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re: 2018 UGA Recruiting Thread (commits, offers, visits, etc.) - Back to that #1 class
Posted on 4/19/17 at 5:03 pm to SumterCoDawg
Posted on 4/19/17 at 5:03 pm to SumterCoDawg
quote:
I'm told by Danny West of our Arkansas site that Akial Byers, a 2017 Alabama signee who was headed for the junior college route, will visit Georgia this weekend for G-Day following a Missouri visit last week.
West says he's been told that Byers is now eligible and has restarted his recruitment.
Damn. None of us knew that. Thanks for the info.
1
Posted on 4/19/17 at 5:06 pm to TideSaint
I'm gonna take a leap and guess that Bama doesn't have room for him if he is indeed qualified? Also the guy at Rivals wasn't 100% if he actually signed a letter with Bama and then got a release or what exactly the situation is.
Posted on 4/19/17 at 5:10 pm to SumterCoDawg
quote:
I'm gonna take a leap and guess that Bama doesn't have room for him if he is indeed qualified?
Probably not. If Jarez Parks didn't have a spot I'd imagine Byers would be in the same boat.
There was a difference of opinion between our 247 site and our Scout 247 on whether he should be considered a 2018 commitment anyway. 247 said yes; Scout said no.
quote:
Also the guy at Rivals wasn't 100% if he actually signed a letter with Bama and then got a release or what exactly the situation is.
I don't think he did. The news about him not qualifying hit the week before NSD and he said he was going to MS Gulf Coast Community College.
This whole situation is weird.
Posted on 4/19/17 at 8:05 pm to wdhalgren
quote:
He can survive a 20th ranked recruiting class while he tries to prove he's better than losing to Tech and Vanderbilt.
I don't think he can. It'll kill him in years 4, 5, and 6, just like it killed Richt.
You can't win enough in this conference with the guys you're talking about to keep the Georgia job.
If anything, you find raw prospects with NFL measurables. Good HS football player 3*s get you fired. You can't make a slow player fast or a small player big. High ceiling 3*s give you a chance if you can develop.
This post was edited on 4/19/17 at 8:08 pm
Posted on 4/19/17 at 9:21 pm to SumterCoDawg
quote:
SumterCoDawg
I don't know if you have a 247 account or not, but your post in this thread snowballed from here into a story from BamaOnline regarding Akial Byers.
This post was edited on 4/19/17 at 9:21 pm
Posted on 4/19/17 at 9:27 pm to Crowknowsbest
I always thought Coach Richt did a pretty good job of recruiting 3 star players, as long as he stayed in state. Guys like Sanders Commings, Bacarri Rambo, Shawn Williams, Michael Bennett, Chris Conley, David Andrews, John Atkins, Quincy Mauger, Dom Sanders, Davin Bellamy. His success rate obviously wasn't perfect for the lower ranked in-state players, but where it really dropped off was when he started going out of state to fill needs that could have been met at home.
Watching the kids play in person and talking on a regular basis to people who know Georgia HS football has a lot of value for UGA recruiters. I know recruiting is all about rankings and ratings these days, but for a staff that's connected and knows talent, a good Georgia 3 star is better than a lot of 4 stars from elsewhere. Plus, close to home you get more information about their character and work ethic. It'll take Kirby and his team a while to build up the Georgia HS knowledge that Richt had after 15 years, but this seems like a good time for him to start beating the bushes around this state.
As an example, we could have used another DT in the 2017 class. Auburn picked up a last minute commit from an Augusta kid named Truesdell who could've provided that depth. His video looks pretty good, but he's only 6'2" and that may have hurt his rankings. We'll see how he turns out.
Watching the kids play in person and talking on a regular basis to people who know Georgia HS football has a lot of value for UGA recruiters. I know recruiting is all about rankings and ratings these days, but for a staff that's connected and knows talent, a good Georgia 3 star is better than a lot of 4 stars from elsewhere. Plus, close to home you get more information about their character and work ethic. It'll take Kirby and his team a while to build up the Georgia HS knowledge that Richt had after 15 years, but this seems like a good time for him to start beating the bushes around this state.
As an example, we could have used another DT in the 2017 class. Auburn picked up a last minute commit from an Augusta kid named Truesdell who could've provided that depth. His video looks pretty good, but he's only 6'2" and that may have hurt his rankings. We'll see how he turns out.
This post was edited on 4/19/17 at 10:05 pm
Posted on 4/20/17 at 6:18 am to SumterCoDawg
quote:
He went from not having a timeline at all for his announcement to suddenly scheduling it after he gets off the plane from OSU.
Maybe I am getting him confused with somebody else. I thought he had always said he would be committing in May, or June?
