Some Comfort in a "Depleted" O-Line

Georgia's offensive line returns "only" 57 career
starts in 2014, but what does that total suggest,
if anything?

After posting on my Author-UGA football FB page a few days ago that the Bulldogs' 2014 offense might have the first "1-2-3 1,000-yard returning combination" in college football history, I received a text from a friend saying, "Now, if only we had a line to block for them..."

 

This season's offensive line—the unit is apparently going to be a weakness, or an area of concern, for an offense which otherwise is loaded in the backfield and at receiver, while engineered by a more than capable passer.

Why all the worry about the o-line?  According to one early preseason preview, the unit has been "depleted"; the Bulldog offense is lacking returning experience up front.  Returning experience along the offensive line is often measured by the unit's number of returning career starts, which I've blogged about before, and which Georgia has the "depleted" total of only 57 for 2014: David Andrews 27, John Theus 22, Kolton Houston 6, and Mark Beard 2.

 

Career OL Starts Returning (COLSR) has been recognized as a viable preseason evaluator for some time.  For example, the top two offensive lines in college football entering last season according to Phil Steele, "the Guru of Formulation and Prognostication," happened to be the top two offensive lines in career starts returning, as well.

 

In addition, I've also blogged before about the Offensive Hog Index, which was originally an NFL comparative measurement for offensive line performance.  I tweaked the index to where a college team's offensive line ranking is determined by its average of the following three rankings in comparison to other teams being measured: yards per rush (sacks omitted), percent of passing plays (pass attempts + times sacked) resulting in an interception or sack, and third- and fourth-down combined conversion rate.

Georgia's apparently lowly total of 57 entering this season compelled me to figure whether COLSR was any sort of indicator of how well an offensive line would perform as a group, and most importantly, its team's win-loss record in the end.  One might think so, at least to some degree.  However, I'm reminded of the 2010 season, when the Bulldogs had an FBS-high 155 COLSR.  I was hopeful the extremely high number of starts coupled with an above-average offensive line performance in 2009 would equate to success for Georgia's offensive line and the team overall.  Instead, the Bulldogs' Offensive Hog Index was actually lower in 2010, while the team's record dipped from 8-5 to 6-7.  Of course, that's just one example.

Beginning with the 1995 season—the first year Georgia's offensive sacked totals are available (to figure into the Offensive Hog Index)—through 2013, I've listed the Bulldogs' COLSR entering each year, followed byàthe team's record at the end of the season, and its Offensive Hog Index in parenthesis.  To make things as balanced as possible, I added the bowl statistics (while perhaps adding to the confusion) into the seasons before 2002 when bowls weren't recognized in season totals.       
 

YR:  OL stsàRec. (Index)
1995:   58à6-6 (11.2)
1996:   47à5-6 (2.3)
1997:   37à10-2 (14.7)
1998:   38à9-3 (6.0)
1999:   39à8-4 (10.3)
2000:   50à8-4 (6.8)
2001:   58à8-4 (7.0)
2002:   98à13-1 (7.0)
2003:     4à11-3 (6.0)
2004:   74à10-2 (12.8)
2005: 134à10-3 (11.3)
2006:   68à9-4 (5.7)
2007:   25à11-2 (16.3)
2008:   24à10-3 (15.0)
2009:   99à8-5 (10.3)
2010: 155à6-7 (9.5)
2011:   86à10-4 (8.0)
2012:   31à12-2 (14.3)
2013: 101à8-5 (15.3)

For example, Georgia entered last season with 101 COLSR; they would finish with an 8-5 record.  The Bulldogs' 15.3 index is an average ranking (points) based on their 5.06 rushing average, which was the 2nd-highest for Georgia in the last 19 seasons (or 18 points earned); their 7.07% of negative passing plays was 7th-best of 19 (13 points); and their 43.85% conversion rate on third and fourth downs combined was 5th-best (15 points), for an average of 15.3 points. 

After a quick glance at the numbers, the first thing I noted was that it seemed 57 COLSR wasn't all that low when comparatively speaking.  Indeed, come to find out, Georgia has averaged just a bit higher at 64 COLSR entering the last 20 seasons.  However, as far as discovering if COLSR was any indication for the success of a team and its offensive line, I was going to have to go even further in depth, and get a little nerdy with the numbers.

