Georgia Sports Blog

Baseball America calls UGA at Top 5-10 Job

2013-05-23T19:41:00.002-04:00

Check out this video interview with Baseball America. They talk about the UGA baseball position and potential candidates.

It's a good job. If McGarity would go ahead and fund the $10 million in Foley renovations, it would be a great job. It's not going to take an incremental dump truck of money to get a coach... on the salary side.

Coach Perno made $450,000/year. Most of the coaches outside of the Top 5 make below $650k/year. An incremental $200k for the UGA athletic department is a rounding error. An incremental $500k for the entire staff is still not asking too much.

If McGarity wants to attract the kind of names that BaseballAmerica recommends we look at, he's going to have to get off his wallet and fund the $10 million in facility improvements.

The University of Alabama has a newer, nicer and larger facility for (wait for it) women's softball than UGA has for men's baseball.

Baseball America suggests we look at :

Louisville’s Dan McDonnell
Virginia’s Brian O’Connor
TCU’s Jim Schlossnagle
Kent State’s Scott Stricklin.

Other more obtainable names from Baseball America:

South Alabama’s Mark Calvi
UCF’s Terry Rooney
Samford’s Casey Dunn
Mercer’s Craig Gibson
Illinois State’s Mark Kingston
College of Charleston’s Monte Lee

PWD

Problem with booster club talk...

2013-05-22T08:08:00.000-04:00

Is that people beyond your boosters are listening. If you've ever been to a Georgia road show, you can count on the most controversial thing Richt says being about a UGA player or coach. While I don't put too much stock in other coach's comments, there are other coaches that do.

How the AJC wished Grantham responded

Florida's coaches are finding that out. I've excused Will Muschamps ~~rantings~~ musings at Florida Gator club meetings, especially when he's making bold predictions. However, when he intimates that the Gators just graciously handed the ball over to Georgia six times during that game, Todd Grantham responds, and does so reasonably and with stats. Those stats point out that it was a hard played game, but that Grantham's defense won the game over Boom's team, did so with aggressive defense, and got the ball three times more than Florida's defense did. I can't really blame Boom for missing those facts. The national media did so for a full two months until Florida got emasculated by Louisville in the Sugar Bowl.

Which leads me to wonder why he didn't promise a win over Louisville the next time they play.

Then you have the whole Saban is 'the devil himself' thing:

"I've always wanted to work with Will [Muschamp]," Davis said at a booster club meeting Tuesday. "Will's got a plan. Will coached under the devil himself for seven years. I only did three. He did seven. And his DNA is not any different than Nick."

Putting aside the logical inconsistency of calling Saban the devil, then saying you love working for Muschamp and that Muschamp has the same DNA, don't think for a second that whenever Florida and Alabama eventually face off, Saban won't do everything he can to embarrass Davis' offensive line. If there is a prop bet on sacks surrendered or whatever in that game, whenever it happens, take the over.

TD

Bowling, 2014-2020

2013-05-21T22:36:00.000-04:00

This isn't any breaking news, but I thought our readers might enjoy the speculation on the SEC's possible new bowl tie-ins for the next six years. Bowls are currently negotiating a six year cycle of conference tie-ins in the shadow of the new playoff structure. The SEC is losing two tie-ins, the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl and the AT&T Cotton Bowl, to the new playoff structure. Those two will need to be replaced.

The current speculation is that the SEC will replace the Chick-fil-a Bowl with the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, presumably against an ACC team. The Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston would replace the Cotton. These bowls would give SEC fans two new destinations in or within driving distance of the conference footprint, a feature of the bowl lineup that the conference wants to maintain.

A couple of destinations aren't the only things that will change. It looks like the selection process will start with the Capital One, but after that pick, the conference will control most, if not all, of the remaining selections. This means the bowls won't necessarily be slotted in any defined order. Instead, the conference will dictate which teams end up in which bowls. This is an attempt to fit teams into bowls that make geographic (and economic) sense for the team's fanbase. There are also rumors that there will be an upper group of bowls and a lower group. Better teams would go to the upper group, while the six and seven win teams would go to the lower group.

All of that makes sound business sense. The bowls have historically had the power regarding team selection and ticket requirements (each team is required to buy a certain number of bowl tickets) through their contracts with conferences. During this cycle, the conferences, especially the SEC, seem to understand that they are the ones with the superior bargaining power. Thus, the SEC is trying to dictate team selection and reduce their member institution's costs by lower the ticket requirements. I expect the SEC to get its way.

