On Monday night, Allen discussed his eagerness to sign with Georgia in the Fayetteville (NC) Observer. Today, he signed with Clemson. The July article (with some minor tweaks) is below. My feelings then hold true now.
- It looks as though blue chip tight end Dwayne Allen of North Carolina is no longer committed to Georgia. While I wish him the best, I really don't understand why we recruited him so aggressively given his flip flopping vs. our scholarship numbers at TE.
For 2008 our TE roster will look like this:
- SR - Tripp Chandler
Soph - NaDerris Ward
Soph - Bruce Figgins
RFr - Aron White
FR - Bryce Ros
Sure, there are some variables. White may end up at WR (although I doubt it), and Ward's shoulder may not hold up. But we only play two tight ends per game for meaningful minutes.
Allen appears to be a very talented kid, but how many TEs does UGA really need on roster at one time?
White and Ward are in the Randy McMiracle mold while Bruce Figgins looks like a Ben Watson starter kit. Plus, Bryce Ros looks like the hybrid H-back/TE that LSU used while Coach Searels was working with Jimbo Fisher and the Tiger offense.
A variety of quality tight ends is a good thing because they can grow into fullbacks, offensive tackles, centers, defensive ends and even linebackers. They also help out at tight end. But you can only have 85 guys on the roster at one time.
Did we really need six TEs?
The thing that I'd wager frustrates the Georgia coaching staff the most is that Allen occupied a scholarship from Dec. 2006 to the morning of signing day (roughly 400 days). If he had come clean with us any of the 5-6 times he wavered, we could've signed Zebrie Sanders (OT) or Omar Hunter (DT).
Frustrating. But the good news is that Richt announced at noon today that things aren't quite finished yet. Stay tuned to the recruiting sites for more info.
PWD
15 comments:
Absolutely. Allen's indecision cost us a shot at a recruit we needed more (Hunter) or could have signed (Sanders). I'd expect Richt and crew to ban other recruiting trips for committed prospects. It only makes sense that if we are going to hold a spot for you, then you should honor that by not taking any more visits.
I know the Clemson folks are laughing because of A.J.'s switch, but at least he gave them some time to find other guys. Allen did not leave us with the same options.
Besides, we signed a hell of a class without Allen.
Richt and crew won't ban recruiting trips for commits. We have to remember how they handle things is not perfectly aligned with what we see publicly. Richt says that if a kid goes on visits, we don't necessarily treat him as committed. So we might be looking around too. They'll almost certainly continue with what they do: urge kids to consider seriously what the word committment means and all that jazz, and it will mostly work out for the best.
As for the TEs, paul we discussed this briefly earlier but I don't think we can call your numbers a certainty. We can agree that we don't know what Ros will play, but we should put him off to the side for a second anywya (I'll come back to that).
That leaves 4 TEs on scholarship next year, which is a goodly number. But in 09 it's only 3, which is probably not enough (though it's true we should have the same 3 for 2010, making it a better situation). If Ros winds up at TE, we're back at 4 which is ok.
The coaches might not view Ros as aTE, regardless of what you or I think. Or, he might be considered a more long term project (beyond 2009) And we have a second serious uncertainty: Duke Ward has had several surgeries since highschool (IIRC) and a number of injuries. Himself a highly recruited TE, it's possible he's edging towards an unfortunate hardship case. You mention this, but it's a factor that we can't properly evaluate because we don't have enough information. It's possible the coaches think this is a real concern, and want to safe guard against a bad break.
White isn't a certainty for TE, though I seem to recall he was being offcially moved there somewhat later in the season. Allen was a certainty at TE, and a combination of these factors + what was perceived as his innate ability doesn't make his recruitment illogical in the least IMO.
And this it to say nothing of 09 and beyond. The TE crop might suck next year.
