After some late drama Signing Day 2012 is essentially in the books, and for the Georgia staff it went about like you would expect. We won some, we lost some, we finished with a class ranked among the top 10 nationally. Pretty standard Mark Richt-era stuff. But what's interesting about this class is that while there are stars galore, it's easy to miss out on the really important things that happened today, which we'll discuss in more detail after the jump.
This class will not end up with the same marquee names as last year's so-called Dream Team . . . because last year's class was about injecting talent back into a program coming off a 6-7 season. This year is about filling needs.
Seth Emerson (January 26, 2012)
2011:Dream Team 2012:Ring team?
Hutson Mason (January 30, 2012)
Despite the fact that modern recruiting coverage traces its roots back to Georgia’s courtship of Herschel Walker, I have always considered covering recruiting a somewhat odd endeavor, chiefly due to the fact that any enterprise wholly dependent upon the decisionmaking of American teenage males is bound to be fraught with chaos, frustration, and unpredictability to a degree I am certain to find disconcerting. My central nervous system instinctively rebels at the notion of fretting over football in February; I am orderly enough to compartmentalize my angst, and the cubbyholes arranged throughout my brain assign football-related fretting to the period from Labor Day weekend through New Year’s Day, while reserving February for anguish over the University of Georgia’s baseball, men’s basketball, and women’s gymnastics teams.
Nevertheless, incoming freshmen are essential to the future of any group comprised of collegians, so it matters a great deal that the Georgia Bulldogs are one of nine major-conference teams to have earned an overall five-star rating, based on Rivals.com’s recruiting class rankings from 2008 to 2011. It was the latter class, of course, that brought home the "Dream Team" that validated Mark Richt’s regime, which will remain in place on Labor Day 2012, contrary to what we believed on Labor Day 2011.
Welcome to National Signing Day! The fax lines are open, the Dawg Sports National Signing Day open comment thread is up and running, and coverage is being provided by SB Nation, Seth Emerson, and GeorgiaDogs.com. Below, you will find the list of Georgia signees, which will be updated throughout the day, as signed letters of intent are received. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the latest crop of Bulldogs:
A lot has been made this recruiting cycle of Georgia's unusual strategy down the stretch of targeting a lot of guys who were already committed to other schools. While Mark Richt and company have missed on a lot of those guys, they hit a real home run today with the commitment of Tucker High linebacker/tight end Josh Dawson.
Dawson had been committed for months to Vanderbilt and looked set to play defensive end in the Commodores' 4-3. He has a great burst off the line, long arms that allow him to fight off offensive linemen and really good instincts for the ball. He needs to work on his pass rushing technique, as he only seems to have a couple of moves. But Todd Grantham has done a great job helping our linebackers perfect their quarterback attacking skills. Dawson has the motor you look for in a defensive player. He's a smart player who I believe will put in the work required to blossom in the Bulldog 3-4.
While Georgia looks great at outside linebacker for 2012, Jarvis Jones and Cornelius Washington are both likely gone after next season. There's a very real chance that Ray Drew and Sterling Bailey could grow into defensive ends, and we're still waiting on T.J. Stripling, Dexter Morant and Chase Vasser to become every down players. The time is now to rebuild depth at a critical position for our system. The addition of Dawson is another step toward doing that. Plus we snatched him from James Franklin and that makes me happy. Glad to have you, Josh!
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Mark Richt and the Bulldog coaching staff just got some great news as Lowndes High linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons, the top ranked prospect in the state of Georgia and the top prospect left on Georgia's board, announced he'll be matriculating in Athens.
Harvey-Clemons had offers from literally every major football program in the country and ultimately chose the Bulldogs over Florida and Florida State. Rumors had circulated for a while that Georgia was the leader for the accomplished linebacker/wide receiver and licensed bail bondsman. But you can never quite rule out the Seminoles for a player from Lowndes, and Will Muschamp worked hard to sell Florida's appealing depth chart at outside linebacker (which is a good bit thinner than Todd Grantham's roster in Athens).
As with most of the top players from this class, we'll be doing a TMI showcase on Harvey-Clemons in the coming weeks. For now, suffice it to say that he's the prototype of what Todd Grantham looks for in an outside linebacker: a long, fast, aggressive defender who can rush the passer, drop into coverage, and play tough against the run. With a depth chart leaning heavily toward seniors and juniors, Harvey-Clemons was the best available player in the state at a critical position with a looming need. Until later . . .
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National Signing Day is upon us! For those who are unfamiliar with National Signing Day, it’s like a day off for adults!
With recruiting coverage set to begin at 8:00 a.m. Eastern at GeorgiaDogs.com, we are opening our comment thread at 7:45, so that you may share your thoughts, hopes, and updates in the comments below. We’ll be bringing you periodic updates throughout the day, including the latest list of Georgia signees as the hay is gathered into the barn.
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Go ‘Dawgs!
As you probably know, National Signing Day for prospective college football players is a mere 6 days away. Traditionally Mark Richt and his staff have had the hay in the barn, so to speak, for weeks by now. 2012 however has been a little different, mainly for 2 reasons.
One is that the uncertainty (whether real or perceived) surrounding the Bulldog coaching staff's future during the spring and summer of 2011 put us behind the eight ball with many recruits. It's likely that many didn't want to get too attached to our coaches when there was a chance they wouldn't be around in 2012. Additionally, this time last year it appeared that Georgia would not have that many scholarships to offer. So the coaches began with a smaller set of prospects to work on. They were fairly stingy with offers inside the state of Georgia, not wanting to have to come back later and withdraw an offer from a kid at Calhoun or Sandy Creek or Warner Robins. That kind of thing is bad for business, even if only in the short term. But then Marcus Dowtin, Caleb King, Nick Williams, Washaun Ealey, Jeremy Longo, Brent Benedict and others cleared up some roster room.
Georgia now has 16 verbal commitments and is looking to sign 22-24 players. Who will round out the class? I don't know, but I've got some guesses, and I want to hear yours as well. We'll look at some of the contenders after the jump, and talk about your chance to claim bragging rights over your fellow Dawg Sports readers.
we need another OL (or 2-4 more if you ask tankertoad—said in sarcasm font)
Mr. Sanchez
no, we need like 10 more linemen. I am sure in 2 years it will be whittled down to 1 or 2.
tankertoad
As you know, Georgia just got some good news on the recruiting front, about which further detail is forthcoming. In the meantime, though, I would like to say that, while I welcome Todd Gurley, I have been convinced by tankertoad that we should adopt an entirely new recruiting strategy.
We should only recruit offensive linemen for our offense.
Seriously. All right, not seriously, but go with me here:
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