Another thing that some conferences are playing with is the idea of shared picks. So, if a bowl contracts with the Big 12, the bowl and the Big 12 might negotiate to swap that pick with the Pac 12 in three years of the six year contract. I don't expect the SEC to participate because their teams are so in demand, they don't have to share.

So, if we lose Atlanta and Dallas, are Charlotte and Houston acceptable replacements? The conference says they want to avoid bowl fatigue, but if we just reshuffle the order of the existing bowl partners how can you avoid it? Will we get an SEC - Pac 12 bowl match up anywhere? Will the conference want to continue to partner with three Florida bowls that have historically had overlapping TV broadcasts?

The conference negotiations are underway now. Word is that most conferences want their new bowl contracts closed before the start of the season, so we should know some details soon.

Quinton

Off to Disney

2013-05-21T09:40:00.001-04:00

I'll be on Twitter, but posting here will be very light despite the baseball search. Four days at Disney, five at the beach and a few visiting my family on the way back. Hopefully, I'll get in a couple of poker tourneys in Florida, too. There are a couple of things in the hopper for posting later this week.

I'll be back in June.

TD

What the Baseball search will tell us

2013-05-20T10:10:00.001-04:00

@tylerdawgden other than dumpster fire facilities....it's one of the best jobs in baseball because of Cobb County and HOPE.
— Paul Westerdawg (@GeorgiaBlogPWD) May 20, 2013

This Tweet is the best way I know to frame what I am about to write: There is no reason Georgia shouldn't talk to everyone in baseball, including current SEC coaches, about the job. Now, I know we will not be able to talk Paul Mainieri or Chad Holbrook away from LSU and South Carolina. I do believe there are opportunities to go get a very good, proven head coach. Even a proven assistant coach can be a good hire. There are even great coaches [sigh for dramatic effect at heresy spoken] in other power conferences we should pursue.

I have no problem with an ambitious search that ends with us hiring someone who we didn't have on the radar screen. There are plenty of reasons why someone would chose to stay where we are that we can't overcome immediately, the facilities included. There are, as PWD noted, plenty of reason for someone to come to Athens. HOPE provides an avenue to spread the 11.5 equivalency scholarships around more. You add that with the talent base Cobb County and other very strong baseball programs in the state, there is no reason UGA isn't competing for some of the very best coaches around.

Oh hai possible baseball coaches.

One other thing to remember: Perno was one of the higher paid baseball coaches in the conference (grouped with several in the $425-475K range). McGarity isn't going to get a home town guy discount with this hire. I think the quick decision last year to keep Perno had a caveat that included significant improvement, as evidenced by the really quick hook.

Why does the search matter? In all likelihood, McGarity will lead a search for a new football coach. Then facilities won't matter. We'll also have a search for a basketball coach, where facilities and the AD's own statements on the low expectation will matter. We have to have a very big thinker running that search. Will we see a very big thinker running this one?

One last thing. I know we've been holding off on baseball facility improvements due to 'funding' issues (read: dangling a significant lead gift to jump start the money train). Is is possible we've also been holding off as a negotiating tool to offer a possible top flight coach? I'd say it is pretty short sighted to do that, considering you are likely losing more interest than you'll get with the tactic, but something has to explain the lack of commitment to funding significant improvements at Foley when we clearly have money in the bank to make it happen.

Who do we go after? Who will we get?

Weekend UGA Sports roundup

2013-05-20T08:49:00.001-04:00

The Diamond Dawgs beat the Gators 2 of 3 at home. We beat Tech earlier in the week to claim that season series, as well. That is the feel good part of the weekend for Georgia baseball.
Women's Tennis fall to Stanford in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Silva Garcia and Kate Fuller will advance as the one seed in doubles for the individual championships. Maho Kowase and Lauren Herring will compete in the singles individual championships.
Men's Tennis has advanced to face Virginia in the final four of the Men's side. UVA is undefeated on the season. Balls are in the air at 2pm today, with live scoring on Georgiadogs.com.
In women's softball, Georgia lost in the regional finals to host Arizona State. As a side note, 6 of the 16 teams in the Super Regionals are SEC teams.

Of course, there is other news involving Spring sports, as David Perno will reportedly be let go today. He ends his UGA coaching career at 384-324-1. I'll have more on that, and the search, later.

Mike Gundy is a man

2013-05-19T07:27:00.000-04:00

Not much of one, though.

I get limiting a kid's options if you might have to face him. It is possible Gundy is worried about him by telling him no Tennessee. But Southern Miss? Really?

