UGA

By godawg

February 6, 2009 8:23 AM | Link to this

You’d think Lame Kitten would know the rules regarding recruiting after the time he spent at SoCal. I like how they say they’re going to “own” Memphis. The first thing they need to do is to tell Ed O not to use GD around grandma…

By swimdawg68

February 6, 2009 8:30 AM | Link to this

Bobby Knight and Michael Adams, that is a formula for disaster. Michael Adams will never permit someone with a bigger ego than his to be a part of UGA. The very thought of Bobby Knight being subordinate to Damon Evans is just hilarious, it would never work. Knight with “big nads” and Damon with “no nads”, I must admit it would be fun to watch but would be terrible for our program.

By augustadawg

February 6, 2009 8:37 AM | Link to this

sounds like UT has hired a bunch of blow hard idiots that love to talk - lets see if these idiots can coach a lick - my guess is no based on their behavior so far - Orgeron showing up half drunk to recruit Marlon Brown and dropping GD bombs - boy what a classy guy

can’t wait for our trip to Obknoxville next year to kick them around again

By Red Clay Hound

February 6, 2009 8:49 AM | Link to this

Kiffen is making Al Davis look like a genius.

By Mike

February 6, 2009 9:00 AM | Link to this

Chip,

The trend you cite of over-signing palyers really bothers me. UNC did it as well.

Really makes you wonder if some coaches don’t have a private waiver wire for their team each year, which is NOT how it’s supposed to work.

Might be interesting to see if this practice follows coaches around as they move (Nutt, Davis, etc).

By Red GA Dawg

February 6, 2009 9:01 AM | Link to this

I was wondering how schools were weaving around 25 limit, all greyshirting does is reduce next years class and tells a player he isn’t good enough now. Curious as to how many JUCO’s resign with original team? In context there are 85 slots spread over 5 years. Seems to me that a truly relaod for what exhausted eligibility or left early for Sunday work is 17 a year. Noticed that USC only has 8 eligible for ‘09 and 10 for ‘10. Fans hate bigs ups followed by bigger downs, there are few men who don’t prosper from a redshirt year, it also allows most to graduate.

By Zoomie

February 6, 2009 9:03 AM | Link to this

Just wow! Without coaching a down of regulation football in his new job, Kiffen and Co. are calling out proven coaches in the SEC in the most juvenile manner. I think we can expect this crew to have some humiltiy beat into them next season — at least! Saban and Meyer are quite capable of taking the respect Tennessee’s new coaching staff seems unwilling to give. Not a good way to start in the SEC. Man, openly and falsely accusing another head coach of cheating. Lane, these aren’t southern California pretty boys or dysfunctional banger wannabes you’re dealing with down here. Expect the wild-eyed, drooling basement-dwellers to be unchained and turned loose on you. Got anything to say to Mark Richt? Houston Nutt? Anyone else? Looking forward to going 0-for in SEC competition? Just not smart …

By JB

February 6, 2009 9:03 AM | Link to this

Really makes us appreciate Mark Richt. A class act.

By Clamor

February 6, 2009 9:12 AM | Link to this

Never imagined anyone could make me feel defensive about Nick Saban. Thanks, Kitten!

By YoungDawg

February 6, 2009 9:15 AM | Link to this

WOW! Kiffin is already more hated than foolmer, didn’t’ think that was possible. Myer is going to call timeout & pull out a cell phone when he scores 70 on the Vols this year! He took one shot at UGA mailing it in back in early Jan WELL you notice he’s not talking about us now because we went into TN & got the two 5* kids in the state! The staff is good & will get kids IF lane’s mouth doesn’t land them on probation first. What he doesn’t seem to get is that he’s making himself & the program a target. The competition is fierce enough without doing all that. The Dawgs lived through that last year after the celebration fallout CMR had no clue the whole team would run out & it would be such a big deal hopefully the refs will let it go next year. In this case all their yearly opponents will be even more hyped for the games & will be looking for any wrong doing to report so the question is will the NCAA go after them? Right it seems like there just raking in the money & turning their head the other way.

By Otto

February 6, 2009 9:28 AM | Link to this

If you recruit at USC you don’t have to know the rules just where the players want a house for the their parents.

By BlawgDawg

February 6, 2009 9:56 AM | Link to this

Chip Who do we have to slap around to get an answer about what is going on with Kwame Geathers? Has he signed or is he waiting?

By Steve Superior

February 6, 2009 9:59 AM | Link to this

Wow one win against Fullmer and the puppies OWN, Tennessee (just like the one win against the Gators). Selective memory, remember (dream sequence) 07 & 06, take a few minutes to recall the feeling…………

By charliedawg

February 6, 2009 10:00 AM | Link to this

Maybe Al Davis isn’t crazy after all……..

By Big B CH 99

February 6, 2009 10:13 AM | Link to this

Chip, you are absolutely right that Knight desparately wants a job.

He’s desperate to get one, to try & see if he can reach Summitt’s 1,000. She was joking that that’s why Knight wants a job, & I think jokingly or not she’s 100% right. His ego says that he wants that 4 digit #, especially since he’s basically 100 away (5 20 win seasons).

And the bloggers are absolutely right that Athens, GA is not being enough for both Knight & Adams egos. They both have huge ones & Adams wants a bunch of yes men, since he likes to stick his nose in everywhere, that’s why him & Dooley didn’t work.

By Keepingitreal

February 6, 2009 10:16 AM | Link to this

Damn does kiffin want meyer and the gators to drop a 100 on them next year? it’ll be interesting to see if they try.

By Hootie Bookems

February 6, 2009 10:16 AM | Link to this

Oy yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo Futbol

By cdawg

February 6, 2009 10:17 AM | Link to this

Alabama and South Carolina continue to sign a larger number or recruits each year than they have available scholarships. Are they doing that by not renewing scholarship to current players? If so some changes need to be made rather than attitude of winning ar all cost.

By DOG FAN

February 6, 2009 10:17 AM | Link to this

i just read on uga.com that we have not offered geathers, whats the hold up this is the biggest sleeper at dt in the country.

By cdawg

February 6, 2009 10:22 AM | Link to this

Amazing that Utah crushes Alabama but did it with almost no high ranking recruits? Seems like paying top dollar for the coach and signing top ranking class doesn’t necessarily translat into winning championships.

By Otto

February 6, 2009 10:24 AM | Link to this

I must say I’m look forward to UGA’s season as well UT’s now. UT playing Bama and their visit to the swamp will be great. I think I’ll take the spread.

Oh and Kiffin thank you for giving Meyer and the SEC refs something to focus on other than UGA’s dance in the end zone in Jax.

By Chip Towers

February 6, 2009 10:27 AM | Link to this

Blawg Dawg, Dog Fan: My understanding is Georgia has a standing offer for Kwame Geathers. Rodney Garner is good friends with than entire family and has a good relationship with them. But they’re a different sort of people in general. If you notice, none of them ever sign on signing day. I think the Dogs have simply said, “you know what we’re about and we’re here if you want us.”

By Kip

February 6, 2009 10:33 AM | Link to this

Dog Fan:

“This is the biggest sleeper at dt in the country”…like anybody could even know that.

By Ted Striker

February 6, 2009 10:34 AM | Link to this

Habitual over-signing is clearly a philosophy of more coaching staffs, one the NCAA should examine. If the practice doesn’t violate the letter of the law, it seems to violate the spirit of the law.

I lost respect for Tommy Bowden when it was revealed he had revoked Ray Ray McElrathbey’s scholarship because Clemson needed to give it to someone else.

As for Alabama, it remains to be seen how Coach Saban will finesse his signing class. With returns and departures, it appears Alabama has room for 8 of the new signees — and there have been 27 recruits who signed so far. I’ve attempted to link to that particular report below…if it works.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/118914-alabama-recruiting-nicks-tricks

Not knocking any coaches intention — I don’t know their heart. However, in the long run this can’t be good because it’s promising something that can’t be delivered on.

By BlawgDawg

February 6, 2009 10:46 AM | Link to this

Thanks for the info Chip.

By smokeyVOLS

February 6, 2009 10:59 AM | Link to this

SEC(esp Eastern Division)Be Warned!!! Their is a new sher(k)iff in town and you little ladies have had your fun. Now that Fulmer is gone, Court (Sherman’s March—remember that GA fans)is now in session. We will start in Loserville, FL by performing a “WELCOME to the new and improved version of VOL football”, followed up with a beat down of the lil’ puppies in K(iffin)-ville, to only travel to Satanloosca to show the Western Division that we officially own the SEC going forward. So have fun for the next 7 months running your smack on the boards, because it will not be too fun come “Football Time in Tennessee”! See ya in September, Losers!

