Hey Bobo - Here's an answer at receiver

This caught my eye this morning. Brice Butler was a star at Norcross but chose to go across country to play for Pete Carrol and the USC Trojans. Apparently, he did not fit into Kiffin's system, only catching 9 passes this season. The article says he is planning to transfer to an FCS school so he can play immediately, but how hard would it be to convince him to come home to Georgia, sit out a season and then play for the Bulldogs?

Jarvis Jones was a member of the same recruiting class at USC and decided to come home after things did not work out in LA. Butler could come on campus as a walk-on this fall and not count towards scholarship limits until next season. I know Mike Bobo is tied up with Crowell and Drew right now, but I think this would be a phone call worth making.

Here's a look back at Butler's highlights from his high school career and his freshman season at USC:

Get Your Donations In

As most Georgia fans know, the deadline to submit donations to the Hartman Fund is February 15. Donating to the Hartman fund allows you to become eligible to purchase season tickets for the University of Georgia football games. As I documented here on the blog, last year I finally accumulated enough points to be eligible to purchase season tickets. The minimum donation to buy tickets last year dropped for the second consecutive season. After peaking at a ridiculous amount of more than $10,000 before the '08 season, the donation minimum last year to start new tickets fell to around $1,500. With the combination of the bad economy and a disappointing 2010, I expect the donation minimum to drop again. I know many of you are frustrated with the football team, but here are some reasons why you should make the donation this year:

1. This may be the lowest donation minimum to start new tickets you will ever see. Once you have tickets, the minimum donation per ticket to maintain your seats is $250 a year. If you want to buy 4 season tickets, that is going to cost you $1,000 a year in donations anyway. You may only have to donate the minimum requirement to maintain 4 seats to start your own tickets this year.

2. The Athletic Association needs donation to continue to revamp the facilities on campus. The result of the 2008 donations are the recent renovations to Stegeman and Butts-Mehre. Having nice facilities goes a long way with attracting recruits. I've heard people say they are going to cut their donations as a sign of displeasure for the recent season. While that is a personal choice they have every right to do, cutting donations is not going to help the program get any better.

3. We don't want to end up like Tennessee and Auburn, selling tickets to the general public. Georgia is one of 4 SEC schools that sold out all of its games last season. That is something to brag about. Despite their run to the national championship, Auburn failed to sell out all of its games this season.

4. We only have 6 home games this year. That means the cost to buy your tickets on top of the donation will be $80 less (if you get two seats) than it will be next year when we have 7 home games.

UPDATE: One more thing, Hartman Fund donations are 80% tax deductible. For those of you who itemize, there is a nice tax deduction to put down.

Beating the Gators: Fred Gibson came through in 2002

One of my favorite basketball memories from my days at Georgia was the 2002 game against the Florida Gators in Gainesville. Florida came into the game ranked #2 in the nation and was a 16.5 point favorite. Georgia was enjoying a fine season at 14-3, that included a victory over then #8 Kentucky just the week before. But coming off a loss at home to #16 Alabama, few expected the Dawgs to steal a victory from the Gators at home.


Georgia was Jarvis Hayes and Ezra Williams, who would combine to score 42 points in the game. I remember the balance of that Georgia team, with Rashad Wright running the point and the Hayes brothers up front. For Florida, I remember the combination of Matt Bonner and Udonis Haslem leading the Gators to a 39-36 lead at half. But the Dawgs were able to come back and take the lead into the waning minutes of the game. Coach Herrick sent a reserve guard who had recently joined the basketball team after the end of the football season.


That player was Georgia wide receiver Fred Gibson. Gibson had originally committed to play football for Steve Spurrier at Florida, but switched his commitment to Georgia during the week before national signing day. After having an amazing freshman season on the football field, the Florida fans were ready to taunt Gibson, a player they felt had screwed them over. Gibson got the ball on three consecutive possessions with the Gators just outside of striking distance. Each time he was fouled and sent to the line. I kept wondering why we were leaving a football player out on the court who had little experience in such a crucial situation.



Gibson answered the call. He nailed all 6 of his free throws, helping secure the 84-79 victory. Gibson returned to Athens as probably the most popular player on the team. Gibson would only play one season at Georgia, but that one day in Gainesville will forever hold his place in Georgia basketball history.

Let's go beat them Gators tonight!!! GO DAWGS!!!

So You Hate Richt, but Love Stacy Searels?

I'm amazed by the talk from people who hate Richt and/or want him fired because of our school's performance in recent seasons, yet are lamenting the loss of "elite coach" Stacy Searels.

