Well....so much for a boring off season

The entire college football universe may change more in the next 48 hours than it has at any other compressed period of time in history with a likely end to the Big 12, and the trickle down impacts of that decision. Along with a much shorter term impact, but loud in the near term slapping of Southern Cal.

The latest on USC appears to be 20 lost scholarships, a two year bowl ban, and the optional penalty free release of upperclassmen to transfers. Bama fans still won't be pleased because it's not quite as bad as they got. But then again....the link tying the football staff at Bama to the Means saga was more concrete than the link tying Bush to the USC staff. I expect that much of this initial probation from the NCAA is for show. About a year later, they'll come back and soften the punishment a little.

Here's the big question on USC. Will the scholarship reduction begin immediately, or will it begin after the appeal? Ideally for Southern Cal haters, the penalty will begin after the appeal. Which means, they could damage an additional recruiting class before the sanctions even start while in limbo.

PWD

The Dream Team pitch is working

Dean Legge has a great read on the Dream Team concept. The closing paragraph is absolute money:

The Dream Team notion is working… Georgia won’t sign Tucker’s James Vaughters (he will commit to Stanford in the coming weeks) but every other player in the top 15 in the state is either committed to Georgia or seriously considering the Dawgs. This is a massive turnaround from the Dawgs’ recruiting struggles of 2010. After all, 2011 is a construction zone, and hard hats are required.

That's exceptional news because last year's offensive class was about as close to a full bore dumpster fire as you can get. To get recruiting back and really performing at such a high-level despite last year's disappointing season says a lot about Mark Richt and this staff. It's impressive.

PWD

Georgia lands enormous two sport recruit

Nick Marshall has committed to play football and basketball for the University of Georgia. Marshall will play defensive back for the football team, and he'll play both guard positions for Coach Fox's basketball team.

Why this is a big deal:

• Marshall is one of the best all around athletes in state. If Christian LeMay is good enough at QB for Coach Richt to feel comfortable offering Marshall at CB, that's an excellent sign.
  
  
• As Blutarsky pointed out this morning, Marshall is a former silent commit to GT to play QB. This is exactly the type of kid CPJ needs to land. That he'd rather play CB for us than QB for them says a lot.
  
  
• Marshall will sign his letter of intent as a football player, and he will not count against the 13 scholarship limit for the basketball team. If Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie go pro as expected, Georgia will have 6 scholarships to give for the 2011 season. Marshall could be the seventh member of that class if Coach Fox wants to try and land a "Dream Team" of his own in the ultra stacked 2011 hoops recruiting class.
  
  
• Marshall is a Top 125 level player in the nation in basketball according to Rivals.com. He's a guy that can help Georgia at either point guard or shooting guard.
  
  
• One of Nick Marshall's closest friends on the hoops circuit is Kentavious Caldwell. Caldwell is arguably the best shooting guard in Georgia if not the entire Southeast. He's 6'6" with the ability to manufacture points by the bucketload, and he starts shooting when he gets off the bus. Last season, Georgia signed Kenarious Gates as an offensive tackle who is another close friend and former high school teammate of Caldwell's. To sign Caldwell and Marshall would establish the foundation for an elite backcourt. Especially, with Top 100 SG/SF Malcom Brogdon also very interested in the Dawgs.

Marshall's commitment is a very big deal for the Dawgs in both sports. We're talking about a guy who could legitimately start for UGA one day at quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, safety, shooting guard or point guard. That's a very handy asset.

See Also:

-- Chad Simmons take on Nick Marshall - DawgPost
-- The Dream Team continues - AJC
-- Hard Hats Required - DawgPost
-- 2011 Basketball Hot Board - UGASports.com

PWD

Profiles in Hope: Stegeman Renovation Update

On Sunday, the Athens Banner Herald posted updated renderings of what Stegeman Coliseum will look like after the renovations are completed this November (Image: ABH). The interior look and feel of the concourses is dramatically more impressive than I anticipated. Lee Shearer has the story which you may have missed because it appears to have been filed online under News instead of dogbytes or basketball.

Check the PDF...it doesn't look like the same facilities inside the concourses. As for the interior seating area, it hasn't been the problem for several years. The problem was the coaches and the product they put on the court for far too many years.

I'm thrilled to know that we're going to have an updated facility in time for this season.

PWD

Expansion Update

Matt Hinton has a comprehensive update on Conference Expansion that's a must read. It walks through last week's drama involving the Big 12's possible collapse. It really sounds like the next two weeks will be critical in the Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 10 expansion efforts.

pwd

John Wooden Passes Away

In 1946, John Wooden interviewed with Wally Butts to become the head basketball coach at The University of Georgia. Due to recruiting policies in the South at the time, Wooden wouldn't have been able to assemble the type of team he wanted. So he turned down a job offer from Butts. Two years later, he started coaching at UCLA. Oh, what could have been.

Coach Harrick brought Wooden to Athens to speak about 8 years ago. It was one of the most amazing talks I've listened as the quick wit of the man was still obvious well into his 90s.

Wooden has passed away. Our thoughts are with his family and the UCLA family.

PWD

Cordy Glenn to Enter the Ninja Draft

Cordy Glenn, a 6'5" and 330 pound offensive lineman at Georgia, announced today that he'll abandon his final years of eligibility to enter the Dark Arts of the Ninja. The news came on the heels of the University of Georgia's athletic department announcing that Glenn ran a 40 yard dash timed at 4.81 seconds. Apparently, football is too easy for a man of such size, grace and speed so he's moving on to a new field*. (Image: ABH)

Also, Cornelius Washington, a 6'5" 255+ lb defensive end, was timed in the 40 yard dash at 4.29 seconds. It's worth noting that only 8 players have run under 4.3 seconds at the NFL draft since 1999, and none of them weighed over 210 pounds.

And lastly, Brandon Wood, a 290 pound defensive tackle with eight career solo tackles in three seasons, was clocked at 4.71. It's worth noting that Tim Tebow only ran 4.72 at the combine. We must be truly stacked at DT if a player with those wheels is riding the pine.

In completely unrelated news, the University of Georgia also announced that a member of the athletic department's Strength and Conditioning Program has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in the category of Fiction.

In all seriousness, what's the point of inflating the strength numbers of our players like this? Is it to take pressure off our S&C coaches? Because it's sure not going to take any pressure off our kids when fans think they can move like that. I just don't get it.

Or as someone said on a message board today, "If our guys can run that fast, we should be able to cover kickoffs." I love our coaches, but I haven't seen this much fake demographic info on the internet since I last logged into Match.com.

See Also:
-- Cuff runs 4.24 - DawgPost.com

PWD


*Note: Not a shot a Glenn. It was a shot at the press release. He's actually one of my favorite Dawgs.