 more than Georgia’s assistants in 2008 and way less than Alabama’s in 2008 — and we all know how the Gators did in comparison. Then again, those UF assistants are enrolled in a generous pension plan in which they’re vested after only five years and that earns them a lot of hidden money. And, like anywhere, major bonuses kick in once any of these guys win the division, win the conference and/or win the BCS.
And for all the money Tennessee was throwing around this year, it was spending only slightly more than Georgia this past season. Even though the Vols are paying their new D-coordinator $1.2 million their total staff pay is up only $600,000 (it’s all relative, isn’t it?). By all accounts, Bama’s staff pay is approaching $7 million, if it’s not there already. Then again, Georgia’s assistants’ pay is close to Kentucky’s ($1.89 million) than it is Bama’s are LSU’s.
So clearly it’s an issue around the league, and the nation. And I understand both sides of it. For administrators it’s a quandary to try to maintain competitiveness and fiscal responsibility. For coaches, it’s simply a matter of being paid in line with your peers. Like all of us, they have to do what’s best for their families and careers.
Anyway, I received a lot of e-mails Sunday from readers commenting on the story. So I figured I’d just throw it out there in the blogosphere and see what you guys think about it all. Are coaches being paid too much? Not enough? As for the Bulldogs, are you happy with their place in all this? Do you think it’s important that they pay their coaches similarly to top teams in the league for the sake of perception and/or prestige?
One other note: The story was not as comprehensive as I wanted it to be. I filed Freedom of Information requests for 11 of the 12 SEC football programs (Vandy is a private school and not subjected to open-records laws) in the hopes of running all of them side-by-side at once. But I didn’t get them all back in time. So there will be some follow-up if and when I do.
Besides Georgia and Tennessee, here’s the others from the SEC East:
Florida (2008): Assts. —$2.035 million; Total $5.29 million;
South Carolina (2008): Assts. — $1.56 million; Total $3.31 million;
Kentucky (2009): Assts. — $1.89 million; Total $3.49 million
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Felton: Attending Inaugural ‘priceless’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A lot of people — and many in this forum — were critical of Dennis Felton for taking leave of his duties Monday and Tuesday to attend the Presidential Inaugural in Washington D.C.
The argument, as bandied about here and elsewhere, was that Georgia’s basketball coach shouldn’t be leaving town “on vacation” in the middle of a season in which his team had just lost five games in a row. Never mind that the Bulldogs didn’t have a mid-week game and were off anyway. Surely he should be making them run gassers or shoot 1,000 free throws or something.
Well, talking to Felton on Thursday, it was clear he does not regret the trip. Two days after the fact he was still beaming about it.
“I was able to go with my family and felt real blessed to be able to go,” he said. “I can’t believe how fortunate we were with our schedule having a bye this week to permit that.”
Felton, his wife Melanie and sons Jazz (14) and Nile (12), were able to score tickets and sat in Section 15 on the lawn just below the staging area where President Obama was sworn in.
“It was really, really cold but really, really special,” he said. “I’ve never seen so many people in my life. I guess there were upwards of 2 million people out there and the feeling of brotherhood and optimism and commitment, you could just feel it everywhere in the crowd as people patiently worked with each other to deal with the gridlock and the freezing cold temperature. We were up front but occasionally on the jumbo screens they showed shots of the entire scene, the millions of people packed in on the lawn all the way down past the Washington Monument. “It was a pretty powerful feeling and just exciting to be a part of.”
Felton, as I’ve pointed out before, feels a special kinship with Obama since both had non-traditional upbringings, were born to absentee Kenyan fathers and white mothers, traveled the world extensively as youths and excelled as students. Felton is a cum laude graduate of Howard University with a keen interest in politics and history. So there wasn’t much that could keep him away.
“Really priceless and irreplaceable to be able to take part in with my two young sons,” Felton said. “I’ve got a 14-year-old and an 12-year-old. To be able to be there at the moment with them, I struggle to find words to describe it.”
Here’s one word he won’t need to use — regret… .
— On another note, I’m going to use this space to publicly apologize to John Stafford, father of the Bulldogs’ well-known and soon-to-be, well-off former quarterback, Matthew. I can promise you I meant nothing derogatory whatsoever when I rather recklessly referred to him as “Matthew’s father and chief string-puller” in a brief story I wrote Wednesday. I was thinking (then again, maybe I wasn’t) that it was a light-hearted way to illustrate that Mr. Stafford was also very much an adviser — like any father would be — to his son during this interim as they assemble Matthew’s management team. Anyway, Mr. Stafford didn’t care for the characterization and told me as much in an e-mail I received from him Thursday. In the interest of disclosure I’ll share the crux of it here:
“I did not like being represented in your article as ‘chief string-puller,’” Mr. Stafford wrote. “The implication is that I’m running things exclusively and that is not the case at all. Margaret (Matthew’s mother), Matthew and I are in constant communication about any and all decisions Matthew is making. We are a team. All final decisions are being made by Matthew.”