Really?

Searels has been the most underachieving coach in Richt's tenure. Seems like complete hypocrisy to want the head coach fired, yet be upset over the loss of the weakest link because of some perceived greatness (and obviously ignoring his unit's performance 3 of his 4 years here).

If you somehow think Searels is a great coach and it's a loss for the program, I may not agree with you, but I can accept you feel that way. However, if you hold that opinion and think Richt should have already been sent packing, then there's a logical fallacy with your line of thinking.

Jay Rome and Malcolm Mitchell are my homeboys

For once, Georgia had a good day yesterday. The news that Stacy Searels officially accepted the O-line position at Texas became an afterthought as the Bulldogs picked up 2 commitments from Valdosta.

The commitment of tight end Jay Rome was pretty much a forgone conclusion. There have been rumors that Rome has been recruiting other players to Georgia during the fall. After making his commitment on ESPNU yesterday, Rome put out an open invitation to Isaiah Crowell and Ray Drew to come be a part of the Dream Team. Later in the night, Rome showed up at the announcement for Malcolm Mitchell sporting a t-shirt that said "UGA is my homeboy!" Here is an interview with Rome about his decision.

Later in the evening, Malcolm "Tampa" Mitchell also recruited to the Dawgs. I thought for sure he was going to Bama, so this is a big get for the Dawgs. I think we may see him on both sides of the ball (like Branden Smith). Here is an interview with Mitchell.

Overall, a great recruiting day for the Dawgs. If the Dawgs can close the deal in the next few weeks on Ray Drew, John Jenkins, and Isaiah Crowell, it will truly have a "Dream Team" coming to Athens.

Vance Cuff over Kris Durham?

So, the National Football League has extended invites to the annual combine in Indianapolis. There are 8 players from Georgia who received invites: AJ Green, Justin Houston, Clint Boling, Josh Davis, Demarcus Dobbs, Akeem Dent, Shaun Chapas and...wait for it...Vance Cuff!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

Vance Cuff, who was repeatedly burned at the corner position last season received an invite to the combine but kris Durham and Darryl Gamble did not. What are these guys thinking? Gamble may not be the best player in the world, but he is much more serviceable than Vance Cuff.

And Durham failing to get an invite is total BS. After missing the entire 2009 season with a broken collar bone, Durham returned to Georgia in 2010 and finished second on the team with 659 yards receiving. While he may not have the statistics of other receivers in the draft, his ability to make big catches combined with his 6'5'' frame means someone will most likely take a chance on him at the pro level. Plus, the "slow white guy" doesn't apply to Durham. Just ask the Georgia Tech secondary. Here's a look at Durham's highlights from this season:



I wish Vance Cuff luck at the Combine, but Gamble or Durham is much more deserving of that spot.

It's time to bring Champ home

I was listening to the radio yesterday and the conversation was all about the Falcons melt down against the Packers on Saturday. Clearly, the Falcons defense under Brian Van Gorder had a horrible game. however, if you look at the Falcons defense of 2010 and compare it to the 2009 team, clearly the team has made strides in the right direction. The apparent weaknesses of the defense appear to be in the pass rush and coverage.


With starting nickel Brian Williams out with injury, Christopher Owens stepped into the formation that was on the field much of the game to counter the Packers 3 and 4 wide sets. Aaron Rodgers picked on Owens all night long. It is apparent that Owens is not the future for the Falcons. Brent Grimes had a nice season as a starter opposite Dunta Robinson, but clearly his size is an issue. The perfect solution for the Falcons would be to move Grimes to the nickel and bring in an experienced player to start at corner. There just so happens to be a former Georgia Bulldogs player and multiple time all-pro team member who is a free agent. That man is Champ Bailey.

While Champ clearly falls into the veteran category, at 32 his still has a few good years left in the tank. The 1998 Nagurski winner has enjoyed years of success in both Washington and Denver. His 48 career interceptions and 9 Pro Bowl appearances would immediately draw respect from other teams, who clearly game planned to stay away from Robinson this fall. It would be great to see Champ back in his home state wearing red and black. Plus, because he is reaching the end of his career, he won't likely command the type of money that players like Nnamdi Asomugha will.

Thomas Dimitroff, make it happen!