By Cameron

February 6, 2009 11:03 AM | Link to this

From what I understand, Geathers does not have an offer from us. I think it has something to do with him not being able to qualify. If he can, we would definitely offer him. It has been confirmed by a couple of recruiting sites that he does not have an offer. Lane Kiffen kind of put his foot in his mouth. But, he is a great coach. He actually did a good job in Oakland and should not have been fired. He will get Tennessee back to where it needs to be, guaranteed. Coach Knight doesn’t necessarily want to get back into coaching to get 1,000 wins. He just wants to coach in the SEC or ACC, where he can recruit top talent and possibly win a national championship. Let me explain why he is interested in the UGA job: Jodie Meeks (Kent.), Chris Allen (Mich St), Gani Lawal (GT), Derrick Favors (GT), Jarvaris Crittenton (NBA), Randolph Morris (NBA), Louis Williams (NBA), etc. He knows there is top talent all around Georgia. To compete for a national championship, all you have to do is lock down the state. Which is something nobody has been able to do at UGA or GT for some reason.

By GATORZONE

February 6, 2009 11:06 AM | Link to this

Lane Kitten, it is on now!

By foxdog

February 6, 2009 11:06 AM | Link to this

The NCAA could address over signings in two ways.

1- Make the scholarship a 4 year contract (add a fifth year if the player is redshirted). Only injury or academic ineligibility would open a spot. Transfers, just quitting school, and moral issues could be open for further discussion. But no more just pulling scholarships. If a kid quits football but remains in good academic standing in school he remains on scholarship, and it counts.

2- Maintain the scholarship limit at 85 (or whatever the limit is set at) if you have 30 available spots in a year you can sign 30, but if you only have 10 then that’s it, 10. You can’t exceed the total limit. You have to be able to show the total availability of spots to the NCAA on the first day of the month that signing day falls in (this year Feb. 1). If a spot opens after that, tough, you can fill it next year. If you miss calculate and over sign you have to award the scholarship. But, the recipient is ineligible for that year and the college is penalized 2 scholarships the next signing class.

By Josh

February 6, 2009 11:07 AM | Link to this

Richt says that he doesn’t over sign which may be true. But don’t even try to tell me that he doesn’t over offer. He just offers a scholarship, then pulls it away before signing day. I guess its not quite as bas but he needs to stop acting all innocent. And why do you sign dumb-as-rocks kids that you know aren’t going to even MAKE it into college..thats dumb.

By PBR=America in a can

February 6, 2009 11:19 AM | Link to this

The only thing that interests me about Lane Kiffin is how hott is wife is……….

By CHARLOTTE DAWG

February 6, 2009 11:19 AM | Link to this

I’m not a fan of Lanny or Meyer. But if what Meyer did was not a rule violation, it still shows a complete lack of class to call a recruit while he’s visiting another coach. That is just pitiful and is exactly what I would expect from the Meyers, Sabans, and Spurriers of the world. I doubt Mark Richt would do that. If anyone has any proof otherwise, I’ll eat my words.

The sad thing is, jerks that bend the rules, break the rules, or have no class usually finish first while the nice guys like Richt finish second. I don’t think Richt bends the rules with “Grey shirts” either. However, who wins the championships? The Meyers and the Sabans. Not a good message to send to people but that is how it goes.

I’m proud that we have an ethical coach but nice guys finish second. I hate it. I just hope Karma bites Myer, Saban, Spurrier(happening now), and now Kiffin in the a$$. But the jerks usually win in this ruthless conference. Very disconcerting.

By Blackberry Cobbler

February 6, 2009 11:20 AM | Link to this

A NLI (National Letter of Intent) is a contract between the player and the university. It stipulates the amount of scholarship offered and binds both the university and player. The university must enroll the player and honor the scholarship offer provide the player meets academic requirements for admission.

This trend of over-signing players is a dangerous game.

By Vince

February 6, 2009 11:20 AM | Link to this

Seems to me a few oversigns is OK, since every year we lose a few to leaving school, permanent injuries, or disciplinary actions.

By DOG FAN

February 6, 2009 11:21 AM | Link to this

thanks chip and kip i was just saying out of all the dt i have seen this year this 3 star is more dominant than the 4 star linemen i’ve seen. and i know the stars don’t mean much

By GATORZONE

February 6, 2009 11:26 AM | Link to this

Hey Charlottedawg, you might want to do some homework. The kid was committed to UF since last May and Meyer was trying to keep him from changing his mind at the last minute. Hats off to Kiffin for stealing 2 players, but to call Urban a cheat for trying to prevent defections is crazy!

By PapaSid

February 6, 2009 11:28 AM | Link to this

FYI on Alabama’s 32-man signing class last year: Two (2) were MLB draftees and signed baseball contracts; Four (4) did not qualify academically and enrolled in junior colleges/prep schools; One (1) had to have major surgery to repair a high school football injury and thus became a “greyshirt.”

There are very, very few instances of major college coaches just “pulling” scholarships to make room for newcomers. Think for just a minute. If you did this, it would be all over the media in a flash and would absolutely kill your recruiting in the future. Whether you think coaches are ethical or not, they are pragmatic. They are not going to “shoot themselves in the foot” like this.

By Jim

February 6, 2009 11:36 AM | Link to this

Slow news day, Chippy? I guess UGA has NEVER over-signed? It’s called having a plan. Maybe Richt has been so concerned over his team’s wardrobe that having a concise recruiting strategy escaped him.

By dawgfan1911

February 6, 2009 11:39 AM | Link to this

Mark my WORDS! LANE KIFFIN WILL BE FIRED EITHER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR OR AT THE END OF NEXT YEAR! This guy is clueless. As much as I hate Urban, lane looks like a complete idiot and this so called dream staff is going to suffer as well. The VOL Nation will get what they deserve. Not hiring Charlie Strong from Florida becasue he has a whit wife will haunt the for a long time. You cant tell me that Lane Kiffin is more qualified to coach the Vols than a proven SEC winner Charlie Strong and a guy who has ties with a lot of high school coaches in the South. Shame on you Tennessee! You will get exactly what you deserve.

By JPTALMAD@YAHOO.COM

February 6, 2009 11:43 AM | Link to this

GATORZONE,

For one thing, I didn’t say it was illegal. I said it was classless. There’s a difference.

And answer me this…would Richt call Orson Charles while Orson was visiting with Meyer in Gainesville….huh….don’t think so? Never….some people have class. Your coach doesn’t but he does win championships. So congrats. And I do hope Meyer pays Lane back with some typical Meyer grudge holding. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Meyer will have Tebow in there in the 4th quarter while UT is loosing by 4 touchdowns. And he’ll probably call some timeouts too.

It will be fun to watch though. Will be an interesting post game handshake for sure.

By bama12titles

February 6, 2009 11:49 AM | Link to this

Chip and some of the other armchair coaches,

I think the coaches know better what’s going on inside their own program than you guys do and there are some factors you obviously didn’t consider in this debate. Allow me to do Chip’s job for him since he neglected to do so. I can speak for Bama’s oversigning and not for Ole Miss or anyone else although I suspect they oversign for the same reasons Bama did.

1) Pro baseball. Saban signed 32 last year because he knew several players were possibly going the major baseball route and sure enough 2-3 of them went the baseball route.

2) Medical scholarships. Saban also knew that he had several players whose careers were basically over due to career ending injuries like Tyrone Prothro’s injury. A handful of players went from football scholarship to medical scholarship due to these career ending injuries and this freed up some schollies. This is something you would not be privy to due to HIPPA laws. Only the coach knows this situation and he cannot divulge it.

3) Transfers. Every program has players at the very bottom of the depth chart that choose to transfer to a better opportunity for playing time somewhere else. This happens everywhere.

4) Discipline problems. Every program has a couple of players that get booted every year due to discipline problems. Saban inherited an undisciplined bunch from Shula and booted a couple of guys for very serious crimes. Every program has these issues.

5) Wealthy players. Last year Alabama had the fathers of 2 kids from very wealthy families Tyler Love and Brad Smelley who offered to pay their own way for a semester if it would help with having kids from poor families be able to attend on a schollie.

Despite all the criticism Saban got last year from people like Chip Towers the numbers worked out, the 2 kids from weatlhy families above ended up attending on a football schollie, and Bama actually came in 1 or 2 placements under the scholarship numbers. Shows how much you know about these things!

