MattyJ

Nobody really changes how they feel based on the game. The practices is where you see players start to change their stock. Coaches and scouts learn a lot by watching the players do one-on-one drills with pads on instead of the underwear olympics.

I think that happened a good bit this last year. The real test will be if the other players on this offense can keep the defense honest. Brock gets used in misdirection lots of times and he pulls defenders with him and Kenny McIntosh and Darnell Washington were able to get open looks and open run lanes off of that.

Ole Miss bringing in Howard and Sanders reminds me of UGA in 2020 bringing in Jamie Newman and JT Daniels in the same off-season. Obviously neither guy panned out but lucky for Ole miss this means that a former walk-on will come back into the program to win back-to-back national championships and get invited to the Heisman ceremony.

I think there's a pretty good chance that he will. If he doesn't it'll be because of his injury history.

He was UGA's 3rd LB last year and he was dependable but the two players ahead of him are underclassmen. And UGA has other young players that would have probably entered the portal if he stayed. So I think this is a case where UGA decided to take 2 more years of Xavian Sorey instead of one more year of Trez.

I'm assuming this was written pre AD Mitchell news. Aside from Mitchell though, I don't think there are any players who were in line for major playing time that are in the portal. I think Lovett is in line for major playing time coming in so I guess the B+ grade works.

I think the better comparison is Drew Brees.

Unspoken (but if you look around it's spoken plenty) about this situation is the tampering aspect. I don't think that UGA will press the issue at all for 2 reasons. 1. I think they feel confident about their situation with him leaving. They basically didn't have him all season and they didn't really miss him too bad with guys like MRJ and Dillon Bell picking up that slack well enough. I think they've known for a while he would be leaving and their transfer pickups reflect that. 2. I think, not unlike most programs, they don't want to point the finger only to have more pointed back at them. I'm not naïve to the possibility that UGA puts out feelers on players on other rosters. In the current system, everyone steals from their neighbor and no one accuses anyone because they are guilty of the same.

If AD Mitchell doesn't get hurt in week 2, he would have had about 60 catches, almost 1,000 yards and 10+ TDs. He was the WR1. UGA fans feel plenty good about a TE who creates separation, wins all of the 50-50 balls, has breakaway speed, and forces more missed tackles than anyone else per opportunity.

Does his dad have to lose a pinky in the process or is that reserved only for the really special players?

I think once you get the first one, the need to get a second or a third might lessen for some people, especially if they played a major part in getting those two. And frankly I'm fine with anyone who isn't hungry for another championship seeking something else to play for. He's got nothing to prove to anyone anymore. If he's okay with a few more losses per season, that's his right.

I don't think it was intentionally clever I think he's just only seen the name spelled out when covering his well-done steak in ketchup.

I think the added talent was because they knew he was on his way out

I've seen people say that it was leaked intentionally to drive up recruiting and I wouldn't doubt that. Who wouldn't want to play for this guy? There's no tearing them down. You can tell he's confident in them and what they are going to do. I don't know how much it elevates the actual level of play, but it does create a way to connect with these players and it surely gets them in the right mindset before the game.

I think he wouldn't care if he was elected. I think like rxmaster says, players, at least the great ones, don't bask in the adulation, they bask in the doubt. Michael Jordan remembers the name of the player that bumped him off of the varsity roster in high school. If you listen to Stetson's victory parade speech, you get the feeling that he heard the minority of fans who doubted him and not the majority that supported and praised him.

Anyone who says the fans didn't want Stetson Bennett starting at UGA anymore are sadly about a year behind on their UGA updates. Most UGA fans were sold on him after 2021. Sure some said he should ride off into the sunset but that was mostly because if he had been beaten out in spring/summer camp, it would have been a sad ending to a great story. But once he decided to come back and was the QB1 all offseason and week 1, I don't think there were any UGA fans who didn't want him there or didn't understand that UGA could win it all (convincingly) with Bennett.

If it weren’t for those knee surgeries we’d probably still be saying goodbye to him right now, he’d just be heading to the draft instead. He came up clutch in big spots this year and someone is going to get one of the best players out there. Hate this for a guy who loved UGA and gave everything to the program from day 1

I think he wanted to stay and his mom went as far as to say he wasn’t going anywhere. I think it was clear when he didn’t see the field even after Nolan went down and Chaz Chambliss struggled and was injured and Bobby Beal spent time injured, that this staff just didn’t have a place for him anymore. I don’t think he’s been the same since his injury in HS.

The other big difference is that the NFL actually has enforceable rules around free agency and contracts and teams can't contact a player under contract about deals they would like to offer. I think you will continue to see a lot (not in the case of Marshall, I don't think) is teams that will poach away the lower parts of the depth chart in less than subtle ways. Where they are the same is that NFL teams also have workarounds for that rule.

In this case in particular, I think he was probably told by UGA that he isn't going to start (something that he probably knows) and that they would like to use his spot for a young player that they can develop. But it's a benefit for the player in a way as well. For Marshall (and keep an eye on the name Rian Davis for the portal as well) they get to be free agents and there are dozens of P5 schools that can use their talents and may even pay them to do so.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him show up at Miami.

If PETA wants a human replacement for Uga, let me be first in line to get the Uga treatment. Good golly,

Isn't that the rule?

Tough. Not ideal for depth but I think even with this loss, UGA is incredibly deep at CB for 2023. Green and Everette will fight for that other spot and the loser will probably rotate in regularly. 2022 was one of the first years I've seen in a while where UGA wasn't rotating a 3rd corner or Star in the game regularly.

Yeah sounds like a Calipari problem.

Yes but to be fair when you are at rock bottom, there's no where else to go. Recruiting and player retention was an issue and at the level he was failing, you or I could have gone in there and replicated everything he did.

But is Calipari the problem? Because if he's not the problem, it doesn't matter who you bring in. Again, just a UGA fan so I haven't seen quality basketball in my lifetime.

All valid arguments lol

A very good point. However, it's his name on it so he gets to own it. I don't think it really is that deep. At the end of the day you want your coach to have an irrational belief in the ability of their team.

When Thomas was taken at 4 I know tons of people who groaned and said he wasn't worth it. Well...