First Dawg to Make Me Smile In Months

With Pollack after the announcement, Drew will supposedly wear Pollack's legendary #47.

More on Ray Drew, Georgia's HUGE 5-star defensive end commitment from yesterday...

I'll admit that I didn't know what to make of this kid when I first heard about all the fun he was having toying with all the media and recruiting nuts via Facebook and Twitter. At one point a week or so ago, he supposedly posted that Auburn and Georgia were both out of the running (though during his announcement yesterday, he admitted he'd settled on UGA two or three weeks ago) and that he'd "shock the world" with a completely unexpected decision (as I mentioned yesterday). He also posted something suggesting that he "hated red" and was coming after (UGA 4-star quarterback commitment) Christian LeMay. Then, I heard that he had wanted his announcement to be at a school-wide assembly (the school let him have a pretty decent sized gathering in a conference room with the whole school watching via closed-circuit TV).

It almost rubbed me the wrong way. "Who does this kid think he is?" I wondered. As a former teacher often outraged by trivial, non-academic disruptions by the very administrators that insisted my job hinged on test scores and teaching "bell-to-bell," a school assembly (or TV broadcast) during the instructional day for one student to announce his college decision seems a little ridiculous. You can't do it for everyone and it seems unfair (and a little exploitative, honestly) to do it for a few athletes, but I know that's how these things go and I digress. More to the point, as a Dawg fan, I began to wonder if this kid was just another arrogant, selfish diva that would soon begin a disappointing career with a DUI over the summer and a bar fight in the fall.

Of course, all of that is still a possibility, but I feel A LOT better about this kid's attitude after watching his announcement video (link below, but more of my thoughts first). I had hoped he was just being a kid and having some harmless fun and I think his comments and demeanor in the video suggest just that. I'm really glad I watched this and I recommend all Georgia fans watch this video for several reasons:

1. He is one of the highest ranked recruits at any position in the nation and he has committed to Georgia, instantly becoming the crown jewel of an already excellent recruiting class. If that doesn't make it worth watching to the average Georgia fan, you're not the average Georgia fan. But trust me, if you're as disgusted and sour as most of the Georgia fans I know, this video should lift your spirits a little and remind you of why it's still great to be a Georgia Bulldog.

2. More importantly, from a recruiting standpoint, you can see the immediate impact he is making and the tremendous potential for leadership he has. He's not wearing a Georgia hat more than a couple of minutes before he challenges Georgia's last few undecided targets. If you're a top recruit seriously considering Georgia, I don't see how you don't respond positively to this kid's challenge.

3. MOST importantly, it puts a human face on the recruiting process and the athletes we cheer and jeer every fall Saturday. If you're like me, you often forget that these are just kids. Really, really big, fast, and strong kids, but kids all the same. This monster of a physical specimen that has been the subject of endless internet speculation by middle-aged (and old) men around the country suddenly becomes a kid barely old enough to drive. I couldn't help but picture countless former students of mine. Imagining them in the same situation would be simultaneously exciting and gut-wrenching. Sure, I'd want my student that happened to be a superstar athlete to go to Georgia, but ultimately, I'd want the best for him. If Georgia wasn't the right fit, I'd respect that and be happy for him wherever he went (especially if my hypothetical student had the character the people in this video suggest that Drew does). Anyway, I can't begin to relate to the excitement and pressure these kids experience in the recruiting process, but you can certainly get a taste of both as you hear this kid's voice shake through much of his remarks, see him have just a little more fun with it, and feel the weight lifted as he finally lets it all out.

So, if you're in a hurry (why are you still reading?) and just want to see the actual announcement and him challenging undecided recruits to commit to Georgia, start watching around the 3:40 mark and watch to about the 6-minute mark (just before Godfrey and Pollack speak).

However, I HIGHLY recommend taking the time to watch from the beginning if you want to experience some of the suspense and have an even bigger grin on your face when he finally makes the announcement. The first six minutes will undoubtedly renew some pride for any Dawgs still disheartened by the 2010 season. I believe it also gives you a bit more perspective on just how difficult these decisions are for some of these kids as he describes a little of what he liked about each school and the very real relationships he built with the people at each. It's a good problem to have, to be sure, but it's never fun to disappoint people. Unless they're Gators. Or Nerds.

The rest of the video (former Dawgs and NFL players Randall Godfrey and David Pollack quickly speaking about Drew's character, etc. and Drew fielding questions from the crowd) is worth watching if you have time and it gives the impression that he really is a good kid. Amid cries that the program is "out of control" or that we have "character problems," it is refreshing to see our biggest recruit appears to be a good kid and is saying the right things. Here's hoping he backs it up on the field and in the locker room and that he brings some of the character, work ethic, and leadership that this program needs.

