Polee Heading East...??

UPDATE: As Mike (Twitter) and Furban8 (comments) mentioned, Polee will visit Oregon before deciding. The Ducks have evidently settled on Dana Altman as their coach and he's hot for Polee too. If you're on Scout, Fletcher Page has been right about a lot with this kid (including the likelihood that he would delay his decision), which isn't an easy task. Especially since this kid's recruitment changes as quickly as his first step off the hardwood. So stay tuned. We may be labeled a longshot, but we're a longshot that has recruited him extremely hard, well.

_________________________

Dwayne Polee is set to make his decision tonight. This is the guy that Coach Mark Fox has recruited the hardest, racking up frequent flyer miles by the thousands between ATL and LAX.

The number of schools still in contention is still a little vague. Polee dropped UTEP, which is the program I once considered Fox's greatest challenge. Floyd began recruiting Polee when he was still writing checks at USC. Now it is down to UGA, St. John's, UNLV and Oregon.

Unless...you believe this post at ZagsBlog.

Dwayne Polee, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Los Angeles (Calif.) Westchester, will announce his college choice at halftime of Saturday’s Collision all-star game at El Camino College.

“St. John’s and UGA,” Polee wrote Thursday in a text, referring to his final two choices of  St. John’s and Georgia.

Steve Lavin is a hell of a recruiter and was out visiting Polee as recently as Wednesday I believe. But he's also the last guy to the table and Fox has made no mistakes with the Polee family, who have gone on record effusing praise upon Fox, Athens and the UGA basketball program overall.

Can Mark Fox grab a high profile recruit such as Polee from the left coast in just his second season?

Regardless, it seems as though Polee is heading east. It's just a matter of where. The game tonight starts at 6:30pm out west. So I'm thinking we'll know something around the time I'm on my fourth bourbon.

Go Dawgs!

Don't "Dismiss" This...

We've all been (at the very least) taken aback by the dismissal of one high profile scholarship player and one walk-on in the last week, bringing the number to three this off-season.

Without going into all of the drama that has ensued in the blogosphere, message boards and newspapers, it's quite simply a puzzling time for fans. We all want answers, and the issue as to what information exactly we as fans have a right to is a matter of some debate.

I'll simply add that it's quite possible that Coach Richt isn't just fed up...he may be more than a little sick of the nonsense. He may even be too tired of the late night/early morning phone calls. There's at least a reasonable chance there's more to it than that. 

And it was the dismissal of back up punter Trent Dittmer that got me thinking. Although we don't know what has occurred behind the scenes, this appears to be Dittmer's first visit to CMRs DawgHouse. The head guy has assuredly made it his last. 

Let me be perfectly clear that I in no way believe that CMR would use a kid's life simply to make a public point that he's tired of being portrayed as Mr. Nice Guy. But CMR has been more than fair in the past with his second chances. And in some cases those second chances multiplied further (read: Odell Thurman). I'm certainly of the opinion that I am on a needs to know basis with what happens within the program that I so dearly love. When I need to know, Coach Richt will tell...Mr. David Hale...and I'll in turn digest it thoroughly.

Montez's case was played out in the media more due to public access to police records. He had a much publicized extra opportunity, and sadly mishandled it.

Mettenberger's case has been well publicized for similar reasons to Robinson's, but the details (at least publicly) don't add up to a dismissal. I am quite certain however, that privately they equate.

Which brings me back to Dittmer. His dismissal affects the team the least, certainly. But of the three, it's the most curious. He got drunk and became an asshat. Something most of us have done a time...or two. Just maybe not to the extent that Mr. Dittmer did. Still, it begs the question, was it the timing that brought such a swift and definite punishment? Or are there other details?

Again, the answers to those questions are not my property. But the contrast between the Dittmer case and the one of Jeff Henson (the only other walk-on to my knowledge to have been dismissed under Richt) is at least fairly dramatic. Henson got a second chance then fumbled his long snap. With Dittmer however, the kid gloves were no where to be seen.

All of that to say this: I can't help but wonder if having made the tough choices he's made in the past few months...and having let go of colleagues, some of which he's worked with for years...maybe Richt has developed the attitude of you're either with me, or against me.