So there you go. I honestly have always felt the Staffords were nothing but first-class people to work with and regret the misunderstanding.
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Evans, Martinez, Moreno, etc.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Been a busy week so far gathering information for this story and that one. So it’s time to empty out the notebook of some things that are piling up.
— Damon Evans is not saying much these days with regard to men’s basketball coach Dennis Felton other than “there’s still a lot of games to be played” and “we’ll see how it turns out.” But in a brief conversation I had with him this week it is clear he is very passionate about having a winning basketball program at Georgia.
“We want to do better,” he told me. “Basketball is important to this institution, to our overall athletics program. It’s something we’re going to continue to work on and build on and support. I want our fans to be excited about basketball and I want them to come out and support us.”
Wonder what the crowd will be like for Mississippi State on Saturday? …
— Funny story (at least to me). I’m sure you all realize that, with Willie Martinez’s name coming up for the Miami job, I’ve been trying to get him on the phone the last couple of days for a comment and to see if they’ve made contact with him. So multiple voice and text messages later, I’m in the Butts-Mehre Building on Wednesday when I see Martinez going down one of the the glass elevators. After I give him a polite wave and he returns it, I hold my thumb and pinky to my ear and mouth like I’m holding a phone so to communicate, “please call.” As Willie’s bald head disappears into the floors below he moves his head from side-to-side slowly but emphatically as if answer, “no way, dude.” I laughed. I’m fairly certain I saw Willie smile… .
— Not sure if I mentioned this anywhere else but I find it interesting that, while Matthew Stafford of Dallas is training for the combine out in Tempe, Ariz., Knowshon Moreno of Belford, N.J., is training in Dallas. Moreno is working out at the relatively new Michael Johnson Performance Training Center. Seems like a good idea to me. You’ll recall that Johnson was the world’s fastest man in the 200- and 400-meters in the 1990s. Seems like the only real question dogging Moreno is his top-end speed. Bet they can help with that… .
— Speaking of fast people, looks like the Bulldogs’ track team has a young burner. Freshman sprinter Torrin Lawrence of Jacksonville, Fla., was named the SEC Male Runner of the Week after smashing UGA’s indoor record and automatically qualifying for the NCAA championships in the 200-meter dash last Saturday in Kentucky. Lawrence clocked the nation’s fastest time this season — 20.77 — to win and break the former school record by .28. He also recorded the third-best 60-meter time (6.75) and was part of the 4x400 relay team that clocked an all-time, top 10 the same day. Oh, yeah, it was his first collegiate meet… .
Couple o’ links:
I’m not sure how cool it is to float your name for a job that isn’t yet open but distinguished journalist Richard Hyatt of Columbus writes that recently-ousted Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell of Columbus is interested in coaching the Georgia Bulldogs… .
Apparently Oklahoma State has deemed Georgia one of its “premium games” so there will be no single-game tickets sold for it. That means beyond UGA’s allotment you can only get a ticket by buying a season package. Of course Georgia fans were more than happy to lay down $99 to $129 for Arizona State season tickets last year. I’m eager to see if as many Dogs fans will go to Stillwater as went to Tempe… .
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Be careful what you wish for Martinez
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Be careful what you wish for. That’s all I can say.
Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez may or may not be a target for the same position at his alma mater, Miami. The ‘Canes aren’t saying and Coach Mark Richt says he hasn’t been contacted by “the U” for permission to speak to Martinez and swears the first he heard of it was my inquiring about it. All we know for sure is UM has an opening and Martinez has been mentioned as a possible candidate.
Obviously I know how a number of you feel about Martinez. Having overseen this blog over the last year or so, I’ve read all your comments about what an awful a coach you think he is and how he’s not aggressive enough and how his units haven’t performed as well as Brian VanGorder’s did and on and on.
And I’ve been somewhat critical, too. I can say I was genuinely surprised to see the Bulldogs’ defense get gashed the way it did a few times this past season and in an isolated instance or two the past few seasons under Martinez’s direction. But I’ve also been very measured in my criticism because to watch Martinez in action during practices and games, to talk to him personally, to hear his players talk about him, to hear his fellow coaches talk about him, is to get a completely different picture.
This is a man that is very well respected. He’s produced three All-America DBs at UGA and is about to have his 10th drafted into the NFL. He has played and coached the game at a very high level. A South Florida guy, he starred at Hollywood Hills High in Coral Gables and helped win a national championship as a defensive back at Miami in 1983. He has all those Florida connections and recruits that area hard — and well — for the Bulldogs. And for all the criticism of this past season, it truly was his only bad season. They were ranked in the top 20 in yardage and scoring his first three seasons. As it was they were 22nd and 54th, respectively, this season.
Martinez gets paid the big bucks for being Georgia’s defensive coordinator and, as such, he’s jaded to the criticism and the slings and arrows that come with handling a very difficult job for a high-profile program. But I wouldn’t be packing his bags for him like a lot of you guys have been saying you’d do. There’s a lot to lose should Martinez leave, not the least of which is stability.
