Some recruiting nuggets

This and That on the recruiting front....

• Offensive Tackle Brent Benedict (6'6" 290 lbs) committed to play for the Georgia Bulldogs today ($ premium) according to Dean Legge of DawgPost.com. The Jacksonville star is listed by both Scout.com and Rivals.com as a four star prospect. He's the sixth commitment of the season so far with 4 of the 6 coming along the lines of scrimmage.

• I'm particularly excited about the athleticism in this class so far at defensive end. B.J. Butler's (4 star DE/Scout.com) high school coach lists him currently at 6'2" 255 lbs. He's most intriguing to me because he's athletic enough to play a little QB in high school ($). His background (not body type) reminds me of a thicker Boss Bailey coming out of high school. Boss came in at 6'3" 225 lbs after playing QB and Linebacker. I'm also pretty interested in seeing Jalen Fields (DE) on campus.
  

• On the uncommitted front, the player that most intrigues me is five star all-universe middle linebacker Jeff Luc (6'1" 250 lb / 4.57 40). By all reports ($), Luc had an awesome time ($) at the UGA camp, and it really opened his eyes to the opportunity in Athens. One of the weaknesses at Georgia the past few years has been the lack of a punishing, brutal hitter at the MIKE position. Rennie Curran plays with the sort of violence the UGA LB corps needs, but he's at the WILL. The last true connisseour of well crafted collissions at MLB was Odell Thurman (before coming a nut case) and Tony Gilbert. Luc is bigger than Odell and faster than Gilbert. Two of the easier ways to make Willie Martinez look smarter would be to add devastating edge rushers and a mauler at MIKE.*

Don't get me wrong, I'm intrigued by many other kids in state and beyond, but Luc...he's a kid that could transform the style of play and bring the violence back up to '02 and '03 levels.

PWD
Georgia Sports Blog

$ = Premium Content
* = Sorry to the DawgVenter I popped off to last week about Luc. He's a bad dude.

Some recruiting nuggets

This and That on the recruiting front....

• Offensive Tackle Brent Benedict (6'6" 290 lbs) committed to play for the Georgia Bulldogs today ($ premium) according to Dean Legge of DawgPost.com. The Jacksonville star is listed by both Scout.com and Rivals.com as a four star prospect. He's the sixth commitment of the season so far with 4 of the 6 coming along the lines of scrimmage.

• I'm particularly excited about the athleticism in this class so far at defensive end. B.J. Butler's (4 star DE/Scout.com) high school coach lists him currently at 6'2" 255 lbs. He's most intriguing to me because he's athletic enough to play a little QB in high school ($). His background (not body type) reminds me of a thicker Boss Bailey coming out of high school. Boss came in at 6'3" 225 lbs after playing QB and Linebacker. I'm also pretty interested in seeing Jalen Fields (DE) on campus.
  

• On the uncommitted front, the player that most intrigues me is five star all-universe middle linebacker Jeff Luc (6'1" 250 lb / 4.57 40). By all reports ($), Luc had an awesome time ($) at the UGA camp, and it really opened his eyes to the opportunity in Athens. One of the weaknesses at Georgia the past few years has been the lack of a punishing, brutal hitter at the MIKE position. Rennie Curran plays with the sort of violence the UGA LB corps needs, but he's at the WILL. The last true connisseour of well crafted collissions at MLB was Odell Thurman (before coming a nut case) and Tony Gilbert. Luc is bigger than Odell and faster than Gilbert. Two of the easier ways to make Willie Martinez look smarter would be to add devastating edge rushers and a mauler at MIKE.*

Don't get me wrong, I'm intrigued by many other kids in state and beyond, but Luc...he's a kid that could transform the style of play and bring the violence back up to '02 and '03 levels.

PWD
Georgia Sports Blog

$ = Premium Content
* = Sorry to the DawgVenter I popped off to last week about Luc. He's a bad dude.

Boise State's Indignation?

Boise State's Supreme Ruler
The little guys are once again demanding greater access into the BCS National Title Game. Last week, Boise State's president Bob Kustra talked about the inherent lack of fairness in the BCS system for non-power conference schools (ht - fanblogs). Here's the money quote:

"...you would think that when Boise State opens its football season against the University of Oregon on September 3, the dream of a national championship would beat in the heart of every player, coach, alumnus and fan. Instead, there will only be a faint pulse thanks to the constraints placed upon us by the BCS. An estimated 6,000 student-athletes play for football teams that have no realistic chance of competing in a BCS bowl, given the hurdles placed in the path of the non-BCS conferences and teams."

My retort back in April to this sort of rhertoric was "Shouldn't Cinderella have to Earn her place?" I don't care if Boise State does go undefeated this season. They still shouldn't get a shot at the National Title in 2009. If you only play one BCS opponent, that's not enough. No where near enough.

Boise St. Home Schedule:
Oregon
Miami (Ohio)
UC-Davis
San Jose State
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico State

Boise State Away Schedule:
at Fresno State
at Bowling Green
at Tulsa
at Hawaii
at Louisiana Tech
at Utah State

They had the scheduling flexibility to add another quality opponent, but they elected to play UC-Davis (Div I-AA) instead. It's not like playing UC-Davis in front of 20,000 fans in Boise would be worth more financially than playing a BCS team on the road. So it wasn't a financial issue.