If so...it could be a long off-season if these kids aren't getting the message. I hope they are. Cuz it certainly ain't for lack of trying.

Shaking the Expansion Tree

I've read a lot on the impending expansion and subsequent contractions of NCAA football. Whether it happens or not, only time will tell. Meanwhile, in the SEC things can take a wait and see approach. The SEC is in a position of strength. The conference certainly doesn't need to expand, unless the right perfect opportunity arose.

That's why this reading over at TeamSpeedKills made perfect sense to me. Texas is the plump peach on the NCAA football tree. But it's not just a matter of choosing, then picking.

I'd love to speculate about the idea of Clempson joining the SEC...offering FSU...Miami. But in the end I think the SEC stays put. And it's not just a matter of refusing to fix what ain't broke. It's also a matter of not making a move just because others are.

Afterall, in '92 expansion worked for the SEC. When the Big Eight followed suit, they also did well. But the ACC a few years back...not so much.

It just smells to me like something that's unnecessary. I doubt Slive even shakes the tree.

Depth Thoughts...by Bernie

In case you settled in for a long afternoon nap yesterday afternoon, the post-spring depth chart was released. It's official now...so watch the finger smudges.

My initial thought is...is there a formation we can run that features four or more fullbacks? In all seriousness, the Anonymous commenter on Hale's Depth Chart Quotes may have the best point about the depth chart...can't Charles White move back to OLB?

Here's some others:

• Murray's Leadership - this becomes the hot topic of the summer. I truly thought we'd see the co-#1 with Murray and Gray. Glad Richt and Bobo felt comfortable enough with the younger guy's progress that they could put the team on his shoulders. We've expected this time to come. Now Murray has a few months to test drive this role and further convince his coaches and teammates he's ready for it.
• "When we were recruiting (Murray), there was a certain night of the week where all the guys would get together and watch film on their own. He’s been through that before, and I think if our team will respond to him regardless of his age, I think it will go very well because he knows what it looks like, he knows what it feels like, and he’s very eager to do that..." - Coach Richt
• Damn. Just...damn. Two (T - W - O...) QBs on our depth chart. I'm not against an ankle bracelet on Aaron. If he ventures too close to the Arches...ZAP!!
• The last thing I want is for Hutson Mason to do anything to jeopardize his high school graduation. But I wouldn't hate it if he exempted a couple final exams to gain some ground on Bobo's playbook.
• Once some names move from the IR to the actual depth chart, the offensive line will be pretty stout. Hope it stays that way.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Vance Cuff has evidently done more than shake Coach Lakatos' hand. “I thought Vance might have been the most improved guy on the football team this spring. He just seemed like every day he was making plays and gaining confidence, and he just did a really nice job.” - Coach Richt
• All that worrying about the nose and it's arguably (with the addition of Bean) our deepest position among the front seven. 
• I was a little surprised by Gamble on the second team, but in the end that may be more encouraging than anything. In fact, the OLB positions look almost as stocked as the safety positions. What coulda been had Montez stayed outta trouble...

Lastly, the post-spring depth chart is just that...a spring depth chart. Subject Sure to change. And with a new regime blowing the whistles at practice and some definite depth issues at certain positions, this August more than ever may see some greenhorns helping the coaches do some reshuffling.

Trivial Update - Tapping into the NFL Draft

#ThursdaysRTrivial ep 42 right after this PSA: Big 11 may soon need a new belt, which means they'll be even fatter...and slower.

#ThursdaysRTrivial episode 42 "Whaddya Got on Draft?" It's the only game show that Wink never hosted. This week the prizes are numerous while their cash value plummets, just like a HillBillys SAT score once he's born. REPLY back your answer for an assured fabulous prize. Last year it was Stafford of course. In '99 it was Champ. Who will be the first Dawg selected in this year's NFL Draft?

As was widely expected, no Dawgs were taken Thursday. I expect that to change tonight when Reshad Jones becomes the first Georgia player taken in this draft. (If you're keeping score at home it'll be the Patriots.)

