Georgia Sports Blog: February 2007

February 28, 2007

Famine, Pestilence, Locust and Suspensions

Image: Georgiadogs.com

We've been afflicted by the Fourth Plague of the Sports Apocalypse -- Suspension of a Key Player before the Biggest Game of the Season. Levi Stukes is out for tonight's UK game. Per the AJC:

Senior guard Levi Stukes, the Bulldogs' third-leading scorer and record-setting 3-point shooter, did not make the trip "because of conduct detrimental to the team," a team official confirmed here Wednesday.

Team spokesman Tim Hix would not elaborate on the reasons behind Stukes' suspension but did say it was not because of academics or for running afoul of the law.

With the NCAA tourney on the line going into Rupp Arena on Senior Night, this had better have been worth it for Stukes and Felton.

PWD

UGA RPI Factoid

By Sunday, Georgia will have played the current RPI Top 11 a total of 7 times.

-- #5 Wisconsin (home) - L
-- #7 Tennessee (away/home) - L/TBD
-- #10 UF (home/away) - L/L
-- #11 UK (home/away) - W/TBD

The SEC East's RPI is ridiculous. Especially when you add in Vanderbilt's #29 RPI (W/L).

PWD

Pat Summitt rocks the Gators

If you missed the Pat Summitt show tonight vs. the Gators, you missed a great stunt. How do you top a male head coach wearing body paint to a women's game? Bust out a cheerleader outfit and sing Rocky Top a capella all while rocking the granny panties on national TV.

God bless her. She looked to be having a legit good time out there. And d-bag Fulmer never stood up for her. He just sat there picking his nose.

See Also:
-- Summitt's video - ESPN
-- Vols demolish Gators - ESPN

PWD

February 27, 2007

Whatever you're doing. Stop. Because this is better. UK fan videos

Wow. With the help of the guys over on UGASports.com's hoops board, we have uncovered the mother load of obnoxious UK fan videos. Oh sure, the new videos aren't homages to wife beating and hating Tubby Smith like OH Napier's classic..."Final Four or Hit the Door" but they're outrageously good nonetheless.

Start it off with Lazy Tuesday rocking like no other (HT - Card Report)

The link to the video has moved b/c the YouTube version is/was about to come down.

And that may be topped by two more white boys keeping it too real for their own good (Card Chronicle).

See Also:
-- OH Napier's Page - His Band Page
-- UK Fans are Priceless - GSB
-- Low Point for UK fans - KentuckySportsRadio.com

If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times. Thank heavens there was no Youtube when I was a teenager. Doing dumb stuff on video these days is like getting a tattoo. It sticks with you forever.

PWD

Pat Summit to cheer on the Vols for Bruce Pearl

Image: DeadSpin.com

After Bruce Pearl and his team painted their chests in support of the Lady Vols, the bar was raised to an unmatchable level when it comes to supporting other coaches at your school.

Tonight, Pat Summitt looks to return the favor...with "something special" that is "very out of character" in support of the Vol men's team as they take on Florida. I wanted to do a big bloggy thing about it. But frankly, I can't top deadspin's work on this topic.

See Also:
-- Bruce Pearl Goes Topless for Women's Program - GSB

BTW - Georgia badly needs the Vols to lose tonight.

PWD

Permission Received To Accept Donations For Lemon Family

From UGA Sports Communications

ATHENS, Ga. --- The University of Georgia Athletic Association has received permission from the NCAA to accept donations on behalf of UGA football player Michael Lemon and his younger brother, Marquez (15), who suffered the loss of their mother last week.

The Athletic Association is continuing to work with the NCAA in the establishment of a possible trust fund to assist Michael in taking care of Marquez. Due to NCAA rules, the Athletic Association is required to adhere to strict guidelines in the disbursement of funds for the actual and necessary expenses that have resulted from the recent tragic death of the young men's mother, Phaba Lemon of Lizella, Ga.

Individuals interested in making a donation should make checks payable to the University of Georgia Athletic Association with "The Lemon Support Fund" notated on the memo line. Contributions should be forwarded to:

Proceeds are not tax deductible and will be transferred to The Lemon Trust Fund once established. The Athletic Association is working diligently with the NCAA to adhere to all applicable rules. Any questions related to the fund or NCAA rules related to the matter should be directed to Eric Baumgartner, UGA Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance (ebaumgartner@sports.uga.edu or 706-542-9103).

(Note: I wanted to get this nailed with UGA's exact wording before I posted anything about it. So this is a cut and paste from them.)

PWD

February 26, 2007

Blog Upgrade -- New Features

The changes right now are MINOR looking. But they give me the flexibility to do cool new things in the future. The biggest changes (that you'll notice) are enhancements to the Navigation of the site.

Enhancement A: The Older Posts Button
The Georgia Sports Blog currently only displays 20 articles at a time on the front page. Since we publish 3-5 articles per day, the content can fly by fairly fast. There wasn't an easy way to get to the older/non-front page articles without going into the monthly archives.

Click to enlarge.

By upgrading to the new Blogger software, we've fixed this issue. From the front page, you can now read/skim the first 20 articles, then click on "Older Posts" and read the prior 20. As the site's publisher, it was ridiculous to me that it took Blogger.com/Google so long to make that feature available in the first place. Welcome to 2003, I guess. At least it's finally here.

Enhancement B: Better Archive List
The monthly archive list had gotten so long that it was cluttering up the sidebar. With the upgrade, I was able to switch to a drop down list. If you still want to use the monthly archive feature, it's now easier to scroll through the list.

Click to enlarge

With the extra space on the sidebar, I can bring new features to the site. I'm looking into those features now.

Enhancement C: Moved the Subscribe Button
I moved the "Subscribe" links higher on the page. This is just a tweak in that it makes it easier to find the subscribe button for newbies. If you have no idea what RSS technology is or what I'm talking about...just nod your head and move on. (Dad - It doesn't affect you.)

Enhancement D: Headline Thingy
You can finally click on the headline of an article to get the full post WITH comments. I have no idea why you couldn't do that before. Everyone else's blog could do that.

Enhancement E: The Future
I can evolve the site much faster going forward. If you've seen other Blogger.com sites that are using cool functionality that we should be using, let me know. I spent the past few hours monkeying around with this stuff so I could have some flexibility going forward.

What did we give up:
1. I'm not totally sure yet. But feel free to tell me tomorrow.

2. So far, I know the comments present slightly differently if you click on the comments link below an article. It's the same functionality, it just looks slightly different. If you've used more than 1 blog, you've seen it both ways. It shouldn't be a big deal. You might not have even noticed. I can't figure out how to make it like it was.

3. The long/flat list of monthly archives is gone. It's been replaced by the drop down menu. Again, I ditched it to make room for new functionality.