Posted on 4/20/17 at 6:18 am to wdhalgren
quote:
Sanders Commings, Bacarri Rambo, Shawn Williams, Michael Bennett, Chris Conley, David Andrews, John Atkins, Quincy Mauger, Dom Sanders, Davin Bellamy.
All those guys had/have NFL measurables. The possible exceptions being Bennett and Mauger.
quote:
It'll take Kirby and his team a while to build up the Georgia HS knowledge that Richt had after 15 years, but this seems like a good time for him to start beating the bushes around this state.
Smart has been recruiting in GA his entire career. He also grew up here, and his dad was a HS coach here. I think he's got a pretty good feel for the lay of the land.
Truesdell camped at UGA, and UGA evaluated him live. You have to trust your evaluations.
By my count on 247, there 11 UGA offers out to 3*s in GA at the moment. That seems appropriate, especially since camp season hasn't even started yet.
Posted on 4/20/17 at 6:42 am to Crowknowsbest
Pretty sure Kirby coached at Valdosta before going to Bama, where he recruited the state of Georgia and did a damn good job.
Posted on 4/20/17 at 8:37 am to SumterCoDawg
Akial Byers committed to Missouri last night. Talk about a whirlwind 24 hours.
Posted on 4/20/17 at 9:16 am to Crowknowsbest
quote:
I think he's got a pretty good feel for the lay of the land.
I hope you're right, but I'm skeptical. Message board fans have circled the wagons around Smart because they were so insistent that Mark Richt had to be fired. Every Smart failure has been tied to Richt. Meanwhile, Richt had a better first season on the field at Miami and his recruiting is accelerating while Smart's stagnates.
I think some of Kirby's supporters are getting defensive rather than face the fact they were just wrong. So now that Kirby's had his honeymoon year and his recruiting doesn't have nearly the same vibe, they are are even more insistent that he knows what he's doing. For those of us who are objectively watching what this rookie actually accomplishes, it's not obvious that he has the lay of the land on anything about this job.
This post was edited on 4/20/17 at 9:33 am
Posted on 4/20/17 at 9:26 am to wdhalgren
quote:
his recruiting doesn't have nearly the same vibe,
Agreed, at least in this particular 2018 class. 2019 is going well. Very early obviously.
He certainly appeared to have a pretty good grip on recruiting last year.
In my opinion, Smart's job isn't to get a handle on what this job has been. It's to change it into something better. The local gym rat type prospect isn't going to get that done. That's also not just his job. Everyone involved in the program has to be all in.
I have no idea if he'll be successful. I just don't think he can be successful doing what UGA has always done. He'll meet the same fate as all our other coaches that weren't fortunate enough to sign Herschel Walker.
Posted on 4/20/17 at 10:29 am to wdhalgren
quote:
Meanwhile, Richt had a better first season on the field at Miami and his recruiting is accelerating while Smart's stagnates.
Outside of winning one more game I wouldn't say Miami had a better season.
They played 2 ranked teams all year and lost to one of them. Meanwhile we played 5 and went 2-3 against them.
quote:
it's not obvious that he has the lay of the land on anything about this job.
bullshite. He's had his struggles with certain things but he's done some things better than Richt did in 15 years.
Posted on 4/20/17 at 11:59 am to wdhalgren
quote:
Every Smart failure has been tied to Richt
well thats not sure. Smart has come out and said he is working on getting better at the in-game stuff that he never had to deal with as an OC (timeouts, challenges, etc). He has been working wtih NFL coaches in the off season to getting better at different head coaching aspects. Nothing to do with CMR
This post was edited on 4/20/17 at 12:01 pm
Posted on 4/20/17 at 3:23 pm to wdhalgren
I'm not sold on Kirby yet but Richt had to go. Maybe with time Smart will develop into a champion head coach and maybe not. We are competing for recruits against proven championship head coaches. A successful 2017 season is crucial for the future. More than anything else, I worry about the QB position.
Posted on 4/20/17 at 9:19 pm to wdhalgren
quote:
his recruiting doesn't have nearly the same vibe
He's had one recruiting class and it's arguably the best UGA has ever had. I know it's 420, but put down the pipe.
Posted on 4/21/17 at 7:23 am to Barstools
Exactly. It's a long way till signing day, what's with all the panic?
Posted on 4/21/17 at 7:28 am to RedFive
5* QB and USC commit Matt Corral is visiting this weekend.
Posted on 4/21/17 at 7:28 am to RedFive
Corral is one could actually be interesting. USC apparently will have 4 QBs returning next year, and Corral is likely someone that isn't going to be scared off by Fromm.
Flying across the country shows interest, at least.
Flying across the country shows interest, at least.
This post was edited on 4/21/17 at 7:30 am
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