I don't know that we would have signed Zebrie. he did the same amount of wavering with us only it wasn't public (note, I'm not saying he was a silent. But signs point to us believing we had him on the verge of verballing several times only for him to back away). It's true we told him we were full when he came back to us after Florida said no, but that could have been our convenient and polite version of a more unpleasant truth. Harmon's switch might have made Zebrie's hesitancy superfluous (Harmon coming in at DT notwithstanding).
As for Hunter, rumor has it we tried again today and he actually wavered and stopped to consider us for awhile. Ultimately, we never seemed to get in sync with him and that's one of the unfortunate natures of the beast. Each seemed to think the other wasn't interested and this didn't get corrected in time as it turns out.
We'll put the scholly to good use next year, slightly increased uncertainty regarding it's use at this time be damned.
Peacedog needs his own blog.
PeaceDog is good people. He's just long winded. Which makes him analogous to most bloggers. lol.
Also, rumor has it we nearly snagged Hunter - he was offered Allen's ship but it was too late. Oh well, but clearly the Staff thought Allen was worth the hassle (they might not any more, lol).
I can't concentrate at work right now, so I had time for the previous, lengthy response. I like to think of myself as having much wisdom to impart to others, and as such deserving of a few extra bits to get my words out. It helps me sleep at night, anyhoo. ;P
Oddly, it's not signing day that has me out of sorts (in 00 or 01, that wouldn't have been the case; my how times have changed). I had a mid-morning meeting that lasted 2.5 hours and I can't get back into the zone. Sigh.
Anyway, it's now however many days until college football starts again, and we can all agree this is the most important thing.
we didn't mind flip flopping when we got Harmon. just saying...it works both ways
For the last time Anon, no one has a problem with DA switching, it is the fact that he did it at 7:30AM in the morning on Signing Day, having just completed a press conference where he reaffirmed his commitment, and causing us to not go after those (OH, ZS or maybe someone else) who might wanted to have played here.
Clemp-scum had almost a full month to find a OL/DL and they did with McClain from Bama.
I agree that we won't stop kids from visiting but can close to guarantee that if this happened next year, DA's slot would be gone to ZS or OH and he'd be the one out of luck.
Go Dawgs!!
Allen may have done us favor. I wonder about the heart of a kid who basically lies to a coach and says he coming, and then hours later he signs with someone else. Plus, he called a freaking < press conference > to say he was still committed.
Congratulations, Clemson, if this is the type of person you want on your team.
Personally, I prefer kids who are committed for a while and stick with it.
Hopefully, Richt will get something good done with the extra scholarship.
Plus, what's more important over a season? A proven lineman (either side of the ball) or a proven tight end? Depends on your needs, I suppose, but I'll take A.J. on this one.
Anyone who willingly trades in a bright red Aston Martin with black accents for a rusting purple PT Cruiser obviously lacks the mental acumen necessary to grasp basic comparative cognitive skills.
Hypothetically speaking, of course.
Dwayne who?
After watching the videos, I'm still not convinced that Hunter has the talent to be a starter in the SEC.
I guess time will tell but I'm not sorry we didn't sign him.
I agree with PWD & Q, the main issue is not that we missed out on Allen, but that we could have possibly landed Zebrie, Omar or Lipscomb instead, with proper notification.
That said, it is still a great class. Next year, we will add a few more LBs, a QB, another stud RB and hopefully a few big guys, a good TE and a super-stud DB.
It could always be worse. AJ Green could've decommited. Or we could have crappy recruiting classes like UcheaT and the NATS.
I think everyone is right that it sucks that he waited until the last minute and messed us up on other possible recruits. But, dawg19 nails it, imo, by pointing out that someone who can't make up his mind and wavers isn't really an asset regardless of his physical gifts. Part of why we succeed is that our players are also mentally tough; mat drills aren't just about the body. In the end, we now have one scholly available (maybe two - depending upon X. and baseball) for either a) someone worthy who hasn't committed, b)more next year, or c) a really deserving walk-on. It's not too horrible a situation.
Great day for Dawgs football.
However, I think it's rather obvious that Dawgs basketball sucks and Felton needs to be fired.
FIRE FELTON NOW!
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