Georgia Football: Does the NCAA Have a Minimum?

The maximum number of total scholarships at any one time for a Division I football program is 85.  With attrition of any and all sorts, the University of Georgia now has 74 scholarship players. This number includes 5 walk-ons who have been awarded scholarships. Translated, this means Georgia has 69 recruited players on their current roster. Translated further, this means Mark Richt's program is actually serving a self-imposed probation.  The depth chart is now so thin that Dr. Atkins and Jenny Craig should be envious.  Put wings on the depth chart and it could walk down a Victoria Secret runway. It is sadly that trim, plus the fact there are several players who much serve one and two game suspensions. If the Dawgs suffer an unusually high amount of pre-season injuries, much less a season ending one, this situation immediately reaches intensive care proportions. We will just stay with 'extremely serious' for the time being.  Now more starters will have to play on special teams, which could increase their risk of injury, and it could be a fatigue factor in the fourth quarter. Georgia will also lose the luxury of perhaps red-shirting a kid they wanted to give more time to develop. The inventory in the Bulldawg locker room is now so low that it's a matter of if you're breathing, you're playing. The importance of quality and quantity of the 2013 recruiting class has reached epic proportions. Georgia must rebuild their roster evenly by position and the coaches must take a huge step toward this goal quickly. Even this does not solve their depth problems consistently because they will have such a huge class (2013) on the same eligibility run. Most of the ones who stay for the long haul will all exit the program at the same time.  This means that for the next several years, the Dawgs cannot afford to have a 'down' recruiting year. These numbers problems did not happen overnight. If you've followed Georgia recruiting closely over the years, the current predicament can't surprise you. When you combine the factors of under-signing with a high amount of attrition, this is what you get.  On the positive side, this year's campaign is certainly not the toughest course laid out in the conference. If players stay healthy throughout the course of the season, Georgia could overcome the obstacles that a thin roster presents. Success breeds success, and thus recruiting becomes easier and better.  How this entire situation pans out remains to be seen, but July is already a week old. Translated, that means we don't have long to find out.

Happy Birthday America!

An Opinion On Sports wishes you a happy and safe 4th of July!

Andy Griffith: Thanks for the Memories...

This is probably my favorite line from the long list of great episodes of 'The Andy Griffith Show', when Opie has to release the birds he raised. Remember he earlier killed their mother. Just before this quote, Opie comments that the cage sure looks awful empty after the birds are gone. "Yes son it sure does, but don't the trees seem nice and full!" Indeed they do Andy. God Bless and God Speed. Andy Griffith: R.I.P.

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day from An Opinion On Sports. On the eve of our most somber of holidays, always remember that: All gave some, but some gave all. God Bless America.

Bubba Watson: Can You Come Out and Play?

If you thought Bubba Watson's shot at Augusta National's 10th green to win the Master's was a magic act, how about the disappearing act he has pulled off since he last rode off into the Georgia darkness wearing that green jacket. He hasn't been seen on the PGA tour in six weeks, missing a huge event known as The Players in the process. I realize Bubba and his wife have a new son in their lives now, but it's past time for Bubba to reappear with those magic sticks. He needs the Tour, and the Tour needs him. Heed the call Mr. Watson. You need a tee time. Soon.

Furman Bisher: I Too Am Thankful...

Sportswriter Furman Bisher died this week at the age of 93. His columns were numerous, his achievements were many, and his contributions were noteworthy. Each year on Thanksgiving he would write a column about what he was thankful for. I always looked forward to reading his list on Thanksgiving morning, beginning with the newspaper itself and then on-line for the last several years. His column always made me stop and think about the things I was thankful for. I would jot them down, and I even imitated him by doing them on this blog. Today, I'm thankful that Furman Bisher helped bring professional sports to Atlanta, I'm thankful that he helped the AJC "cover Dixie like the dew", but most of all I'm thankful that he shared with us what he was thankful for. Selah.

James Franklin: The Coach You Love to Hate...

For years Steve Spurrier was the "Coach You Love to Hate" in the Southeastern Conference. His teams would beat you, and he would rub your nose in it. He would gloat about his prowess. He was cocky and arrogant. But he was also very good at his profession. Love him or hate him, you had to give him that. Now we have Vanderbilt's James Franklin auditioning for Spurrier's roll He's getting the "Love to Hate" part down very well, but it's the other part he's sorely lacking in. To be more specific, he hasn't beaten anyone. He's arrogant and cocky, but he hasn't beaten anyone. He's a jerk, but he hasn't beaten anyone . He is fast becoming the new "Coach You Love to Hate" in the SEC, and he hasn't even beaten anyone. But then again it's Vandy, so go figure.