Regardless, Mark Richt does a good job of blocking out outside influences and evaluating coaches and players on his own. The only opinion that matters is his and he repeatedly defended his defensive coordinator to us this past season. My guess is he’ll handle this like he has the other overtures his assistants have received this offseason. He’ll let Martinez talk to the Canes, hear what they have to offer, then do everything in his power to get him to stay.
Then we’ll have the ultimate irony. In a year everybody wanted to run Martinez out of town on a rail, he will receive a significant pay raise just to stay.
Some links:
Here’s the latest story from the Miami Herald regarding its defensive coordinator vacancy. It’s not very enlightening with regarding Martinez but sheds some light on Randy Shannon’s troubles hanging onto coordinators… .
Speaking of assistant coaches leaving, it looks like South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier may be about to lose a fifth. He did gain one back Tuesday, however… .
I haven’t seen this reported strongly elsewhere but according to this audio from something called www.winnersvillesports.com out of Valdosta, Lowndes DB Greg Reid has eliminated Florida from consideration all together. You have to click on the audio file in the window that says “Greg Reid says No to UF” and listen. To summarize, as reported by our guys, he hated his trip to Gainesville, likes Florida State a lot, decided to visit Alabama instead of Tennessee this weekend, will go to Georgia next weekend and will make a decision on Feb. 3 at a steakhouse down there. Now that’s about as much recruiting gossip as you’ll get out of me… .
Here’s some info on Mohamed Massaquoi and Corvey Irvin playing in the Under Armour Senior Game… .
I’m just going to give you this one because the website requires a login and password, but Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal reports that Matthew Stafford is getting ready to ink a mega marketing agreement with IMG. In other words, they’ll handle his off-the-field stuff. “Powerful IMG agent Alan Zucker, who reps Colts QB Peyton Manning, Giants QB Eli Manning, and Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson for marketing work, will represent Stafford in a deal that has been agreed to in principle, but not yet signed, sources said,” Mullen wrote. This just in — Matty’s about to be rich!
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Change of power for Dogs as well
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Happy Inauguration Day everybody. I intended on getting up a blog much earlier today but a certain 18-month-old boy had other plans (cold and flu season, as you know). As ever, he’s my boss.
I’m sure everybody’s attention is on the Presidential Inauguration anyway. Mine certainly is. I’m watching as I’m blogging now. It’s an exciting time for our country no matter what side of the aisle you favor.
In a lot ways college sports are similar to our government’s system of power. Generally there’s a major personnel change about every four years or so. You could certainly say that this year at Georgia with Joe Cox moving in at quarterback for Matthew Stafford and, well, whomever moving in for Knowshon Moreno at tailback. Guess you could say Cox is the new prez and let’s say Caleb King as VP. Perhaps Georgia fans should throw an inaugural celebration later this year. Then again, I guess that’s what they call Picture Day.
Speaking of changes, the only real college football news yesterday was the finalization of the underclassmen pool for the NFL draft. The Bulldogs, as you’ve probably noted, were tied for most underclassmen entered with Stafford, Moreno and cornerback Asher Allen. South Carolina, oddly enough, and Ohio State also had three enter. Georgia came out pretty good considering it had at least six seriously considering it.
The national total of 46 was actually down from 53 last year. Of those, 14 were from the SEC, which I believe is also down. Some were no-brainers. Others left you saying, “what?” But this is, after all, the Land of Opportunity. May they all live long and prosper.
With that lame segue from the inauguration, I offer you these less lame links:
Willie Martinez critics take note — his alma mater, the U, is apparently interested in the Dogs’ defensive coordinator. That is, if their current DC accepts a lucrative offer from Oklahoma State… .
Apparently the British are concerned that American breeders are turning Bulldogs into “genetic monstrosities”. As noted Bulldog breeder Sonny Seiler so eloquently put it, “I don’t care what the British think.” …
Not sure what the wife of Ole Miss basketball coach Andy Kennedy was thinking but I have a feeling her lawsuit may come up on the SEC road this season… .
The New York Times examines the more shallow underclassman pool for the NFL draft.
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Any chance of turnaround for Hoop Dawgs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“OK, Georgia is bad. Real bad. That’s a given.”
That was the first line of John Clay’s column in the Lexington Herald-Leader after he watched Kentucky play the Bulldogs in Stegeman Coliseum on Sunday. Ouch.
Clay’s column wasn’t about how bad the Bulldogs are this season. He was merely putting the Wildcats’ victory into perspective for Big Blue fans. In other words, “yes, UK looked good but it was against a really bad team.”
His colleague, Jerry Tipton, wrote something similar in the Herald-Leader’s game story. “Facing easily the weakest team in a diminished Southeastern Conference, UK rolled to a 68-45 victory.”
Like it or not, that is now the perception of your Georgia Bulldogs across the league. There is still much season left but nobody is showing Dennis Felton’s team much love these days.