6) Medical Greyshirts. Bama had another recruit Jermaine Preyear that had to have shoulder surgery after injuring himself before fall camp. Sometimes kids have injuries working out and weight training in between when they sign their letter of intent and report for fall camp. Since he wouldn’t be ready for fall football camp it was decided that he would rehab and take a greyshirt and report to bama in January which he did.

7) There are indeed the greyshirts. The less heavily recruited kids that are 2 or 3 stars are told before hand that if the program gets in a scholarship crunch that they may have to wait one sememester to enroll. This is nearly the same as a redshirt. The kid can either pay his own way for one semester or sit out if he can’t afford it. It gives him time to work out and get stronger for when he does enroll in January. These kids are told this beforehand and some of them are so excited to play for their dream school that they have no major problem with it. If they did they could always accept one of their other offers from a another school. Why would someone like Chip Towers have a problem with this if the kid doesn’t have a problem with it? BTW, to date Saban has not had to greyshirt anyone yet due to this schollie crunch with the exception of one medical grayshirt.

8) Lastly, as Chip mentioned several wouldn’t qualify academically and sure enough a few of them don’t qualify. The coaches know the exact academic situation of each and every recruit and they know fairly accurately how many will make it and how many won’t. Again, this is not something Chip or anyone on here would be privy to so quit second guessing other coaches.

Chip’s whole post is a not so thinly veiled swipe at Saban, Nutt and other coaches while he extolls the virtues of Richt for not oversigning. I don’t have a problem with Richt who I do respect. But shame on you Chip for not presenting a full and more accurate picture of why coaches oversign and for taking shots at rival coaches. Next time do your job!

By CHARLOTTE DAWG

February 6, 2009 11:53 AM | Link to this

Dawgfan1911,

He wouldn’t be welcome at Georgia b/c of that either. We are in the deep South pal. If you don’t like it, pull for another team and move. It angers some/many people…plain and simple.

It is what it is.

By DirtyDawg

February 6, 2009 11:56 AM | Link to this

Hey smokeyvol, once again you guys are writing checks your a* can’t cash. Been around these parts for quite a while…remember back when you just couldn’t wait for Bill Battle to rule the SEC - whad-it-take, three years before you shot his dog and sent the moving van over?…Then you just had to have your favorite son, Johnny Majors, boy the SEC better be looking out now - that took a little longer, and even then you were too chicken and waited until he was in de-tox to ‘shoot his dog and send the moving van over’…and then you fell in love with Phil. Admittedly, you took a lot longer to make up your mind and throw him over for the latest ‘pretty face’ (seems rather full circle, Battle was the youngest at the time as well) young Lane Kiffin and his old man. By the way, you didn’t shoot Phil’s dog too, did ‘ya? Man you guys are tough.

Take some advice, at least see if the latest savior can ‘coach up’ to his big mouth. Fellows, the more you read about Lane in Oakland, the more you wonder, first, how he got that job, and now, what made you think he was something special? My advice to Kiffin is ‘don’t get attached to any pets, and especially not a dog.’

Oh, by the way, tell me again just what you plan to do for a QB next season, cause if it’s Compton then you damn well better keep your mouth shut - at least I wouldn’t be puttin’ any money on it.

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 11:57 AM | Link to this

Oh great Bama 12 is back, Let us know all there is to know about college football old wise one, hahaha!

By dogfan

February 6, 2009 11:58 AM | Link to this

Hey SmokeyVol,

You’re funny - in a stupid kind of way!

By dawgfan

February 6, 2009 11:59 AM | Link to this

Lane Kiffin stuck his foot in his mouth. But despite Urban Meyer not breaking rules it shows how classless that jerk really is.

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 12:02 PM | Link to this

Charlotte Dawg, Too bad you look at it that way, and can’t focus on the important things in life, you are very sad!

By GATORZONE

February 6, 2009 12:05 PM | Link to this

Classless or not, all schools try to hold onto their commitments.

Was it classless for Richt to go after the wide receiver who committed to Tech? No, of course not. That is the name of the game. It is just ridiculous to hold the “holier than thou” position so many dawg fans hold of richt. Give me a break!

RICHARDSON COMMITTED TO FLORIDA MAY OF 08

KIFFIN CONTACTED HIM AND TEAGUE (ANOTHER COMMITMENT) AND CONVINCED THEM TO VISIT UT

MEYER CALLED SAID PLAYER TO TRY TO KEEP HIM AND HONOR HIS COMMITMENT

KIFFIN CALLS MEYER A CHEAT

HOW DOES THIS MAKE MEYER A CHEAT, OR CLASSLESS?

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 12:09 PM | Link to this

Another thing, this is an Atlanta paper, I wouldn’t say Atlanta is part of the deep South. This is the biggest transplant city in the entire country, meaning there are much more people in this city from other parts of the country than the South.

By Charlie Strong's Wife

February 6, 2009 12:11 PM | Link to this

SEC Sucks,

Exactly the reaction I would expect from someone with your handle(SEC Sucks). I guess your a carpet bagging GT fan or a wine and cheese tasting liberal from UNC.

The sad thing is our society and what has become acceptable. See you in New York at the hippie convention or the Young Democrats festival.

By Red and Black

February 6, 2009 12:13 PM | Link to this

good there will be steam between gators and vols let them beat each other up real good we’ll be under the radar with a nice little bye week before FLA

By Houdawg

February 6, 2009 12:13 PM | Link to this

Hey VOL fans …….. ya got what you deserve !

Kiffin is an IDIOT of major proportion ….. no class ; no brains …….

Remember, Al Davis is half-crazy & even HE couldn’t stand Kiffin …… have FUN !

By godawg

February 6, 2009 12:14 PM | Link to this

smokeyVOLS, That was hilarious! Thanks for the laugh! Have you completed your “Hello Kitty” collection yet? Keep drink’in the koolaid and put your orange glasses on, that idiot at the podium really IS your coach…

By The Man

February 6, 2009 12:15 PM | Link to this

Bama 12 got it mostly right, but I’ll help him finish points 3 and 4. Transfers do happen every year, and it’s usually those on the bottom of the food chain that get pushed to find those better opportunities. It’s usually a case of kicking out a 2 or 3* player to make room for a 5*. Usually it seems a model student-athlete loses his scholly to a guy who just squeaks in through the clearinghouse. The discipline problems that find themselves booted out are either among the worst players or the most visible and heinous offenders. The better players always seem to find a way to stay, like Marcus Thomas of the multiple suspensions at UF and the DL at LSU who was suspended for the entire regular season for something bad, but just made it back in time for the SECCG in ‘07. Even with all the possible ways to justify oversigning, it usually involves getting rid of lesser players for better ones.

By typical UF fan wah wah

February 6, 2009 12:15 PM | Link to this

Hey gator zone how bout you go back to your zone which is FLA and get out of are’s you got no love here or your coach urban cryier you sound like a big cry baby wah wah wah he’s not a cheater wah wah wah

By CHARLOTTE DAWG

February 6, 2009 12:18 PM | Link to this

GATORZONE,

I’m simply making a point that it is classless for Meyer to call a recruit in the middle of a visit with somebody else. If you can’t see that, you need a lesson on manners.

However, Meyer did not “cheat” technically and Kiffin erroneously called him out. If you ask me, they both deserve each other and their interaction for the next few years will be entertainment to say the least.

By lance

February 6, 2009 12:24 PM | Link to this

Kiffin is a dork but you are right — his wife is HOT!!

By TideGuy

February 6, 2009 12:25 PM | Link to this

Ask the coaches and players and they will all tell you that all the kids who signed know where they stand. They are told upfront where they fit into the selection process and where they stand regarding a scholarship. Do you think these coaches could be great recruiters year after year while burning kids and “tossing them aside?”

By copdawg

February 6, 2009 12:26 PM | Link to this

please correct me if i am misinformed but i understand the “call” to the recruit was actually a text message. while urban is not my favorite coach if it was an e-mail, he had no way to know exactly where the recruit was at the time, lighten up!!!!!

By dawgfan1911

February 6, 2009 12:35 PM | Link to this

Charlott Dawge I am sure it would happen at Georgia as well, I know the history of the south and the racism that exist here, however that dosent make it right. But why would I cheer for another team? I am not a bandwagon fan, I am merely pointing out the mistake Tennessee made and the idiot they hired over a qulified guy like Charlie Strong. Not sure what you are talking about??