But I thought it would be fun to see what other tweeps thought:

• @TNRLM says it'll be Jeff Owens and @allyugadawg concurs. #95 improved his stock out in Indy and there's no doubt that the first round was d-line heavy.
• @The_Real_Paige bucked the trend of feeling that Rennie Curran would be passed over early and often. All Dawg fans know some team is gonna get a steal regardless of where Curran is picked. It's just a matter of who...where...and what team is willing to sacrifice their own RBs health during practices.
• @MikeInValdosta agrees with me on Reshad (or I agree with him...whatevs).

All participants will receive a beer stained J-E-T-S JETS!JETSJETS! jersey from the balcony of Radio City Music Hall. The winner (if there is one...Geno wasn't taken afterall...) will be announced in the meatloaf Monday. And actually, there's an abundance of these green and white jerseys if someone wants to join in the comments. 

Hope you don't mind the pit stains though.

Deion Sanders has a new orifice to BlahBlahBlah from...

I'm sure most Dawg fans will find the following quote from former voWel Eric Berry petty and childish. I on the other hand, found it hysterical.

Another message Berry finds dear to his heart is making sure he treats the fans well. He acknowledged still feeling upset when Deion Sanders declined to give him an autograph when he was in high school (and wasn’t interested in speaking to Deion at the Play 60 event), and said he wants to be as accommodating as possible to fans.

"I just try to make sure that if someone comes up to me, whether it’s for an autograph or a handshake — because I’ve been shot down before like I told you — I don’t want nobody to feel like that.”

Let me add, I can't stand Deion. The only thing worthwhile he's ever done for society in my eyes is to dump ice water on Tim McCarver. 

Now we can all agree, THAT was funny!

But the bottomline is that Sanders epitomizes a part of pro sports that makes me ill. The prancing, the showboating, the ego crammed inside a helmet that will never be big enough. To me, all that just takes away from the actual game. (I know...I'm old. I get your point...so get off my lawn!!!)

I've read where Sanders was like that in college too, but I come from an era where only relevant college football teams made the television screen. And the Criminoles were hardly relevant back then. Boom Roasted!!

Anyway, my disgust for PrimeTime only strengthened as he continued to get credit for being flashy through his years in the NFL. To my knowledge, Champ Bailey hasn't ever landed in a helicopter in centerfield of Atlanta Fulton Co. Stadium, but he also doesn't pull out a red cape when a ball carrier comes to his side of the field.

He takes the mutha to the turf, Dawg!

So while I detest the fact that Berry shunned Georgia back when he was a senior at Creekside HS in Fairburn, I applaud him for giving Neion Deion a small taste of his backhand.

Dawgs Edge Eagles

Mid-week games have been a real damper on a season that's been a real downer for the Diamond Dawgs. But as Clarkson reports, after beating Winthrop last night 4-2, there's a notable sigh of relief from players, coaches and fans alike.

And for a change it was relief pitching that got it done for the Dawgs. Perno and Wiederholz got their exercise in by using eight pitchers to hold off the Eagles. The coaches even used Palazzone and Walters out of the pen, but the strategy worked as the octet gave up just two runs off of six hits.

"We were just trying to win a game and we wanted guys to get work," Perno said. "It was kind of two-fold. We were putting in guys we felt needed to pitch an inning, but we were covering them up, too. If they got into a jam, we were going to have somebody ready. We were trying to pitch a complete game and not pitch two or three innings here and there."

Speaking of pitching, T. Kyle King over at DawgSports has a great perspective on what has been the million dollar question this spring. The pitching has been up, down and all around. To use Kyle's words, We’ll find out down the stretch whether opposing batters have been making Georgia pitchers look bad or whether Georgia pitchers have been making opposing batters look good.

Next up - the Lamecocks come to town Friday.

Go Dawgs!

DoucheDrunk of the Day

Who has two thumbs and just dressed his own bare feet? (h/t Deadspin)

Note to DoucheDrunk - either don't wear flip-flops or don't carry a backpack with a cinder block in it when drinking. Gravity holds an eternal trump card over your equilibrium my friend.