As us reporters were watching Kentucky break out to leads of 15, then 20 and 25 points from press row during the game, we started debating, what does Georgia do well this season? The Bulldogs have always been dominant on defense under Felton. But they’re middle of the road — seventh — even in that category. Finally we found the one shining example: Georgia leads the league in 3-point field goal defense.
I’m sure you read Mark Bradley’s column on Felton and Clay started a blog on the debate whether or not Felton should be fired. What do you guys think? Is there any chance the Bulldogs can get it turned around between now and March?
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Richt on this and that …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Richt chatted with reporters on a conference call late yesterday, reflecting on recent developments in his Georgia football program. Thought you might like to listen in:
— On Asher Allen’s decision to enter the NFL draft: “It’s a decision he and his family made based on information they got. I hope it all works out for Asher. I love Asher. He’s a great kid and a very fine football player; he’s a hard-working athlete and a good Georgia Bulldog. So I hope he does well.”
— On Reshad Jones’ decision to forgo the draft and stay in school: “I just think in the final analysis everybody felt he wasn’t quite finished with what he needed to do to really be ready for the NFL. It seemed like he would benefit the most by staying, as far as where the NFL set him and where he could go. Business was part of it, but also just understanding how important it is to get his degree. You heard him talk about wanting to honor his grandmother and grandfather [by graduating], and I applaud him for it.”
— On whether four players leaving (that would have been the number if Jones had gone) would have suggested players were fleeing the program for some reason: “There is nothing wrong with Georgia. There’s no one unhappy at Georgia. We’ve got young men who are extremely talented; we’ve got young men who have an opportunity to realize their dreams in the NFL. It has absolutely nothing to do with whether they like Georgia or not. You heard Stafford and Moreno. They loved it at Georgia. Asher Allen loved it at Georgia. But it also comes down to their opportunity to move forward and prepare for their whole lives… . I can guarantee you, these kids will be visiting every chance they get. They will be great Bulldogs for life.”
— On what’s next: “Our biggest issue right now is trying to find a way to get our offseason program off to the right start, considering the amount of guys who are rehabbing injuries right now. Not only did it affect the season, it can affect how we start our mat-drills program and factor into who can practice in the spring. When you look at who’s going to be ready to go in June, it makes your heart leap for joy. But when you look at who’s ready for mat drills and will be ready for spring ball, you’ve still got a ways to go. We’re going to find a way to get our injured guys physically and mentally tough. There will be some modified form of mat drills for those guys, so they can work their tail off too.”
— Other things on his mind: “We had a team GPA of 2.8 [for fall semester], which was pretty fantastic. Fifty-five guys had 3.0 or better.” He also said he thinks Georgia’s No. 10 ranking in the final USA Today coaches’ poll — and winning at least 10 games for the sixth time in seven years — merits more notice than it has gotten in local media. “We certainly want to finish No. 1 in the country, no doubt, but I thought those were things that were very positive about the program.”
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Few points on Dogs’ scoring woes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nashville - A few points about a basketball game that didn’t have many (Vanderbilt 50, Georgia 40, if you missed it):
• Here, FYI, are the six games since 1960 in which Georgia scored fewer points than last night: 26 points vs. Mississippi State in January 1982; 36 vs. Tennessee in February 1967; 37 vs. Vanderbilt in February 2005; 38 vs. Georgia Tech in February 1980; 38 vs. Florida in March 2005; and 39 vs. Vandy in February 2004. All except the Florida game on the road.
• Rough night for the freshman Trey Thompkins, who was 3-of-15 for just six points. He and Terrance Woodbury, averaging 28.5 points per game between them this season, were a combined 7-of-27 from the field.
• Georgia never led in the second half and, after getting within 44-40, didn’t score a point in the final three minutes.
• After the game, Dennis Felton wanted to make sure his players didn’t obsess over the shooting problems (33.3 percent from the field) and turnovers (20) to the point of overlooking the positive things about the night: defense (Vandy shot 40.8 percent) and rebounding (Georgia had a 39-28 edge after losing badly on the boards the past two games).
• Vanderbilt entered the game tied for first in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage defense (36.1 percent) - and lowered it.
• Vandy’s 50 points were its fewest in an SEC victory since … 1951!
OK, about to hit the road. Wonder how many football players will enter the NFL draft while I’m en route… .
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All about Asher Allen’s decision …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
About to hit the road for Nashville, where Georgia plays Vanderbilt tonight.
Meanwhile, a few more things about Asher Allen’s decision to turn pro:
— Clearly, he understands that his decision — moreso than Matthew Stafford’s and Knowshon Moreno’s — can and will be debated. Heck, he debated it with himself for several weeks. “I’ve been walking around my house, not sleeping, having nothing but family meetings every day,” he said. “I did the pros-and-cons thing.” His conclusion after weighing many factors (family, finances, injury risk, NFL-readiness, etc.): “It’s a risk staying, and it’s a risk leaving.” But: “I feel like I am ready.”