 

Familiar with the correlation coefficient?  Personally, I had never even heard of it before finding it yesterday in a Google search.  Basically, it can measure the degree to which two data sets are related, resulting in a number between -1 (an absolute negative correlation) and 1 (a perfect positive correlation).  The closer a correlation coefficient is to 0, the more there is no relationship between the data.  

 

COLSRàHog Index: I first wanted to see if there was any relationship between Georgia's COLSR entering the last 19 seasons and the team's offensive line performance, or Hog Index, at the end of each respective year.  And, perhaps surprisingly to most, there was none whatsoever.  In fact, with a correlation coefficient of -.026, there was a very slight negative correlation. 

 

COLSRàFinal Record: One might think there would be some positive correlation, even the slightest, between COLSR and a team's final record.  On the contrary, the opposite actually holds true for Georgia.  To demonstrate, and why this relationship had a correlation coefficient of -.319, which is considered very close to a fairly negative correlation, check this out: Georgia's top four seasons of COLSR—2005, 2009, 2010, 2013—yielded an average record of just 8 wins and 5 losses, whereas the bottom four—2003, 2007, 2008, 2012—remarkably wound up with an average record of 11 wins and 2.5 losses.

 

Hog IndexàFinal Record: Finally, a positive relationship is found between Hog Index and final record, and a fairly substantial one at 0.339.  And, it certainly makes sense: the better the offensive line play, the better the team's record, and vice versa. 

 

What might not make sense is my use of all these figures, statistics, coefficients, and such.  Although, one thing is for sure in my opinion: when it comes to Georgia's offensive line the last two decades, the only indicator of its role in the team's overall performance is the unit's play on the field, and not whether its an experienced group, or one depleted.

Two Cents on $71 and 50 Cents

I know I'm a little late to the party, so to speak, posting on Georgia's stipend "scandal."  Nevertheless, I wanted to take somewhat of a different approach to the story, and had to make a few phone calls prior to putting together a piece.

 

When hearing of the players' double dipping their $71.50 stipend checks, my first thoughts weren't of their stupidity or possible suspension, but the $71.50—what exactly is this amount for and how often do players receive it?  I guess it's the UGA graduate in finance in me finally coming out...

 

I called a friend of mine, who played under Richt during the 2000s, and asked if he could expand on the $71.50 amount.  At that point, the only detail regarding the checks' amounts/frequency was the little provided by AD McGarity: "We're not going to get into times, amounts of checks, frequency of checks...They receive checks periodically throughout the year."

 

Player of 2000s: "I'm pretty sure, since that amount is close to what we got, their stipend is for meals missed, primarily for Sundays when the dining hall is closed.  They get that stipend twice a semester.  The funny thing is we actually got a little more than that—more than $71.50 per stipend."

 

$71.50 twice a semester equals roughly a whopping $35 per month, or just over $1 a day.  Now, don't go spending it all in one place...

 

I was then compelled to reach out to Bulldog players from preceding decades, and see what they received in amounts from the school/athletic department beyond tuition, board, books, etc.  "Not much," a player from the 1960s informed me.  He then literally went and retrieved his 50-year-old scholarship and read from it over the phone.

 

Player of 1960s: "You will be provided $15 a month—$10 for laundry and $5 for missed meals (laughing).  $15 wasn't much, even way back then."

 

The player from the 1970s first wanted to say he was grateful for the scholarship he received and the free college education and room and board—opportunities he and nearly all of his teammates likely wouldn't have benefitted from if not for being standout football players in high school.  "However, I’d guess more than half of the players during my time came from just below a middle-class background and lower," he added.  "Therefore, your average player received very little money, if any at all, sent from home." 

 

Player of 1970s: "We got just $10 per month for what they called 'extra cleaning allowance,' but we always called it our 'laundry check' and we always cashed it at what is now the Kangaroo Express near the Butts-Mehre.  I always wondered why it was called a 'laundry check' when we had a facility that did our laundry for free.  Still, laundry was about the only thing we didn’t have to spend any money on."

 

The other two players I contacted—one each from the 1980s and 1990s—didn't recall set amounts or how often, but each remember the money was "for stuff essentially coming to you anyway (i.e., meals, laundry, etc.)," one stated.  "If we were coming back from a road trip, and the dining hall was going to be closed by the time we got back to campus, instead of $10 for our per diem, I might find $20 in an envelope for meals."

