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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.
Comments
@MikeGriffith Thirty years covering college football, 27 covering the SEC. That’s very impressive Mike !! Thank You for the great articles you provide us. I might not agree with every single thing you say though I do agree the vast majority of time. But you do a great job and I’m thankful. Go Dawgs !!
If NIL money is the deciding factor in Downs' recruitment then he and we are better off with him going elsewhere. I've said it before and I'll say it again, NIL and the portal will be the downfall of college sports. Football fans left the NFL in droves and many I talk to are already getting fed up with college football because of the ship jumpers. Many of these players couldn't get a 6 figure salary anywhere outside football because they don't ever finish their degree programs and some that do have worthless degrees.
Football supports the other sports at most colleges and if football dies so do the other sports. The NCAA seems hellbent on destroying college athletics just like the Democrats are doing to the country.
Bravo !! Bravo !! Comment of the day in my book !! Well said !!
Expecting a healthy NIL deal and to be a starter is the norm now for players of Downs' caliber, and most likely applies to the majority of the players that Smart has been recruiting and will be recruiting going forward. And your assertion that Downs' priority is banking as much as possible goes against all the professional assessments of his recruitment that I've personally seen; most are quick to point out that he took very readily to the "Saban discount." There has also been a lot of commentary about his character and work ethic. All this to say, merely having a high profile doesn't make a player the kind of diva that Burton and Alexander turned out to be.
Will he actually come to Georgia? Is there a legitimate grudge in effect over the recruitment of his brother? I don't know. But by all accounts (again, that I've personally seen) Downs is exactly the kind of player you want in your locker room.
You win the Internets today for the pun, Bubba! On the other hand, Sayin has probably heard be sayin' that all his life.
@UGADad20 and @BigDawg888: Question How do you know how much Texas, OSU and Georgia are offering? I'm not doubting y'all, just wondering where one gets that information.
I could totally understand a kid going for $2.5 million over $1 million. That's a pretty meaningful difference. I agree with whoever noted that, in this new world, some of the best players will establish their worth as underclassmen and then put themselves on the market. I'm allowed to switch jobs for more money. So are the coaches. So why should we begrudge the players when they pursue their self interests?
But I don't enjoy watching these young men and their families making bad decisions (although I admit that I color my perception with my pro-Dawg bias). In some cases, bad decisions are based on shortterm selfishness rather than longterm self interest; in other cases, they're just poorly thought through and/or based on bad information.
Burton likely hurt himself by transferring to Bama because he might have put up bigger numbers and would have won at least one more title. Alexander's move was even more boneheaded. We went from the best defense (for two straight years) and from what over the previous few years has been DL University (with four first rounders!) to a program where the coach is known for bad defense. He obviously had the tools to follow in Jordan Davis' and Jalen Carter's footsteps, but he left reportedly because he wanted more playing time. I mean, that was just painful to watch.
Adonai had the all-time best reason to transfer (for his daughter). JDJ's choice will probably work out because he wasn't looking like he'd start next year and he'll be a star at Kentucky. And it totally makes sense for third stringers and some second stringers to switch to good programs that have less depth at their positions.
NIL is here to stay. That’s just how things are. But the NCAA needs to step up to the plate and set rules, regulations, guidelines etc. that are uniform across all CFB.
I know nothing of Downs character good, bad, or in between. Him getting NIL won’t trouble me as like you stated Allot of players are getting it and many more Will get it. But I do want him to be a Dawg because he Wants to be a Dawg. Getting the NIL is just icing on the cake.
And as long as he’s a good fit in the locker room it’d be great if the Dawgs get him. But I would hope he’d know that he’s got to compete against the guys already there, He and They should embrace internal competition.
Obviously you Have done some extensive reading up on him. I’ll take your word. If he turns out like the things you’ve read up on him that would be Great. If it’s managed properly and tactfully by Kirby and his staff a player can get substantial NIL and Still fit into the UGA culture. But it’s a delicate proposition that will take great management and leadership skills. Kirby most definitely has those so if anyone can handle it he can !!
To me it’s imperative though that the NCAA quit dragging their butts and provide better definitions and rules regarding NIL. If they don’t it’s gonna continue to cause allot of frustration and problems across the CFB landscape.
Yes CKS wants him and that is what is expected for top players. Starting to feel more and more like NFL Jr and less and less like CFB. Shame really because everything about CFB was markedly better than pro football. Everything. But it is what it is.