4. The blog roll isn't as organized as it was before. I used to have the Georgia Blogs, Top College Blogs and "Others of Interest" broken into 3 separate groups. I intended for it to move over like it was. It didn't. It's now one long alphabetical list. I'll fix it later. (no ETA).

5. The Google Ads below the top 3 articles on a page are gone for now. Google owns blogger, and they've made it incredibly difficult to use Google Adsense in the new design. None of you care, but I do. I'm stuck with the one lone ad at the bottom of the page, and I can't center it. So it looks like crap. But feel free to take pity on me and click it.

What's Next for the Site?
I'm not totally sure yet. I'm considering adding the one click label feature. That would let you search the site for all the articles about a particular topic. I'm probably going to have to hard code that feature into the HTML since the Blogger.com label widget shows the entire damn list of labels that we've used. (Translation: I may do another navigational enhancement)

I'm also considering adding a newsfeed for other Bulldog news sites. We'll see.

I'm open to suggestions. I have some space on the right now.

Like I said, the changes right now are minor looking. But they give me the flexibility to do cool new things. And hopefully, the navigational improvements are helpful.

PWD

...oh yeah...the absurdly old advertisement for the Store will get updated at some point too.

NOTE: Blog Heart Transplant in Progress

My XML, javascript and HTML is teh suxorz. I'm rebuilding the Georgia Sports Blog's template to better take advantage of some of the new blogger.com's features.

Right now, it's sort of a trainwreck despite me building an entire test site that nailed it to perfection.

Give me a few hours. It'll look like non-ass soon enough. Hopefully.

Until then...yes, I'm aware everything is sorta busted.

While you were at lunch

Some bloggy goodness.

Basketball headlines:
-- Feb. 26 Bracketology - ESPN.com
(We're still in that group of "last 4 out" alongside Georgia Tech, Drexel and SDSU. Those three and West Virginia, Kansas St., Syracuse and Xavier are the teams we most need to lose this week.)

-- Projected SEC Tourney Seedings - SECSports.com
(If the SEC Tourney were today, they have the seedings. UGA projected as a 4 seed right now vs. Arkansas in Round 1. We'd get MSU in Round 2. I pray for a draw that great.)

-- A Look at the SEC Tourney -- Ugasports.com Message Board
(One fan's look at how the SEC tourney would shake out if it began today. Pretty fair assessment.)

-- UK fan details Tubby's recruiting "failings" - CatsPause.com
(With any luck, we catch the Cats in free fall on Wednesday. However, given that we've maybe won 3 games ever in Rupp, and it's senior night. I'm not expecting great things)

-- AAU Programs and their dirty outstretched hands - Washington Post
(The Post completed a six month look into AAU basketball. Their descriptions of how the money flows into those programs is disturbing.)

Football related headlines:
-- SEC leads nation in football attendance - DawgsOnline
(Overall national attendance was up 1.7 million, and it wasn't just because of the 12th game)

-- Catching up with Albert Hollis II - GSB
(In case you missed this on Friday. We interviewed Hollis.)

Humor:
-- Separated at Birth - HeyJennySlater

pwd

Georgia enters race for 2007 Fulmer Cup

UGASports.com reports that redshirt freshman Akeem Hebron was arrested over the weekend for underage possession of alcohol. It appears that he's a first time offender.

To me, drinking underage isn't a big deal. So I could care less as long as you aren't behind the wheel, making a total ass out of yourself or endangering your health in some outrageous manner. But Mike Adams, despite a liquor distributor being his primary power source, is on a hell bent anti-boozing kick.

In other words, this has all the ear markings of a mountain from a mole hill.

EDSBS's Fulmer Cup recognizes excellence in off the field antics. The Marshall Thundering Herd ran away with the 2006 award despite an aggressive effort by Ian Smith to win the thing for the Dawgs. (Image: Big Mike)

See Also:
-- Georgia enters the Fulmer Cup Race - EDSBS (article not up yet)
-- Fulmer Cup 2006 Scoreboard - EDSBS
-- SEC's Most Powerful Boosters - GSB

PWD

UGA vs. Tennessee TV and Ticket Info

Image: Georgiadogs.com

Georgiadogs.com reports that Saturday's game vs. the Tennessee Vols has been picked up by Lincoln Financial Sports. The game time will NOT be changing. Tipoff remains at 4:00 pm EST.

Only a few hundred tickets remain for the game. Get them while you can.

FWIW - the Lady Dogs play at 9:15 pm on Saturday at Gwinnett Arena if they win Friday in the SEC Tourney. That means you can catch both games if you want. It would likely be UGA Women vs. Vandy. See also: Women's Tourney info.

PWD

February 25, 2007

Men's and Women's hoops on the cusp of ideal SEC seeding scenarios

Today, the Lady Dogs beat Arkansas and Vandy lost to UT. The two events converged to give Andy Landers' squad an exceptional bracket path in the Women's SEC Tourney. The seeding is:

That means that Landers can avoid his personal Scylla and Charybdis (UT and LSU) until Sunday. (Note: The women's tourney doesn't recognize East/West divisions).

SEC Men's Bracket
On the men's side, Vanderbilt beat Kentucky today to give the Dores inside track at the #2 seed in the SEC East. Georgia is now locked in a three way tie with UK and UT for third place in the East, and we play both of them in the next two games. UK has UGA (home) and UF (road) while UT finishes their season with UF (home) and UGA (road).

Here are some of our more likely scenarios (there are others):

So there's that.

PWD

Bubblicious March Madness News

Image: Georgiadogs.com

Georgia obviously isn't alone on the NCAA bubble. Two dozen or so teams entered today vying for about 8 to 10 slots at the bottom of the pile of at-large bids. Saturday ended with things going about as well as they possibly could've gone for the Bulldogs.

Our RPI is now up to 52. We were down to 59th pre-game.

Some teams we wanted to lose that did (new RPI as of 10:00 pm Sat.):

Teams we wanted to lose that didn't (new RPI):

It looks like Southern Cal is probably going to move up after their game with Cal. We need to 9-7 in the SEC, and around 48 in the RPIs. A win over UK (RPI 7) or UT (RPI 11) would get us both of those things.

The above teams don't constitute a complete listing of all bubble teams, but they are some of the higher profile options. Looking at the above teams and their remaining games, I like our chances better than everyone listed above except UT (their RPI is so I high they might get in at 8-8), Illinois (now a lock), Purdue, Texas Tech and Syracuse.

PWD

All Stats from RealtimeRPI as of 10:00 pm Sat.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach Predicts UGA vs. Texas in Fiesta Bowl

Mark is bringing it strong with his Top 20 predictions. He predicts that Georgia will beat Florida in the Cocktail Party, and he lays out his BCS Bowl Game predictions.

It's not a stretch to assume Georgia beats UF this year. After all, the Dawgs are 5-1 vs. the defending national champions over the past 43 years. Georgia vs the champs:

Schlabach's BCS Predictions:

Anyway, he goes out on a limb so it's worth reading.