By Bill

February 6, 2009 12:36 PM | Link to this

Georgia signed 29 in ‘02 and 27 in ‘06. Guess Richt just miscounted. Facts can be so annoying.

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 12:37 PM | Link to this

The people that go on the Jerry Springer show are the same people that you see in SEC stadiums!

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 12:39 PM | Link to this

Kiffin is classless and has no brains, what are you all complaining about, he will fit right in with the rest of the SEC

By TideGuy

February 6, 2009 12:49 PM | Link to this

CHARLOTTE DAWG,

Don’t forget that Kiffen stated that Richardson told the paper and the paper reported the Friday before his visit to TN that he would NOT be making the vist to TN. How would Meyer know he was in TN on a visit after it was just reported he wasn’t going?

By Chip Towers

February 6, 2009 12:52 PM | Link to this

bama(<)12(legitimate)titles:

You can drink the Kool-aid if you want. The bottom line is this: 73 scholarship players return from last season; four more joined the team (two from early enrollment and two from last year’s referrals). According to my math, that’s 77 scholarship players. That means the Tide has room to enroll 8 on scholarship. They signed 27 players on Wednesday. Something has to give.

By Vol Nut

February 6, 2009 1:01 PM | Link to this

I think I know who dawgfan1911 voted for in the last election.

By poop

February 6, 2009 1:09 PM | Link to this

oh you know everyone in the the states of miss and bama can’t count…

By Atlanta Gator

February 6, 2009 1:12 PM | Link to this

Chip Towers——Can you cite chapter and verse on the NCAA rule regarding the 25-scholarships-per-year rule? NCAA rule number? I’d like to read the rule for myself. If the rule is written as advertised, the NCAA appears to have turned a blind eye to a National Signing Day practice that falls into a grey area at best, and is a violation of the literal rule at worst.

Furthermore, this practice seriously distorts the national recruiting team ratings if no player after the 25th can actually receive a scholarship or legally commit to the program. Something isn’t right about this, and the NCAA needs to clarify what its official position is.

By bama12titles

February 6, 2009 1:16 PM | Link to this

Chip,

Its funny but guys like you said the same exact thing last year when Saban signed 32 and yet somehow Bama ended up 1 or 2 schollies under the limit. At that point in time it looked like we signed about 15 players more than what we could handle. In other words “something had to give” as you just wrote. And yet everything worked out.

Apparently you still didn’t learn anything from what I posted. The coach has a plan, he knows some players will probably transfer, he knows what players may have to go on medical, he knows what players probably won’t make it academically, he knows that a couple will get in trouble with the law and will probably be booted, and he told a certain number of players upfront that they may not be able to enroll until the next semester.

If a handful of players end up having to greyshirt and they knew ahead of time that this was a possibility then why do you have a problem with that? Obviously the players don’t. You just used this non-topic to do a slam job on some other coaches and now you’re a little upset that you’ve been called out on it.

BTW, I like the way you ridicule my handle. Maybe we will let you be the arbiter of true national titles as well as the arbiter of how a coach like Saban or Nutt should manage their football team.

By TideGuy

February 6, 2009 1:17 PM | Link to this

Chip,

Alabama signed 25 Wed. The 27 number includes the two from early enrollment. Doesn’t answer all the questions but there is two of them. I trust the staff knows what they are doing.

By Robert

February 6, 2009 1:24 PM | Link to this

Scholarships are basically 1 year deals. Schools can pull them, although you don’t see it often. It does happen unfortunately. Of course it’s not the “star” player losing his scholarship so don’t hear about it much.

Schools should not be allowed to over sign unless they didn’t sign the max 25 the previous year. So with UGA signing 18 this year, they can add the extra 7 to next years class and sign 32. Number can go up for players leaving school early (NFL, transfers, etc) one to one. If 2 leave, add 2 to that class available. Another option is average the cap based on 4 years. So you can sign 100 in 4 years although you may sign 38 (like Ole Miss this year), within 4 years, you will be back to a 25/year average.

Take a look at Alabama. How are they going to admit 27 signees with only 7 or 8 roster spots available? Looks like some kids need to start looking for money for school b/c Saban is about to pull the scholarship on them. I know some might not actually get admitted so will reduce the numbers some but something has to give somewhere.

By Atlanta Gator

February 6, 2009 1:34 PM | Link to this

Charlotte Dawg——I have a hypothetical question for you. Which of these scenarios demonstrates less “class” on the part of the coach involved:

1. Coach A, who recruits a player who has already verbally committed to another program, and then instructs the player to lie to the coaches of the first program, telling them that the player remains committed to the first program, in order to spring a signing day surprise?

2. Coach B, who suspecting something smells funny about the player’s commitment, decides to call the player during his weekend visit to the second program?

Now, mix and match the school affiliations, say Coach A is Urban Meyer, and Coach B is Mark Richt. How would you feel about it then? How would you feel about the player, who basically held one of your limited number of scholarships hostage, when other players were available? How would you feel about the second coach who instructed the player to lie to the first coach to whom the player had previously committed?

IMHO, it’s pretty apparent who was responsible for the more offensive conduct in this matter. Lane Kiffin has publicly embarrassed himself, recruit Nu’Keese Richard and the Tennessee Volunteers football program; he’s been publicly reprimanded by the SEC commissioner for violating the conference’s rules; and he hasn’t even coached his first football game. Quite the accomplishments.

As much as it pains me to say it, Al Davis may have been right about this guy. Kiffin appears to be a loose cannon afflicted with some form of Tourette’s syndrome.

By bama12titles

February 6, 2009 1:41 PM | Link to this

To my knowledge Saban has never pulled a scholarship from anyone unless it was for severe discipline issues. He had a plan last year when we vastly oversigned and it all worked out.

If coaches started arbitrarily yanking schollies from the less heralded kids then they would get a really bad black eye that would hurt them severely in recruiting. The only instance I’ve ever heard of a less prominent kid getting his scholly pulled was when Spurrier came to SC and in his 2nd year he wanted to pull a couple of schollies from kids he didn’t recruit that he didn’t think deserved them. There was a big stink over it and I think Spurrier either relented or if he didn’t then he yanked those 1 or 2 schollies and never did it again.

This is a big to do about nothing. When its all said and done each and every team will have no more than 25 or less new kids enrolled each year and no more than 85 men on the roster per the ncaa rules. If anyone oversigns and can’t fit players in then they will simply enroll them the next semester. And as I’ve said this is explained to each and every recruit that is a possible greyshirt candidate so its between the coaching staff and the players. There is nothing unethical about this and it shouldn’t be used as a bogus prop for writers to bash other programs.

By Denver dog

February 6, 2009 1:45 PM | Link to this

Ok so these schools break the rules. What is the big deal if the NCAA doesn’t call them on it. Since Jan Kem, UGA has had to keep a little ahead of everyone else, including Tech. That doesn’t knock anyone else, just stating the facts. How are they getting the people to stick around? Maybe the conference headquarters should keep things on the up and up.

So UNC has signed too many, and I know that Clemson has had some of those type numbers in the past.

As far as Ole Miss, that makes no sense. Houston Nutt or whomever it is, that makes no sense.

Lane Kiffin, has found a way to make everyone mad and has not gotten anything accomplished.

Go Dogs

By typical bulldawg fan

February 6, 2009 1:47 PM | Link to this

Thank God we have the sainted mark rickt so we don’t have to listen to this crap!

HUNKERDOWN!!!!

By SSI gator

February 6, 2009 1:50 PM | Link to this

GATORZONE -

Save your breath with the mutts. No matter how much reason you apply it just doesn’t matter to them. I like reading these for a good laugh each day. Bottom line is 1980 was a long time ago and it is tearing them up. They can say that they would rather be second in the SEC East and have CMR as there coach to take them to Tampa or Orlando each year, but that isn’t really the case. Looking forward to a nice, quiet night on our island again this year after the UF/GA game. By the way UGAG fans - take your trash with you after you leave on Sunday. Or is that how you live in Athens? Time Out - Florida.

By Denver dog

February 6, 2009 1:52 PM | Link to this

Hey Atlanta Gator,

It wasn’t, that situation. If he knew he was at UT, he shouldn’t have called. I’d say the same if it was CMR.

I think that if the player wants to wander, just give him walking papers. He must not have been that critical to the Gators.