Oh, and look for Jamey Franklin to both throw his sucker in the dirt over this and point to it as further proof of New Vandy©.

TD

Reasons I think about quitting my paying job

2013-05-18T07:15:00.001-04:00

May is traditionally a slow month for GSB. Unless you care about the NFL schedule or NBA/NHL's 2nd-6th rounds of playoffs, or [REDACTED ABOUT GEORGIA BASEBALL], there just isn't much going on. That works out ok for us, as May and June are the among the busiest for PWD and I.

However, Patrick Vint's catch at SBNation on Georgia Tech's recruiting ~~disaster~~ awesomes on Twitter makes me wish my kids had ~~more options for child laboring~~ much richer grandparents.

(just saw Blutarsky's post on the same thing)

FSU won't release Matthew Thomas

2013-05-14T22:22:00.002-04:00

Thomas' next step is to appeal to the NCAA. I hope he ends up in Athens, but if the NCAA grants this but keeps Kolton Houston from playing, the whole organization will be the sham we all know it be.

TD

Tennessee Schadenfreude: Non-Dooley/Kiffin edition

2013-05-14T12:30:00.000-04:00

Trae Golden leaving UT's basketball program was only a minor shock. After all, players leave programs fairly regularly in hoops, especially when there are allegations of academic issues. Academic progress is an issue that you must face in programs, even at Georgia.

But the story just got juicy. Apparently the head of the student judiciary ~~resigned instead of cooperating with the UT investigation~~ got fired for not cooperating with an investigation. And there are allegations of 'improper relationships' with student-athletes. So, was Golden being kept eligible through the Student Judiciary while he played? How about others?

The only bad news (for Georgia's perspective) is that since UGA beat Tennessee twice this year in hoops [INSERT YOUR OWN JUST LIKE FOOTBALL JOKE HERE], we don't end up with a vacated loss from this season. The good news, beyond the possibility of yet another academic/program control issue in Knoxville, is the Internets haz comment threads and message boards. Like this one at Out Kick the Coverage. Delicious.

TD

UGA Academic Progress Rate

2013-05-14T10:56:00.000-04:00

The Banner Herald has the story. The big news is how well men's basketball has fared under Fox. If you are looking for reasons as to him getting another year, I'd say this one is pretty big.

Overall, pretty good numbers:

MEN’S SCORES:
Baseball: 966
Basketball: 990
Cross country: 983
Football: 968
Golf: 1,000
Swimming: 985
Tennis: 965
Indoor track: 971
Outdoor track: 966

WOMEN’S SCORES:
Basketball: 979
Cross country: 995
Golf: 985
Gymnastics: 1,000
Women’s soccer: 984
Softball: 972
Swimming: 1,000
Tennis: 974
Indoor track: 994
Outdoor track: 994
Volleyball: 979

Felton passed over for Chattanooga job

2013-05-13T19:22:00.001-04:00

Dennis Felton was one of three finalists for the Chattanooga job. The job goes to VCU assistant coach Will Wade instead. Wade will become one of the youngest coaches in college hoops. Wade is a Nashville native and a Clemson grad who has been at VCU for the past four years with Shaka Smart.

As an aside, you know Smart is doing something right when other schools are poaching his assistants to be a head coach.

I hope he is very successful this year....

TD

How long does season evaluation take?

2013-05-13T09:44:00.001-04:00

In the case of the baseball team, don't think it is a forgone conclusion that Perno is gone. I think he should be, but there are three things that I keep thinking about:

He's still recruiting talent. For better or worse, his classes are still highly rated by Baseball America. I'll get to talent development in a minute, but there are arguments that the past two seasons are aberrations based on untimely injuries, club house lawyers, and very some unlucky bounces against teams. Remember, McGarity is a long term view guy. One that isn't likely to make a judgement solely on record.
He is under developing talent. If Perno gets credit for the recruiting classes, then you have to lay the blame of those classes not becoming elite pitchers and hitters on the college level on him. Again, there is an argument that part of the blame could be traced to injuries, ect.
His connections to the department are a wildcard. The guy was on the national championship team. His family is as connected as they get in Athens, at least as much as the Dooleys. He's been in the department for a very long time.

Perno has been to the CWS multiple times. That means something, especially when you start thinking about how McGarity views a coaching search. Is there someone out there that can at least replicate the successes of Perno, circa mid-00's?