 

Oh, if these walls could talk...  McWhorter Hall,
the former players' dorm, where double dipping on
stipend checks would've been considered child's play.

As the interviews I've conducted of former UGA players have mounted up over the past several years, the more I've become aware that the idea of players consistently receiving excessive handouts from coaches, wealthy boosters and alumni, etc., is rather absurd.  The rumors of a house for momma, a tractor for daddy, and a suitcase of cash for the player are, for the most part, pure myths.  Although most players get a free education, room and board, and some even receive grants, they have very little, if any, spending money and it's not like they can go out and get a part-time job delivering pizza, or the like.

 

Speaking of delivering pizza, one of the five players I spoke to admitted to stealing pizzas from delivery cars while playing for Georgia.  When the delivery men wised up after a while and starting locking their cars, players started approaching them face to face, threatening them to hand over free pizzas.  Nothing ever came of the pizza-stealing incidents.

 

Another player actually admitted that he and a couple of other players once donned ski masks, entered a convenient store, and while the man behind the counter was still begging "please don't hurt me," each walked out with an arm full of not cash, but snacks.  "Obviously, I'm really embarrassed about it now," he admitted.  "It all seemed harmless at the time – a way we could get our hands on a free meal.  But, filling our bellies with free food did not fill our pockets.  For some of my teammates, having the money to buy new clothes, shoes, jewelry, or to take a girl out for some dinner and entertainment called for drastic measures..."  The player stopped there without elaborating. 

 

Pizza stealing, convenient store robberies, or even "drastic measures," it was all normally kept under wraps when found out.

 

I once interviewed a Georgia assistant coach from the 1970s, who made a statement so profound regarding player discipline then and now and media exposure, I promptly jotted down his quote: "If a player got in big trouble back then, we brought him in the office, and just handled it.  For most things, nobody had to find out what went on, especially the damn media." 

 

What Matthews, Taylor, DeLoach, and LeMay pulled was undoubtedly stupid, and perhaps Georgia doesn't need these type of characters on its team.  With that being said, and without making excuses for the four, there are probably people reading this blog right now who, whether in high school, college, or even as a professional, "cheated" a bit to receive a little extra money, while thinking you'd never be caught.  And, for some, even if you were eventually reprimanded, perhaps it was kept under wraps.  

 

The four players obviously needed money and thought of a way—albeit, a rather flawed way—of making a little more because, simply put, $35 per month, whether spent on food, laundry, or whatever, doesn't cut it—not even close.

 

"When one of us got into trouble, we'd either work it out with the coaches or we had a 'guy' we called," added one of the players I contacted, who wouldn't identify the "guy."  "Then, unless it was really, really serious, the problem could usually go away."

 

For what my two cents are worth, there is no longer that "guy" at UGA for athletes to call, while the public exposure these athletes now encounter can be quite overwhelming.  Discipline issues, whether really serious or not, like attempting to "earn" the equivalent of $70 spending cash per month instead of merely $35, have gone on for decades.  But now, everybody finds out everything that went on—nothing can be kept under wraps—thanks in large part to, whether it's social or mainstream, and as the former assistant coach described it, "the damn media."

A Damn Rabbit's Tears

Swinford set sails on a 59-yard punt return vs.
Clemson, while leading the charge for the
program's turning point of 1964.

Yesterday, I could tell a new college football season was right around the corner: the opening of spring practice, I was contacted by a newspaper writer to list my opinion of the top 20 "most significant" wins in UGA football history, and finally, a report of player arrests. 

I submitted my list by early afternoon and promptly received the response, "#14 Clemson in '64 ???" like I had made a mistake for listing that particular contest amongst championship wins, bowl victories, and triumphs over the highly-ranked.  For one who might think something similar regarding a 1-1-1 Bulldog team defeating a Clemson squad which would capture just three victories all that season, let me explain how this August 30th, facing the  detested Tigers from the same university as before, will mark the 50th anniversary of the ultimate turning point in UGA football history.

