But we need to continue to keep a watchful eye here as Stricklin starts to round out his staff. If he can convince Mike Birkbeck to come to Athens as well and take over a talented yet raw pitching staff, things will look even better around Foley Field. Birkbeck has been putting top draft picks into the MLB draft, but could stay at Kent State as Stricklin's replacement."Scott Stricklin is a tremendous hire for the University of Georgia; he is a guy who has had a lot of success as a head coach, taking Kent State to the College World Series and perennially has had one of the best and most talented teams in the Midwest," said Baseball America executive editor Jim Callis. "He's got a background coaching in Georgia and in the SEC at Vanderbilt. As a Georgia alum, I was thrilled by the hire as well."
Former player Jonas Hayes has been named as Kwanza Johnson's replacement. This has been expected for a few weeks and comes as welcome news for older fans of the program. Hayes should do a good job for Fox. He'll almost certainly work with big men as well as try and lure young talent to Athens (although there's not a whole lot of recruiting to be done in the coming year unless more spots unexpectedly open up). Yes, Hayes was an easy choice here. Looking forward to seeing what he can do developing players and recruiting for Fox.
Is Kenarious Gates Richt's "most indispensable offensive player"? I don't ask that as a slight against the very versatile big man here. But I'd personally give the nod to a fifth year quarterback or a sophomore sensation at running back.
Speaking of football, tomorrow a limited number of single game tickets to North Texas and Kentucky will go on sale at GeorgiaDogs.com.
