Welcome to your one-stop shop for all the relevant UGA football news and takes every Monday through Friday. Today, we discuss what coach Kirby Smart should do with the handful of athletes on his roster.
Master of None
Having versatile recruits — or “athletes” as they’re typically termed in recruiting parlance — is undeniably a good thing. Bringing in a handful of guys who could play a few different positions lets you mold those players to your team’s needs. But there also is an inherent conundrum that comes with versatility. How do you decide the best position for any given player who could play at two or three? It’s trickier than you might think, considering you have to find the position that will both get the most out of the player’s talent and fill whatever need the team may have. Those two things don’t always align.
That’s the conundrum Georgia finds itself in with at least two players at the moment, namely rising sophomore Mecole Hardman and incoming freshman DeAngelo Gibbs, two guys who can play either DB or WR.
Gibbs is the easier of the two to render a decision, in my mind. With the way the depth chart lines up at this moment, receiver is the most obvious need on the field, and I think Smart should just throw able bodies at the position until a handful of reliable guys emerge. The first-team secondary is set and we could make a good guess at what the second team will be. There’s also the matter of Smart bringing in a ton of no-doubt DBs in the 2017 class. There is plenty of emergency cover, so Gibbs could eventually transition to DB at a measured pace if needed.
And how can you not give a guy who can do this a chance at receiver?
Tray Bishop is another recruit I would put at receiver along with Gibbs. Like I said above, throw bodies at the problem until something sticks. And if Bishop or Gibbs don’t work out at WR, then switch them to DB. (It should also be noted that on their GeorgiaDogs.com profiles, Gibbs and Bishop are both listed as DBs.)
Hardman is more difficult to determine, because he’s already spent a year in Athens working at defensive back. Moving him would basically be wasting the last year he spent learning a position he didn’t even play in high school. He wasn’t able to contribute as a freshman like many folks expected him to, but that could be because of a steep learning curve. Which makes me think he needs to stay at DB unless the coaches are certain he can contribute more at WR.
I know many fans are hankering to see Hardman with the ball in his hands, which is a big reason I’ve seen a bunch of folks lobbying to get him on offense. But that’s what the return game is for. Isaiah McKenzie left some big shoes to fill and putting Hardman there could let the Dawgs utilize some of the spark that made him a 5-star recruit while also letting him develop as a DB. But if he doesn’t break into the two-deep in the secondary after next season, it’ll definitely be time to move him to offense?
What do y’all think? Where should Hardman and Gibbs line up next season? Let me know in the comments.
What happened in 2015?
Since the end of Mark Richt’s time in Athens, there have been questions about how the whole deal went down. Specifically, there have been questions about what happened the week of the 2015 Kentucky game, when it was rumored that Richt had fired Jeremy Pruitt and that there had been a “mutiny” on the coaching staff.
In the latest DawgNation Mailbag, Seth Emerson was asked some of those questions and gave us one of the clearest answers yet to what really happened at the end of 2015:
What really happened between the coaches the week of the Kentucky game in 2015? This is when the rumors swirled about Jeremy Pruitt being fired, and presumably is at the center of Tracy Rocker’s later comments about a “mutiny” in Mark Richt’s last year.
– Guy O., Ithaca, N.Y. (UGA 1997)
Well, that’s a tricky one. Maybe as the years go on people in the know will be more comfortable revealing things. But, right now, they’ve all got jobs and in the coaching industry speaking out on such subjects isn’t viewed favorably. You saw that when Mike Ekeler, in an interview last year with a Texas newspaper, slipped up and talked about working with people he couldn’t stand, or something along those lines. Ekeler quickly tweeted out that he enjoyed working with Richt. (He didn’t mention the other guys.)
I’ll be honest here in that I know and suspect more than I’m willing to share, for reasons of confidentiality with sources, etc. What I am willing to say is that I’ve not heard anything to confirm that there was some major incident. It seems it was just the usual clash of personalities in a workplace, exacerbated by a bad stretch of losing in which one side of the ball (offense) was mainly at fault. There were factions, and even if Richt had been retained he was going to have to make changes. Rocker, Kevin Sherrer and Pruitt were generally of the same mind, while guys like John Lilly and Bryan McClendon did their best to keep their heads down. (And you saw how good a job McClendon did in holding things together, guiding the team to a bowl win, with Lilly guiding the offense and Sherrer the defense.)
That said, I don’t think Richt was let go because of all the tumult on the staff. It really was about the on-field product, and not wanting to let South Carolina hire Smart.
Make sure you read the rest of the Mailbag here.
More on Tray Scott
Some more folks have shared their thoughts on new UGA DL coach Tray Scott. Rivals ran a post ranking the post-Signing Day assistant hires, and Scott garnered a spot on the list. Here is what Jake Reuse of UGASports.com and Mike Farrell of Rivals.com had to say about the hiring of Scott:
TRAY SCOTT — OLE MISS TO GEORGIA
Local take: “Admittedly, hiring an assistant who began in Oxford just 39 days prior to his hiring in Athens was a bit of a surprise, but Kirby Smart and company knew there was precious little time to waste at such an important position. Where they need Tray Scott to thrive is in recruiting, something he showed he was capable of during his time at North Carolina. Guys like Xach Gill and Jake Lawler seemed to like him last cycle, and Georgia definitely wants to re-establish itself in the state of North Carolina. Don’t be surprised if he’s tasked with aiding efforts on Zamir White and KJ Henry straight out of the gate.” – Jake Reuse, UGASports.com
Farrell’s take: “Scott is young and energetic and did a good job at North Carolina under Gene Chizik as the defense was revamped entirely. He’s jumping from UNC to Ole Miss to Georgia in a 40-day span so only those behind the scenes truly know what’s going on there but clearly the Georgia job was too good to pass up. He was a solid recruiter for the Tar Heels and helped them land some key defensive linemen this past season, but he doesn’t have a ton of experience recruiting at a high level so the jury is still out. Georgia needs defensive linemen in the 2018 class so he will be tested quickly.” – Farrell
Farrell’s grade: B-
Lady Dogs lose to UK
Georgia women’s basketball was riding high after beating Tennessee for the first time since 2010 last time out. But the Lady Dogs were unable to keep that momentum going and fell to the Kentucky Wildcats, 66-56, Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Senior Pachis Roberts led all scorers with 22 points, while sophomore Caliya Robinson scored 19 points to go along with 12 board for her third consecutive double-double.
FINAL: Georgia 56, Kentucky 66.
Next game is Sunday on the road at Auburn at 3pm ET. #RunAsOne | #GoDawgs
— Georgia Basketball (@UGA_WBB) February 10, 2017
ICYMI
Georgia addresses size at receiver but has to find targets with ‘wiggle’ to their game (Jason Butt, Macon Telegraph)
A projected pre-spring Georgia offensive depth chart (Jason Butt, Macon Telegraph)
David Andrews hits it big but hasn’t forgotten Georgia or how he got there (Seth Emerson, DawgNation)
Big screen could be in future of one UGA signee (Chip Towers, DawgNation)
Seattle Seahawks sign former UGA kicker Blair Walsh (Matt Jennings, DawgNation)
The 5 most curious coaching departures in UGA football history (Patrick Garbin, UGA Sports)
After four home meets, Gym Dogs hit the road for trip to Florida (Nicole Saavedra, Athens Banner-Herald)
Dawgs on Tour: Going back to Cali (GlimmerTwinDawg, Dawg Sports)
Good dog
Say cheese!
i would adopt the hell out of that dog pic.twitter.com/LGxMLlzPAi
— Cutest Animals Ever (@CUTEST_ANlMALS) February 10, 2017
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