Consider the status of our football program when a 32-year-old Vince Dooley took over in 1964: three consecutive losing seasons, and only five winning campaigns the previous 15 years.  And, you thought the Ray Goff era was bad...  Opening with three consecutive road games, much of the same seemed apparent as the young head coach's team got drilled by Alabama, barely beat a bad Vanderbilt squad, and tied a really bad South Carolina team.

Following the 7-7 draw in Columbia, a dejected Wayne Swinford sat mournfully in the locker room.  The senior cornerback, who had waited patiently to finally become a starter, was losing patience with the Bulldogs' non-winning ways, and was literally brought to tears.  Defensive back coach Hootie "Don't Call Me '& The Blowfish'" Ingram approached the player, who had been called "tough" by Dooley just days prior for fielding kickoffs and punts "perfectly" with injured wrists, to see what all the fuss was about.

Here, the CU ballcarrier wound up knocking
down both photographers, marking perhaps
the only folks the Tigers took out all afternoon.

"Coach, I've never been on a winning team at Georgia," Swinford cried, "and we've finally got a chance to do it and can't even beat South Carolina!"

A week later, a confident Clemson squad came into the Classic City coming of a fine performance where they nearly defeated Georgia Tech.  Whereas Dooley was in his inaugural season, Frank Howard, the Tigers' showman of a coach, always quick with a quip while chewing tobacco, was celebrating his silver anniversary at Clemson.  Howard and his Tigers were actually a slight favorite to prevail on the road.

Alas in the end, it would be the Bulldogs who'd prevail playing in front of 31,000 at Sanford Stadium in perfect, 65-degree October weather.  It was the first sign of what was to come during the Dooley era: the use of two quarterbacks, Lynn Hughes and Preston Ridlehuber, a strong running game which gained 221 yards, and a passing attack completing just a single pass for 18 yards.  Another sign to come was the showing of a stingy defense coordinated by Erk Russell.  Erk's troops held the Tigers to 149 total yards, while forcing nine punts and three turnovers.

Leading 17-0 late in the game, Georgia nearly pitched a shutout before Clemson finally scored a touchdown.  The Tigers would get the ball back, but in true Russell form, the Bulldog defenders rose up to record a safety on the game's final offensive play.

Over the next 25 years, great special teams play would also be indicative of a Dooley-coached team, and it was evident on this afternoon in 1964.  Leading the way was the speedy Swinford, who returned a kickoff for 23 yards, and toted back five punts for 108 yards, including a 59-yarder early in the fourth quarter setting up a field goal.  From his cornerback position, Swinford also tallied four tackles and picked off a Tiger pass just prior to halftime, returning it for 29 yards.

Another view of the speedy Swinford's
spectacular 59-yard return...

Following Georgia's 19-7 victory, legendary Dan Magill noted in his postgame remarks that "[Clemson's] Howard was probably in the most disgusted mood seen in a long time after the loss."  Howard said his Tigers "couldn't have broken an egg" and added "if we could have caught that damn rabbit," he said of Swinford and his blazing speed, "we could have won."

The following week, Georgia nearly upset 10th-ranked Florida State—a loss both Kirby Moore, sitting in the stands during a redshirt year, and Steve Greer, doing the same as a high school senior, indicated in my latest book as their opinion of the point of turnaround for the UGA football program.  Consider that after winning just two of 31 games against AP-ranked foes during the previous 15 campaigns, Dooley's Dogs would go undefeated at 8-0-2 under the same circumstances from that point over the next four-plus seasons.    

But, personally, I was asked for Georgia's most significant games ending in a victory.  And, in my opinion, there are only a handful more worthy than when in just a week's time, a damn rabbit went from tears to cheers, and the star of the program's turning point.

For When the Bell Tolled

As these "University boys" demonstrate long
ago, the Chapel bell has been ringing after
Georgia football games for 120 years.

I was recently asked to write a "traditions" story for a Georgia football magazine on the University's distinguished Chapel bell.  Fully aware that there are conflicting reports of when the bell was first rung following a UGA football game, I set out to finally discover the initial documented time the bell tolled in triumph.

The athletic department states, "In the 1890's, the playing field was located only yards from the Chapel and first year students were compelled to ring the bell until midnight in celebration of a Bulldog victory," suggesting the initial celebratory ringing resulted after a game in Athens (while also suggesting Georgia was known as the "Bulldogs" more than 20 years before officially given the nickname).