— While he wouldn’t say specifically which round the NFL draft advisory committee projected him to go in, the implication was that it wasn’t necessarily high enough to validate the decision. What he’s banking on, instead, is confidence that he can perform well enough at the combine and in workouts to move up sharply on some team’s draft board. “Really, even if [the committee’s report] comes back and says ‘later rounds’ … nothing is in concrete,” he said. “Obviously, a lot of stuff is what you do at the combine and when you’re talking to the coaches… . If I do what I’m supposed to do, it should be fine.” He said his goal is to work his way into the first two rounds. That may not be impossible — some analysts projected him as a potential second-rounder before the season — but it’s going to take some doing after an injury-impacted season in which he had zero interceptions.
— He said the Bulldogs’ disappointing season — from preseason No. 1 to three losses — did not factor into his decision to depart. “If anything, it was one of the factors that made me want to stay [and have a better season], just being in love with Georgia and the fans.” He said: “I bleed red and black.” But maybe the broken hand with which he played for four-plus games loomed over his decison. He admitted it is “so, so hard to overcome” the realization that an injury in a senior season could end one’s lifelong dream of NFL fame and fortune.
— So add cornerback to quarterback and tailback on Georgia’s off-season priority list. It’s far from clear who’ll replace Allen. Prince Miller, the incumbent starter at the other corner, returns, as does Bryan Evans, who shifted from corner to safety at mid-season. Others to watch: Brandon Boykin, Vance Cuff, Sanders Commings.
On to Nashville.
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The signs are everywhere
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dennis Felton is leaving no doubt about what’s top priority for his Georgia basketball team right now.
On the four walls of the team’s practice court, about 100 signs have been posted, all exactly the same.
In big red letters, they command:
“Blockout!
“Rebound!”
The Bulldogs’ rebounding has been “a consistent inconsistency” all season, Felton said Monday. And recently it has deteriorated and put the Bulldogs on a three-game losing streak heading into Wednesday’s game at Vanderbilt.
Thus, the reminders all around the practice court.
Other notes from Athens:
— Georgia women’s basketball coach Andy Landers will go for his 800th career victory Thursday night when his team plays Savannah State in Stegeman Coliseum. He would become just the fifth major-college women’s basketball coach to reach 800 victories.
— This is one of those stats that make you do a double-take: In 30 years of coaching at Georgia, Landers has never had a team lose four games in a row. That improbable record was kept intact Sunday when Georgia ended a losing streak at three by beating South Carolina.
— And for those who have asked, here’s the full list of Georgia football players who will miss spring practice while rehabbing from surgeries they had this past season or have had/will have this month:
Neland Ball, DE, patella tendon
Rod Battle, DE, shoulder
Chris Davis, OL, hip
Matt DeGenova, walk-on DE, shoulder
Darius Dewberry, LB, shoulder
Justin Fields, LB, knee (ACL)
Bruce Figgins, TE, shoulder
Akeem Hebron, LB, ankle
Jeff Owens, DT, knee (ACL)
Craig Sager, walk-on WR, shoulder
Trinton Sturdivant, OT, knee (ACL)
Vince Vance, OL, knee (ACL)
Corenelius Washington, DE, forearm
Also: RB Dontavius Jackson will be limited initially in spring after arthroscopic knee surgery last month.
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Polls, stats and such
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Six morsels to start the week:
Anybody else surprised by how high Georgia climbed in the final coaches’ poll? From 17th to 10th — that’s quite a move based on a Capital One Bowl victory. Dogs passed Brigham Young, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Boise State and Texas Tech, all of which lost their bowl games. It’s Georgia’s fifth top-10 finish in the coaches’ poll in seven years.
Running back is going to be an interesting position to watch in the NFL draft. One day after Knowshon Moreno said he’s turning pro, Ohio State’s Chris “Beanie” Wells said the same. Still waiting on official word from Pittsburgh’s LeSean McCoy, who is reconsidering his earlier statement that he’d remain in school. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., the dean of draft analysts, told me last month that any of those three underclassmen — Moreno, Wells, McCoy — could be the first (or third) RB taken if all three enter the draft.
Well, we tracked Georgia’s place among the nation’s most penalized teams all season, so we might as well get the final numbers: Georgia finished 115th out of 119 major-college teams in penalty yards with 72.15 per game. That’s better than only USC (72.92), Southern Miss (74.77), TCU (76.92) and Hawaii (78-36). For whatever it’s worth, the five most penalized teams finished with these records: 10-3 (Georgia), 12-1 (USC), 7-6 (Southern Miss), 11-2 (TCU) and 7-7 (Hawaii). The nation’s least-penalized team was Ball State, 26.71 yards per game while going 12-2.
In another stat that dogged Georgia’s defense this season: The Bulldogs finished 72nd among major-college teams in sacks, getting an average of 1.77 per game. No. 71 was Alabama, getting 1.79 sacks per game. No. 1 was Texas, 3.62 per game.
And one more thing that jumps out at me from the final NCAA stats: The teams that played for the BCS title — Oklahoma and Florida — finished the season as the nation’s top two teams in turnover margin. Oklahoma gained 23 more turnovers than it lost, and Florida gained 22 more than it lost. Georgia finished 73rd in turnover margin, losing three more than it gained for the season.