Unrelated, but MSNBC also has a recruiting article up that profiles the Bulldogs 2008 class.

PWD

February 24, 2007

Georgia Passes by MSU

When you pass the ball well, establish an early inside presence, shoot lights out from beyond the arc and play solid defense, you can beat anyone. Georgia hasn't done all those things in a single game very many times this year. Unfortunately for the Bizarro Dogs from Starkville, everything came together for UGA today.

Georgia won 86-73. The AP's story is excellent. Some highlights:

Georgia (17-10 overall, 8-6 SEC) ended Mississippi State's four-game winning streak as Levi Stukes scored 21 points and Takais Brown added 17.

Takais Brown scored eight of Georgia's first 12 points, all near the basket.

When Mississippi State added more size and began collapsing its defense around Brown, Georgia quickly adjusted with a barrage of 3-point shots. Georgia made six of its first eight 3-point shots to take big leads of 21-9 and 41-27 before settling for a 47-33 halftime advantage.

Georgia made 12 of 19 3-pointers for the game, including 5 of 7 by Stukes.

Most interestingly to me, Georgia had about 15 assists in the first half. Overall, 23 of our 33 FGs came from assists.

Much like the Auburn game, we established our inside game and the big men quickly and efficiently worked the ball back outside. The ESPN game flow shows a team that never had its signature offensive drought(s). We slowed the scoring a bit early in the 2nd half only to crank it back up later. We never came to a grinding hault like in so many other games, and the lead got as large as 21 because of it.

Game flow from ESPN.com. No scary long flat lines for us.

If we can hold serve at home vs. the Vols next Saturday, we still have a great shot of dancing.

See Also:
-- UGA vs. MSU Boxscore - ESPN.com
-- Stukes keys win - AJC (story in progress)
-- Photos -- Georgiadogs.com

PWD

Why did the Dawgs Offer Another Kicker?

Georgia offered Blair Walsh a scholarship. Some in the Bulldog Nation were wondering...why? The video shows why.

The kickoff line in college is being moved back to the 30 yardline from the 35, and our kickoff coverage absolutely blows. We need a big toed monster. His video begins with his high school stats. The kid is something like 22 of 23 inside the 48 yardline over the past two years.

Come. To. Georgia.

PWD

Greatest Comeback Ever?

I remember seeing the highlights of this on ESPN when it happened. This is from a HS playoff game in Texas in 1994. Plano East is down 41-17 with 3 minutes to go. Click the image to jump to the video.

Video hosted by: CollegeHumor.com

Hat tip - ahahah on dawgpost.com

PWD

February 23, 2007

Albert Hollis - Where are They Now?

I spent about thirty minutes last night catching up with former Georgia Bulldog tailback Albert Hollis II. To sum up the conversation...Impressive.

Albert's Story
Albert Hollis II was one of the Top 5 running backs in the country coming out of Sacramento, California in the 2000 recruiting class. However, a catastrophic knee injury during a non-contact drill in the Spring of 2001 changed the course of his career.

"I refuse to lose, and I refuse to quit."
-- Albert Hollis II

After a redshirt freshman year at Georgia, Hollis looked poised to battle Musa Smith for the starting tailback spot for the Bulldogs. A fluke non-contact move resulted in a dislocation of his knee.

(Image: Albert Hollis II)

Hollis tore multiple ligaments in the knee, and he damaged nerves in his leg resulting in a condition called "drop foot." After three years of recovery, he amazingly returned to run track for Georgia. He also returned to football with his highlight being the 2004 Spring G-Day in which he had several carries and at least as many standing ovations.

I talked with Albert about the injury, his recovery, modeling, his non-profit organization and other projects during the interview. The highlights of the conversation are below.

- - - - - - - - -
Paul Westerdawg (PWD): "How's the modeling business treating you?"
Albert Hollis (AH): "I've been doing it for about a year now, and I feel like it's about to blow up for me. In fact, I'm going to New York in April for a DKNY photo shoot in support of their spring line. I've also appeared in some independent films."

PWD: "What else have you been up to?"
AH: "I'm selling insurance for AFLAC, and I'm working to get my real estate license. In fact, if any of the Georgia Sports Blog's readers have small business or individual insurance needs, they need to let me know." (He can be reached at alberthollis@gmail.com)

PWD: "How did you stay focused during such a long recovery process?"
AH: "The main thing is to stay positive. Everything happens for a reason, and you can't start feeling sorry for yourself. I refuse to lose, and I refuse to quit. If you can fight through adversity, you can fight through anything."

PWD: "How did the coaching staff and your teammates react after the injury?"
AH: "Everybody took care of me when I was at Georgia. I can't complain because I was always treated like a top flight Div I-A athlete. You would've thought that I was the star of the program the way they treated me."

PWD: "What was it like when you got to play in the G-Day Game?"
AH: "It was really gratifying. I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel."

[Image: Hollis at G-Day. Banner Herald]

PWD: "When you came back from the injury, you returned to the track program. What events did you run?
AH: "I ran the 100 meters and the 4x100 meters. We went to the SEC and NCAA Championships. I had a lot of fun."

PWD: "So back to your current ventures. What's up with the name 'Dynast Hollis' that's on the web site."
AH: "I went looking for a personal trademark, and I discovered the 'Dynast' name. It means 'starter of a dynasty' or 'hereditary ruler.' That appealed to me, and I want to use that name on everything I do. Next is a clothing line and after that a fragrance with the Dynast name.

PWD: "Anything you were hoping I'd ask you about?"
AH: "I'm starting up a non-profit organization called 'Why Not Me." The organization is devoted to encouraging kids to overcome any adversity. I want to let junior high and high school kids know that they can do anything if they put their mind to it. I feel that I have a message that will resonate with kids. I've already incorporated and filed the tax related paperwork. Next, I need to assemble the board of directors for the group."

PWD: "Do you still keep up with the football team?"
AH: "Definitely. Last week, I was in Athens checking in on some of my AFLAC accounts, and I stopped by the weight room to visit with the guys."

PWD: "What do you think about the current group of running backs?"
AH: "They are pretty talented guys. I played with Lumpkin and Brown so I know what they can do, and lots of people are talking about Moreno. There's plenty of talent in Athens."

PWD: "Thanks for your time. It was a pleasure catching up with you."
- - - - - - -
Good luck to Albert Hollis II. Whether it's in business or modeling, he's got the drive to succeed. Anyone that battles back from that type of injury to participate in NCAA level track and field is a winner. And...if you need insurance, drop him a note at alberthollis@gmail.com.

See Also:
-- Dynast Hollis (note: the ladies will love this site)
-- Back in a big way -- Athens Banner Herald's G-day article
-- Albert's old bio - Georgiadogs.com

PWD

hat tip -- BYoungJR for finding Albert's site.

