GEORGIA’S FOOTBALL FUTURE FOUND AT A STARBUCKS COUNTER

Recently the following exchange occurred at a Starbucks counter in Athens. This conversation has been paraphrased.

Florida fan (and SBUX employee): Looks like Georgia’s gonna end up with a strong recruiting class this year.

UGA fan: Yeah, we’re closing strong…and there’s still a couple of big fish out there so…I think we’re gonna be in pretty good shape.

Florida fan: Yeah.

UGA fan: But you know, I was talking to my wife about this stuff the other day…and she doesn’t know anything about Georgia football…and she said, “That’s great, but once they (UGA coaches) get all those players they aren’t going to know what to do with them.” She’s probably right, but I hope not.

Florida fan: Hmph. (shaking his head in agreement)

So there it is. Deep down, everyone in the DAWG Nation that thinks they know anything about Georgia football has wrestled with this notion. We all believe that there is (and has been) talent in Athens in recent years and we have all wondered why that talent has not been more productive/successful/fruitful. But did we know all along?

While the DAWG Nation is basking in the warm and blinding glow of what is being roundly heralded as a top five recruiting class, even Coach Richt is calling this the best class he has corralled in his 11 years in Athens. It’s gonna be hard to run away from that kind of praise down the line.

Let’s not be too simplistic as we look over what wins and loses football games in the Southeastern Conference with our pre/post-season magnifying lenses, but when you’ve got talent assembled like this, the leash on the choke collar of the Lead Dawg will certainly seem to get a lot tighter a lot quicker.

I stand behind CMR as firmly today as I ever have. This is in no way a “hot seat” argument. However, not to realize what the accomplishment of national signing day 2011 means would be naïve and CMR and the coaching staff know it too.

We will soon see whether the future of Georgia Bulldog football was found in line at a Starbucks on the West side of town. We will soon see if someone that “knows nothing” about the program has put their finger on the very thing that those who “know everything” were just too afraid to admit to themselves in the first place.

Glory, Glory.

CROWELL’S GOALS IN ATHENS

Courtesy AJC

I wanted to update this piece on Crowell. I did not want to not be fair to how the kid says he really feels. Here is the quote I found today about how he feels about Georgia.

"I figured a long time ago I would be playing football at Georgia. I knew for sure it was Georgia a couple days ago, but it has always been in my heart and I have always wanted to. It was a close decision, but when it came down to it, my heart was at Georgia."

You can read the original post below.

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Welcome Mr. Crowell. We in the DAWG Nation are thrilled to have you on board. During his interview for Rivals on National Signing Day, Georgia’s 5-star, must have, crown jewel of the 2011 class Isaiah Crowell, laid out some rather lofty intentions. I know the kid was living in the moment and reveling in the attention that all of the hard work during his high school career had garnered him, but I was struck by a few of the things Crowell had to say and one series of statements in particular.

Crowell said that he wants to be...

“a Freshman All-American. If I can win the Heisman, I want to. Really, I just wanna get three years and I wanna be in the League.”

All of those things are great for Crowell individually and all of those things would bring great recognition to the University of Georgia and I wish him nothing but the absolutely greatest of successes. If Crowell achieves any one of these things then much brighter days are surely ahead for the DAWGS. With that said, I’m not beating up on the kid in any way when I say, I just hope that IC learns a little something about what it means to be a Georgia Bulldog along the way.