We Don't Just Give Out Scholarships

There has been a small controversy this week about the scholarship offer that Georgia recently gave to Quintavious Harrow. Harrow, listed at 5'10 and 180 pounds, played linebacker and safety at Carver Columbus. As we all know, Carver was also the home of mega-recruit Isaiah Crowell, one of the top running backs in the country who appears will pick between Georgia, Auburn, and Alabama on national signing day. Some in the media at labeling the offer to Harrow as a recruiting ploy to get Crowell. And while offering a close friend of another recruit never hurts a team's chances with a recruit, to say this is just a ploy to get Crowell is absurd. Here is why:

#1 - This is Georgia, not Alabama. We do not oversign our recruiting classes and unless a player makes a mistake (see Dexter Moody in 2009) we do not rescind scholarship offers. We don't just offer scholarships for the sake of offering.

#2 - The Ogletree boys. Last year, people claimed Georgia only offered Alexander Ogletree a scholarship to secure his talented brother. Alexander became a key special teams contributer in his freshman season and has the lead to be Georgia's starting fullback next fall.

#3 - We're not the only ones recruiting him. Harrow has shown interest from a number of schools, including Clemson and Alabama.

#4 - He just recently became eligible. Academics have been an issue, but he recently improved his scores enough to meet the requirements to play division 1. Georgia only offered a scholarship after he was eligible.

#5 - We have been recruiting him for a while, but we did not have the extra scholarship to offer. From the comments I have seen, the Georgia coaches have been talking to Harrow for a while. It just so happens the scholarship offer came last week, after AJ Green had announced his decision to go to the NFL (and thus opening another spot).

Throw in the fact that Harrow sports an impressive 40 time and we just lost another linebacker (Justin Houston) to the NFL and it is pretty clear this kid will be expected to contribute should he come to Athens. I'm not blind to think that the fact that he is Crowell's teammate played somewhat into the offer decision, but whether Crowell comes or not, Harrow is not just a throw away player.

Weekend Thoughts

- Has there ever been a more star-studded underclassmen group that this year's group of players from the SEC? AJ Green, Mark Ingram, Cam Newton, Nick Fairley, Julio Jones, Patrick Peterson, and Justin Houston will almost all certainly be first round picks. And there are more big names (Hill, Cobb, etc.) in the class as well.

- Saturday's win over Ole Miss by the men's basketball team may have been the best offensive game I have ever seen by the Georgia Bulldogs. Considering that Ole Miss shot the ball pretty well (47%), the 22 point victory is that much more impressive.

- Trey Thompkins is destined to win the SEC Player of the Year Award. He dominates the floor and has become deadly on short range shots. He reminds me a lot of Al Horford. Travis Leslie continues to get better and continues to add to his ever growing highlight film.

- This is a big recruiting week for the Dawgs. With only two weeks until National Signing Day, the Dawgs need to finish this class strong. On Friday, two of Georgia's key targets (Jay Rome and Malcom Mitchell) will announce their choice. I have a feeling they will be heading to Athens.

- The Atlanta Falcons got smoked by the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. It seemed to be a somewhat fitting ended to a horrible year for football in the state of Georgia. And despite the Falcons inability to win a playoff game, they still managed to have more wins this year (13) than Georgia and Georgia Tech combined (12). Pretty sad.

My Thoughts on the National Championship Game

Here are my quick thoughts on the National Championship game:

- Oregon was cursed from the start. As the Ducks were making their way down the tunnel towards the field, Chip Kelly stopped to shake hands with Craig James - CURSE OF DEATH!

- Oregon had a good defensive game plan. they were really able to limit Cam Newton's running. If their offense would have been even half of what it was the rest of the season, the Ducks would have won.

- Auburn's D-line mauled the Ducks. Fairley and company were so much bigger and stronger. Why Chip Kelly ever tried to run the ball near the goal line is beyond me.

- Speaking of Fairley, he was dominant but still as dirty as ever. The other personal foul that was called against Auburn that left a Duck player bloody was even dirtier. Auburn definitely lived up to its reputation as the dirtiest team money can buy.

- LaMichael James seemed off. Oregon used Kenjon Barner a lot more in the first half. Seems odd that the nation's leading rusher was not getting the ball more often.

- Both offenses looked shaky at first. the 35 day lay-off will do that to you.

- Having the game end like it did kind of made me sick. Oregon got the turnover to tie the game, but Auburn ends up kicking a field goal after a running play that everyone stopped on because they thought he was down. COME ON. I was so looking forward to overtime, where these two squads might have kept playing all night and the final would have been something astronomical like 71-70 (and no, I did not do the math, so I do not know if that score is even possible).

All in all, it was a pretty entertaining game. Congratulations to the War Plains Tigers, enjoy it while you can. There is no guarantee that trophy will still be yours in a few months.

To the 2010 college football season, I bid you adieu good sir!