| 31 January 2012
Phil Steele's 2012 top 10:
#6 Georgia - I was one of the few people in the country last year to pick Georgia to win the SEC East over South Carolina thanks to a favorable SEC slate that had them avoiding Arkansas, LSU and Alabama out of the West and the Bulldogs would not disappoint taking home the SEC East crown. This year they return 15 starters including QB Aaron Murray, leading rusher Isaiah Crowell, their top 2 rec’s and a 1st-Team All-American candidate on D in OLB Jarvis Jones. Again the Bulldogs AVOID LSU, Alabama and Arkansas out of the SEC West and will be the favorites to repeat as SEC East Champs.
~~~
Buck looks to last year:
Let's start with the offense. Two guys jump off the page: Jay Rome and Chris Conley. We caught a glimpse of what Conley is capable of this past season. Chris got a taste of the action and was impressive. Caught 16 balls, with 2 TDs. That 6'3" frame looked smooth running routes. Great hands. Can go up and get it. And with a year in the system, he should make a big jump this year. In fact, this WR corp will be one of the best in CF: King, Mitchell, Brown, Bennett and Conley. That's a solid group. Orson and Aron have moved on and left a void at TE. Arthur Lynch should step in and be physical, with his huge 6'5", 275 lb. frame. And I'm expecting Jay Rome, who took a redshirt season, to step in and make an impact. Jay's a talented young man, who can block, run and catch it. And he's a big target, at 6'6" 255 pounds. Look for Bobo to utilize the 2-TE set this season and run it. Over to the defense, now. Ray Drew, Damian Swann and Nick Marshall are all looking to grab playing time in 2012. Drew has had an opportunity to sharpen up his technique. Bet he makes a move now. Bring some heat off the edge, opposite Jarvis Jones. Knock some guys around. Washington is the starter, but Drew is looking to take some playing time away from him. With Boykin moving on the NFL and Commings in trouble, Grantham needs a couple CBs to emerge. Both Swann and Marshall got to taste big-time CF as freshmen. Looking for them both to take the next step this season. Damian and Nick have impressive ball skills. Time to show it off this spring. Can't wait to see these guys. In fact, looking forward to seeing all these guys hit the field...Conley, Rome, Drew, Swann and Marshall. This should be fun.
~~~
Interview with Jordan Jenkins' HS coach:
DC: What do you think he needs to work on before college?
TP: I think probably, once he gets settled into one position -- because he's played multiple positions for us -- I think the main thing he needs to work on is obviously his technique and his strengths and understanding to just use his athletic ability. He's got a tremendous amount of athletic ability and I think sometimes, in the sense of being afraid to make a mistake, he may leave himself out there to get blocked when he could probably just make a play being an athlete. I think once he gets into a set position, I think the sky's the limit for him.
DC: How do you feel Jordan will fit into Georgia's defensive scheme?
TP: I've been asked this before by a couple guys. I think the best thing about Jordan is he's kind of like a utility infielder in baseball. He's really comfortable being down on the edge as an end. He could easily put on weight and do that if it meant him playing a little earlier than he could. Or he could stand up and learn that linebacker spot and learn how to get out in coverages and drop underneath receivers and stuff like that. He's a good enough athlete where he could drop in coverage or he could get down and put his hand in the dirt and play an end position.
~~~
Fox Sports thinks UGA needs the following:
1. Georgia (10-4)
What’s Needed Now: Patience for last year’s class to mature. No one helped themselves more than Georgia last year with terrific transfers coming in to blend with young stars like Isaiah Crowell. Mark Richt has loaded up on the offensive line over the last few seasons, and now it’s time to fortify the talent across the board. There isn’t any one glaring need.
Team Concerns: Kicker and punter. The Bulldogs are loaded with a team good enough to be in the national title discussion, but long-time punter Drew Butler and kickerBlair Walsh are gone. Enter Marshall Morgan, a kicker out of Fort Lauderdale who’ll get every shot to instantly take over the starting job. Punter Collin Barber is a good prospect who’ll be asked to push for the gig from Day One.
~~~
Can any conclusions be drawn from these numbers?
Here's a list of the average number of recruits signed by SEC schools from 2008 through 2011 before the league's 25-signee limit took effect. In parenthesis is the number of 2012 commitments/early signees for each school.