Coach Tony Ball to be inducted into UTC Hall of Fame

Image: Georgiadogs.com

From UGA....

ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia running backs coach Tony Ball will be inducted into the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday.

Ball was a record-setting running back and return specialist for the Mocs from 1977-80. Ball’s career average of 26.0 yards per return ranks second on the UTC charts, and his career yardage total of 1,304 yards is fifth best in UTC history. He set the school single-season record of 37.7 yards per return in 1977.

To read the full press release.

PWD

ht - david ching

February 22, 2007

About Last Night (hoops)

I really don't think that anything has changed regarding our tourney situation. Well...perception and statistical probability has changed, but not the requirement for success.

We needed to go 9-7 in the SEC to make the big dance before last night's game. I still believe that we need to go 9-7. It's just going to be that much harder to get 9 wins when we'll have to pick up two against:

Beating UK (RPI: 8) or UT (RPI: 14) would likely boost our RPI enough to get us into the tourney. Asking me if I think we will or won't is an entirely different question than asking me "Do you think 9 wins gets us in?"

Is Nine the Magic Number?:
Since 1999, only 1 SEC team has missed the NCAA tourney with a 9-7 record. In that time frame, only one SEC team with a 7-9 record made it.

Research by Graffy on the UGASports.com b-ball message board.

In other words, history suggests that Georgia should/will make the NCAA tourney with a 9-7 record and a Top 15 Strength of Schedule. However, what it takes to get there and actually getting there are two wildly different things.

ht - thedogfather

PWD

February 21, 2007

Same Song New Verse

Dawgs lost by 18 at Ole Miss. There's no shame in getting beat on the road. Scoring four points in the first 13 or so minutes of the second half with your entire season on the line...geez.

See Also:
-- 10 minutes with no field goals doom Dawgs - AJC

From the AJC:

It wasn't just the 67-49 final score. It was the way the Bulldogs went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal. They shot 19 percent and scored only 17 points in the second half and settled for 3-point shots over and over and over again (5 of 22). They were manhandled on the defensive boards and got and out-hustled for virtually every loose ball.

When they were down 16, then 18, then 19 points in the second half, Georgia never went into desperation mode and tried to foul and stop the clock or set some plays to get off some 3s.

Felton did not call for his team to go to the full-court press until it was down 19 with only 1:45 to play.

The Dogs just kind of let it happen.

"They just wanted it more than we did," Georgia guard Sundiata Gaines said. "They played like they wanted to get into the NCAA tournament and we didn't."

The other team wanting it more than us when we're on the road is a tired refrain. See also Vandy, Tennessee and Bama's 2nd half.

PWD

Hoops: Scoreboard Watching and Bracketology

Scoreboard Watching Tonight:
-- Arkansas at Auburn: An Auburn win keeps them comfortably ahead of LSU for 5th place in the SEC East. We're more likely to end up 4th East than 3rd in my opinion. I'd rather not play LSU in Round 1 of the SEC Tourney. An Auburn win keeps LSU firmly in 6th place. An Arkansas win protects one of Georgia's few RPI Top 50 wins. Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.

-- Vandy at MSU: Vandy has a one game lead on Georgia in the SEC standings. A loss helps our chances of moving up, and their RPI is strong enough to not fall out of the Top 50 with a win. Go Bizarro Dogs.

-- Alabama at Tennessee: The Vols are one one game behind Georgia in the standings. A loss drops them to 6-7 and it makes their level of difficulty in making the tourney rise dramatically with games remaining vs. Florida, at Arkansas and at Georgia. Roll Tide.

-- South Carolina at Florida: No impact on us.

-- Wake Forest at Georgia Tech: Go Deacs. GT is 5-7 in the ACC. A home loss to Wake is unlikely, but it would be near terminal for their NCAA hopes. Tech has games remaining against UVA (road), UNC (home) and BC (Home). We're sharing space on the bubble with the nerds currently.

-- Duke at Clemson (Thursday): The Tigers are another team sharing space on our bubble. Go Dookies. CU has games remaining against BC (away), VT (away) and Miami (home). Obviously, I'm not going to tell you to pull for the Tigers.

-- Purdue at Iowa: The Boilermakers are listed on tonight's ESPN bracketology as the last team in. A loss at Iowa might be enough to push them out. (Bracket dated today before tipoff of tonight's games). Go Hawkeyes.

-- Michigan at Illinois: The Hoopin' Zookers are listed a bit below us on ESPN's Bracketology. We need them to drop to Wolverines.

See Also:
-- Top 25 Scoreboard - ESPN
-- Tony Barnhart's Bracket - AJC (as of this morning)
-- Sportsline's Latest Bracket - Sportsline (we're an 11 seed?)
-- Bracketology from ESPN

PWD

ESPN on Stafford and the Dawgs

Image: Jim Hipple

Good article from ESPN.com.

pwd

UGA vs. Ole Miss Hoops Preview Articles

Image: Georgiadogs.com

Some links of interest for tonight's 8:00 pm (EST) non-televised game.

Rebels regroup

Some SEC Teams need wins tonight

Mirror Images

Gaines still learning

Looking for Respect

Singleton Improving

Preview in a nutshell:
UGA stinks on the road. Ole Miss is fierce at home. The game is being played in Oxford, and both teams are desperate for a win. We might be able to make the tourney with a loss here tonight, but it would eliminate any and all margin of error.

A win gives the Dawgs some breathing room. It's a huge night for UGA hoops.

PWD

Tragedy in the Bulldog Nation

Multiple published reports are saying that Georgia redshirt freshman Michael Lemon lost his mother today in a house fire. According to the AP:

(Macon, GA-AP) February 21, 2007 - A 39-year-old woman who was the mother of a University of Georgia football player is dead after a fire in a mobile home in middle Georgia early Wednesday.

Phaba LaDon Hollingshed Lemon was found dead in her home in Lizella in western Bibb County after the fire reported about 5:30am was extinguished.

The victim's oldest son - Michael Lemon - is a defensive lineman for the University of Georgia and was a star player at Stratford Academy in Macon before graduating last year.

A newspaper carrier for The Telegraph of Macon was able to awaken Lemon's son, 15-year-old Marquez Lemon, who escaped the blaze.

The carrier - Cathy Evans - says she noticed the fire when she arrived at the mobile home. Evans says she began beating on the doors and blowing her car horn until Marquez came to the door.

Macon-Bibb County Fire Department investigators had not yet determined the cause of the fire.

A family member of Phaba Lemon says she worked as a patient aide for a hospice organization.

Update: The story continues to get worse. According to the Macon Telegraph, "[Lemon's mother] who died this morning after a fire at her home had injuries to her head that haven't been attributed to the fire, according to a Bibb County Sheriff's Office news release."

The Macon Telegraph will have the latest. Follow the story there. I won't be able to keep you up to date. Prayer and thoughts go out to the Lemon family.