College recruiting is going to just get nastier. The invasion by the likes of Pete Carrol, Lane Kiffin, and co just bring rule breakers into the fold. Have we heard more about the Bush, Lienhardt, Lindale White espisonde. There is not the scrutiny there as there is in the SE and the Midwest part of the country. Give Kiffin the rope, he will hang himself soon enough. If he doesn’t, his daddy will, he has that cheating history.

By smokeyVOLS

February 6, 2009 1:55 PM | Link to this

Come on TN wanna be’s. You guys - dawgfan1911, copdawg, DirtyDawg, Red and Black, dawgfan1911, and esp. GATORZONE can’t stand the fact the SEC East has seen a shift in momentum. Phat Phil is gone. CLK (Coach Lane Kiffin) has drawn the line in the sand. And that sand starts on the beaches in FL, by way of Gainesville. And, yes, you can refer to Gainesville as Knoxville Jr., officially. Athens has always been a suburb of Knoxville. Some come on, join in and watch the new regime take hold and dominate the East from the Great Commenwealth to the peninsula that we all like to call South Tennessee, which would make GA Central Tennessee.

By JacketinNashville

February 6, 2009 2:00 PM | Link to this

For all you UGA fans saying you own Tennessee for recruiting, I have 2 words for you:

Eric Berry

By NCAA REFEREE

February 6, 2009 2:04 PM | Link to this

The rules are the rules and no one is breaking them. Everyone will have 25 or less new players enrolled each year and no one will have more than 85 players on scholarship at any one time. It is what it is no matter how many guys you sign to a letter of intent.

You can sign 38 as Nutt did and enroll 25 of them. Assuming a certain number like 7 or 8 won’t qualify then you just have 4 or 5 that he would grayshirt.. Nutt can then enroll those 4 or 5 the next semester to count towards the next year’s allottment of 25 possible scholarships. Don’t know why some people on here think there is cheating going on. This aint that hard to understand.

By Denver dog

February 6, 2009 2:07 PM | Link to this

Hey smokeyVOLS,

Apparently you have been smoking some of that wacky baccy grown by your cousin who is married to your sister, who is also your mother.

Keep loving your cousins, it keeps the your collective IQ under 100, which is apparently where your IQ lies.

By Denver dog

February 6, 2009 2:09 PM | Link to this

Hey NCAA REFEREE

How could anyone not qualify to get into Ole Miss or Alabama? All you need is a valid fishing license!!!!!!!

By dancingator69

February 6, 2009 2:10 PM | Link to this

Babe Kiffin has no integrity and promised other teams recruits immediate playing time. Coaches with integrity, such as Urban won’t. Looking forward to Babe coming to the SWAMP!

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 2:16 PM | Link to this

Denver Dog, I think your comments apply to all places that are in the South.

By bama12titles

February 6, 2009 2:21 PM | Link to this

I don’t know what they’re saying in Tenn. or Fla. regarding the recruitment of Nu Keese Richardson but from what I’ve seen in the national recruiting services and in the Alabama papers there was some underhandedness by kiffin regarding the recruitment of Richardson.

As I understand it he did indeed instruct the young man to not tell anyone he was taking this secret recruiting trip to Knoxville and to lie if Meyer or anyone else asked him where he was going that weekend.

Obviously we all know that recruiting in the SEC is a rough and tumble business. When Al Davis said Kiffen was a liar, incredibly immature and unprofessional we all laughed it off as the rantings of an old man. Turns out the old man was right.

Kiffen has been on the job 1 month now and the amount of smack talking he has done to Spurrier, Meyer, and Saban is just unreal. This from a guy who was 5-15 as a head coach? And to flat out call Meyer a liar in public and then have to backtrack and apologize because he was wrong about about what constitutes a rules violation? This kid is just embarrassing.

I feel bad for a proud program like UT. They deserve better than this childishness. And I really feel sorry for them went they go to the swamp later this year. Its gonna get ugly.

As for all the smack talking he did towards Bama he also stated that he was going to “LOCK DOWN” the Memphis are. Well guess what. Bama got there 1st committment for the 2010 recruiting class today. He’s a scout top100 junior wide receiver out of you guessed it Memphis. Call it karma or call it poetic justice. RTR!!

By smokeyVOLS

February 6, 2009 2:23 PM | Link to this

Denver Dog…Sorry I left you out of the addressee(s) And your sister is quite a spouse, too.

By Ted Striker

February 6, 2009 2:25 PM | Link to this

Bama12titles —

I am in awe.

Do you know how it sounds for you to say that ‘you will do the job of an AJC journalist’ — ‘since they can’t do it themselves!’ — and that you will also “speak on behalf of the University of Alabama” for the University of Alabama’s athletic department oversigning of scholarship players?

Good lord, man, how much is the AJC and the University of Alabama paying you to backfill the respective jobs as AJC reporter and University of Alabama Public Affairs officer? Add that to what you must be getting paid “Rust State Blog Correspondent” and I’m surprised you haven’t moved on to ESPN.com or the NCAA.

By jim

February 6, 2009 2:25 PM | Link to this

BIG NEWS!!

Guess where Alabama’s first commit for 2010 is from??

A 4-star WR from MEMPHIS

Funny stuff. I wonder if Lane will go over to his house, take his phone and start texting other coaches. What a punk(Lane)?

Roll Tide and Go Gators!

Chip- Of the 27 that you claim signed with Alabama 2 enrolled early and count towards the 25 from last year. As you already know the 25 will not all make thier grades and a number of current players will not be playing but hey if it makes you feel better write what the UGA fans want to hear.

By godawg

February 6, 2009 2:31 PM | Link to this

I tink dat Kiffykin got some holes in dat fence he putt’in up awound tennersee…WOOF!

By typical bulldawg fan

February 6, 2009 2:38 PM | Link to this

Smokeyvol, you just gave me a good laugh for the day! Have a great weekend!

See you in september!

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 2:40 PM | Link to this

Ted Striker, Take it easy on Bama 12, he hasn’t been the same since the Sugar Bowl! He was jumping all over the place bragging about how great they were for beating as many SEC teams as they did, but losing to a NON BCS team in that bowl scarred him for life!

By GATORZONE

February 6, 2009 2:41 PM | Link to this

Thanks Jim. Right back atcha!

By Robert

February 6, 2009 2:42 PM | Link to this

Think the coaches are all working within the rules as they are written. But if you keep oversigning players, eventually, it catches up to you. Hopefully no kid loses his scholarship in the end but it does happen.

By bama12titles

February 6, 2009 2:52 PM | Link to this

Ted striker,

Thank you for the compliment. I’m always available to educate AJC staff writers when they write a story that only tells half the story and use the story to take a backhanded swipe at other institutions.

By NewnanDawg

February 6, 2009 2:54 PM | Link to this

I really hope blogging this doesn’t come back to haunt me, but I am sooooo thankful that our recruits and Krazy Kiffin are the only stories right now. That means that so far this offseason, whatever changes, warnings, etc. the coaches have made have been successful in keeping players off the arrest records. Let’s hope the veteran players continue to set a good example this offseason and we can just look forward to a great season instead of negative offseason publicity.

Go Dawgs!

By bama12titles

February 6, 2009 3:06 PM | Link to this

SEC SUCKS,

Obviously as usual you just don’t know what you’re talking about yet again. Most of the other posters on here know I was never an in your face type of poster like Bama stan whenever we won a game against an sec brother. I was always pretty gracious as a winner and was complimentary to dawg fans after the blackout game for sticking with their team and not leaving despite the halftime score. Clearly you’re just talking out of your arse yet again.

Judging by your posts you know very little about anything and in particular college football. Every post of yours is simply an insult. You have nothing constructive to say. If you have valid criticisms then post them. You say juvenile things like the sec sucks but provide no empirical evidence as to why the conference sucks. Surely you have some numbers to back up your big talk. Aren’t you the same guy who said Florida sucks and that they only beat OU because they suck too. I guess everyone sucks except the ACC which went 4-6 in bowl season with a loss to Vandy by their conference runnerup and a blowout by LSU over Tech.

I patiently await your next insult since you have nothing in the arena of wit or worthy commentary to contribute.

By Chip Towers

February 6, 2009 3:13 PM | Link to this

All, I referred to the two early enrollees in my last comment on Bama. They’re in the overall number that counts toward the 85. I have nothing against Alabama or Ole Miss. I just think they’re tap dancing through a giant loophole and that “greyshirt” practices, etc., need to be reviewed.

By Denver dog

February 6, 2009 3:17 PM | Link to this

Thanks Smokey Vols,

I don’t have a sister. Good try anyway, have a great year, and good luck to your teams!

