Possible HUGE "Mystery Recruit" for Dawgs??

#1 CB in the nation, Ronald Darby

Rumors have been swirling the last few days about a "Mystery Recruit" possibly landing his LOI in Athens on Wednesday.  Specifically, more than one source has listed this recruit as a CB.

I have reason to believe that this recruit is 5 star, #1 CB in the nation, Ronald Darby, out of Oxon Hill, MD.

When Keith Marshall pledged his allegiance to Dawg Nation a couple of months ago, he stated that he was going to attempt to "work on" Darby coming to join him in the Classic City. This trend continued a month or so later, when Marshall's close friend and fellow North Carolinian, Todd Gurley, put on the red and black hat, and spoke with reporters afterwards. He too name-dropped Darby in his wishlist of an entourage to join him between the hedges.

If you do any digging whatsoever, you will find that very recently Keith Marshall has dropped Darby's name on Twitter in a very subtle, nonchalant manor. Is Marshall one of the trustees of knowledge of the "mystery recruit"?

I do not feel I need to convince anybody with insight enough to read my blog, that Marshall and Gurley would be one hell of a recruiting tool if working together. Both are more than respectable young men, with futures as bright as the North Star on a clear winter night in Eastern Georgia. If they both wanted Darby to join them, and have indeed been working him over for the last couple of months, you can safely assume he has been listening.

Darby's recruitment has been one of the most mysterious and intriguing of the 2012 class. It seems every single day, reports have him leaning in a new direction than the day before. Most recently, Auburn "seems" to be the "leader".

But you heard it here..... do not be shocked if he wears the G on Wednesday, and is considered THE surprise of National Signing Day 2012.

Crazier things have happened.

The Boys are Back in Town

UGA got some expected news, stirred up with some GREAT news yesterday. 

Sorry Tech, things aren't changing anytime soon.

We all knew Orson Charles was gone. But admit it, just like myself, you held out a glimmer of hope that Aaron Murray would somehow convince his high school teammate and good friend to stroll the sidewalks of the Classic City for one more fall. But when the press conference was called for 2pm yesterday, we all just smiled, and realized that Orson had nothing physically to gain in returning, and it was time for him to ink the big deal and feed his family... for life.

Then last night, the best news since...well, Monday came across the UGA news wire. First, All-American Bacarri Rambo made it known that he would patrol the backfield between the hedges next season. Then 2011 leading tackler and rising star Shawn Williams opted to join him. The train kept rolling with big man Cornelius Washington deciding that his duties to Todd Grantham's scheme were not yet completed.

I had legitimate fears over the last few weeks that every one of these returning players would make the jump to the NFL. Just thinking about it gave me a frustration which seems all too familiar in Athens, when something special begins to take form, then the NFL snatches it up prematurely from our starving fanbase. Not going to be the case this year!! 

A common scene in 2012, no doubt.

2011's national top-5 defense is now likely returning 9 of 11 starters (Branden Smith has not made his decision known, but if Rambo is back.... Branden will be too). Leadership has emerged on the defensive side with Jarvis Jones and rising senior Christian Robinson. Georgia's #1 overall prospect and said to be "program changer", Jordan Jenkins, made it known he will wear the Silver Britches this past week. Things appear, my friends, that the Junkyard Dawgs have returned to Athens!!

I knew the moment Michigan State pushed the ball through the uprights in the third overtime on January 2nd, that that particular loss was going to be hard to swallow. I also knew that very moment that depending on the happenings over the next 2 weeks, that particular loss could be easy to digest. And the things that needed to happen, happened.

National Signing day is now less than 3 weeks away. I expect a VERY strong finish from the Dawgs. Spring practice and G-Day (along with dogwood blooms on North Campus) will be here before you know it. Then we will all take our vacations to the gulf coast, and in the blink of an eye, the leaves on the trees will change again, and special times will be gracing the fine people of Dawg Nation and the great city of Athens, Georgia.

Go Dawgs!!!!
233 days til' kickoff!!!

A Dawgs loss will NOT dilute the 2011 turnaround.

I have heard many Dawg fans say this past week that they "don't care if we lose to LSU this weekend".

While I do not completely agree with their sentiment, I do understand what they are trying to say.

I ALWAYS care if UGA wins or loses. A UGA win, whether it be against Coastal Carolina or LSU, makes me sleep easier at night. A UGA a loss, whether it be against Colorado or Bama, sends a dagger straight into the pit of my stomach which continues to stab for days, if not weeks.

But please recall what so many of us, myself included, said during this past summer. Raise your hand if you also declared that "As long as the Dawgs are in the hunt for, or make it to Atlanta in December, I will be happy." Well here we are, preparing for our second leg of the "Dome to Dome" mantra which was coined by our players during summer camp.