There is one other thing in play here, that being the increasing fan apathy towards baseball. I know, put a good product and people will show up, blah, blah. If I had to bet, I'd say Georgia Athletics is on the verge of a big capital campaign. The timing of that kick off also plays in here. If UGA Athletics is about to push a campaign this summer, a change is more likely. If UGA Athletics is going to wait, a year isn't necessarily going to hurt that. If Perno bounces back, great. If he doesn't, well we need the money to improve facilities to give the new coach a leg up.

The biggest issue is that we have fallen precariously behind the other teams in the conference. Ten SEC teams are projected as locks into the 2013 NCAA tourney, with four teams projected to host (meaning they'll be national seeds, in all likelihood). Still, don't think McGarity is dead locked on firing Perno. It took him a season to move on gymnastics, nearly all based on the goodwill Jay Clark had built up as a long time coach in Athens.

Actually, the Jay Clark situation is a pretty good indicator of how this will go. It is clear we aren't close to competing for conference championships, much less qualifying for the NCAA championships. The real question lies in how much McGarity thinks Perno is the reason why we aren't, how much credit he gets for when the baseball team was competing at that level, and how much he believe Perno is capable of getting us back to that level.

Mark Richt second recipient of the Stallings Award

2013-05-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

Named for the former Alabama coach, the Stallings Award is presented "to honor college football head coaches who are also humanitarians and strive to promote healthy, vibrant communities through charitable and community service efforts." Richt will be honored on Monday in Dallas.

Texas' Mack Brown won last year's inaugural award. Congrats to Coach Richt.

#FreeKolton

2013-05-11T10:18:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning on OTL:

9am sharp people.
TD

Congrats to my new fellow UGA Grads

2013-05-11T05:00:00.000-04:00

Many of them going pro in something other than sports.

83 student athletes will receive their diplomas from UGA this weekend. Congrats to a group of Damn Good Dawgs. Full list is here.

TD

Kwanza Johnson actually leaves

2013-05-10T10:20:00.002-04:00

Georgia confirms that assistant men's hoops coach Kwanza Johnson is leaving for similar job at TCU. Move brewing for weeks.
— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) May 10, 2013

This gets Kwanza back to his original recruiting ground. Best of luck to the Johnsons.
TD

Accountability

2013-05-10T09:13:00.002-04:00

Blutarsky does a good job of hitting the who is doing what with athletes and police in Athens and the obvious follow up on how it might be played out on the recruiting trail. However, if you want a good view of the perspective of those that have gone before, check out the article The Senator linked.

Blutarsky quoted most of the money shot, but it isn't hard to see the difference in approach, and recalcitrance, from those that have had their issues from other sports and that of Carter. Carter, while talking about second chances, is too easily laying the blame on Athens, the culture and the ACC/University PD. He isn't owning his drinking or threatening a woman. For an alternative view, see Cornelius Washington.

Also, there is an interesting confluence of factors in the ever growing #HCMRhlco meme. Some athletes make better decisions than others. Honestly, I don't believe in the good apple/bad apple theory. College students will be college students. The real issues, those that have resulted in dismissals (at least in football), have been really poor life decisions. Basically, I'm saying that while there is a probable witch hunt of sorts ~~by the local constabulary~~ due to many factors and powers in Clarke County, there is plenty of blame to be lain at the feet of the athletes who make the unwise decisions to go out and act the fool.

If the police know all the athletes and all the athletes are always out enjoying the Athens party lyfe, then we'd see far more arrests. We can quibble about how often charges get pressed when an athlete, or any other student, has an interaction with police, but there are far more times when the average Friday night out having a couple of drinks at the club ends in nothing more than a ride back to East Campus Village in a taxi.

There are 8 biggies that will 100% result in an arrest in Athens (not counting those that you shouldn't have to be told, like don't kill anyone):

Don't drink and drive.
Don't pass out in bathrooms/on sidewalks/on benches or in The Grill/Waffle House/Bourbon Street.
Don't hit others or threaten to do so, especially with a weapon.
Don't be holding.
Don't touch anyone without an invitation to do so.
Don't carry guns.
If you are underage, don't flout that fact or push your luck by toting a drink up the sidewalk, jackass.
Don't get nekkid in public.

Go out. Have fun. Be a college student. Be smart about doing those things. Even athletes can do so and not get into trouble. Kyle Carter, despite his profession otherwise, still doesn't get that.

TD

Troll Tide!

2013-05-09T15:18:00.001-04:00

I'm sure someone somewhere will find a way to connect this with Saban leaving for the NFL.

If that happens, the really deliciousness will come when Jon Gruden openly campaigns for the 'Bama job, because he's got a house in Tennessee.

