re: 2019 Recruiting Class (NSD - Today; 5* WR George Pickens flips to UGA from Auburn)

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Coley thought highly enough that he made the trip to see him in Hawaii,

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Let me see....December in Hawaii or December in the southeast US. Take momma with you and give her a trip to Hawaii. Hard decision to make.

Just joking. Like I said, we can trust the coaches. Apparently they think he is better than Downing, so it is what it is.

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Let me see....December in Hawaii or December in the southeast US. Take momma with you and give her a trip to Hawaii. Hard decision to make.

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Coley spent more time in the air than he did on land. Not exactly my preferred vacation lol

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I would prefer giving Downing a scholarship, personally

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Not just no, but heck no. 1) if you give a walk-on a scholarship in the first 2 years on campus, they become an initial counter... 2) We've seen what he is capable of... he is a serviceable enough guy to hand the ball off, but he does not have upside of being able to start for you.

Ultimately, the kid is on the Zell Miller grant at UGA if I'm not mistaken, so his only significant expenses are housing (I think they expanded walk-on benefits to definitely include food/tutoring/medical if I'm not mistaken).

Gabriel is moving up for a reason. I trust the coaches if they think he's worth a scholarship slot... particularly when there are guys that we have been rumored to politely dismissing or turning away who are top 200 athletes.

“Quick release” — exactly what I thought.

USC, UCF and UGA are all recruiting Gabriel. I think it’s likely they see him as more than a 78ovr recruit. His senior season and tape put us on him and if the staff likes him that’s all that matters.

Every QB that we have recruited in this cycle, including Gabriel, is a significantly better prospect than Matthew Downing.

I’m sure Downing is a great kid, but he is not a talent that warrants one of our 85 scholarships, and ESPECIALLY one of our 25 initial counters.

Just saw that Rusty Mansell of 247 Sport said he will be hosting another ESD event at The Battery, just like last year. That's where Fib was doing the meetup. Should be a good time.

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Maybe, but the 2 star QB will be a counter, too, won't he?

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As I said, he's trending up for a reason. I trust our coaches more than I trust the recruiting sites to have his grade accurate.

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I would be surprised if the Hawaiian kid ever starts for us, either.

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Not really a matter of whether he will or won't, but rather *does he have the potential*... Matthew Downing does not IMHO. I don't know whether Gabriel does, but if the coaches think he's worth a scholarship slot, I'd say they like what they see. I think they also are aware that we can't get caught with our pants down if Fields decides he's not willing to wait and/or can't seize the job.

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I think you are right, too. But for many it is a pride thing. From what i understand, that was the sticking point for Blankenship. I think I read his family was well off?

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From what was said, no, Blankenship's family is not well off. That was the whole point of the scholarship debacle. His dad was pushing him to transfer because of school costs. Ultimately, he *deserved* a scholarship and got one... it just may not have been an ideal time-table for him.

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It was mainly just a thought about Downing putting in the time and work and rewarding him. I mean next year Gabriel or Downing would end up 4th string anyway more than likely and will probably be depth players only. If we get past Fromm, Fields and Plumlee, we are going to be in trouble anyway.

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Again... counting on Fields to definitely stick around is a fools errand. We all *hope* he sticks around... and I think it would be beneficial for him... but the coaches have a job to do... that is likely going to mean having minimum 3, ideally 4 QBs on scholarship that they have faith in at least having potential/ceilings to play meaningful snaps. UGA is not a program that should be handing out scholarships to walk-on QBs unless it's a pretty special circumstance. Stetson Bennett was talented enough that if we'd had space under the 85 and he'd stuck around, he *might* have gotten a scholarship in year 3... but you're not going to give up a potential 4 year recruit starter for a walk-on who you don't believe could/would play winning football for the team.

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Just saw that Rusty Mansell of 247 Sport said he will be hosting another ESD event at The Battery, just like last year. That's where Fib was doing the meetup. Should be a good time.

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Awesome! Will call the battery here in a few minutes and see about getting a table reservation (may or may not be an option, but worth checking on). I think I only had about 5 people interested so far. Any other takers, feel free to message me at [my username] at jeemail dot com... I'm certain that you can figure it out... (copy/paste my name if you're not confident in typing the whole thing or you get a bounce message).


Edit: Went ahead and called - the staff there still doesn't know anything about any event happening, so tentatively have reservation for their normal opening time of 11am for at least 8 people... will adjust as we get more details and totals.

Coley: “Hey Kirbster, I heard about this great QB prospect in Hawaii. I am going to need to go out there and scout him. Can you sign my expense report for 4 plane tickets and a 5 night stay at the Royal Lahaina Princess?”