Jarvis Jones is a HUGE upgrade on our defense.

So will you be disappointed if the Dawgs come up short this Saturday? I certainly will. However, I foresee being able to take a potential loss with an unusually positive attitude. I may even possess the abilities, which are foreign to me, to be able to watch the night games after our Dawgs come up short during the afternoon. I've never been able to do that, no matter who is playing.

Just look where we were this time last year. A 6-6 record, with the humiliating and super-frustrating loss to Auburn still stinging. Not even our annual whipping of the Nerds made us feel better after that game. Our entire fanbase pretending to get pumped up about being sent to Memphis for New Year's. The media had about peaked on its 5-alarm fire they set under Mark Richt's seat. The team completely embarrassed by the amount of arrests that had recently taken place...... All while two other teams prepared for the spotlight in the Dome, while we bickered on any blog/message board we could get on. A looooong offseason was ahead of us, and we knew it.

You think we'd see this image ever again last December?

Now look where we are today. 10 wins in a row after losing to two very respectable opponents earlier in the season. A defense that has us as giddy as we have been since the train tracks gang cheered for Erk Russel on our sidelines. A record season by Aaron Murray, which makes us feel VERY good about the next two seasons. For the first time since 1981, we beat Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, and the Nerds (and beating rivals is FUN). ESPN is actually giving us positive press throughout the day. We have (though injury prone) a running back which we see a bright future in. A seemingly resurrected Mark Richt, with the media discussing a likely contract extension...... Good days seem ahead in Athens!!

So this weekend, to many Dawg fans, is indeed just icing on a cake we weren't fully expecting to get to eat this season. While a loss will certainly hurt the hearts which beat for Saturdays in the fall in the great state of Georgia, there is simply too much optimism around this program to let us spiral back to those dark days of bickering amongst one another. It should not be hard to tip our hats to the respectable #1 team in the nation, and ask them to represent the SEC well in the BCS National Championship game.

While I certainly am not hoping for or expecting a loss this weekend, I can honestly say that win or lose, we will have done it respectably. And that is exponentially more than we could say this time last year.

HUNKER DOWN ONE MORE TIME, DAWGS!!!!

BEAT LSU!!!

The Voice of God

I feel I would be an irresponsible blogger if I failed to write a piece on the passing of Larry Munson. But I am having trouble finding the words to jumble together which wouldn't mirror the sentiments already written by so many similar to myself.

I need not tell you that Dawg Nation lost one of the unmovable members of the Mount Rushmore of UGA last night. I need not tell you that emotions are running very high throughout the state of Georgia, and all of the college football world. All of those things have been written more today than perhaps ever before.

I heard a phrase when I was younger, which I tend to mentally reference in certain situations. "Do not cry because it is over. Smile because it happened". I can think of no situation or person more worthy of this phrase than Larry Munson, being called home.

When I heard the news last night, an overwhelming warmth came over me, knowing that we had been so fortunate for the Munson family to share their son, father, husband, and brother with the world in the manor in which they did. Larry's life was one which touched so many people, that while mourning is a certain step in the process, a celebration is so much more appropriate.

So like you, I let my fingers type in multiple searches on YouTube last night, letting the voice of God re-live those moments which have been cemented into the minds and hearts of Dawg Nation. Throughout today I have soaked in all of the links and articles written about Larry, and smiled while absorbing each one.

I am unsure what I can write here, that you have not already been pleasantly inundated with today. All I can offer you is the confirmation that we share the same thoughts and feelings about the wonderful life of Larry Munson. It makes me giddy to think that as I write this, Larry Munson and Lewis Grizzard are likely sitting together, swapping stories and catching up on time missed. What I would give to get my hands on that piece of audio.

I look forward to the tributes which are due, and well deserved. I would like to make the trip to Sanford Stadium whenever an official memorial is organized.

I would like to extend an idea to the new radio voice of the Dawgs, Scott Howard, to allow the opening kickoff, as well as the first offensive play this Saturday, to go "radio silent", as we all know Larry will take care of it for us. If any of my readers know Scott, please pass this idea along to him for me.

We all have our envisions of what the voice of God will sound like. And I believe the millions of family members who make up Dawg Nation can agree, that the voice has just returned to the appropriate place.

Rest peacefully, Larry Munson. You are gone, but will NEVER be forgotten.

Go Dawgs.

Todd Grantham has found the joy in Mudville

Does anybody remember which team struck out Mighty Casey?