PWD

Big 12 Coaches as South Park Characters 2007

Click to enlarge. Ht - Kit Kitchens

Update:
-- For a much longer take on the Big 12/South Park thing, check BurntOrangeNation from last year. They also did a chart like the one above last year.

PWD

February 20, 2007

Georgia RPI Notes

From UGA's SID

RPI notes of interest...
-- Of the four remaining opponents on the Georgia schedule, only Kentucky (7) and Tennessee (12) have higher RPI ratings than the Bulldogs. The highest current RPI of any team that Georgia has beaten is 7 by Kentucky. The next highest? 44 by Vanderbilt. Conversely, the lowest current RPI of any team that has beaten Georgia is the 93 by Western Kentucky. Other RIPs of note include the lowly 69 by Gonzaga, despite an 18-9 record.

-- In the RPI vernacular, Georgia has but a 15-9 record because Valdosta State is an NCAA Division II school. RPI ratings consider only games against Division I opponents. Consequently, Georgia’s 15 wins are the fewest among all of the teams in the RPI’s top 55. Three other teams in that top 55 group have more losses than Georgia: #41 Texas Tech, #30 Bradley and #42 Arkansas, all with 10 losses.

-- Other Georgia teams to have earned at-large NCAA Tournament berths include:

-- Notable Georgia teams that did NOT make the NCAAs included:

Georgia’s highest-ever end-of-season RPI came in the truncated year of 2003, when the Bulldogs finished with an RPI of 5...The RPI is available only as far back as 1994.

PWD

Rambo Commits to Georgia

He didn't ask to be recruited.
The Georgia Bulldogs may or may not have gotten a commitment from Rambo. Bacarri Rambo, an option quarterback, will likely play safety in college.

Mark Richt talked off the record with reporters about Rambo's recruitment. Saying, "I don't think you understand. I didn't come to recruit Rambo from you. I came here to rescue you from him."

Richt continued, "You don't seem to want to accept the fact that you're dealing with an expert in football. With a man who's the best, with hitting, on offense, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, to ignore weather, to live off the land. To eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In Seminole County his job was to dispose of the other team's players. To kill, period! Win by attrition. Well, Rambo was the best!"

When asked about Georgia Tech recruiting him, Rambo replied, "I don't like it there, I mean, the people, there is no brotherhood between them." However, when asked to describe his own recruitment process, Rambo stated, "Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off! You asked me I didn't ask you! And I did what I had to do to win."

His high school coach described him saying, "Let me just say that Rambo is the best football player I've ever seen. A pure fighting machine with only a desire - to win a game that someone else lost. And if winning means he has to die - he'll die. No fear, no regrets. And one more thing, what you choose to call hell, he calls home."

See Also:

Bacarri Rambo's Profile

Rambo's recruitment isn't over

First Blood Quotes

First Blood II Quotes

PWD

(Note: The Dawgosphere would rejoice in Rambo signing with Georgia. The material would be endless. Obviously all the quotes above are from the movie.)

Big 10 Coaches as South Park Characters 2007

Click to enlarge. Ht - Kit Kitchens

Big 12 tomorrow.

PWD

February 19, 2007

Man Law: Wireless Headsets

I post this for the benefit of a certain blogger who will remain nameless but who's username may or may not be on the upper right corner of this site just below mine. Although, anyone would benefit from seeing it.

Man Law.

PWD

Alternate Logo Designs for the Site

JPDawg and I took some of the feedback on the logo design to heart. It did look a little to "clip artish." And we've made some alternate revisions.

Any preferences among the options below? Click to enlarge.

Option 1: Simple background

Option 2: Tiny fan background

Option 3: Upper Deck background

Option 4: Larger fan background

Preferences?

Note: I'm not going to use any photos of UGA players or mascots.

Update: I'm tinkering with Option 3 up top. Just to see how it looks.

PWD

SEC Coaches as South Park Characters 2007

Click to enlarge. Hat tip - Kit Kitchens

PWD

February 18, 2007

Dawgs Stomp Auburn 86-79

What an unusual game. Georgia manhandled Auburn for most of the basketball game despite a game marred by 60 combined fouls, 3 technicals, 70 free throw attempts (3rd most in SEC history) and 49 three point attempts. A foul was called every 40 seconds overall and every 30 seconds in the second half. It was at times encouraging and painful.

Despite all that Georgia showed long stretches of solid offensive basketball. Everything didn't work like you'd want, but we did a variety of things well including:

dominated

We just looked like a more polished, active team offensively. Granted, we had one of our patented 6 minute stretches with no points in the second half. And granted, Auburn is absolutely *wretched.* But this was the second SEC game in a row in which the Dawgs made more effort and flat out played smarter on the offense end.

Kudos to Billy Humphrey and Sundiata Gaines for going the distance and putting in 40 minutes each. The extra minutes were caused by Levi Stukes getting in early foul trouble, and Felton appearing to be pissed at Woodbury for defensive lapses.

Also kudos to Bliss who threw down a nasty dunk in traffic and later executed a perfect touch shot from an inbounds pass with 1 second on the shot clock. Dave had a good game.

What's Next:
Georgia's RPI now sits at 52 per RealtimeRPI.com. UGA is now tied with Kentucky for third place in the SEC East. The Ole Miss game on Wednesday will be a huge test for the Bulldogs on the road. For a good look at the remaining schedule, check out this post on the UGASports.com b-ball message board.

See Also:
-- Photo Album - Georgiadogs.com
-- Dawgs Demolish Auburn - AP
-- Bulldogs Happy After Long Day - AJC
-- SEC Standings - ESPN
-- Dawgs Top Tigers - DawgPost.com
-- Box Score - ESPN

PWD

The New Logo -- Shout Out to JPDawg

One of our regular readers sent me this new logo. I dig it. Huge thanks to JPDawg (UGA Class of '99) for sending it along.

PWD

ACC Coaches as South Park Characters 2007

The latest version. Ht - Kit Kitchens.

Click to enlarge.

PWD

More Backlash from Big 10 Commish's comments

Yahoo Sports blasts the Big 10 commish for his anti-SEC comments. Good read. The best part:

Finally, where did he get the idea that his league is some bastion of morality and academic purity?

Since Delany took over as commissioner in 1989, the NCAA has hit Big Ten schools 17 separate times for major rule violations, a humiliating average of nearly one cheat per year.

That total doesn't even include two separate point-shaving scandals at Northwestern.

(Image: Big 10 Commish Delany)

However, it does feature a couple for the record books – Michigan basketball featured the largest monetary amount (an estimated $600,000) and Minnesota basketball produced arguably the worst academic fraud case where a tutor (she must have been a very slow athlete) wrote 400 papers for the players.

Then, of course, there was Maurice Clarett, who if Delany is correct about intelligence and speed, is a shoe-in for gold at the 2008 Olympics – if he can get furloughed, of course.