Quoting QB-designate Joe Cox, talking about his fiery, emotional style of play: “Hopefully, if I can transfer that to just a couple of other people on the team, it could spread like wildfire.”
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How does UF title affect Dogs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, I’m sure most of you saw it. I watched almost every play. The Florida Gators are national champions for the second time in three years. Beat Oklahoma 24-14 this time. Congratulations.
I thought it was a great game. Well, maybe not great but definitely entertaining. Some great plays were made, most of them by the Gators. Of course there was a tidal wave of praise and credit being heaped on quarterback Tim Tebow (comparing him to Lincoln and JFK during the telecast was a little much for me, though) and he certainly played well, at least after the early interceptions. But to me I’ve always thought Percy Harvin was the biggest difference-maker on that team. And he wasn’t even 100 percent healthy in the game.
So how do Dawgs’ fans feel about Florida’s latest accomplishment? Usually there’s a good bit of conference loyalty in such matchups. I remember last year a bunch of Georgia folks saying they were rooting for LSU because it’s in the SEC. But most of the Bulldog backers I talked to this week said they were pulling for the Sooners.
But forgetting personal feelings, what tangible effects do you think another Florida title might have on Georgia? With the Gators residing in the same division, does this make it even more difficult for the Dogs to get past them to the promised land? Or since they are Georgia’s chief rival, does it simply raise the bar for the Dogs as well and put them that much closer should they manage to get by Florida in Jacksonville?
I’ll say this: Florida doesn’t appear to have peaked. It is slated to return 19 of 22 starters off this team — most notably Tebow of course. There’s a good chance that’ll shrink to 17 of 22 if Harvin and LB Brandon Spikes jump to the NFL as expected. Most seem to think Tebow will definitely be back. He said after the game, “nothing but good could come from it.”
The Bulldog Nation might disagree.
Some links:
This is a great look at Matthew Stafford’s decision to turn pro from inside Detroit Lions country… .
Here’s an interesting perspective from across the pond on the mystery of America’s fascination with college sports… .
If you weren’t paying close attention you may have thought Tray Blackmon already had left Auburn. He hadn’t but he has now… .
Speaking of Auburn, most of you guys probably know who Tim Brando is. Get a load of this exchange.
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Richt, Bobo endorse Cox as QB
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey folks. Sorry just getting back to you. Had some technical issues during the press conference for Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno that prevented a live blog and I stuck around a long while afterward to get some of the more detailed interviews regarding their decisions and the future.
In a nutshell, here’s what we found out:
Stafford got considerable feedback from NFL types, was projected by the NFL advisory board to be “likely a be drafted in the first round” (they don’t specify early or late). If you believe Moreno, he hasn’t submitted his paperwork yet — “I should have but I didn’t” — and really hasn’t talked to very many people from the league. “I talked to may family and my counselor about it the most,” he said. “I’m leaving early.”
So you’ve probably heard and read enough about that even if you didn’t watch the live simulcast of the press conference. The real interesting part of college football to me is it’s ever-changing. You’re always turning the page and getting a look at the next guy.
For what it’s worth, both Mark Richt and Mike Bobo gave a rousing recommendation to rising senior Joe Cox as the heir apparent. Logan Gray is a distant No. 2, Bobo said, and incoming freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger aren’t even on the radar yet.
“I know right now that Joe Cox is No. 1 on the depth chart,” Richt stated flatly. “Somebody will have to knock him out of that box.”
Said Bobo: “I think Coach made a good analogy with D.J. Shockley. The way he carries himself, a team guy. And Joe does a lot of things well.”
Of course, Murray, the ballyhooed quarterback from Tampa, is supposed to be the second coming of Stafford. And he and fellow frosh Mettenberger both checked into the dorms on Wednesday. So there will be competition.
Very reminiscent, I’d say, of a few years ago when Joe Tereshinki was the heir apparent, Blake Barnes was hanging around and Stafford and Cox were the young pups. Of course, that first year didn’t go so well.
So what do you think? What are the odds of Cox being the starter at Oklahoma State for the opener next season? What are the odds he’ll be the man come Game 12?
Hey, it’s never too early for a Quarterback Debate.
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Stafford, Moreno ready for NFL?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UPDATES PROVIDED HERE ALL DAY
Georgia is holding a press conference with Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and Mark Richt at 3 p.m. day to unveil the two players’ decisions regarding the NFL draft, Stafford’s father John Stafford confirmed to me this morning.
Unfortunately Mr. Stafford wouldn’t hint which way Matthew might be leaning. “I’m not going to reveal what that decision is,” Mr. Stafford said. “I’m going to let him do that.”
Mr. Stafford did tell me about all the feedback Stafford has gotten, including input from Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning and Jay Cutler and Kansas City Chiefs scout Mike Hagen. As you can see, those guys are all from the league. Not sure if that’s revealing or not.