Mudville, known for a short time as "Athens"

I do. It was the 2008 version of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Starting on January 2nd, 2008 (the day after UGA destroyed Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl), the morale and joy steaming out of Athens was at a Herschel-like level. With a dominating defensive showing against what was suppose to be the best offensive attack the Dawgs have seen in years from the Warriors, Dawg Nation felt pretty giddy about what the next fall would have in store. Throw in the fact that we had a more-than-proven, dominating quarterback and running back tandem coming back, and you couldn't keep hats or car stickers with the red "G" on the shelves.

The 2007 season was one of fun. Mark Richt uncharacteristically showed that he could light a fire under a team like none other. They danced in the endzone in Jacksonville, and painted Athens black on a memorable night in November. The fanbase and the team was having fun, and winning as a result of it.


The summer of 2008 brought with it an unwelcome guest to Athens: the injury bug. Like ducks in a row, it seemed every day we would learn of another ACL being torn, or a bone being snapped. But all was well.... we still had our offensive threats healthy, so panic refused to set in.

The season started as well as it could have, except for yet more injuries to starting lineman, and the media darling Trojans of USCw taking over our #1 spot despite us winning in convincing fashion. Then came the night we were suppose to confirm to the world what we felt: that we were unstoppable.

September 27th, 2008: Tide 41, Dawgs 30. And it was NOT as close as it looks.

The Dawgs went on to win 10 games that year. But nobody had fun doing it. We had blown our chance. The 18 season ending injuries we accumulated from summer through fall proved to be too much burden to lay on the shoulders of a star quarterback and running back.

Then came the dreaded post season press conference. Mathew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno decided they were ready for the brighter lights of the NFL. And just like that, Athens turned into Mudville. And I need not have to remind you, that there was no joy in Mudville, for Mighty Casey had just struck out.

So for the 2009 and 2010 season, Dawg Nation tried to find whatever joy they could, still hungover form the premature drunk of the successes desired, but never delivered by those 2008 Dawgs. But conference loss after conference loss, and embarrassing arrest after embarrassing arrest began to take its toll. The media conjured up the "Mark Richt hot seat" obsession, and fans began to turn on the program and each other. If it were possible, more mud had been slung all over Mudville.

New age Mighty Casey

But this year, Mighty Casey seems to be quietly resurrecting out by the arch and between the hedges. And Mighty Casey happens to have another name, going by Todd Grantham.

Grantham seems to have solved one of the most frustrating facets of our SEC minded fans, and delivered back to us a Junkyard Dawg defense. Now ranking 5th in the nation in overall defense, Dawg Nation has rekindled their joy, and feel confident going into battle with anybody. A championship is one single game away. The buzz accumulating from Dalton to Savannah, and Lake Hartwell to Columbus is finally back on a positive note.

Mudville was never going to concede all its pride and traditions for anybody, no matter what some of the local and national media wanted you to think. Mudville may have had a few sleepless nights over the last years, and those nights seem to remain sleepless, but for reasons coming from the other end of the spectrum... excitement!

This Saturday Mighty Casey steps back up to the plate, attempting to seek retribution for the huge strikeout in 2008. Hit a homerun on this day, and he gets the chance to do it again in the Georgia Dome on the first Saturday in December, with the nation watching.

Even the best case scenario of winning out this season, finding a way to win in the Dome, and winning the Sugar bowl will not yield with it a national championship. However, doing so will create a buzz worthy of comparison to the spring and summer of 2008 for next season. And Mighty Casey has the chance to give this to us starting this Saturday.

Though it may go against everything you thought you knew and believed.... there IS joy in Mudville, and it seems to be going nowhere anytime soon!

GO DAWGS!!!!

Mark Richt shows his class in "blowout" of Auburn

Urban Meyer would have called 2 timeouts in the final minute. Steve Spurrier would have openly promoted the "revenge factor". Nick Saban would have called pass plays throughout the 4th quarter.

Could have been SO MUCH worse

Not Mark Richt. Throughout the entire week leading up to this year's installment of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, despite countless media attempts to have him talk about it, you would have never known that there was bottled up anger in the Dawgs after the fashion in which Auburn won last year. If I need to remind you of the snide, classless, and dirty manor in which Auburn spanked our Dawgs on the plains last year, then you have stumbled across the wrong blog.

So after the most dominate 1st half of football played against a "worthy" SEC opponent since the 2007 version of the DSOR (original blackout game), and the scoreboard reading 35-7, there was plenty of chatter in my section, and I am sure your's, about the want and desire to hang a solid 70 on the war-tigers. I am sure there was plenty of this raw emotion and feeling amongst some of the upper-classmen in the locker room as well.

But instead, the Dawgs defense continued to do its thing, while the offense kept the ball on the ground and only put up 10 points in the 2nd half. I believe I read a stat that our final 24 or 25 offensive plays were of the rushing variety.