NCAA Football: Why Not an Early Signing Period?

Now that we have just passed the 2012 National Signing Day for high school senior football players, there are a few points of interest that continue to linger. The points include over-signing, gray-shirting, commitment flipping, etc. It seems to me that some of the problems I've alluded to could be solved by having an early signing period, of sorts. By that I mean perhaps six months before National Signing Day in February, allow high school kids to go ahead and sign their letter of intent with a school that has officially offered them a scholarship. This means a kid could sign at any time between August and February. The way the system is now, the kid can commit as soon as he receives an offer, but he cannot sign until February. He is still "fair game" for any other school to come after him and 'flip' his commitment. If he could sign early, his recruiting process would officially be over. He could not take any more official visits and schools could not tamper with him without incurring a violation penalty. This early signing would have ramifications; some good and some bad. I think schools would be more selective with their offers early on, and I don't think kids would verbally commit until they were absolutely sure of their college choice. It would eliminate an occurrence like Justin Taylor's experience with Alabama. I think it could curb some schools propensity with signing too many kids because they would know how many kids they have actually signed earlier in the process. The players who sign early would be assured they have a scholarship, and the offering school would not have to be concerned with the player flipping to another school on, or just before, National Signing Day. The obligation would fall on both parties, the college as well as the recruit. I realize there would be technicalities to work out in a new system like this, but it seems this could be a good measure to consider in a situation that needs revamping.

Joe Paterno: Why Did You Coach So Long?

I remember thinking that when Coach Joe Paterno was gunned down on the sidelines several years ago that maybe he was hanging around too long. An incident like that can happen to any coach, just ask Sean Payton. But nevertheless, Paterno was 79 years old at the time. Then last August when he was run-over at a Nittany Lions' practice and was relegated to coaching from the press box, I again had the thought that he was hanging around too long. To be honest, I actually thought he had already hung around too long. I had the same thoughts concerning Bobby Bowden as well. Their situations were reminding me of Baptist ministers who stay at one church well past their welcome. The only people who can make a change at that overdrawn point are the guys themselves. In Paterno's case, it would take a travesty to have him removed as the head football coach at Penn State University. That travesty did occur by the name of Jerry Sandusky. Now Joe Paterno has passed away, and I so much wish he had stepped down as head coach on his own terms. Not the terms that the Penn State administration dictated to him. His name would still have been brought up in the allegations that now sadly hangs over Penn State, but he would not have been terminated because of them. Joe Paterno was a good man, a good coach, and a good ambassador for Penn State and all of college football. It doesn't seem right that it should have ended this way for him, and it doesn't seem right that he should have died from a broken heart. Godspeed, Joe Paterno.

Alabama: You Did Justin Taylor Wrong.

North Atlanta High School's Justin Taylor verbally committed to play football for the University of Alabama back in February. However, Taylor was informed this past weekend by 'Bama coach Nick Saban that he could not sign with the Crimson Tide until 2013. Taylor was the 7th Alabama commitment at the time, and now they are saying that they do not have room for him. But what Alabama is actually saying to Taylor is that they now have better players than him committed and have now run out of scholarships. When a high school player gives a verbal commitment to a school that has offered him an athletic scholarship, he is saying he will come to that school to play. It is a consent of both parties. No, it is not binding; just more of a verbal agreement. Since Taylor committed so early in the process, Alabama should honor its offer to him. However, the 2012 offer has been rescinded by the Tide, and that's just not right. Shame on you Alabama.

Georgia Loses Outback Bowl in 3OT

From Georgia's horrific loss to Michigan State in the Outback Bowl comes the best blog line of the bowl season: "We just ran all the way around a win to get to a loss.". Thanks, Bernie (even though it hurts to admit that's exactly what we did).

Ga. Tech Blows Sun Bowl Lead

Georgia Tech lost the Sun Bowl to Utah in overtime. The best thing to come out of this, other than the gratification that Tech lost, was the best newspaper line of the bowl season: The "Come-From-Ahead" loss. Classic!