A History Lesson for Mett

I hope you've read some of Patrick Garbin's books. If you're not aware of the name, he has three books on Georgia football: The 50 Greatest Plays in Georgia Football History, About Them Dawgs! and Then Vince Said to Herschel. I can personally vouch for the first two.. The last is in this summer's queue. If you're not familiar with his formal writing, I hope you have picked up on his blog from time to time. You can always find it over there under Daily Dawg Clicks.

After yesterday's brouhaha over the Team Mett Facebook page, I was strolling around the blawgosphere looking for different insights, most notably on moving forward from where we are. I didn't click far before I had all I needed.

Mettenberger Can Learn a Lesson From Another Ex-Georgia QB is a great perspective for both the Dawg fans who are (at least) ankle deep in Remerton Rumors and the estranged Zach Mettenberger himself. I was just knee high to Herschel when Tony Flanagan was a two sport star in Athens. In truth, I barely remembered the name.

But Garbin takes a thread from our own Dawg history and weaves it into the current drama unfolding both inside and outside of Butts-Mehre. The effect is calming, it provides perspective. Most of all it instills hope. Two vastly different persons, both former QBs at The University of Georgia, separated by three decades, yet bound together by poor choices as student athletes.

I have no doubt that this too shall pass. Fans will move on. And I have no doubt that should this post by Mr. Garbin reach Mett's computer screen he will have a framework to put together as great a future as Tony Flanagan.

NFL Draft - Dawg Preview

Regular readers know I'm not much for pro sports. But there's something about the NFL draft that always intrigues me. I tune in to see where that year's breed of Dawgs go, but I get hooked by the intriguing subplots. The trades, the board room decisions...the drunk Jet fans.

Last year was particularly intense for us with Matt Stafford going #1 and Knowshon going a short while later. And that's all well and good. But I'm always more interested in the Dawgs that go later. You know, the kids we've been following for 3+ years that maybe don't have 1st round skill, talent or size..but they're all Dawg.

This year we have a lot of those, ones that will go in the later rounds. And I couldn't be pulling harder. I mentioned the other day how much I've enjoyed following Mike Moore on Twitter. That kid's been working hard since we left him in Shreveport, trust me. Rennie's new to Twitter, but can you imagine the treat some loud mouth NFL RB is gonna get this summer when Rennie introduces himself to his new training camp?

I presumed you'd enjoy some links. So I gathered a handful below. It's easy to find some knowitall who wants to tell everybody how they think the first round will play out. So I tried to find some more obscure readings that include our Dawgs as well as other stories of interest. If you've found one I missed, please include it in the comments.

• Football Dialogue has a complete seven round mock draft. (first Dawg taken - Reshad at #62 to Vikings)
• Tim Tucker gives a rundown of where the Dawgs are getting projected from a variety of sources. As a casual Falcons fan, I'd sure love to see Rennie stay in red and black...
• Speaking of the Falcons, the Falcoholic has a complete mock just for you Dirty Birds. For what it's worth, I saw a lot of mocks that had Atlanta taking the Michigan DE/OLB hybrid Brandon Graham with their first pick.
• If you're included in that inner ring of often confused and dazed ESPN (quote/unquote) Insiders (Hey! it came with the magazine, which was a gift...)...here's an interesting read based on this year's crop of 3-4 LBs ($$). Surely Grantham has mentioned this sort of thing to a few 17 year olds recently.
• This mock is different from most I've seen if you're looking for some variety rather than what is being played in the mainstream hotspots. For instance, it has Bradford going #4 and the NATS' Morgan dropping all the way to late 2nd. Interesting. (only has the first two rounds mocked, no Dawgs projected)

So remember that this year the NFL is presenting their draft differently. It's starts tomorrow night and goes into the weekend.

Rd. 1: Thurs., April 22, 7:30 p.m. ET

Rds. 2-3: Fri., April 23, 6 ET 

Rds. 4-7: Sat., April 24, 10 a.m. ET 

And since the new NFL schedule has been released, it's a good time to look up a ticket broker and check into some football tickets to see our newest Dawg legends, wherever they end up.

Are You Dawg Enough for Grantham?

I've become a pretty big fan of Scout. Although I don't enjoy perusing message boards, the Porch is much better than those nut jobs that spend all day (and evening) waiting for the AJC to post something so that they can type the word First!!! And Dean Legge and Chad Simmons lead a cast of characters over at Georgia Scout that is top notch. 

