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- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
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- 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.
Sentellâs Intel: The Days of the Disappearing 2023 Dawgs have arrived
System
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Sentellâs Intel: The Days of the Disappearing 2023 Dawgs have arrived
Welcome to "Sentell's Intel" where Jeff Sentell not only provides you the latest recruiting information, he takes you into the homes of these students and what makes them special to the Georgia program.
Comments
It's clear that everyone will buy teams now. Kids won't wait. Game changed in just three years after 100 years of the same thing. No commitment. No honor. The major problem is injuries. Once you get past the 1st level, you are playing freshmen. That's a huge problem on the O Line. Bo Hughley is a good example. Didn't play well enough and lost his starting spot. Doesn't mean he won't be better in the future, but he won't stick around that long. UGA will try and reload with proven talent from elsewhere.
Now, it's better if you don't play in the SEC, where you take a beating every week. Get in the ACC, play weaker competition, enjoy less injuries. Keep more starters on the field. There's no backups, they left to play at Baylor or Syracuse. Bet Texas and Oklahoma wish they could undue what they've done.
And then there's the fans. Who are you really pulling for. Yesterday's Florida guy is today's Georgia guy. College football just lost a lot of appeal.
Great analysis Jeff. Seth Emerson wrote about this same kind of the thing in The Athletic this morning noting that the "SEC is eating its own." Meaning players are leaving SEC teams and many times going to other SEC teams, so we are simply poaching each other's players, creating more parity amongst teams like everyone has discussed ad nauseum.
You said…" At the time of publication, it appears Georgia is set to have 23 of the 29 signees from its 2024 class back for a third season this fall." That's a better retention rate than I thought it would be, but I'm not that surprised. I would bet that Kirby does about as well as you can do in trying to retain key players along with the culture and system at UGA. The big drop off will be after next season. Look at the comparison then.
" The avg age of the Indiana Hoosiers team is 23 years old....For perspective the Green Bay Packers avg age this season is 25 years old. Cignetti knows what he is doing. Grown Man Teams are the way of the future. "
Amen to that. How long have I been saying give me experience over talent most days? And many of those guys that are playing for Cignetti tonight are experienced G5 players. And he's reloading very efficiently and effectively right now.
While I still definitely think high school recruiting is very important, I do believe Kirby will need to dip into the portal more than he wants to every season if we are to remain in the top tier of teams. More injuries, longer seasons, and you know the playoff is going to expand again. And with the combination of these new players, existing players, and Kirby's culture/system, sometimes things will work out some years and probably not work so well others.
Personally, I love seeing better matchups, more parity, and more competition. It's up to Georgia and Kirby to keep the Dawgs relevant and amongst the best. It will be interesting to witness this every year to see which teams have figured it out…even if only briefly.
****************BREAKING NEWS****************************
Michigan Big Ten Leading Rusher Justice Haynes entering the transfer portal…
Haynes, who transferred to Michigan from Alabama last offseason, was leading the Big Ten in rushing before suffering a foot injury in October that required surgery and sidelined him for the rest of the year. In seven games for the Wolverines, Haynes rushed for 857 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Analysts predicted Haynes would have been a Top 5 RB in the 2026 Draft.
We need to get this guy!!!
Ole Miss's QB Trinidad Chambliss DENIED his waiver for another season…
NIL has leveled the playing field so to speak. If it stays the way it is now, without some type of salary cap and binding contracts, there will be 6 or 7 teams that dominate going forward and unfortunately our beloved Dawgs ain't one of those programs. We've already seen the impact of Texas Oil money, Texas Tech anyone? Texas, Texas A & M, Texas Tech, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oregon literally have Golden Gooses' that keep laying gold eggs. Georgia, Alabama and most SEC teams outside of Texas do not. The old allure of playing for Georgia or Alabama and winning the SEC or Natty and making it to the NFL is fading fast. If I'm an 18 year old kid and Texas will pay me a couple of million to sign whether I do good or not… Well… Kirby Smart and Georgia are like the U.S. Marines in a way… They can't offer the same living conditions and high tech education of the Air Force. They can't offer the high tech education and travel opportunities the Navy can, nor do they have the vast career fields of the Army. But what they do offer is the toughest basic training, the worst living conditions (lower NIL), intense camaraderie, elite identity, and purpose through extreme challenge… How many times have we heard our players say "games are easier than practice…" Unfortunately, the majority of today's youthful athletes want to avoid tough practices, demanding coaches and opt for quick money and adulation from fans based off high school performance or a high rating from a recruiting service. In order to compete in the NIL age, UGA is going to have to up it's NIL war chest and be more willing to pay for superior talent… Saban saw the writing on the wall and got out while the getting out was good…
Interesting article and I’m glad we are so young. I feel like the vast majority of players who have hit the portal this year were expendable and just taking up scholarships that could go to better athletes. So far so good and if you don’t want to be a Dawg then don’t let the door hit you in the a$$ on your way out. Go Dawgs!!!
Over the past five years UGA has the best football program in the country by any objective metic.. We're not going to win the Natty every year but we will be in the hunt every year and IMO will win at least one more if CKS sticks around another five years. Any other school in the country would kill for that.
We haven't won a CFP game in three years. Zero since we won our last NC. I'm not happy and I wouldn't kill to have this distinction.
Mark Richt, whom I respect immensely, was once referred to as the greatest underachieving 10.5 winning average coach in college football because he had perennial top 3 or better recruiting classes but could never convert all that talent to a national championship team. 15 years we lived with what could have been.
I don't want to go back to those days.
As of Friday afternoon, the 247 2026 Recruiting Rankings have the Dawgs ranked #20 with (5) transfers….LSU leading the SEC at #2 in the country with (16) transfers…Penn State #1 with (27) transfers.
Dawgs ranked #10 within the SEC…Bama and TN also have (5) transfers…Arkansas has the most commits at (28).
”a rolling stone gathers no moss” -
hopefully some are starting to figure it out.
good research, thx!
It’s on the coaches, as long as the OC is there we are doomed to repeat this every year. Our DBs were beat all year and seems no adjustments were made. Clock management, play calling at the goal line. Yes we’re won back to back SEC but the real goal is a natty. Heck Duke won the ACC and what did it count for in the big picture.. nothing because Miami is in the natty game.
We are there… same OC that led Mark’s underachieving team is leading these dawgs.. 3 yrs now
I know, I know, the sky is falling. NIL has killed off everything, yada yada. Look, it just changes the approach. Yes, that means that Signing Day isn't the big deal it once was but it's also a 2 way street. We aren't GA State or Kennesaw State here. We're Georgia. Don't act like the money isn't available.
Remember, not every successful Georgia player was committed to Georgia from the beginning, Branch was a huge weapon and will have a long career in the NFL and he came to us from the Portal… not to mention names like Yurosek, Etienne, Colbie Young, Humphries, Noah Thomas, Mcray, etc.
Also, don't forget that when you see a player transfer to a lower school, it's actually a win-win as it means they probably weren't ready to be a starter on a Top 5 team. I'm sure there are many players that were asked to go into the Portal by the coaches. Not every recruit is going to work out as expected.
TP hires will become more and more important as time goes on.
Fire bobo
well stock piling talent like we used to be able to (and Alabama) are no more. Kids if they don't get "enough" playing time their freshman year, are leaving for other schools.
Beer is good, college football is crazy!! Go Dawgs!!