According to the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate, the SEC's average football score (941.7) is notably better than the Big Ten (931.2). The national average is 929, a number that the majority of the Big Ten (six teams) scored below. Only three of SEC's teams were under.

See Also:
-- Big 10 Commish Shoots his mouth off - GSB

PWD

February 16, 2007

In Nerd News -- Tech's AD looking around?

LSU's athletic director and former legendary baseball coach, has announced that he will retire following next season. The news is relevant to UGA fans because he has endorsed Tech's athletic director Dan Radakovich as a potential successor.

In the wake of Dave Braine's mismanagement of the Georgia Tech program, Radakovich has been mostly a breath of fresh air. I'm sure he upset the apple cart with the recent news of Tech's financial woes, but those problems were all created by Braine.

It would be nice for Tech to lose a competent athletic director in favor of another bumbling goof like Braine. This is one to watch.

See Also:
-- Athletic Director Shuffle - Wishbone
-- Bertman Retires - Baton Rouge Advocate

pwd

Fred Gibson signs with the Falcons

The AJC has the blurb. Fred needs to make this work. He's running out of opportunities. Best of luck to him. He made a ton of big time catches for us.

PWD

Hoops Schedule: UGA vs. Duke next year?

Image: Georgiadogs.com

I missed this nugget in Thursday's Athens Banner Herald.

Georgia is trying to finalize a deal to play the Duke Blue Devils this December at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Bulldogs assistant coach Pete Herrmann has said. The Bulldogs have never faced the perennial ACC power from North Carolina.

It's a very classy move by Felton to give Sundiata Gaines the opportunity to play in front of his home town friends, family and fans in Madison Square Garden as a Senior. Next year, Dave Bliss will also get to play a game in his home state of Wisconsin as a senior. It helps recruiting players out of state when you can show them that you'll work to get a game in their hometown/state.

Playing Duke is also a win-win for the Dawgs. If you lose, so what. No one expected you to win anyway. If you win, it's on like donkey kong.

Next year's known match-ups (unofficial):

Hopefully, we'll renew the Clemson series as well. It's been a competitive series with UGA winning the ATL and Athens games, and Clemson winning in Greenville and at Hartwelll U. The WKU deal is the final game of the required four year series that inherited when we hired Felton.

See Also:
-- UGA vs. Duke inMSG - Wishbone Blog

ht - athensdog

pwd

Broyles is out at Arkansas?

You're fired
It appears that Frank Broyles is finished at Arkansas. Broyles will likely announce his resignation tomorrow. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has the best coverage right now. Broyles, a GT grad, is 82 years old, and he has been with the Razorbacks for 50 years.

You can also check Google News "Search Broyles" for the latest.

Broyles is losing his job in the wake of One Hawg to Live / As the Piggie Turns. The Soap Opera involving the Razorback program has been surreal. Broyles, Houston Nutt, Mitch Mustain, Mustain's mother, Gus Malzahn, Arkansas Boosters, the Springdale media and the little piggie at the market have all been in a race to see who could be the most petty, spiteful and self-destructive.

Best of luck to Broyles in his retirement. He's one of the giants of the old Southwest Conference. But when you hire a Tech man to run things, this is what inevitably happens. ;-)

See Also:
-- Days of our Swine - GSB
-- General Hawgspital - Mustain's Mom's (alleged) Blog
-- GSB's Arkansas Articles

PWD

Posting on Friday

Don't expect much on Friday til late in the afternoon if at all.

We'll see how it goes. Crazy day in store tomorrow at work. Until, check DawgSports.com or DawgBone.net.

Go Dawgs.

PWD

February 15, 2007

Dawgs beat Kennesaw State. Latest Bracketology

Georgia escaped the KSU game with a 75-66 win. In the wake of Mercer's injury and dealing with a midseason non-conference game, the Dawgs played like you would expect in many ways....too close for comfort. KSU was lead by Ronell Wooten's 25 points. Given Wooten's size, I'd wager that he would've been covered by Mercer.

From the box score, one gigantic thing stands out...Georgia shot 17 of 19 from the free throw line. That sort of activity and accuracy at the line may help offset some other losses with Mercer out.

(Image: Georgiadogs.com)

When the Dawgs were down by 8 midway through the second half, Takais Brown (16 points) and Sundiata Gaines (15 points) stepped up big. Survive and advance. No matter how ugly.

Bracketology:
-- ESPN updated their bracket tonight before our game with KSU was over. We're down to a 12 seed, and we're listed as the last team in the tourney. Ironically, this projection puts us as against #5 Southern Illinois in Spokane. The Bulldogs' last tourney game was against SIU when we were the 3 seed, and they were the 11 seed in Round 2 (Chicago).

-- Alabama was up by at least 14 in Gainesville tonight, but they still ended up losing by nine. Before the UF game, ESPN projected Bama as another of the last 4 in the tourney. Their loss probably helps Georgia marginally.

-- Arkansas was on the harsh side of the bubble pre-game tonight, and they were blown out by lowly Mississippi State.

-- Vandy was a projected 8 seed pre-game before they beat the Gamecocks tonight. Their case is that much stronger tonight.

-- Ole Miss continues to claw its way towards the Bubble. They are now in sole possession of first place in the SEC West after their one point win over LSU.

Next for Georgia:
-- Auburn at home at 4:00 pm. No TV as far as I know. Its another must win game for UGA. Tickets remain for the game.

PWD

February 14, 2007

Latest Bracketology Projections

ESPN's latest bracket (updated: Sunday) has us as an 11 seed vs. Arizona in Round 1 out of Columbus. All things considered, that's about ideal right now. We are listed as the last 4 in along with Georgia Tech, Maryland and Illinois. Arkansas, KSU, Texas Tech and Syracuse as listed among the "last 4 out" of the tourney.

(Image: Will our Bubble Burst?)

Obviously, this is all subject to change. The Dawgs still need 9 SEC wins to hold serve. Last night, the Vols and Yellow Jackets did us no favors with their respective wins over the Wildcats and Seminoles.

The UT win bunches up the bottom of the SEC East even tighter, and the GT win puts us much more in competition with them for an at large spot.

Tonight's SEC Schedule:

Go Dawgs.

PWD

Big 10 Commish shoots his mouth off

In an attempt to explain away the Big 10's weak performance on the recruiting trail and the national title game, the Big 10's commissioner issued a "Letter to the Fans" this week.

(Image: Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delany)

Rather than address specific issues regarding the Big 10's alleged recruiting problems, Commissioner Jim Delany tries to tear down the SEC in a belittling, condescending piece. In his "letter" he states:

I love speed and the SEC has great speed, especially on the defensive line, but there are appropriate balances when mixing academics and athletics. Each school, as well as each conference, simply must do what fits their mission regardless of what a recruiting service recommends. I wish we had six teams among the top 10 recruiting classes every year, but winning our way requires some discipline and restraint with the recruitment process. Not every athlete fits athletically, academically or socially at every university. Fortunately, we have been able to balance our athletic and academic mission so that we can compete successfully and keep faith with our academic standards.