The popular opinion—one shared by yours truly for years up until, well, a few days ago—of when the bell first rung ironically did not result after a victory, but a 0-0 tie with Auburn in 1901.  Playing in Atlanta, Georgia was considered such an underdog that a tie was regarded as a moral victory of sorts.  Word of the "winning" draw reached Athens and the tradition of ringing the bell in celebration was supposedly born.

Both standpoints are accurate—somewhat accurate.   

From what I discovered, and for what it’s worth, the first documented ringing of the Chapel bell following a UGA football game did occur during the 1890s, but not because the field was located near the Chapel since the initial ringing did not follow a game played in Athens.  In accordance to popular opinion, the first time was indeed after facing Auburn in Atlanta, but followed a Georgia victory occurring seven years prior to the 0-0 tie in 1901.

On November 24, 1894, at Athletic Park in Atlanta, Georgia and Auburn met for just the second time in the teams’ short football histories.  Late in an 8 to 8 tied contest, Georgia star Rufus “Cow” Nalley tackled Auburn’s punter behind the goal line for a game-winning safety.
 

Rufus Nalley: the Georgia player whose safety
prompted the first documented ringing of the 
victory bell (and one of the few Georgia players
nicknamed for a type of livestock).

Georgia’s 10-8 win was celebrated by students back home first by lighting a bonfire followed by their participation in a tradition that would soon become customary.  “[Students] were celebrating their foot ball victory over Auburn in fine style,” reported The Athens Banner.  “The chapel bell was ringing and the campus was ablaze.”

Regarding the two faulty viewpoints, one (maybe two, but no more than three) may wonder how they originated.  As far as the bell first being rung during the 1890's in Athens, UGA began playing football that decade, the Chapel is in Athens, and simply that was good enough for the blanket statement.  As far as 1901 against Auburn, I assume this became popular opinion because of what Stegeman said.

In the book The Ghosts of Herty Field (1966) by the late and esteemed John Stegeman—a three-sport letterman at UGA and a leading Georgia football historian, whose father was the namesake of the University's Coliseum—the author declares "the bell has tolled the tidings of Georgia football victories ever since" after he details the 0-0 tie with Auburn in 1901.  I guess this led some to conclude this particular contest was the initial time the bell was first rung after a football game, although in his defense, Stegeman never literally claimed as much.

When exactly UGA's victory bell first tolled following a game, no one will ever really know.  I have a hunch it occurred after Georgia's very first game—the 50-0 romp over Mercer at Herty Field in 1892.  Nonetheless, as mentioned, the first documented ringing I could find followed the seventh victory in the program’s history, and resulted after a "Cow" dropped a Plainsman for a safety in Atlanta.  

Alas, in regard to when my findings will replace the two flawed standpoints in the annals of UGA football history, it'll likely never happen, just like my pursuit to rightfully credit Georgia with three additional victories.  I'm guessing for such cases, as they say, history cannot be rewritten, even if "history" is somewhat inaccurate.   

5-Star Alternative

This TD reception in Knoxville last season by
Rantavious Wooten placed the wide receiver
into "5-Season" UGA football lore.  

Upon Josh Harvey-Clemons' dismissal last week, I started working on a post profiling Georgia's all-time 5-star recruits, discovering just six of those 14 blue chippers through 2013 would become starters for two or more seasons at UGA, while only two would earn first-team All-SEC recognition during their careers.  Seemingly, most of the 5-star recruits more so fizzled, including Harvey-Clemons, than flourished for the Bulldogs. 

 

I decided to post otherwise when I first ran across an article from the Times Free Press, beating me to the punch by profiling Georgia's 5-star players.  I then promptly received an email from a reader, who asked why my posts were "always so negative about the Dogs?"

 

Always negative?  I thought my posts regarding the program in its current state were only "negative" when warranted, like more often than not. 

 

Finally, after updating my geeky, but handy, UGA football database I'll utilize for a series of magazine articles I'm writing over the next couple of months, I was reminded of an extraordinary feat which resulted during the 2013 season, and thus I decided to take a different historical view—one that, although normally involving an injury, is certainly more of a "positive" post.