If you missed the link to his announcement in the text above, here it is again:

http://www.schooltube.com/video/1ce0c7d4cea654a91275/Ray-Drew-Announces

Oh yeah...he's also pretty good at football:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFpCeg2lnLc&feature=player_embedded#

I simply can't imagine being the high school kid tasked with blocking that #99 kid that's about to be a star at Georgia (hopefully). It just doesn't seem fair. Go Dawgs.

Dawgs Got Him...Who's Next, Coach?

For those that don't know, Drew committed to being a Dawg today (none of it is official until National Signing Day this coming Wednesday). Good for him and good for the Dawgs. Every bit of momentum helps as the Dawgs make their final push to reel in a Top 5 recruiting class.

Go to Rivals or Scout to check out the tremendous list of commitments already promised to the Dawgs. The list already includes the #1 weakside defensive end, the #1 and #3 cornerbacks, the #4 quarterback, the #4 tight end, the #5 safety, and the #8 strongside defensive end in the country, not to mention some seemingly solid four-star guys at other key spots like linebacker and wide receiver and nice depth provided by plenty of three-star guys. Most importantly, it looks like a lot of needs are being filled. Here's a quick summary of the last few big targets on the Dawgs' radar, roughly in order of likelihood (as I understand it from bloggers that follow recruiting much closer than me):

Isaiah Crowell: Considered by many to be the #1 running back in the country this year. From Columbus, GA, he's down to Georgia and Alabama. Most of what I've read has him leaning toward the Dawgs, but then again, I'm mostly reading Georgia blogs. I'm sure there are as many Bama blogs insisting he's coming to them. Between the fact that Ealey and King have underwhelmed and the fact that Georgia doesn't have a commitment from a running back yet (though Ken Malcome, redshirted last year, is supposed to be talented), Crowell could supposedly contribute immediately. Obviously, nobody is a sure thing, but this is a guy everyone seems to really want. I'm sure there's a reason. He's expected to make his official announcement on National Signing Day at 1:30 on ESPNU.

Johnathan Jenkins: Already playing at Gulf Coast Community College, this 340-pound monster of a defensive tackle would fit PERFECTLY into Grantham's 3-4 defense. Simply because there is no one close to his size on Georgia's roster at this time, he might be more important to Georgia's immediate future (and therefore Mark Richt's immediate future) than anyone in this class. He's choosing between Georgia, Florida, Miami, and Oklahoma State next Saturday (three days after National Signing Day) at 1:00.

Jeoffrey Pagan: The #4 strongside defensive end in the country just de-committed from Clemson and supposedly Drew (today's commit, UGA's only 5-star commit so far, the #1 weakside defensive end in the country, and the #9 player overall in the country...according to Rivals anyway) was helping to "recruit" him to Georgia just before he backed out of his Clemson commitment recently. He'd be a great addition to the class and you can never have too much talent. That said, we already have Sterling Bailey (the #8 strongside defensive end in the country), so that may make Pagan less likely to sign and frankly, less crucial. As far as I can tell, he'd be a nice bonus at this point. His decision is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Antonio Richardson: The #7 tackle in the country and not one the Dawgs were thought to be seriously in the hunt for until recently. If I had one nit to pick with this year's "Dream Team" (as the coaches have taken to calling this year's UGA recruiting class), it is a lack of big-time offensive line prospects. To be fair, the Dawgs have commitments from six offensive lineman (a huge step in the right direction over some classes that even lacked quantity) and one of them is the #9 center in the country. That said, while the number of stars by a kid's name doesn't guarantee productivity, it is a solid predictor of the likelihood of success. Even when Georgia supposedly has an "experienced" offensive line like this past season, they more often than not underperform. Look where these guys were ranked coming out of high school and you find that most of them didn't even crack the top 25 at their position. If we can get top talent everywhere else, why not along the line? Obviously, there's a lot more to it than stars or career starts, but there is no doubt in my mind that we have not pulled in the talent (according to Scout, Rivals, etc....professionals in the area...goodness knows I'm not one) on the offensive line that we have at the skill positions and it shows. All this is to say that Richardson, the only four star offensive lineman we're pursuing that I know of, would be a very comforting addition to the class. Though he was thought to be a likely Tennessee recruit, he took a visit to Athens recently and the Dawgs are trying to land him pretty seriously. We still might not be the front runner, but his will be one of the more interesting decisions for me when he signs somewhere on Wednesday.