“He’ gotten input about what it’s like, what to expect and everything else from those guys,” John Stafford said. “I’ve done my best to try to get him those kinds of contacts with those kinds of folks that have actually been involved in something to help him figure out what he wants to do. My role really was just to try to do that, to get him as much input as possible number one. And then number two really to help him go through the thought process, make sure he was looking at it both ways and look at the different areas and make sure he wasn’t getting too much weight from one point or the other. But I’ve always stated it’s up to him, it’s what he wants to do.”
Georgia players claim to be in the dark about the whole thing.
“If that’s their decisions I’m happy for them,” said rising senior Joe Cox, Stafford’s backup at quarterback. Whatever they decided to do I’m sure is the best for their situations and I support.”
Cox and Stafford are very close friends, but Cox insisted, “I have no idea [what Stafford’s decision is]. I can promise you I haven’t been told a thing.”
Sophomore left tackle Trinton Sturdivant said the team hasn’t been briefed on anything. In fact, he didn’t know there was a press conference scheduled until told by a reporter.
“We’re still waiting to find out ourselves,” he said. “If there’s a press conference I’ll be there. Either way I’ll be happy for them. I would like to have them both back but I’m not going to put any pressure on them. I don’t want to be selfish about it.”
Personally, I always believe these kids are turning pro. Guaranteed first round, guaranteed big money, that’s usually the way it turns out. I sat at press conferences for Worley and Henderson and Hampton and Hearst and Hastings and Champ Bailey and watched them all make the jump. Who can blame them? I do recall Bernard Williams, Mitch Davis and Eric Zeier’s pressers to say they were staying, though.
So it looks like some answers on Georgia’s future are on the way today. You think both those guys are going to the big leagues? Think they’re ready?
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Richt: ‘Maybe one of our better coaching jobs’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lost in all the discussion yesterday about Rodney Garner’s remaining at Georgia was the fact that coach Mark Richt had his season-ending session with the media.
Of course, Garner’s decision to rebuff Tennessee’s considerable advances still dominated the discussion with Richt, who fielded questions on an afternoon teleconference call. But there were a lot topics addressed as well. I can’t fit it all here but I’ll try to hit on of most of them.
(1) Is he actively courting Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford to come back or was he just waiting around like the rest of us?
CMR: “Well there’s been a little bit of contact. But, again, I don’t want to put undue pressure on them. Number one, I do really want what’s best for them. They’ve got to figure that out for themselves. All I can say is if they do stay I want their whole heart. I want them to do it because the same reason you want coaches to stay, because he loves the place and because he believes in what’s going on, loves the people and wants to do great things and be part of a great team and a great program. I don’t want a guy who’s only half-hearted.
(2) What they’re doing to address the defensive shortcomings of the past season.
CMR: “We’ve already had a little bit of time to reflect and one of the things I know for a fact had something to do with how we played on defense was how we prepared. I know that we practiced different this year. It was directed toward the number of injuries we had in camp. And so we already began to address that issue during bowl practices. We probably tackled more in our bowl practices than we did all season long and I think our defense improved. I think our defense had a better edge, I thought we tackled bette, I thought we had a little more of a swagger going into the game… . We’re going to address personnel. We’re going to make sure we’ve got guys in the right spots. We’re going to make sure we’re asking guys to do things they’re able to do. We’re going to be honest with ourselves about how we’re going to create pressure, if it’s just going to come from individuals or is it going to come more from scheme. We’ve got to look at all of those things.”
(3) In retrospect, was Georgia overrated, underperformed or unlucky with regard to the expectations coming into the season?
CMR: “As I reflect on the season, I’ve got to look at it, I’m trying to decide, but we might have done one of our better coaching jobs. We might have, considering all the guys that went down and how we were trying to play ball. You watched Alabama play Utah and they lost a left tackle that all year long was just stoning people and they never had to worry one bit about the left side. Then all of the sudden in the bowl game they had all kinds of problems. That’s just one guy. So injuries do make a difference. I’m not using that as an excuse but that’s the reality of what happened. It certainly was a factor in how our season went… . So hopefully we’ll have a healthier year, continue to get after it and maximize the players and the staff and have a great season”
(4) How much of a distraction was that No. 1 preseason and ranking and how might Georgia handle it differently?
CMR: “I think everybody would maybe understand it a little better and know that it doesn’t mean a thing [laughs] in regard to what’s going to happen. What really matters is the focus and the work and staying healthy and all those kinds of things. That’s what gives you the best chance to win, not necessarily where you are ranked in the preseason. It probably causes more distraction than anything else.”
(5) On the notion Willie Martinez or any of the other coaches don’t know what they’re doing.
CMR: People in the business know. My gosh, we’ve won an awful lot of games since we’ve been here, even as of late. We won 11 last year and 10 this year. That’s not too shabby. We finished No. 2 last year and I don’t know where we’ll finish this year but probably somewhere close to the Top 10. We’ve won at least 10 games six of the last seven seasons and that’s not easy to do. Not a lot of colleges are doing that across the country. For the most part it’s the same men. So we’ve done well… . At the same time we’re hungry. We’re hungry for a championship. We’re like the rest of our fans. We want to win; we want to win the East; we want to win the SEC. And we’re going to fight like heck to do it.”