 

Four years ago, I posted my opinion of Georgia's one-season wonders; for what it's worth, here's a group contrary to them, and the 5-star fallouts—the program's most notable 5-season contributors:

 

RANTAVIOUS WOOTEN (2009-2013)
In 2011, Wooten took a medical redshirt after suffering a concussion in the third game of the season, but not before catching two passes, including a touchdown against South Carolina.  Two years later, in the season opener at Clemson, he became just the third Bulldog in history to catch a pass in five different seasons, joining Reggie Brown (2000-2004) and Tavarres King (2008-2012).  With a touchdown reception at Tennessee four games later, Wooten accomplished the remarkable feat of becoming the first Bulldog ever to tally a touchdown, or even score a single point, in each of five seasons.

 

RONNIE STEWART (1977-1981)
While there has never been a Bulldog to attempt at least one pass in five seasons, there has been just a single player to run the ball at least once in five separate campaigns—Stewart.  Primarily known as one of Herschel Walker's chief blockers, fullback Stewart did score seven touchdowns while rushing for 843 yards during his career, including gaining a mere eight yards in 1979 when he was lost for the year to an injury in the second game at Clemson.

DAMIEN GARY (1999-2003)
Gary, who still ranks first all time at Georgia and fifth in SEC history with 1,253 career punt return yards, is the only Bulldog to ever return any kick—punt or kickoff—in five different seasons.  As a true freshman in 1999, Gary played in two games until a thumb injury sidelined him with a medical redshirt.  However, he toted a punt return prior to the injury, returning it 20 yards against Utah State in the season opener.  But, and get this, the return actually does not count, at least according to UGA, who erroneously omits Gary's first of 115 career returns in its records.  Instead, Gary's official yardage total should be 1,273, although the disregard of 20 yards doesn't quite affect his placement in school and conference records, at least not yet.

JIMMY PAYNE (1978-1982)
I think the five-season contribution by Payne—a first-team All-American defensive tackle in 1982—is a close second to Wooten's touchdown feat.  For five consecutive seasons, Payne remarkably recorded at least 29 tackles.  Five-season tacklers would follow for Georgia: David Hargett (1987-1991), Derrick Byrd (1993-1997), Adrian Hollingshed (1997-2001), Gerald Anderson (2001-2005), Andrew Williams (2004-2008), and Jeff Owens (2005-2009).  However, none of the tackle totals in their redshirt seasons were near Payne's 29 in 1979—not even close. 

After a standout true freshman campaign in 1978 as a defensive lineman, Payne was moved to linebacker in 1979, where he recorded 29 tackles in just over two contests before suffering a season-ending knee injury against South Carolina in the third game.  After receiving his hardship redshirt, Payne was wisely moved back to the line, where he excelled for his final three seasons.  In addition, having made at least one tackle for loss from 1978 through 1982, Payne is also currently the only Bulldog in history to record a defensive "deed" beyond tackles (i.e., a tackle for loss, sack, interception, forced fumble, etc.) in each of five seasons.  

Notably, although one might think Payne would have also attained as much, no Georgia player through last season had ever started at least one game in five different seasons, but that could change relatively soon.  Although a torn ACL celebrating a teammate's touchdown is probably small consolation, if Malcolm Mitchell stays to his senior season, the wide receiver would likely make 5-season history in 2015.

Where Is The Love?

For some, today isn't the most
meaningful of holidays.


 

Snowed in and slightly suffering from a dose of cabin fever, I was "enlightened" over the phone yesterday by a friend, who jokingly said I could ease any anxiety by finding out and then blogging about "the greatest Valentine's Day moment in UGA football history," he said with a laugh. 

Thanks for the concern.

Post-Signing Day, pre-spring practice—the lull in the year in regards to college football when the only news heard about your team is normally bad news, like player arrests and such.  You'd be hard pressed to find a memorable moment in Bulldog football history occurring during this period, even more so on the annual day of love.

Considering their seemingly nonstop hustle and bustle, it's a wonder if the coaching staff even observes Valentine's Day.  Apparently, the head Bulldog coach from exactly 20 years ago had totally neglected it altogether.

"When is it?" asked Ray Goff on February 14, 1994, when a reporter inquired if he had big plans for the holiday.  "I'm sure my wife and daughters will come up with something."

Besides perhaps Goff's question, the most notable Valentine's Day moment in Georgia football lore alas has nothing to do with love and affection, but quite the opposite.