I mention all that simply to preface this: when I read this piece by Dean last night, I thought he was off his rocker. He basically takes that recent Grantham quote about the fans and runs with it. He essentially calls Georgia fans of recent years soft, too quiet....casual. 

To quote those kids today - Oh SNAP!!

Don't know about you Reader, but I hunkered down through the entire Goff era as a student. After graduation, I barked through the rain and cold back in '98 when Ole Missy came to town; a night that was even more miserable than the monsoon we survived against the Sun Devils this past season. Like 92,000 other people I know, given the choice of the white sands of a Hawaiian beach or the cold concrete of Sanford Stadium in November...gimme my stadium cup and pass the flask!

But when my blood simmered down...ol' Dean may have a point. I took a deep breath and took off my red and black colored glasses....hmmm...

Sanford Stadium is not loud... I’m not sure if Georgia fans are not loud (that, I think, is part of it) or if the makeup of the stadium itself – wide, not tall – is the reason for it, but nonetheless Sanford Stadium is not an intimidating place to play… at least not right now.

It was the second reading I believe that made me think. And from there he goes on to lay some of the blame at the foot of the team, namely for recent home flops against big teams. Such as that night in September back in 2008 when the wife and I shelled out big bucks for a babysitter and spent the day in Athens with friends, getting charged up for a huge game against Bama, only to watch the Dawgs fall flat. 

Yeh, Dean's words were beginning to sink in. He expertly uses Grantham's enthusiasm to point out that not only does the new defense need to be charged up, but the fans will need to be as well. In essence, it'll be the 12th man that can be the icing to the cake Grantham is baking. The louder the stadium, the harder it will be for Ryan Mallett, Josh Nesbitt and Nick Stephens Jonathan Crompton Peyton Manning...whatever the hell HillBilly lines up under center 'tween the hedges.

I was sold. It was a cold and hard truth. But it was the truth nonetheless. I always make it to at least one away game a year. If my leash is taut in Athens, the chain is breaking on the road. Jacksonville's AllTel comes unglued around All Hallow's Eve each year. I've seen Sun Devils bow down to us in the desert. The cowbells in Starkville can't be heard when that corner of the stadium is filled with what comes down the track in Athens.

Opening kick in Athens is still 136 days away. But do whatcha gotta do dear Reader. Cuz this fall...it's Saturday in Athens!!

Could LeMay be a Silver Britches Lining to the Mett Saga??

Chip Towers says the Dawgs are now the clear cut favorite to land the nation's top QB prospect, Christian LeMay. From the words of his father Rev. Stacy LeMay:

“Christian feels even better about the situation, and he already liked Georgia a lot anyway. He has always felt very comfortable with Coach Richt. They have similar philosophies in life and in football. The possibility before this was pretty encouraging anyway. Now Georgia’s situation has become even more attractive.”

Of course, there are always many twists and turns on the recruiting trail. But there are a number of reasons this may all play out as we hope. The biggest of which may be that the LeMays could announce soon since he's been on campus more than I have since November.

If you're looking for more on the #2 QB prospect in the nation, here's the Scout rundown of the signal callers. But also check out Chad Simmons' breakdown of LeMay. It looks to me like if he were to choose Athens, Bobo would be doing more polishing than building.

Monday's Meatloaf - From Glory, Glory to Bus Fare

Wow. What a difference a week makes huh?

Last meatloaf had a heavy ladle of Mett gravy. In the post-GDay glory we suddenly had a QB competition. The kid from Oconee had thrilled, been as sharp as could be on short, intermediate and deep throws. He still couldn't be the starter, but it at least seemed possible that Gray could provide some depth at WR while Mett pushed Murray.

Now...well...we still have Murray. Instead of awarding Zach Mettenberger his share of snaps in August, we're making sure he has the bus fare to wherever his next stop is. And probably the one thing we can be sure of is that this kid will land on his feet. He's got an all-star arm and the difference in his foot work and pocket poise between last year and this year is like night and day. He's got Bobo to thank for that.