TD

What will FSU do with Matthew Thomas?

2013-05-09T11:20:00.001-04:00

One thing that struck me about this whole thing is the timing. Thomas attended FSU's spring game and reportedly didn't say anything to his coaches or FSU's coaches. Now, his mother goes out of town and he is looking to get out of his National Letter of Intent (NLI). That is something I missed before and honestly can't figure if, or how, it plays into Thomas letting FSU know he wants out.

I'm not ready to just write him off as a diva or whatever other term that is getting thrown around. He didn't strike me that way in his recruiting, and I can think of plenty of reasons he might be re-thinking his decision now. What makes me curious is how the conversation with him mom and Fisher will go. Will he do the opposite of what his mom wants by signing with USC whenever he gets the chance to do so? I still don't
think so, but who knows.

(Image: USA Today, From Tallahassee Democrat)

That being said, I see this going one of two ways. One is simple: FSU releases him, either outright or with restrictions, from his NLI. Since Derek Dooley isn't coaching there, it is hard to see them putting too many restrictions on him other than currently scheduled schools. Even if they put no restrictions on him, ACC rules require him to sit out two years, so any ACC school is also probably out. BTW, FSU's currently scheduled schools include Florida, Oklahoma State, Bethune-Cookman, Nevada, Idaho, Notre Dame, The Citadel, Texas State, and Chattanooga. This Provision 6 release would allow him to participate in Fall 2013. After looking over the NLI rules, I am not sure they could place ad hoc restrictions on him, but who knows, since it is a contract.

The other isn't so simple. If FSU says no, he could stay and play. He could not enroll and enroll at the school he intends to play for in 2014, but with only three years of eligibility left. Per Provision 4, he will get dinged a year penalty plus the year he is enrolled, but can't participate. He can appeal these penalties to the National Letter of Intent Review Committee, which, not surprisingly, is based at the NCAA and is made up of Count Dooku, Verbal Kint, and Kenneth Starr. He'll need to show extenuating circumstances.

Therein lies the rub. Can he?

There is also a whole other issue about FSU allowing him to be recruited, but I don't have the time or mind power to see how that plays into this. It was mentioned to me that the only other recruiting situation that comes close to this is Seantrel Henderson, who signed with Southern Cal, then was granted his release when the NCAA dropped the hammer on the Trojans. There are a couple of key things different here. First, FSU isn't getting the hammer dropped on them, so that extenuating circumstance isn't there. Second. FSU doesn't need to free up a scholarship, like Southern Cal needed to do at that time.

So, what does that mean? I have to think one of two things happen now. The first is that Thomas' has another change of heart and still goes to Tallahassee. While that is the simplest scenario in this whole mess, I can't get my mind around why do this if momma is just going to make you stay with your (her?) pick. Second, FSU grants the release. If they grant the release, he'll come to Georgia, IMHO. I'm not saying they do; I'm not saying they won't. I just think he'll come to Athens if they do. I don't see the juice being worth the squeeze for FSU to refuse the request, long term.

Finally, there is always a JUCO route, if he chooses to go that way. I'd guess he'll still have three years of eligibility when he is done there, so unless he somehow becomes untouchable due to this situation or can't qualify where he wants to go, I can't see him going JUCO. He could just enroll at the institution he intends to play for and still hold those same three years of eligibility, while practicing with his team mates and learning the system he's going to play in.

It'll be an interesting thing to watch as him mom gets back into town and those meetings with Jimbo Fisher happen. Of course, the long term fallout with this will be how top prospects handle NLIs going forward. For my money, I think we'll see fewer letters of intent signed, and more players actually dragging their recruiting out longer.

I bet Paul Johnson will love that.

TD

Diaz taking the very high road

2013-05-09T09:53:00.000-04:00

Georgia tennis coach Manny Diaz is handling having his top player leave the team the week the NCAA championships start very well. You can read between the lines plenty. Trust me, I have. Anyway, there is a pretty compelling story here for the Dawgs if they actually win the NCAA championships.

Now, I encourage Singh to take the very high road in the future when he is asked about it. I believe he owes that to Coach Diaz.

TD

Matthew Thomas - Word on the street

2013-05-08T13:45:00.001-04:00

I'm not much for word on the street stuff. For one, my street is fairly far from town. For two, unless you are hearing it from the actual person involved, there is always agenda. That being said, I feel pretty good about Matthew Thomas coming to UGA. As you might know, he was one of the top three OLB in the Feb signing class, and he ended up committing to FSU, propelling FSU's signing class to a top ten ranking.