He all but calls the SEC member schools a bunch of redneck football whores who will do anything to win.

For his part, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive took the high road in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. When asked about the Delany's stats showing relative parity between the two leagues, Slive stated:

"I can appreciate why the Big Ten wants to compare itself to the Southeastern Conference. This is a comparison we welcome in the spirit of wholesome intercollegiate athletic competition." He went on to point out, "Slive responded by pointing out the SEC has five national titles since 1992, and those were won by four different schools: Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and LSU. The Big Ten has two titles during that span: Michigan's in 1997 and Ohio State's in 2002."

Slive took a much higher road than I would've taken. My response would've been:

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't hear you over Troy Smith's cries of pain. If you could be so kind as to tell Maurice Clarett and Chris Webber that I said hello, I would appreciate it.

What a farce. Others have much longer responses on the Big 10 freakzilla statement:

One of the Best Minds of the 18th Century

Big 10 Commish: Honorary Tech Fan

All Blog Articles About Delany's Letter

A Buckeye Perspective

Delany's Letter

The Most Powerful Man in College Football

Absurd.

PWD

Feel Good Super Bowl Ad

This ad ran during the 2000 Super Bowl. I stumbled into it tonight on Youtube. Good stuff.

PWD

February 13, 2007

About the deranged comments

Just so you know -- or if you're not familiar with how blogs work -- I want to explain something.

1. I try and monitor all the comments on the site. I try not to allow the F bomb, G-D or most of the biggie cuss words that aren't allowed on cable TV before 10:00 pm. It's not a hard and fast rule (except the F bomb and GD), but I do what I can. Why? Because my dad reads the site, and it's my site.

2. I'm not on the site 24x7.

3. Whack jobs troll blogs looking to spam them. You've got off shore spam outfits, automated spambots and then just total nut jobs posting stuff 24x7. Bloggers try and limit that stuff via software and deleting. But sometimes it hits the site anyway.

In other words....if you saw the total nut case comments on the Clemson thread. I'm sorry. I deleted it as soon as I saw it. That was as far out there as anything I've ever been hit with.

Thanks for the various heads up. I do appreciate it when it's that far out of bounds.

PWD

Another Caleb King Video

About a minute of footage from his JR year at Parkview. There's a run in the middle you have to see to believe.

PWD

ht - dawgbone.net

Blowing Up Your Recruiting Class: Clemson Style

Trying to remake Clemson into a Top 20 Public University is a project on par with trying to send a man to the moon in a Yugo powered Space Rocket fueled by ham sandwiches and Dr. Pepper extract.

(Image: The recruits went that way)

When your engineering professors wear orange coveralls and describe gravity as a "risky scheme," you're probably not going to gain academic respect any time soon.

Adding the Clemson football program to the agenda of items to clean up just makes the project that much more pointless. There's not enough scrubbing bubbles in the world to get Danny Ford's tobacco spit stains off the compliance director's forehead.

Clemson Promotional Video

Yet, Clemson is trying anyway. In fact, they may have gone "too far" in trying to clean themselves up. Mickey Plyler, a South Carolina sports talk show host and publisher of TigerNet.com, says that he has spoken with 10 sources within the Clemson athletic department and administration. During that process, he has learn about a quasi-secret admissions committee that blew up the recruitment of 8 potential student-athletes that were strongly considering Clemson.

The committee also attempted to refuse admission to seven more players, but Tommy Bowden got the recruits back upon further review. One of the rejected recruits didn't get the final "nay" until the day before signing day.

The irony, Clemson is losing these recruits to schools like UNC and Georgia. Schools that run academic circles around Clemson and their "reading is a fad" curriculum. Check out Plyler's article. It's an amazing read about a program that's hitting the "self-destruct" button in pursuit of an academic reputation that they will never obtain.

Counterpoint: Clemson's University President says it's all lies. Damn lies.

WWDFD?

See Also:
-- Clemson's Dirty Little Secret - AOL
-- Clemson Faithful have mixed feelings on recruiting - WLTX.com
-- Recruiting Debate Lingers - Myrtle Beach News
-- Clemson's Multi-Cultural Efforts - WLTX.com

pwd

February 12, 2007

Georgia's NCAA Tourney Resume

Image: georgiadogs.com

Georgia (14-9, 6-5 SEC) is very much on the bubble with 5 SEC games and a fluffer game vs. Kennesaw State still left pre-SEC tourney. Here's our current tourney resume:

A 9-7 SEC record would very likely get us into the NCAA tourney. However, our overall record vs. NCAA Div I teams would only be 17-11. We'd need to win the first round SEC tourney game to make it a stone cold lock. More on that later.

Kennesaw State's RPI is only 285. Even with a win over them, our RPI will probably fall a little. Our final SEC schedule looks like this:

Ole Miss has won four of its last five games, and they have been especially stout at home. Going into Oxford to pick up a win without Mike Mercer will be brutally tough. Or said differently, getting to the NCAAs will likely come down to our final regular season game against the Vols.

See Also:
-- Georgia's Realtime RPI
-- Remaining Schedules for SEC Bubble Teams
-- Barnhart's Sunday NCAA bracket - AJC

PWD

Bear Bites Sideline Reporter

CLASSIC video footage of Bear Bryant being interviewed by a young female sideline reporter. Read DeadSpin.com's take on it for more comedy.

ht - wizard of odds

PWD

February 11, 2007

Will the sun ever shine on our crops?

Mike Mercer dislocated his knee versus South Carolina mid-way through the second half. Georgia won the game 73-54.

(image: AJC)

Felton says he's likely done for the year. If you didn't see the injury, be glad. It was a gruesome looking fluke buckling of the knee.

Georgia was playing its best offensive game in a month or two, and Mercer was having another exceptionally strong outing. After struggling with his shot for about a month, Mercer's last two games were two of his best. Yes, he jacked up an ill advised three pointer or two vs the Gamecocks, but overall he played very well.

In his last two games his stats were:

Vs. SC = 24 min, 12 points, 4 rebs, 5 assists and only 2 turnovers
Vs. UF = 33 min, 15 points, 8 rebs ,3 assists and only 1 turnover

It's a big loss for Georgia defensively, and it's a potentially devastating injury for Mercer. Keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

See Also:
-- Mercer's Stats - ESPN
-- Mercer likely out for season - AJC
-- Injury ends Mercer's season - ABH

PWD

February 9, 2007

Spite: Thy Name is Saban

Nick Saban gave the citizens of Miami one last poke in the eye. He hired the biggest Bama fan in the relocation business to move his stuff from South Florida.