Ole Miss -- 30.0 (16)
Auburn -- 28.3 (15)
Arkansas -- 27.8 (21)
Alabama -- 26.8 (27)
South Carolina -- 26.5 (24)
Mississippi State -- 25.5 (25)
Kentucky -- 24.8 (23)
* Texas A&M -- 24.5 (20)
LSU -- 25.3 (20)
Tennessee -- 22.8 (20)
Georgia -- 22.0 (16)
* Missouri -- 22.0 (17)
Florida -- 21.3 (21)
Vanderbilt -- 21.0 (22)
* Texas A&M and Missouri play in the Big 12 and join the SEC next season.
Source: Rivals.com
~~~
SEC recruit comparison:
| School |
Commits |
5-star |
4-star |
3-star |
2-star |
Tot Points |
Avg. Pts/Commit |
| Alabama |
27 |
3 |
12 |
12 |
0 |
99 |
3.66 |
| S. Carolina |
25 |
0 |
8 |
15 |
2 |
81 |
3.24 |
| Florida |
21 |
2 |
11 |
7 |
1 |
77 |
3.67 |
| Miss. State |
25 |
0 |
3 |
20 |
2 |
76 |
3.04 |
| Texas A&M |
22 |
1 |
7 |
14 |
0 |
75 |
3.40 |
| Vanderbilt |
22 |
0 |
4 |
18 |
0 |
70 |
3.18 |
| Arkansas |
22 |
0 |
2 |
19 |
1 |
69 |
3.13 |
| LSU |
20 |
0 |
9 |
10 |
1 |
68 |
3.40 |
| Tennessee |
20 |
0 |
10 |
8 |
2 |
68 |
3.40 |
| Kentucky |
23 |
0 |
1 |
19 |
3 |
67 |
2.91 |
| Missouri |
19 |
0 |
1 |
17 |
1 |
57 |
3.00 |
| Auburn |
15 |
0 |
9 |
6 |
0 |
54 | 3.60 |
| Georgia |
16 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
1 |
54 |
3.37 |
| Ole Miss |
16 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
2 |
48 |
3.00 |
~~~
Auburn - Florida attrition:
The Tigers have had a remarkable amount of attrition from their recent classes:
Remarkably, 43 percent of Auburn's 2009 and 2010 signees are no longer on the team, or never joined the program in the first place. That's a brutal percentage, especially as Auburn sits with the SEC's fewest 2012 commitments and two new coordinators who inevitably will weed out some veterans.
That article catalogs what happened with all the players who have left. There is no one common theme. Some players have had horrible injury luck, some never qualified, some left after suspensions, and some were dismissed after being arrested on armed robbery charges. Even more players are still there but have yet to make a significant impact.
At Florida, eight of the 21 from the 2008 class and four of the 17 from the 2009 class left the team in some way or another before the 2011 season (another from '08, OL David Young, left the team recently after missing the whole season with injury).
The 2008 class produced just four significant contributors in Jeff Demps, Will Hill, Janoris Jenkins, and Caleb Sturgis, and it produced two more solid rotation guys in William Green and Omar Hunter. Also, OL Matt Patchan has been good when healthy, which is not often. Hill and Jenkins, of course, were off the team by the '11 season. The 2009 class produced most of the 2011 offensive line rotation plus defensive starters Jon Bostic, Josh Evans, and Jelani Jenkins, but it was so small post-attrition (just 13 players) that it can't make more of an impact on the team.
Florida's attrition is not limited to just those two problem classes, unlike the case at Auburn where every member of the 2011 recruiting class is still around. Urban Meyer's 27-member 2010 class is down eight players already, largely due to transfers for various reasons. Will Muschamp's 19-player 2011 class is down two as well after two early enrolees left during the spring of last year for understandable reasons.
~~~
Bulldog trivia:
How many SEC championships does the Georgia baseball team have?
5
6 (correct)
7
8
Don't forget to check out Smartest Georgia Fan
~~~
Video Treats:
Max Creek Performs "Old Stones, Broken Bones" at Gathering of the Vibes 2011
Max Creek @ Nateva 2010
Max Creek: I Know You Rider
The Jimmy Swift Band - "When Worlds Collide"
The Off Beats:
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