By NCAA REFEREE

February 6, 2009 3:22 PM | Link to this

Denver dawg.

The book and film deliverance with homo buttraping hillbillies was based in northeastern Georgia. Gone with the wind where everyone was marrying their cousins was based in Georgia of course. Georgia was settled as a penal colony for exconvicts. Guess you never learned your Georgia history.

I’m an ex New Yorker who has lived in the ATL for 20 years.I never did understand why some Georgians have the arrogance to believe that they are somehow different than other southern states. I used to deal with hospitals throughout Alabama and Georgia and have driven all over both states. When driving through the countryside I can emphatically tell you one thing. Those Alabammers aint got nothing on Georgia when it comes to #s of trailers. Simmer down. The only thing that makes ATL great is all the transplants from other states and other regions of the country. Otherwise it would just be another Birmingham

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 3:26 PM | Link to this

Bama 12, We will start with this. The SEC has been killing the Big 12 for not having any defense. But OU held FL to their lowest points scored all year, pretty hypocritical of you all since that would make OU’s defense better than any other defense in the SEC besides FL! And i never said FL sucked, i was mocking the rest of the SEC.

The ACC had a winning record against the SEC during the regular season, but SEC fans don’t seem to recognize that, why is that?

All we keep hearing is your bowl record, but dude no one cares! Most of those bowl games were very close, so that doesn’t prove domination, just ignorance on your part, you lost your bowl game, how did that make the SEC look?

By 59-39-5

February 6, 2009 3:35 PM | Link to this

Nick Saban might be onto something here. He could possibly be tapping into a super-talented athletic pool. However, if he has to yank too many scholarships, kids might not want to play for him anymore for fear of getting their schollies yanked as well. I guess we will find out in time.

By 59-39-5

February 6, 2009 3:39 PM | Link to this

Sec sucks,

You’ve provided one year’s worth of data. I’ll provide a little more.

Through 2006, the SEC holds a 251-117-10 record.

In short, we own you. What else you got?

By bama12titles

February 6, 2009 3:40 PM | Link to this

Chip,

Also, another thing that you didn’t mention is that oversigning can actually be positive for a program. How you may ask? I remember several years ago Richt signed a top 5 class with only 19 or 20 players. As I recall 6-7 of them didn’t qualify, 1 got into legal trouble before school and couldn’t come, and so he had a small class of only 12 or 13 guys coming to fall practice. If you will remember he got a boatload of criticism for this from dawg fans. Had he oversigned by 6 or 7 guys he still would have had plenty of room without greyshirting anyone. This is why teams oversign because of the obvious losses that are due to come either from academic attrition or otherwise. There is nothing wrong with this practice and in Richts case and in anybody’s case you don’t want uneven classes. 4 years later a team that has a senior class of only 12 seniors is at a small disadvantage when playing against a team that has 20 or more seasoned seniors. Have you considered this?

By Got 12?

February 6, 2009 3:46 PM | Link to this

Yep, it’s obvious college football news has slowed to a crawl since NSD.

Since the AJC loves to run articles on Bama (at least one a week), report on our stadium expansion. Let me help you out: You can say, in today’s economic climate, it’s fiscally irresponsible (although it will create jobs in the short-term and increase revenue for the city and university in the long term).

You now have a Bama article for next week.

By 59-39-5

February 6, 2009 3:49 PM | Link to this

NCAA Ref,

Georgia has also given the world Coca-Cola, Home Depot, the Masters, the clothes on your back (cotton), the Center for Disease Control, CNN, TBS, the Weather Channel, Doc Holliday, peaches, Ray Charles, Paula Deen, and vidalia onions. You can swim in the ocean at 7 AM and be hiking in the mountains by 7 PM. Not to mention nice, unpretentious people with passion for football and plenty of ice tea.

You’re welcome.

By bama12titles

February 6, 2009 3:58 PM | Link to this

SEC Sucks,

What is your point on the OU-Fla. game? So OU held UF to a season low in pts. So what? Fla. did the same to OU and won by 10 pts which is a good margin in a national title game.

As for mocking the rest of the sec it makes no sense. The conference still went 5-2 if you forget about fla’s win. Bama still won 12 games, Georgia won 10, LSU went 7-5 regular season but thrashed Tech and our traditional doormat Vandy beat runner up BC. Sure, the ACC won the regular season 6-4 but after the bowls its a 6-6 draw.

But several of the acc wins came against Vandy and Miss State our 2 doormats. And when the sec won head to head it was a blowout in almost every game bama-clemson, fla-fsu, lsu-tech.

The conferences went 6-6 against each other but I would be willing to wager a lot of money that the sec held a huge point differential overall. When we won it was generally in blowout fashion over the acc. When the acc won it was generally a squeaker. This you cannot deny. The facts are what they are!

And you’re flat out wrong about our bowl games. Several of them weren’t close, Uga won fairly convincingly, Ole Miss whooped once beaten Texas Tech, Gators won by double digits, Lsu pounded tech by 35, the conference went 6-2 this year after going 7-2 last year. 4 of our 6 wins were in very convincing fashion so where do you get this idea that we barely won most of our games? The facts and scores indicate otherwise.

So my boys got beat by 14. So what? Its one loss to an unbeaten Utah team that finished no. 2 in case you hadn’t noticed.

And to say that nobody cares about the bowl games? What????

Lastly, head to head between the acc and sec over any number of years shows clear dominance by the sec. This is just a fact and you can’t argue against facts. Same thing with bowl winning %, national titles, any reasonable measure of conference strength favors the sec.

By gdawginkalamazoo

February 6, 2009 4:23 PM | Link to this

Atlanta Gator, I liked the way PJ from Tech handled his QB. This is a slimy business. Very few kids in this generation know what the word commitment means and how important it is to their future. He told that kid if you go visit Auburn don’t bother with Tech anymore. Now that kid is on the plains for 3-4 years and not in the ATL. Doh! Personally I like the way that Branden Smith handled his recruitment. He said he wanted to play at UGA and when offered made his commitment, didn’t waiver, didn’t try to make headlines, signed and will make his name on the field.

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 4:28 PM | Link to this

The SEC is home to some of the worst teams in the BCS. You all are digging yourselves a hole. TN and Auburn can join the rest of the bottom dwellers of the SEC which are SC, Vandy,KY, Ole Miss, MS ST, Alabama, AR, and UGA. Once LSU and FL quit carrying the SEC, then what are you going to say? You can’t jump to other sports, cause the SEC isn’t competitive in any other sport.

You all come up with ways to make your conference look better, looks to me like you are trying to convince yourselves

By 59-39-5

February 6, 2009 4:49 PM | Link to this

Sec Sucks,

You are a blithering idiot. You have yet to provide sufficient evidence for what you are saying. You gave us an ACC-biased stat for ONE YEAR. Last time I checked, these two conference have been playing each other for decades. Come back to this blog when you can actually make a legitimate point.

Statistics don’t lie:

251-117-10

Enjoy your weekend.

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 5:12 PM | Link to this

59-39-5,

251-117-10, isn’t much to brag about considering the SEC plays the worst OOC shedules. You all lose to other conferences all the time during the regular season, but you all don’t count those, you just show your bowl record.

By bobby

February 6, 2009 5:17 PM | Link to this

The 25/85 rule is ridiculous. Even a 5th grader knows that 4 times 25 is more than 85. If they want to put a stop to oversigning, make the rule 25/100 and then not let a school oversign. I know every school loses palyers from year to year but its not guaranteed that they will. By the way, Alabama and Ole Miss are not the only schools that do this. 30 something schools out of 119 schools nation wide did this.

By SEC Sucks

February 6, 2009 5:20 PM | Link to this

59-39-5,

I would like to know of your 251 wins, who were most of those against. I think you will find that number very inflated!

By tide rising

February 6, 2009 5:29 PM | Link to this

SEC sucks,

Wow! So every team in the sec sucks except for LSU and Florida. Really? If the rest of the sec sucks so bad then how did LSU only win 3 games in the sec.

Let me get this right. Lsu wins only 3 sec games but whips the acc’s #3 team in Tech by 35 pts in its own backyard. If LSU is one of 2 teams carrying the league then how do they only win 3 conference games the whole year? Seems to me its a statement that the rest of the conference is a lot stronger than you think.

Vandy sucks? Usually they do. How do they suck so bad if they beat the ACC runner up in Boston college in a bowl game?