Kent Turene: Three-star inside linebacker (#18 in the country) is already a "soft" commitment to USC (Trojans, not Chickens). Dawgs have apparently been recruiting him pretty intensely lately though. With only a couple of linebackers committed (though both are four-star guys), the depth added by Turene would be nice. Not holding my breath, but we'll see.

Marcus Roberson: #2 cornerback in the country and already a "soft" commitment to Texas Tech. Even though we already have commitments from Mitchell and Swann (#1 and #3 cornerbacks in the country), the Dawgs can never have too much talent in the secondary. The thought of the Dawgs having too much talent in the secondary just made me laugh a little to myself. I just can't even fathom such a thing. In any case, he's probably the longest shot on this list for the Dawgs and for obvious reasons, not critical. But a Dawg can dream, can't he?

Realistically, based on previous recruiting classes, the Dawgs should be thankful to land just a couple of these remaining six. Heck, this class already appears to be as good as or better than most in the Richt era (on paper at least). In a perfect world, we land all six (though I'm not sure we have enough scholarships for them all). Crowell and Jenkins are the most important and most likely in my mind, but I'd really like to get Richardson as well (I'm not getting my hopes up though). While he may be the least highly touted on the above list, we might need the depth added by Turene more than Pagan or Roberson. Pagan and Roberson would just be the icing on the cake. There is something to be said for momentum though and if the last couple of weeks are any indication, the Dawgs could close REALLY strong next week.

Shocking the World

Over the next few days, Georgia should be putting the finishing touches on possibly their finest football recruiting class ever. Already a Top 10 class according to the most respected recruiting services, several huge fish are still out there and considering the Dawgs' bait. Because I haven't followed it as obssessively as many on the Internets, I couldn't begin to offer much new on the specifics of each kid.

I do know that one of the biggest fish is about to commit somewhere. Ray Drew is a five-star defensive end that every coach in the country has been drooling over and he announces his commitment at 10 a.m. Friday. Like a lot of these kids, he has toyed with fans and the media through Twitter and Facebook posts about loving and hating nearly every school that has recruited him. He recently claimed that he would "shock the world" by choosing someone completely unexpected (as if anyone outside of college coaches and rabid, middle-aged SEC fans know who he is or care where he goes...but he's a kid and he's having fun...I get that).

Most seem to consider the Dawgs the leaders to sign him next Wednesday and I hope they are. It sounds like he could make a sorely needed impact on the defensive line pretty early. He may even be a key to keeping the snowball rolling downhill and picking up the #1 runningback in the the country Isaiah Crowell and the other three to five big fish out there. But if he's not a Dawg (or the rest of them, for that matter), it's not the end of the world. I've said it a million times: if they don't want to be a Dawg, we're better off without them. But I really hope he wants to be a Dawg.

Rain Man Goes Shopping

So, I'm leaving the grocery store with my one bag of groceries and am approaching the exit just slightly ahead of a young lady. Gentleman that I am, I slow down to let her go through the door first. With her now just slightly out of my peripheral vision, I wonder why she hasn't gone around me yet. So, I stop dead in my tracks just before getting to the door to let her go around me, but for some reason, she's still not passing me. When I turn to see if she's on her way or being mugged or what, I see that she has stopped to look at something else.

Just as I start to go through the door again, I notice that another lady has almost run into me as I tried to be polite to someone else. I'm now blocking her path to the exit and should extend the same courtesy to her I just extended to the now distracted bystander. In another botched attempt to be a gentleman, I stop almost completely in the doorway to let lady number two go around and naturally, I proceed to clumsily drop my keys. With my keys now almost exactly in the middle of the open doorway and an angry mob forming behind me, I had no choice but to bend down for my keys and take up the entire exit for what felt like an eternity.

As the episode spiraled out of control, it all seemed to slow down like a scene from The Matrix. As I bent down in slow motion, I couldn't help but wonder how this was about to get worse. Was one of my shoes about to come off? Were my pants about to split? Were the automatic doors about to close on my head repeatedly as hot girl after hot girl walked by, pointed, and laughed? Fortunately, I dodged all of the above and got out of there with what was left of my dignity. Even so, guess who's not going to the East Side Publix for a while. This guy:

Back in the Saddle!

After a four-month hiatus, you will all be relieved to know that I am reviving your favorite blog. Why now? Maybe it's four months of outrage at Georgia football, government, and the media. Maybe it's because my interest in football for this season died with the Falcons' "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" playoff run. Maybe it's because I just got internet at my house for the first time in two years. Whatever the reason(s), I intend to inform and entertain you, my three loyal readers, more frequently. Look for my next post in no less than four months!