It was enough of a negative change to drive Saban into retirement. Hopefully some guard rails are coming but the trend seems to be in the other direction. Unlimited transfers and unlimited NIL.
This recruitment goes against recent UGA recruiting trends. Recent trends show UGA going for less 5* star players and more for guys that are very good and want UGA development. With UGA picking which select "star" players they want to give big NIL to. Downs absolutely fits into that category.
Just makes you wonder what is the overall team impact when you give the new transfer S $1-2M(?) and guys that have been here working are getting $50K(?). I don't envy CKS this new twist to team management.
What we know about CKS is he will recruit any player that he thinks can elevate UGA's play, that fits into the UGA culture and/or that he can coach up into being a DGD.
I hope UGA gets Downs and Sayin. Sayin (probably not likely) would be a bird in the hand vs Julian Lewis who may be a longshot commitment.
@navydawg "Team chemistry is vital to success. This is a very slippery path for Kirby as Yes absolutely the other players in that room could feel snubbed. If any HC can handle these type things I’d think it’d be Kirby. But it Is a concerning issue."
True that. And now that UGA and CKS are the unquestioned Kings of the Hill I would expect the UGA recruiting machine to find a smoother path forward. Suddenly there is not a 1a and 1b just a 1. Building a dynasty in Athens got easier with Saban stepping away.
@MikeGriffith apologies if I missed this in the text. What is the significance of the BOLD text with the transfer list?
I was told UGA was offering 1.2 M from a paid site. My assumption is it is probably a million and in line with Starks and slightly above KJ who I heard is getting a million or so. Now The Texas offer (which is ridiculou) was suppossed to be much more than 2x what our offer was plus so 2.5 seems about right. I am assuming OSU wouldn't fly down and offer him the same as us. So I extrapolated their offer at 500K more than ours. They also have a relationship with Downs.
Also, to respond to @UGADad20 the older brother was not recruited by Georgia so there were hard feelings a long time ago. His father has a good relationship with Kirby so your news is old news (accurate but old). It is possible for people to fix relationships and Kirby has done that. My guess is 50 percent Georgia, 30 percent OSU and 20 percent Texas (the most money by far but no relationship).
Unlike some, I expect to see an increase in the quality of college football being played. Before the portal, players on the 85 man roster only had to be concerned about having their roster spot taken by incoming freshmen. Now, it is the coach’s job to find the best players for the roster spots regardless of the source. It is the jobs of the players to put in the work necessary to ensure the coaches can’t find players who are better or who have more upside. Kirby and the staff are in the process of culling more players to get to the 85 scholarship limit who for whatever reason aren’t better than the players brought in from the portal or don’t have the upside of the players signed from high school. I’ve heard players say it’s business when they enter the portal. Well, it’s also business when players lose their roster spots because they have been recruited over by players in the portal.
In the last part of the article it talked about Nick bought a $17.5 mil mansion and Two Mercedes Dealerships !! Sounds like Nick will be busy helping the wife select paint colors for all the rooms in the mansion. And down at the dealership selling Benz’s !!
Makes me think about that ole Dire Straights song Money For Nothing and Chicks For Free, except of course he’s married. Or like that ole Mel Brooks movie History Of The World- Good To Be The King !! Just in case anyone doesn’t recognize it this was my lame attempt at humor Lol !! 🤪
P.S. Just as some trivia info. Nick has as of 2024 a net worth of $70 mil !! Good to be the King !! To really appreciate that line see the Mel Brooks movie !!
IDK what the real numbers are. But from what I have read @BigDawg888 's numbers seem in the ballpark. I have read that TX is very aggressive and throwing money around. Hopefully they come to the same conclusion that aTm did. That throwing money around may not be the best way to go.
A lot of money seems to be flowing. The difference between aTm and TX is that TX is paying up for a known entity. aTm paid up for unknown HS players. Have to believe all of this selective money flowing cannot be good for the locker room.
@BigDawg888 Any alleged perceived slight that the Downs's may have felt years ago will likely have little effect on this decision. Caleb Downs already behaving like a savvy NFL vet. His brother is an NFL player and his father is a CFB coach. This is looking like a pure business decision. And that is what worries me. There are a lot of positives about attending UGA in this case. BUT the money involved may be a differentiator and very difficult to say no to.
They appear to be the transfers to other SEC schools. I spent some time trying to figure that out, too!