Was this a sign of respect to Gene Chizik, who danced and visually attempted to pump up his players and fans last year when that despicable ruckus broke out in the waning minutes of the game? I sincerely doubt it.

Taming the kitties.....um, eagles....um.......

Instead, this was Mark Richt's way of showing the Auburn coach, players, and their fans that he is just simply above the shenanigans which so many others are willing to partake in. Coach Richt knew that he had sent a message to Coach Chizik through the form of a solidly played, respectable football game. And the fact that is was a total and utter domination of the eagles tigers sure didn't hurt.

Take a look around college football at the moment, and soak in the types of behaviors being exhibited by coaches who have seen success. Would you trade Coach Richt for the chance at being an ESPN media darling, and the promotion that comes along with it, if it meant being in the situation Penn State is in right now? Do you want every weekly press conference Richt conducts to constantly provide bulletin board material for the upcoming opponent's locker room? How would you like to see Richt slamming down his headset and slobbering all over the officials faces during a tirade? How would you like for a blowout win like the one we saw on Saturday, be overshadowed the entire next week with talk of how classless he was by hanging 70 points when it was not necessary?

The little red devil on one of your shoulders sure does provide a tempting sales pitch at times, trying to get you to do things which you know will be instantly satisfying, but bring with it lingering regrets. And one thing Coach Richt sure seems to have mastered, is listening to that white angel on his opposing shoulder instead........ well, except this time ------>  Georgia/florida 2007  (click link for good memories)

Consider yourselves lucky Auburn fans.... You know good and well as I, that this could have, and should have been a WHOLE LOT worse!!

And one more thing..... There seems to be a missing item report filed for a "hotseat", that once belonged to Coach Richt. If you see it, ignore it, as it is no longer a relevant conversation piece. Welcome home, Mark. Welcome home!!

GO DAWGS!!!!!

Tomorrow epitomises what Dawg Nation lives for.

For a great amount of us, UGA football inhabits a large percentage of our daily thoughts. In the south, especially, college football is not just a sport which takes place in the fall, but rather a way of life and religion. We plan our family outings, weddings, and even delay a birthday party by a day or two depending on who and where the Dawgs are playing on those glorious fall Saturdays. It often makes me sad when I do the math, and realize that only 3.3% of a calendar year is a gameday And only half of those take place in the Classic City. And in that depressingly low statistic, only one (or two if we are lucky) of those gamedays brings with it the magnitude of what a Saturday in the south is truly about. Tomorrow in Athens, happens to be one of those days. 

Tomorrow is suppose to be sunny with highs in the low to mid 60's. For those of you living in a tunnel, or are just simply blind, northeast Georgia is experiencing  one of the most glorious fall foliages I can remember, thanks in part to summer drought-like conditions and a colder than normal October. If there is one place in the state to witness the beauty and majesty of the season, outside of the mountains, Athens is that place.

A common scene around the state

Every fan of every sport longs and yearns for the games which have championship implications riding on them. Such a slim number of those fans ever get that opportunity. For Dawg fans, tomorrow's Athens sunrise brings with it the most important day in the past six seasons. For the first time since 2005, a game between the hedges is being played in November, with UGA being in control of its own destiny in the SEC Eastern race. And there is no better way to play that game than to do so in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry fashion, with Auburn paying visit.

Even though all the Dawgs need to do is win in order to keep control, the day will be made even better with the fact that help may be handed to us in a game taking place before Brook Whitmire declares on the Sanford Stadium speakers that "It's Saturday in Athens". Even if it does require a win by the treacherous alligators of north central Florida, that game will be an added spice to an already buzzworthy day. So hopefully you, or somebody you know has a tailgate equipped with a satellite TV, so you can keep abreast on the wonderful sport which drives our lives.

For those who will not be blessed with mobile television waves, please do not be shy and poke your head into a downtown Athens bar, and open up your wallet. While the downtown restaurant and bar industry thrives just fine on the (over 21.. *cough, cough) student body year round, the six Saturdays a year when 100K+ migrate in is an added bonus, helping drive the places which possess and cradle so many of our memories. So get in there and enjoy a little bit of the early games, while the anticipation in your stomach slowly takes wings and grows restless.

There is simply nowhere else in this world I would rather be tomorrow than Athens, Ga. We are so truly blessed as a fanbase to have such a magnificent place of congregation, even if it is so seldom throughout the year. So few towns and campuses across the country are as fortunate as the Dawg Nation to be faced with a day like the one which stares at us tomorrow. The Classic City is a siren in our heads year round, and tomorrow her seductive melody will be calling our hearts more than ever, leading us to a great battle between the hedges, like none we have bared witness to in years. Answer her call, and come join your brethren in the greatest place on earth, on one of the finest days imaginable.

GO DAWGS!!!!