It's unlikely that Boise will play more than two teams next year that would be ranked in the Top 40, but Kustra thinks they deserve a shot at the big banana if they beat Oregon?

If I were to run 30 meters at the Olympics and then lay down on the track, I wouldn't be eligible for the Olympic Gold in the 100 meter dash. That's basically what Boise's schedule is. It's an attempt to declare greatness for an incomplete body of work.

Utah had a strong case for upward mobility last year. They beat Oregon State, TCU and BYU, and they played Michigan (it's not the Utes fault that UM stunk). All three of those teams were legitimate Top 25-30 caliber opponents. Utah was nothing like the sham Hawaii team from 2007. Were they good enough to hang with Florida or Oklahoma? I seriously doubt it. But at least they had an argument.

There's an argument from Boise that playing more tough competition makes it to difficult to make a BCS Bowl Game like the Fiesta Bowl. My argument...if you can't beat three BCS teams (or their equivalent Top 25 mid-majors), then what right do you have to the big BCS payouts? Much less the National Title Game?

PWD

Boise State's Indignation?

Boise State's Supreme Ruler
The little guys are once again demanding greater access into the BCS National Title Game. Last week, Boise State's president Bob Kustra talked about the inherent lack of fairness in the BCS system for non-power conference schools (ht - fanblogs). Here's the money quote:

"...you would think that when Boise State opens its football season against the University of Oregon on September 3, the dream of a national championship would beat in the heart of every player, coach, alumnus and fan. Instead, there will only be a faint pulse thanks to the constraints placed upon us by the BCS. An estimated 6,000 student-athletes play for football teams that have no realistic chance of competing in a BCS bowl, given the hurdles placed in the path of the non-BCS conferences and teams."

My retort back in April to this sort of rhertoric was "Shouldn't Cinderella have to Earn her place?" I don't care if Boise State does go undefeated this season. They still shouldn't get a shot at the National Title in 2009. If you only play one BCS opponent, that's not enough. No where near enough.

Boise St. Home Schedule:
Oregon
Miami (Ohio)
UC-Davis
San Jose State
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico State

Boise State Away Schedule:
at Fresno State
at Bowling Green
at Tulsa
at Hawaii
at Louisiana Tech
at Utah State

They had the scheduling flexibility to add another quality opponent, but they elected to play UC-Davis (Div I-AA) instead. It's not like playing UC-Davis in front of 20,000 fans in Boise would be worth more financially than playing a BCS team on the road. So it wasn't a financial issue.

It's unlikely that Boise will play more than two teams next year that would be ranked in the Top 40, but Kustra thinks they deserve a shot at the big banana if they beat Oregon?

If I were to run 30 meters at the Olympics and then lay down on the track, I wouldn't be eligible for the Olympic Gold in the 100 meter dash. That's basically what Boise's schedule is. It's an attempt to declare greatness for an incomplete body of work.

Utah had a strong case for upward mobility last year. They beat Oregon State, TCU and BYU, and they played Michigan (it's not the Utes fault that UM stunk). All three of those teams were legitimate Top 25-30 caliber opponents. Utah was nothing like the sham Hawaii team from 2007. Were they good enough to hang with Florida or Oklahoma? I seriously doubt it. But at least they had an argument.

There's an argument from Boise that playing more tough competition makes it to difficult to make a BCS Bowl Game like the Fiesta Bowl. My argument...if you can't beat three BCS teams (or their equivalent Top 25 mid-majors), then what right do you have to the big BCS payouts? Much less the National Title Game?

PWD

NIKE Rennie Curran #35 Replica Jerseys

Nike Georgia Bulldogs #35 Red Replica Football Jersey
Nike has the new UGA football player jerseys available in our store. Some player numbers are available in red, black and/or white. So far, they've stocked #8 AJ Green happens to wear (red, black and white), #35 Rennie Curran (red), #4 Caleb King (red and white), #22 Richard Samuel (black) and #7 Orson Charles* (red). As always the player names aren't on the back of the jerseys.

You can also make your own NIKE replica jersey with the number and name of your choice on the back in white or red via the store. However, sizes are a bit more limited currently in those two options.

PWD


*yeah...I know. It was meant to be a Stafford jersey, but the name's not on the back. So now, it's an Orson Charles jersey. ;-)

NIKE Rennie Curran #35 Replica Jerseys

Nike Georgia Bulldogs #35 Red Replica Football Jersey
Nike has the new UGA football player jerseys available in our store. Some player numbers are available in red, black and/or white. So far, they've stocked #8 AJ Green happens to wear (red, black and white), #35 Rennie Curran (red), #4 Caleb King (red and white), #22 Richard Samuel (black) and #7 Orson Charles* (red). As always the player names aren't on the back of the jerseys.

You can also make your own NIKE replica jersey with the number and name of your choice on the back in white or red via the store. However, sizes are a bit more limited currently in those two options.

PWD


*yeah...I know. It was meant to be a Stafford jersey, but the name's not on the back. So now, it's an Orson Charles jersey. ;-)

Update on UGA vs South Carolina Kickoff

The Athens Banner Herald says that the game is definitely going to kickoff at 7:00 pm on ESPN2. Not 7:45 pm start as originally reported by the Augusta Chronicle (and repeated by me).

Doesn't matter to me. Anything after 5:30 is outstanding.

PWD