Some links:
Thought you might want to see how Tennessee folks are reacting to Garner staying. The story here is fine but check out the comments to get a real feel… .
Not sure if you saw that Cameron Newton, a sophomore quarterback at Florida before allegedly stealing a computer, is heading to a junior college… .
that Alabama’s John Parker Wilson and his former head coach Mike Shula will be reunited in the Senior Bowl… .
In case you haven’t noticed, Alabama defensive assistant Kevin Steele has left to become Clemson’s new defensive coordinator and longtime Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis is taking over as defensive coordinator at LSU.
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Garner on sticking with Dogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I just got off the phone with Rodney Garner. As you might imagine, he is exhausted after all the overtures from Tennessee. They were significant, and the fact that Garner remained at Georgia despite it all is extremely significant.
“I’m drained man,” Garner said. “It’s been a hectic couple of days.”
Here’s some details I learned from our conversation:
Initially UT wanted him to come and be assistant coach/offense, coach offensive tackles and tight ends and be something called “running game coordinator.” Rodney wouldn’t validate the $400,000 salary offer but said the raise would have been significant from his $250,000 salary at Georgia.
Rodney mulled the offer before telling UT he’d decided his heart was on the defensive side of the ball. He said the Vols countered by offering him the D-line position. Ed Orgeron, who had already been named recruiting coordinator and D-line coach, was going to coach LBs instead.
Rodney said it was never about the money or titles. He said the lure was to work alongside UT defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. “That was a major attraction, wanting to just be a sponge and soak up all the knowledge I could from a great defensive coordinator.”
Garner will receive a moderate raise from Georgia — “nothing like what they were offering at Tennessee,” he said —but no other promotions from his current titles of asst. head coach, recruiting coordinator and D-line. I asked him about the notion of being “Co-defensive coordinator” and he said “we have a defensive coordinator.”
As for the main reason he stayed with the Bulldogs, Garner said: “The attraction of Georgia to me is Mark Richt, I’m going to be honest with you. I love the institution and the community but I work for a great man and that’s the main reason I stayed.”
Rodney said he was immediately heading out on the road recruiting. Had at least one in-home Monday night. Said in his conversation with Richt that Gerogia “needed to get after it and work as hard as we possibly can because the competition is working hard.”
I talk to CMR at 1:30 p.m. In the meantime, here’s what he said in the UGA release.
“Rodney has been an integral part of the success we’ve enjoyed over the past eight years,” Richt said. “He’s produced some outstanding defensive linemen and is nationally known as one of the country’s very best recruiters. But he also has been instrumental in many areas of our football program in addition to coaching on the field and recruiting. He’s done an outstanding job in all areas of his responsibility and we’re excited about moving forward with Rodney, Kim and their daughters as part of our coaching family.”
I’ll find out more during CMR’s teleconference.
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Stafford-Moreno play highlights Cap One
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ORLANDO — Well, it wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty but it definitely was a solid win for Georgia.
Fittingly, in what very well could have been the final games of their college careers, Matthew Stafford connected with Knowshon Moreno on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 3:34 remaining in the game to put the finishing touches on a 24-12 win over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl.
Stafford, after playing perhaps his worst half of the season in the first half, played perhaps his best in the second. He went 14-of-17 for 179 yards and three TDs after halftime and was named the bowl’s MVP.
Moreno was the recipient of those passes for 63 yards in the game. He had only 62 yards rushing on 23 carries as the Bulldogs were running out the clock at the end.
Great defensive effort by the Dogs. They had six sacks in the game, the most since they had eight in the Sugar Bowl last season.
So Georgia (10-3) records at least 10 wins for the sixth time in eight seasons under coach Mark Richt. Of course, they were hoping for a little more than that this season.
What thinks you?
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Wind will be big factor in Cap One
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ORLANDO — Greetings from the press box at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. Georgia and Michigan State will kick off here in about an hour and a half. It’s nice and comfortable in here where I sit. Can’t say the same for out on the field.
It’s by far the coolest day of the whole week but that’s not the problem. The wind is howling. Pretty much blowing across the field from sideline-to-sideline, as far as I can tell. It could be a tough day for the kickers and possibly for throwing quarterbacks, too.
This is a very interesting matchup. As we’ve discussed, the Bulldogs have most of the advantages on paper. That’s why they’re an 8.5-point favorite. But as was so astonishingly demonstrated last night in the Georgia Dome between Georgia Tech and LSU, bowl games very often come down to motivation.
I think Georgia is pretty motivated. I actually think it helps that they lost to Tech. They might feel they have something to prove. But I definitely think the Spartans will be very motivated. Their fans traveled here in pretty good numbers and are excited about playing in a New Year’s Day Bowl.
As always, we’ll be here to find out. I’ll be blogging throughout the game so hang around and tell me what you think as you’re watching on TV.
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