Remember the Kevin Ramsey era as Georgia's defensive coordinator—all 13 months of it?  I touched upon it a while back when remembering the 2000 Outback Bowl victory, but here it is in a nutshell:

Ramsey, Tennessee's secondary coach at the time, was lured away from Knoxville in January 1999 by head coach Jim Donnan to coordinate the Bulldogs' defense, but mostly to recruit—something he was supposedly very good at while at Tennessee.  Turns out, during his brief stay in Athens, Ramsey could do neither particularly well.

Despite all the talent, Georgia's defense was rather awful in 1999, especially against the pass (Ramsey personally coached the secondary).  Against rivals Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, and Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs allowed a combined 156 points, while the unit's yards yielded per pass attempt still ranks as one of the highest/worst in school history:

What Donnan giveth Ramsey in January 1999,
he taketh away on Valentine's Day 2000.

7.84- 1974

7.74- 2013

7.55- 1995

7.52- 1990

7.48- 1999

7.44- 2010

Speaking of overrated defensive coordinators, you'll notice Georgia's recently departed was at the helm for two of the worst six averages in UGA history.  And, speaking of 156 points given up, that's the same total Grantham's defenders allowed to Clemson, LSU, Auburn, and Georgia Tech in 2013.  Nevertheless, back to Ramsey...   

 

Spearheaded by Ramsey, Georgia's 2000 recruiting class finished ranked a lowly 29th in the nation according to Rivals, or just a single spot ahead of number 30 and recruiting power, Mississippi State. 

Ramsey was officially one and done as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator, and was notified as such by Donnan on February 14, 2000.  Gary Gibbs, who had coached with Donnan at Oklahoma for five seasons but had been absent from the coaching profession for five years, was named Georgia's new DC.  Ramsey could stay on with the staff, but be demoted to secondary coach.  He was mad—fighting mad.

Probably only a handful of people really know what exactly occurred in Donnan's office when Ramsey was notified of his demotion, but legend has it, he showed no love for the head coach by ending a confrontation with a punch thrown at him.

Continuing to stay unclassy into the following day, Ramsey took verbal jabs at Donnan on his way out of UGA, calling the head coach "deceitful" for demoting him after recruiting was over and going as far as referring to Donnan as "Pontius Pilate."  Regardless, as far as the players, on the whole, they stood by their head coach.

"Coach [Donnan] did what he had to do for the best of the team," said Charles Grant on the day after Valentine's Day.  "He's trying to do things to help us in the long run.  I know he's gotten some criticism, but that's life.  I'm sure he'll overcome this."

The team, at least defensively, was indeed helped in the long run as the Bulldog defense of 2000 was one of the program's best in years.  Under Gibbs, Georgia surrendered just 313.5 yards per game—the defense's best average in 15 seasons—and only 5.78 yards per pass attempt—the best in eight seasons.

Since then and over the next 14 years, Ramsey has worked six different jobs in coaching, and none of them as a defensive coordinator at a major college.  But, as Charles Grant said, that's life.

On this Valentine's Day, I'm glad for my friend's suggestion; some of my restlessness has been relieved.  I've been reminded that change has been established, and change is often quite good, whether resulting with a jolt to the head, or from a bolt for Louisville. 

STARS Don't Mean a Thing If The Result is a Down-Swing

Five-star Sony Michel highlights what appears
to be another solid incoming class.  But, will
success in recruiting finally translate to
on-field excellence for the Dogs?

On the eve of National Signing Day, many of us wait with bated breath to see if the Bulldogs can add another highly-rated recruit or two to what already appears to be a solid incoming class.  As I write this on Tuesday afternoon, Georgia's recruiting class is ranked 8th in the nation according to Rivals, 10th by ESPN, and 14th by Scout.com.

Regardless, such positioning leads me to ask if recruiting rankings actually have any merit?  Does a lofty number of "stars" signed by a school eventually translate to success on the field?

 

Four years ago, I posted a piece on whether team recruiting rankings were meaningful or not.  In short, I discovered that if a team consistently ranked in the top 10 or 15 in recruiting, for the most part, it would likely rank in the top 10 or 15 in the final national polls over a specific period.