Alabama sucks? Yeah we sucked in 1 game the entire year and that was Utah. So what? We still won 12 games which is more than any acc team? Did anyone in the acc win 12 games?

Ole Miss sucks? Really? Then how did they pound once beaten Texas Tech and how did they beat Florida in the swamp? Splain that to me!

Georgia sucks? Really?Then how did they win 10 games and whup LSU who you say helps carry the league? I hear ya’ll are getting rings for that once in every 8 years win against the dawgs. I guess next year they just go back to their usual habit of whupping on you.

And between these sucky teams they still won 4 bowl games same as the entire acc. And that doesn’t include UF and LSU.

By Dorsey Hill

February 6, 2009 7:09 PM | Link to this

Chip,

You missed my favorite way of dealing with the problem. The Spurrier way. You get 27 (or any number lower that would put the school over the 85 total limit) who qualify, the school says that 2 can’t get in and then the coach pitches a fake fit saying he’s gonna quit if the school doesn’t change policy. The school says “whatever” changes nothing and the issue dies a quiet death without the public or the kids who got screwed knowing why they just got shafted except it was “those jerks in admissions.” You have to admire the ability of anyone to pull off such a fraud and never get asked one question about it. He really is the king of scumbaggery.

By Ken

February 6, 2009 8:20 PM | Link to this

Richt is indeed a class act and UGA is lucky to have him. I prefer to be a fan of a program with dignity.

As for the 25 scholly thing, seems the NCAA should just mandate 25, period. They mandate everything else.

As for Bama, let’em sign 27 when they have room for 8. Imagine how mad the players, their families, and their HS coaches will be when the dust settles. Can’t be nothing but good for all the other teams in the area.

Looks like Kiffin is an idiot. Now we can hate UT again. I kinda liked ole Phil near the end of it all. I thought they were nuts for getting rid of him. I bet they regret it later!!

GO DAWGS.

By shane#1

February 6, 2009 9:49 PM | Link to this

I can’t believe I am saying this, but bring back Fulmer! I’ll even spring for the buffet at China Gardens. Kiffin may win some games but he seems like a loose cannon to me. The guy hasn’t coached a game yet and I already don’t like him. Calling a fellow coach a cheater at a public gathering and then issuing an apology through a statement from the university is bush league and cowardly. You called Meyer out in public Kiffin, too bad you don’t have the gonads to apologize in public. UT laid off 700 people and hired this creep? What a black eye for Rocky Top!

By War Eagle

February 6, 2009 10:19 PM | Link to this

I have been a critic of Coach Richt for several years on his ability to win Big Games and a content for a BCS title, but I have also been a admirer of him because of his CLASS ACT..

By EX Georgia Fan

February 7, 2009 12:15 AM | Link to this

Hey Willie Martinez:

Way to haul in two, 3-star recruits this year! A*****.

Guess you were interviewing as much as you were recruiting. Can’t blame you there. I bet Urban Meyer loves to see you recruit his state.

You might fake off a few folks but REAL fans and REAL recruits want to play in a tough, physcial defense (IE. Junkyard Dawgs, Alabama, Florida). Not some two-hand-touch-and back peddle, kume-ba-ya, it takes a village, BS scheme you seem to believe in.

Hope you are reading more books than you write this offseason. Hope our offense doesn’t have to score 50 to beat Tech next year. Hope the gymnastic and equestrian coaches whip your a*.

By smoky

February 7, 2009 5:38 AM | Link to this

To the Kiffin bashers: Do you have a dog in this fight? Or are you just one of those cowardly gangbangers?

By Anonymous

February 7, 2009 7:58 AM | Link to this

Smoky

When the objective observers, that is, those who do not “have a dog in this fight”, criticize Kiffin for being an indiscreet and juvenile LOUD MOUTH, it says even more, not less about Kiffin. Far from being “cowardly gangbangers,” these folks are going out of their way to criticize Kiffin’s public comments for being ignorant of the actual rules, bad for publlc relations, and a little bit nutty. Publicly mocking the four best SEC football programs (UF, Bama, LSU and UGA) and four veteran SEC coaches who have won MNC’s (Saban, Miles, Myer, Spurrior) before Kiffin has won (or even coached) his first college football game strikes many fans as JUST PLAIN STUPID.

Can you spell “bulletin board material”, Smoky?

By Gene

February 7, 2009 10:02 AM | Link to this

A football player who can’t pass the high school exit test or break 700 on the SAT probably shouldn’t be promised a scholarship. I would like to know who pays tuition for these guys who have to attend Hargrove or GMC.

By Dawg Tired

February 7, 2009 10:56 AM | Link to this

Atlanta Gator - I’m clearly with you on Kiffin. I was in San Francisco last fall when the hottest story in the local media was the Kiffin - Davis fiasco. Kiffin actually responded to a question by a local reporter about the defensive problems of the ‘49ers. He responded by saying he was not responsible for the defense and in fact had not talked to the defensive coordinator in two weeks. I sat in my hotel room in shock! The head coach had not talked to the DC in two weeks?

So, I’m not at all surprised at the blatant immaturity being displayed by Kiffin. Orgeron (sp?) seems totally committed to doing whatever it takes to win, including being a complete jerk, which apparently comes naturally for him. Sadly, at least some UT fans are excited in a positive way by all this. What does that tell us? Fortunately, I know several UT grads who are embarrassed by all this, so not all UT fans are misguided.

However, I don’t agree with Coach Meyer calling the kid while he is on someone else’s recruiting trip. Two wrongs do not make a right. I just wouldn’t do that myself. However, I do understand the nature of the recruiting process. The pressure and hectic nature can result in some tough decisions. Coach Meyer may have succumbed to that, which is understandable.

By Dawg Tired

February 7, 2009 11:07 AM | Link to this

Chip - I am not at all surprised that Coach Saban would “bend the rules”. I think he has revealed his true character much more clearly in other ways - ask LSU fans or Dolphin fans about his character as a man. I must admit that my naivety caused me to be caught off guard by the number of Tide fans who seem to actually and genuinely like the guy. Some of my friends who graduated from UA, while admitting (when pressed) that he may not be the most upright guy, think it is worth it if he makes the football team better. I got fooled on that. But live and learn what is really important to some folks.

As to Coach Nutt, did he have a habit of doing this at Arkansas? I found this to be somewhat surprising, albeit not totally surprising.

By shane#1

February 7, 2009 2:16 PM | Link to this

Oversigning, loud mouth coaches and ridiculous salaries paid to coaching staffs are symptons of the win now, win at any cost mentality that runs rampant in college sports today. All institutions and their fans are guilty, UT’s biggest sin may simply be bad timing. Now is not the time to have your staff running their mouths gentlemen. Not with layoffs at UT, student costs going up, and a bad economy. It would be wise for coaches to maintain a low profile and concentrate on winning on the field. Were I a coach with a seven figure yearly salary and a big shoe contract I might take a voluntary pay cut. You could by a lot of good pr with money you don’t need anyway. Who in the hell needs over two million a year? Meyer got almost a million bucks in bonus money and has a five million dollar buyout, while he can violate his contract for 500,000, if he meets certain conditions. Miles’ contract states that he will be paid a thousand bucks more than any other SEC coach. UT’s coaching salaries rose more than 13% and Charlie Weis is reputed to have a buyout in eight digits. ND is a private institution, so they are not subject to sunshine laws. The other contracts are available for view on the internet. This is insane! It is like winning the lottery every year! UGA is just as guilty, people are being laid off everywhere and their assistant coaches all got raises. We UGA fans are no better,a 10-2 season and some fans want the all the football coaches ridden out of town on a rail. When did the inmates take over the asylum?

By Oledawg

February 7, 2009 3:31 PM | Link to this

NCAA REF-Where did you learn your Ga history? Settled by Gen Oglethorpe by express wishes of the King. The area between So Car and Fl(the penal colony you are confused about) needed to be settled to prevent the Spanish from claiming the area. One of the King’s(George) charges to Oglethorpe was that the state was to be settled slave-free. This was done to make the owners proud of their own achievements and defend the land from the Spanish and the Creeks. It worked. Slaves later were loaned from SC for small periods of time. This later went against the King’s wishes when Ga became a slave state. There’s more to it, but you needed the basics to begin. Try “Dawn in the Wilderness” as a primer that takes in NY early history as well.