And hopefully in the years to come, Zach Mettenbeger will also be able to thank Coach Richt for helping him learn a valuable life lesson.

Today's Ingredients

• The timing of news like this Mett thing is never good. But this time it's also especially odd. Despite the press releases to the contrary, can't help but think something else surfaced that forced Coach Richt's hand.
• And I have to admit, the conspiracy theorist in me had these same thoughts running through the synapses yesterday afternoon. It was a peculiar GDay all around, and as Noops says - it started with the odd QB rotation.
• That being said, from my seat Mett played as cool as a cucumber so I'll leave it at that. At least until the next random thought hits my brain. You know, like this one...
• Did you hear Jonathan Dwyer bought a handful of crank from Reuben Houston at a World of Warcraft allnighter and swallowed them behind a couple shots of Mountain Dew? At least that's how I read this one.
• Doubt it will affect Dwyer's draft status. But while we're talking about enemy players and the draft, I think Buffalo would be a great destination for St. Timmy...assuming there's not a team in east Siberia.
• Both AwwBarn and Bammer's spring game was Saturday. Scarbinsky compares the two events, in a way.
• From the other end of the bus trip Mett is now on...you know the age old story of the high profile recruit that strays, gets kicked off campus, resurfaces at another only to turn his life around? I submit to you Newton as a WarTiger and Nu'Keese as a Pirate.
• Speaking of Hampton University, looks like Michael Vick has given up training dogs and now is ready to train young 8 year olds how to play behind the center as a running back.
• As we head into the longest stretch of football's off-season, Mike is pensive...and still has his eyes on the prize. 
• Chad Simmons chronicles the commitment ($$) of Devin Bowman, which came over the weekend.
• Andrea Griffeth of the ABH has the first of a three part series on Larry Munson up. Go over and get the picture.
• Hale says after the summer workouts there can't be any defensive regression.
• Weiszer has a great piece on the relationship between scooters and the UGA athlete. In the wake of Chance Veazey's horrendous accident, it's nice to see the Athletic Administration is taking precautions. I hope and pray every athlete is listening.
• It's not that other schools can't ride horses, it's just that UGAs team is a little more Hi-O Silver!! and they're a lot more like circus acts. Congrats to the Equestrian team on yet another national championship. 
• And another trophy is returning with the men's golf team from St. Simons as they won the SEC for the seventh time in Haack's 14 year career.
• If you like watching old videos of college football games and/or evaluating X's and O's...this is a pretty good read/watch from Smart Football, looking at the evolution of spread offenses.
• A Prez Adams follow up - a couple weeks ago I labeled the carpetbagger's flirtatiousness with the NCAA a lethal cocktail. This piece follows up with Bob Ryan who was the initial pot stirrer. (h/t Mrs. Bernie)
• If Boise State really wants to be taken as serious as their soon to be top ranking, they gotta come up with bigger stories than the replacement of their smurf turf.

If I asked for a show of hands as to who among us had once had to eat their own words this would suddenly look like a Justin Bieber concert (well...without all the dried zit cream and training bras). You just can't go through life without it kicking you in the ass at least a couple of times. 

So...remember this??...

"Last year I was around a lot, and the leadership wasn't too great last year. I've been here three weeks and I can already tell that the leadership and the seniors, they want to win a championship again. They want an SEC championship. They want a spot to play for the national title. So far, the leadership has been outstanding in my opinion."

Yup. That's Mett in January '09 discussing what he'd seen so far that had surprised him. I remember reading that and being shocked. Shocked that a new kid would say them and shocked that the words must be true.

But it didn't compare to how shocked I was yesterday around 5pm when I heard the news that Mett was booted. The local kid who had been moderately recruited and had jumped for joy in a Wal-Mart when Richt had delivered the news over the phone. The kid who's mother parks next to his coaches. The kid who wowed us 'tween the hedges last week.

Gone.

And so is another plate Reader. Come back for seconds now ya hear?

Bernie

Larry Munson: legendary voice, true Dawg

This is the first in a three part series by Andrea Griffeth of the ABH. For Dawg fans, old, young or in-between...this why your blood runs red and black.

For Griffeth's full story, click here.