 

With that being said, I'm somewhat puzzled regarding the combined results of the last five years of UGA football—a period the Bulldogs had the program's lowest five-season winning percentage in 16 years.  If memory serves me right, Georgia's annual recruiting has consistently ranked in the top 15 for quite some time, yet an end result was the Bulldogs finishing in the final AP Poll just twice the last five seasons.

 

Craving a comparative analysis, I first figured the composite AP Poll for the last five seasons (2009-2013), where just like the top 25 polls, I gave points to teams depending where they finished in each season's final AP Poll (i.e., 25 points to No. 1, 24 to No. 2, etc.):

 

AP Poll (2009-2013)
1. Alabama, 110
2. Oregon, 86
3. Ohio State, 79
4. LSU, 75
    Stanford, 75
6. Boise State, 65
7. Oklahoma, 61
    South Carolina, 61
9. TCU, 56
10. Florida State, 53
23. GEORGIA, 28

Georgia's No. 19 finish in 2011 (7 points) and 5th in 2012 (21 points) gave the Bulldogs 28 points for their five-season total, ranking just 23rd nationally.

 

Regarding recruiting, as I've mentioned here before, I prefer using Phil Steele's recruiting rankings because he combines the ratings of roughly a dozen reputable recruiting services into one.  Therefore, acknowledging that it takes some time—perhaps a couple of seasons—before a particular recruiting class on the whole can truly make an on-field impact, I combined Steele's top-25 recruiting rankings for five seasons from 2007 through 2011, believing this duration would correspond with the 2009 through 2013 polls—a two-year stagger.  Points were given to schools in the same manner as the composite AP Poll above.

 

Recruiting (2007-2011)
1. USC, 114
2. Alabama, 106
3. Florida, 104
    Texas, 104
5. Ohio State, 99
6. Notre Dame, 96
7. LSU, 94
8. GEORGIA, 89
9. Oklahoma, 73
10. Florida State, 65 

In comparing on-field performance with recruiting for the past five seasons, here are the top "Overachievers," or the teams with the largest positive difference between their AP Poll points and points from recruiting rankings, and the top "Underachievers," or the teams with the largest negative difference:

 

OVERACHIEVERS
1. Boise State, +65
2. Stanford, +58
3. Oregon, +57
4. TCU, +56
5. Wisconsin, +49
 
UNDERACHIEVERS
1. USC, -83
2. Texas, -73
3. Notre Dame, -68
4. Florida, -64
5. GEORGIA, -61     

 

Georgia's 28 poll points compared to 89 from recruiting equals negative-61 points, or the fifth-lowest total of the approximately 70 teams which were ranked in at least one final AP Poll and/or one or more set of annual top-25 recruiting rankings.  In other words, like USC, Texas, Notre Dame, and Florida, the Bulldogs' high-ranking recruiting classes from 2007 through 2011 didn't quite translate (on the whole) to high positioning in the final AP Polls when staggered two years.

 

I know what some of you might be thinking—it's rather convenient I analyzed only the latest, disappointing five-season period, and didn't include the previous seasons, like 2008 when the Bulldogs finished 13th in the final AP Poll, and 2007 when Georgia ranked No. 2 in the nation.  Therefore, I did the exact same analysis and comparison including those two banner seasons for the Bulldogs.

 

For the last seven seasons—2007 to 2013—Georgia totaled 65 AP Poll points, or the 12th-most in the nation (now, that's more like it).  Staggering two seasons, from 2005 to 2011, the Bulldogs' recruiting points were 123, ranking 6th nationally.  However, Georgia's negative-58 total (65 minus 123), which included lofty No. 2 and No. 13 final rankings in 2007 and 2008, respectively, still ranked as the 8th-lowest total in college football:

 

Underachievers (2007-2013)
1. Notre Dame, -92
2. USC, -87
3. Michigan, -83
4. Texas, -77
5. Tennessee, -72
6. Miami (Fla), -67
7. Florida, -60
8. GEORGIA, -58

Revisiting what I originally pondered four years ago—if top 10 recruiting classes eventually delivered top 10 performances on the field—sure they do.  That is, if it's Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, and Florida State doing the recruiting and playing.  In Georgia's case for the last several years, there have been plenty of recruiting "stars" to sign with the Bulldogs, but in comparison, there hasn't been enough of what matters most—on-field success for the Bulldogs.