As far as NY is concerned, you don’t speak as someone who reads history and you supposedly are from an area rich in history. NY is a great natural state with some of the finest water and wilderness in the world. So is Georgia and I would advise you to not corrupt the good feeling that many Southerners have for your stated area of origin. I grew up in a natural paradise in Southwest Georgia that is full of natural springs and sits atop the Floridan Aquifer. Visiting other areas in Ga would help your ignorance of our state as it helped mine when I visited NY State through the years. Your ignorance of our state is matched by ignorance of NY State by a few rednecks here. I think we can refer to you as a visiting redneck from NY. Your ignorant attitude is matched by your lack of intellect by blogging such arrogant words. It sounds as if you should begin a travelog thru Georgia to correct your shortcomings. You might start in the Milledgeville area, but I warn you that those lovely people may try to keep you there.

By Oledawg

February 7, 2009 3:59 PM | Link to this

Some Coaches openly admit they oversign and the professed reason has been to keep them away from other institutions. Just like signing the players who can’t qualify. So they don’t make it to the school where they signed, at least the other teams didn’t get them and play them against you. The kids know this too and hope the skanky schools bend the rules to let them play. At least they have a chance, but didn’t at the discerning schools that have academic qualifying boards and play the recruiting game for the betterment of the school as well as the individual.

I was all for Greg Reid signing at UGA, but some bloggers warned that he wouldn’t qualify. Could that be the reason he picked FSU? It doesn’t necessarily follow that FSU is guilty of anything, but the player might be reading that he wouldn’t qualify at UGA and took a chance. Who knows?

By AlaskaDawg

February 7, 2009 4:32 PM | Link to this

To Charlie Strong’s Wife,

 I am liberal, I grew up in Georgia, I am a UGA graduate, and I now live in Alaska.  So what?  You sound like a " blame this economic mess on the Democrats" kind of person.   Believe me, you'd better hope Sarah Palin fades away because if she were in charge of our country right now, the only thing she would do is pray, charge the country per diem to work out of her house in Wasilla, and go around for paid speaking engagements.  She is a blowhard, and everything she is touting right now is a set up for the run for president in 2012.  By the way, I don't think any coach can claim to have never stepped over the line whether accidently or otherwise, but it seems like Nutt and Saban are pushing things a wee bit by over-signing players.  Let em cheat I say, and things will be that much worse when they fall on their sword.  Maybe some of their future disgruntled "signees" will end up at another SEC school and have a hand in beating Ole Miss or Alabama.

By Lane

February 8, 2009 9:21 AM | Link to this

Does anyone know how many offers Georgia extended, and the total number of scholarships available, 18 players were signed.

Ole Miss signed 37 players would, how do you extend more scholarships than are available, unless some players scholarhips will not be extended. Have the same question as above.

Rivals or someone should have this available have not located.

By Cuz

February 8, 2009 10:09 AM | Link to this

shane, the inmates have been running the asylum for awhile now. Get your reservation in for one of the last padded rooms.

Great post Oledawg, I concour.

By stendec

February 8, 2009 10:14 AM | Link to this

Will not post again for a long time. Lost fire for sports. Only son of niece murdered. The Heavenly angel was only a few months old.

A parting gift for all my Bulldog friends. Yes, I said friends:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Georgia-Bulldogs-Football

“There’s a place…where I can go…when I feel low…when I feel blue…when I’m alone.” The Beatles.

God bless.

By rosco

February 8, 2009 10:52 AM | Link to this

Knight will not end up at UGA. Either because Adams/Evans got the word to him via his handlers that they aren’t interested, or else via the lack of no phone ringing he was able to put it together, either way, this is why he’s moved on to other teams (ala, Alabama now being mentioned). Alabama, however, has the nads to take a bold leap like hiring Knight. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned up there.

In other news…

Looks like the dawgs are on track to have another star team for Willie and Bobo to screw up. What will be the excuses this year? We’ll end up with 2 or 3 losses I predict…again. But, oh well, it’s always good to be mediocre.

By Oledawg

February 8, 2009 1:27 PM | Link to this

AlaskaDawg- Where you been. I don’t read completely or blog habitually, but I’m sorry to say this is the first blog of yours that I have read. Great post. I grew up in So.Ga. and was of your persuation when 13 years of age. I graduated from Valdosta State and after a service stint came back to get a graduate degree from UGA. Part of my service was spent in Alaska, from Jan-Mar learning to fight the Russians that Sarah can “see” from Wasilla. Don’t worry, I think our country is growing out of the deceitful era of GOP politics, but there will always be those cynics and rednecks around who will espouse trash thinking and don’t read truth for themselves(as far as Sarah the nonsporting wolf assassin and “Joe, the unlicensed and illegal plumber are concerned). We need your voice on here to rebut the cynicism of the interlopers who try to pull the same crud against Richt and his Staff.

I will try to look for your posts. There are some tremendous Dawg fans who post in the AJC who have great command of Dawg history and play.

We all need to send some fanmail to UgaVII because he gets forgotten in our zeal for blogging. He is after all, the symbol of our Athletics at sporting events and the mascot of renown that stands for all that we blog in the name of our University. He hears all the “Sturm and Drang” that we don’t on the sidelines of every game or athletic event. Haven’t you always wondered what comes from the mouth and hearts of our players during exalted and horrific moments of some competitive events? I propose that some good writers on these blogs should start an “interview” of Uga during and after each game and write a parody of same. It would be absolutely riveting to read some comments in the heat of battle without naming the sources(i.e.; “as Moreno crossed the goal line and with a collective roar of team and fans announcing the play, the celebration was short lived on the Defensive bench where prayerful and low-toned comments were heard by Uga…”God move my feet fast to prevent a pass completion”, ” I’m going to pancake some muther’s butt this series”..anyway you get the picture). How about it AJC? Wouldn’t you publish it? Don’t we have Journalism majors somewhere among our athletes to act as sources?

What about it Chip? You could call it “Uga’s dogbytes” if it doesn’t infringe on the Athens Banner Herald. or “Mutt’s Beat” or “Dawg’s Breaths Overheard” or “Uga’s Growl”. Hell, maybe I should send this to the Red and Black.

By NCAA REF is a clown

February 8, 2009 2:37 PM | Link to this

There is nothing more amusing than self involved Yankees that choose to live in Georgia and critique the South. It’s beyond laughable. Everything that exists in Atlanta that you enjoy and choose to remain apart of was founded, funded, created, and implemented by Southerners………you wretched uneducated soul. Be thankful that southerners are gracious and hospitable, otherwise you’d be back in that craphole you are apparently comtempt being gone from. By the way, Deliverance is fictional movie, but you go right on creating your own reality. And the rural South is largely poor as is upstate New York. That doesn’t keep it from being the best and most charming portions of either state. Grow up man.

By Oledawg

February 8, 2009 3:11 PM | Link to this

NCAA REF is a clown- While growing up in Georgia, gdYankee was one word. As the years went by, the term began to pass into oblivion. That’s because Southerners and Northeners became more aware of other areas of the country. We should walk softly with NCAA REF because he just might be the last gdYankee on earth. Do we want to be responsible for wiping a species from the lexicon of all true Southeners? I think not and we should refer to him as gdYankee from now on. Keep our good epithets alive, folks. Sometimes there are just no substitute words that convey the proper and definitive meaning of the old tried and true expressions.

By PHIL

February 8, 2009 5:49 PM | Link to this

NCAA REF

We have a saying here, maybe you’ve heard it. “Delta is ready when you are.” If we had our way, your sorry thankless butt would be on it.

By I-DOG

February 9, 2009 1:48 PM | Link to this

War Eagle:

Sadly, you called it. Stafford wouldn’t win any SEC titles while at UGA. It turned out to be a correct prediction.

By shane#1

February 9, 2009 4:35 PM | Link to this

War Eagle, are you going to the scholarship dinner and quail hunt for your old buddy? I think starting a scholarship fund at AU in his name is a great idea. In light of recent revalations about the UT recruitment of Marlon Brown I offer the top ten things not to say to Grandma. With apologies to David Letterman. 10. You ain’t gettin’ any younger toots. Don’t let the kid hold out, you may not make it to signing day. 9. If this kid puts on weight like you do he will start on the offensive line in no time. 8. Your Grandson is dumb as a post, but maybe we can fake it untill he turns pro. 7. Y’all keep any likker in the house, these shakes are killing me! 6. Fat women like you should never wear those stretch pants! 5. What the hell do you people eat? Your kitchen smells like crap! 4. So what happened to your teeth? 3. Are those things real? 2. Aren’t you too old to- any phrase will do here. And at number 1- For an older chick you ain’t half bad, whatcha’ doing later?