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ESPN names Bryan McClendon as one of college football’s most important position coaches
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ESPN names Bryan McClendon as one of college football’s most important position coaches
Bryan McClendon is back at Georgia, coaching wide receivers for the program once again. After stops at South Carolina, Oregon and Miami, McClendon returned to his alma mater, making a good bit more than his predecessor Cortez Hankton to do so.
Comments
My question is if we have the speed to stretch the field? Arian Smith certainly gave us that ability, but I think Burton would have been the next fastest. Any ideas on the speed of our WR room?
Great article about one of my favorite coaches. Having him back in Athens where he belongs is the bee's knees.
Go, Dawgs!
Much of McClendon’s early tenure will be defined by how he does on the recruiting trail. Georgia has been able to consistently develop wide receivers well under Hankton, but recruiting had slipped in the previous two cycles. Georgia has not signed a top-200 prospect at the wide receiver position since the 2020 recruiting cycle. That is the only position on the team where that is the case.
It is a real shame that you guys imply that this is somehow the fault of the WR coaches or the players themselves. Look, recruiting isn't a charity or obligation where guys are supposed to flock to UGA and help the Dawgs win because it is your favorite school. Instead you have potential NFL careers on the line. Top 150 WRs can go anywhere and they will choose the schools most likely to make them high NFL draft picks and develop them for long careers. If you look at UGA under the Kirby Smart era, there is no evidence that UGA makes positioning their WRs for the draft and developing them for the NFL a priority. The results speak for themselves.
Javon Wims: JUCO star. 700 yards final season. 7th round pick. On 2nd NFL team.
Mecole Hardman: 4 star. 500 yards final season. 2nd round pick ... thanks to running a 4.33 40 at combine.
Riley Ridley: 4 star. 560 yards final season. 4th round pick, out of the NFL.
Isaac Nauta: 5 star. 430 yards final season. 7th round pick, out of the NFL.
Terry Godwin: 5 star. 385 yards final season. 7th round pick. 3 teams in 4 years.
Due to either injuries or "blocking TE" roles stats are irrelevant but here they are:
Charlie Woerner: 4 star. 6th round pick
Tre' McKitty: 3 star. 3rd round pick
George Pickens: 5 star. 2nd round pick. The most natural ability of any WR in this draft AND the last one.
John FitzPatrick: 4 star. 6th round pick.
You guys might scream: "they just aren't as good as Brock Bowers! If they were as good as Bowers they would have put up numbers and get drafted high!" Which is ... absolutely nuts. You don't need to be a likely 3 time All-American to be a first round draft pick. Not in this current era where 6-8 WRs go in the first round every year. Last year 6 WRs were taken in the 1st, and had Metchie and Pickens been healthy it would have been 8. Metchie was buried on Alabama's depth chart in 2019 behind Smith, Jeudy, Ruggs and Waddle. Next he was #3 behind Smith and (when healthy) Waddle in 2020, and in 2021 he was #2 behind Williams, who transferred to Bama because he was #3 behind Olave and Wilson at Ohio State.
Yes, UGA will continue to get certain in-state kids like 5 star Dominick Blaylock and top 50 Ny Carr. But outside those, don't expect kids like that to sacrifice their earning potential by coming to UGA to catch 35 balls for 500 yards a season and fight for spots at the bottom of NFL rosters as 6th round picks. It isn't fair to them, and it isn't fair to the position coaches tasked with recruiting and developing them.
If anyone can break the barrier that has kept Georgia from getting the country's elite WRs, it's coach BMac. He has been very popular everywhere he has coached and he is known to be one of the nation's best recruiters. This part of the dawgs offense will begin exceling under his leadership - good to see him back again in Georgia red and black! GO DAWGS!
@thadec...I have to mostly agree with you. We've yet to open up an air attack against anyone....yet. I'm expecting to see MUCH more through the air - DOWNFIELD, not short lobs to guys coming out of the backfield - this season. You can't blame Jermaine Burton for wanting to use his talents in greener passing pastures. I'd have done the same thing knowing Stet was going to probably be the starting QB. These guys know their window of real opportunity is pretty brief, maybe only a couple of seasons starting at WR for most the elite guys before hitting the NFL.
McClendon is a great WR coach and above average recruiter, but he is working on an uphill incline. Until we show we can really come out and operate an aggressive passing attack offense like Bama, then we are going to lose out on some of the best WR recruits. Once Saban bought into the passing offense he has never looked back....BUT, Bama also still relies pretty heavily on pounding the running game as needed. We aren't there yet on that mix of offense, and I'll be curious to see if we ever truly get there.
I care about winning college championships for UGA. I rarely watch an NFL game. Still, I realize that the goal of many college WRs is a high NFL draft pick. Pickens stayed with Georgia… and Georgia stayed with Pickens (despite his injuries). Pickens is likely going to light up the NFL. If so, the flood gates for Georgia WR recruiting are likely to burst the dam.
Stetson throws a great deep ball (as Murray said last year, there were issues with receivers not gaining separation). If AD Mitchell stays healthy and develops consistent with last year? Boom! Another recruiting surge….
Frankly, I don’t care one wit about the passing game or air raids, etc. as long as my Dawgs are in contention for a Natty every year! 😉
@Hemingwey...I agree. I don't really care about how we win games as long as we win. However, since this article is about WR coaching & recruiting then I do believe we are going to have to move our offense to a more aggressive passing attack IF we want to recruit more elite receivers. Bama still relies on its running game (and just got the #1 RB recruit for 2023 in Richard Young), but they have really opened up their air attack and have been very successful in getting more of the better wideouts than we have since Saban has embraced the change in his offensive philosophy.
Zzzzzzz. When Stetson is gone, the passing game will be what you want. No it probably won't be. But it will be for the rest of us fans. Because we will be just winning baby. UGA has one weakness(on paper) ONE, it used to be several positions. Good grief! Wahhh, only got a bunch of 4 star receivers, waaaah. Heck the new 3 star Bell may be the best on the team!
Build it and they will come. It is built. And when the 25 year old Bennett leaves, the final missing piece for the offense planned for 2-4 years ago, will finally move into place. Then shortly after, they will come. But...
We have Bennett and can't fit a square peg into a round hole. (He may surprise us this year with stronger arm-strength and making better decisions and certain throws) Can't fit a square peg into a round hole no matter how bad you want to. What I LOVE about this coaching staff is that they not only get it, but can do it! They test and see what ALL the players strengths and weaknesses are and then they scheme and utilize plays for them and for the offense, based on their strengths. And also scheme to cover a weakness. It IS how you get the most out of your players and put them in the BEST position to succeed and for the team to win. You draw up an offense and game plan based on the strengths of the players you HAVE. Too many coaches and staffs, cannot or will not do this, do not have the experience, knowledge and/or ability. It is one way, their way, and you must fit into it. There is no other options.
UGA is the opposite and it is as FREAKIN'AS AWESOME AS IT EVER GETS BOYS! We are at the pinnacle and its only going to get better. Just enjoy the freakin' ride!