Now he wants out. He is reportedly looking at Southern Cal and Georgia. He signed with FSU, at his mom's urging. Miami thought he was a sure thing until Al Golden pulled one of his best friend's scholarship offer in January. Even if he would get past that, he'd have a mandatory two year sit out per ACC rules.

His mom wants him closer to home than farther. Plus, mom still likes UGA more than Southern Cal (or still doesn't trust the coaching staff at SC; this is the word on the street stuff I was talking about), and Thomas isn't going to go against her this time either. Unless another school gets into the mix, he'll come to Georgia....if FSU releases him from the LOI, which they don't have to do.

I haven't spent a lot of time digging into the scenarios if they don't, but I'll do so tonight. However, I do think he comes to play for Georgia, eventually.

The Florida Way

2013-05-06T20:07:00.000-04:00

Hey, if it works for Florida Billy Donovan......

Was told that Florida was more open to adding transfers for 2013 than hs players. But that could change w/recent defections.
— Kevin Brockway (@gatorhoops) May 6, 2013

The sad thing is that we'd more likely see about some guy with ~~offers~~ an offer from ~~the Sun Belt~~ a Southland Conference school than take a transfer from anywhere.

TD

SEC nine game conference schedules?

2013-05-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

The biggest problem I have with a nine game conference schedule is that it doesn't allow a team to do much to improve their potential strength of schedule. As a fan of an SEC school, that doesn't seem too relevant. Now.

What about if we were in the early 70's or late 80s? SEC football was relatively bad then. It also isn't hard to imagine a nine game schedule where the SEC has three teams decimated by probation, say Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas A&M; five teams that are downright terrible, say Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi State; and four more that are mediocre, at best, say South Carolina, Florida, Vandy, and Georgia.

So you really think a one loss SEC champion in that scenario actually gets into a four game playoff over the B1.5G champion, the one loss loser of that game, any other undefeated conference champion or a one loss Notre Dame?

I don't think they would. Putting aside the obvious loss of a compelling match up, that is a bigger concern moving to a nine game schedule. I think Barrett Sallee's is too optimistic in keeping marquee match-ups (or adding those that will never ever happen, in Missouri's case). If the SEC goes to a nine game schedule, you can kiss any other OOC game with a major conference team other than Georgia Tech good bye.

TD

Brandon Kublanow dropping truth

2013-04-29T09:31:00.000-04:00

Carvell, as a part of his recruiting follow up articles, interviewed UGA signee Brandon Kublanow. In it, Kublanow talks about his recruitment, of course. He also talks about playing against Robert Nkemdiche and what went down with Laremy Tunsil's signing with Ole Miss.

First on Nkemdiche:

Funniest story from a recruiting trip? “It was probably have to be seeing Robert Nkemdiche at Clemson. After the state championship game (in 2011, when Grayson beat Walton), I saw him at Clemson.. I had told some people that I had kicked his (butt), which I did. He had read some ESPN article where it said I had kicked his (butt). I guess he wasn’t happy about it. He came up to me with a bunch of his boys, and he was whining about it. He was like ‘I saw the article. That was cute.’ He showed me his state championship ring. I told him to ‘Go back and watch the film.’”

Who was the best player you went up against in high school? “Probably Montravius Adams. I thought he was (darn) good. He was strong as heck. Montravius or Carl Lawson.Carl has got a lot of moves. He’s good. And he got a long stronger his senior year.”

Two batches of awesome here. First, calling out Nkemdiche (which I missed) and then backing his words when Nkemdiche tried to flash his ring with 'his boys,' presumably the same ones that ended up at Clemson anyway. Second, then specifically not mentioning Nkemdiche when discussing the best players he went up against, when the question was specifically asked to give him a chance to give Nkemdiche props. I'm developing a healthy mancrush on him.

Second, on Tunsil:

You were also close with Laremy Tunsil? “He had told me he was signing with Georgia. That really (angered) me. That really (angered) a lot of people. He had told me for like a month before signing day – we had talked a lot – that he was coming to Georgia. He had pretty much told Georgia coaches that he was coming. Then a few days before signing day, I got a text saying he was going to Ole Miss and that he has got to do what he’s got to do. Then his phone shut off. I tried to talk to him a lot. I tried to call him a lot. But his phone was off. So, there was nothing you could do. I don’t know what happened. I guess he just fell in love with Ole Miss.” Have you talked to him since signing day? “No, I haven’t.”

I don't have much to comment on about this, but I do have to say I like this (freaking) guy a lot.

TD