Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
Options
What makes this No. 1 ranked recruiting class different for Georgia football
System
Posts: 10,556 admin
What makes this No. 1 ranked recruiting class different for Georgia football
Welcome to Good Day, UGA, your one-stop shop for Georgia football news and takes. Check us out every weekday morning for everything you need to know about Georgia football, recruiting, and everything else UGA.
Comments
I suppose you could make the claim that Fields, Mays and Cox did ok....I contend that had they stuck it out, their DAWG pedigree would have added mucho dinero to their contracts....I would also contend that the lessons learned from enduring and overcoming their individual challenges would have added longevity to their careers. UGA has become the premier developer of potential NFL talent.....my way too early 2024 NFL Super Bowl LVIII winner will be The Philadelphia Eagles...at least I will now be a return follower having been absent fro the past several years....Thanks Eagles for restoring my faith....what the hell is wrong with the Falcons?
Fields is an interesting case. I think being surrounded by such excellent receivers at OSU might have actually not helped him in the long run. Word on the street from NFL guys is he still cannot read defenses very well. I think if he had stuck it out he would of developed better imo and we probably would have won a championship with him. Cox had prima donna issues and I think that beared itself out by him getting canned at Florida. We replaced him with Azeez who it turned out pretty good for us. Same talent better attitude. Mays was a product of his family. He could not overcome that. Heck of a player. Quite unfortunate his father hurt himself which was just another thing.
Not everyone is going to work out here. When you get all these highly rated guys some will not truly buy into the team. It is good to know we are doing things the right way and still winning.
You know BigDawg, I've heard the same about Fields. I had the chance to see him play in HS and thorght he was a much better runner than passer...he seemed to react/run on the cuff rather than respond according to what the defense presented. Georgia's offense needed mush study and practice and learning to recognize defenses required much film study. Some guys...ie like the three main QB's we currently have, thrive on study, practice, improving.....some guys just want to react with their skill level. I often wondered if he'd made a better running back......I grew up with Andy Johnson, great QB at Athens High.....Very Good QB for The DAWGS but the Patriots made him an RB????
Fields did very well at OSU. Being 10th(?) overall in the 1st rd. set him up for life. Not sure how much better he would have done at UGA. OSU lost to AL in the CFBCG. Fields best chance to beat AL would've been to stay at UGA.
But Fields wanted to play immediately and sling it. He wasn't ready to play ahead of Fromm as a freshman and he didn't stay to compete as a soph. It was clear to everyone that Fields was the superior talent. But, as a freshman, he didn't know the offense well enough to manage a team with championship aspirations. He would've beaten out from Fromm had he stayed. In '19 UGA was not going to sling it around like OSU. So he took the easy route.
UGA tried to placate Mays by starting him as a freshman. He was clearly the weak link of that OL. UGA wanted to keep the "5*" happy to head off transferring. UGA/we all found out that Mays wasn't a better player than others at UGA. He wasn't missed, was recruited over and "helped" TN to minus 1 yard rushing vs UGA in '20. Not all 5*'s are created equal.
Cox was your typical 5* player that peaks in HS. Attitude, marijuana, entitlement, work ethic , failure to develop.....did I leave anything out? He probably did more to help the UGA program while being at FU than he did while he was at UGA.
UGA will recruit over every player. Players need to step it up every year.
IMO...Michael Vick, Cam Newton, Steve McNair and Johnny Manzel were all very talented QB's that suffered from the same "satisficing syndrome". They were good enough in HS and College to get by on talent and speed alone. That approach doesn't work with professionals...where everybody is talented and an all-star in their own right.
That being said...as a fan...I'd ten times rather watch Michael Vick ripping the grass up, in year 1 thru 4....than watch Tom Brady disassemble a defense. It was a lot of fun.
BUT....That kind of "talent" fades fast after 30 (or, earlier). As a Pro QB...you must develop your other senses...and use em. You need to be able to out think...and, outsmart the defensive Captain. Know where the holes in the defense will be and exploit them. In other words "read the room".
That takes a lot of work, mental gym and commitment. Some guys are unwilling...some don't know how to learn...and, some are incapable. It is what it is. If you start working on that part of your game, in College...like Beck, BVG and Stockton...by the time you get to the NFL, you'll be way ahead of most of your peers.
Which is why there's always a handful of guys that defy projections and appear to be better than they were in College or HS. When they get to the League, they are surrounded by all-talented guys that know what they're doing and the QB's presnap reads don't get wasted. No need for heroics. That's the goal, anyway. IMO
Depends on your goal as a player and as a man. What spells success for you?. Money?...Glory?...Family?...Desire to "Be the Best"? It depends on what you define as "success".
I guess the real question is..."Does Fields see himself as successful?". That's really the only thing that matters from his perspective.
From my perspective as a fan of football...he made a mistake, that will take significant time to "compensate for". He's having to learn, now...what he could've and should've learned in College. Same with Richardson, IMO. I don't know if their talent will keep em afloat long enough to learn to be a "Professional Quarterback". The NFL is not as forgiving as CFB...and, more specifically BIG10 Defenses.
Sure...Fields is successful financially...but, you could've said that in 2019. He was always going to be THAT. Question on the table is..."Will he ever be a successful NFL Quarterback?". I gotta say...I have my doubts. I'm a little more certain, where Richardson is concerned. He will never be a great QB...but, could be a great TE, WR, RB or DB, if he dropped the QB tag and started working on it.
Hines Ward was a converted QB that put together an All-Pro career at WR and Wildcat. That's where I see Richardson being "successful".