The Sun-Sentinel has the story and video. This is the kind of stunt Spurrier would enjoy.

Hat tip - Cool Hands Crib

PWD

Breaking Recruiting News

Attention on UGA message boards has already moved past 2007 signing day and into the 2008 class. Well, I have some breaking news on an even younger recruit. Mark Richt and the Bulldogs are rumored to be all over a hot prospect out of Jesup, Georgia tentatively named Elwood Johnson.

He is currently listed as an "athlete," because he hasn't played any positions or really a single down of football...or seen the world outside of his mother's womb. However, his measurables are off the charts. He's 6.02 inches and 8.47 ounces.

Technically, he's just a 19 week old fetus, but the recruiting services say that he's a can't miss prospect. Most of the hype is based on the fact that his body is now 10% bigger than his head, and he is growing skin at an incredible pace.

Jamie Newberg has been on the phone with the kid's parents twice this week. Newberg was just confirming that he's leaning towards ~~the left rib cage~~ the Dawgs. Currently, he's listed as a 4 star recruit, but if he switches to the Gators before signing day 2025, Newberg will likely upgrade him to 5 stars.

Hopefully, all the media attention won't stunt the child's normal healthy development.

PWD

Rodney Hampton: Old School Pic of the Week

Image: Dawgbone.net. Click to enlarge.

This picture is certainly a blast from the past. This photo is from Ray Goff's first game against Baylor at home in 1989. Dawgbone.net always has great headlines to start your day. They're hosting this pic. It was their "Old School Pic of the Week" last week.

pwd

Two Other Recruiting Articles of Interest

-- The AJC has an early look at their Top 8 players for 2008. We're in great shape with most of them.

-- David Ching has quotes and facts about every UGA signee.

pwd

Recruiting: Filling needs at Defensive Line

Replacing the bookend DEs won't be easy. (image: Jim Hipple)

Defensive Tackles:
The Bulldogs only lost Ray Gant and seldom used Dale Dixson and Mudcat Elmore. We return:

Kiante Tripp (RFr) and Brandon Wood (RFr) may end up here or stay at defensive end. Depending on where Tripp and Wood end up decides whether or not we signed enough kids here. Corvey Irvin (6'4" and 275 lbs) was the only signee at this position. He's a physically mature guy that can help here immediately.

The Bulldogs let two elite defensive line prospects leave the state when Cam Heyward went to OSU and Allen Bailey inked with Miami. The Dawgs must sign some elite beef in '08. Statesboro High School's Deangelo Tyson is probably #1 on the list.
Grade based on Need: B-

Defensive End:
Georgia lost Quentin Moses and Charles Johnson to the draft. Guys battling to fill their shoes include:

Howard and Lomax have shown very little ability to play every down (or in Lomax's case to stay healthy). The rest of the group is young and highly touted, but obviously inexperienced. Georgia hasn't lacked for defensive end talent under Richt/Fabris. So why start worrying now?

(Image: Jarius Wynn)

The signing of JUCO All-America Jarius Wynn is ideal. He looks like he's got the body and wheels to hold up in the SEC. Neland Ball and Justin Houston (who I need has some academic work to do) both have bodies that scream "redshirt," which is fine.

We've got some time for these guys to grow.
Grade based on need: B- (missing out on Allen Bailey makes it hard to go with an A)

Overall:
We only signed four defensive linemen, and only two of them were high schoolers. It's not an overwhelming group on paper, but we got just enough for it not to cause immediate problems. The pressure is really on for next year up front. We probably need 4 or 5 DL high school next year.

See Also:
-- Filling Our Needs: Skill Positions on Offense
-- Filling Our Needs: Offensive Line
-- Filling Our Needs: Defensive Line

PWD

February 8, 2007

Recruiting: Filling our Needs at Offensive Line

Bubba Velasco leads the 2007 OL

Offensive Line: Paying for the Sins of the Past

The Bulldogs return only six offensive linemen for 2007:

It's not the most comforting / confidence inspiring list to be sure...especially at OT. How did the roster get so thin? Lots of whiffs on the recruiting trail the past three years put us here. Also, heavy losses via injury and defections in the two prior years.

In 2004 and 2005, we only signed three offensive linemen total. Of those three, only 1 (Chester Adams) has made an impact outside of the Fulmer Cup standings.

In Feb. 2006, it looked like we had signed a class to resolve some of those past issues as the Dawgs inked eight offensive linemen. However, a funny thing happened on the way to Fall Practice:

Justin "Bean" Anderson didn't qualify (Hargrave)
Ben Harden didn't qualify (Hargrave)
Clifton Geathers didn't qualify, went to Hargrave, became a back-up defensive end, quit hargrave and became a Gamecock.
Kiante Tripp did qualify; however, he became a defensive lineman
John Miller qualified, but had shoulder problems and left school.

The Dawgs eight man OL recruiting class turned into a three man group pretty quickly.

The mistakes of the prior three recruiting classes finally caught up with the Dawgs, and the coaches went after offensive linemen with both guns blazing. This year.

We again signed eight offensive linemen for 2007, and several of them are already on campus. Just as importantly, the eight offensive linemen will be spread across four graduating classes. We have 1 junior, 1 sophomore, and roughly half of the freshmen will redshirt. That gives us the class separation we desperately need, while addressing our need for quantity...now.

The class is also filled with players that can suit up at a variety of positions:

Scott Haverkamp (OT/OT/C) - Jr. transfer (ENROLLED!)
Vince Vance (OT) - So. transfer (ENROLLED!)
Justin Anderson (OT/OG) - Fr. (ENROLLED!)
Tanner Strickland (OG) - Fr. (ENROLLED!)
Trinton Sturdivant (OL) - Fr. (ENROLLED!)
Ben Harden (OL) - Fr.
Clint Boling (OL) - Fr.
Chris Little (OL) - Fr.

Of this group, only Harden looks to be an academic risk of not qualifying.

Vance, Haverkamp and Anderson (Image: ABH)

When you look at our overwhelming need vs the quantity and "on paper" quality of these players, it's almost impossible to say that we didn't fill our needs.

However, it's also impossible to look at our needs and not talk about the ones that got away. We lost two of the top three offensive linemen in state to GT and FSU. Most puzzling was the decision to not recruit Nick Claytor. Claytor signed with Tech over offers from Auburn, Ohio State, FSU, and LSU. Georgia never even offered. Hopefully, the days of baffling in-state OL recruiting went out the door when Coach Callaway left.

That said. Even though we got beat on some key OL that we needed/wanted, we STILL signed solid prospects at an area of extreme need. If the Jucos pan out, we'll be fine in 2007.
Grade vs. Need: B+ (with the potential to be an A)

See Also:
-- Filling Our Needs: Skill Positions on Offense
-- Filling Our Needs: Offensive Line
-- Filling Our Needs: Defensive Line

PWD

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