McGarity to step down, Spurrier rumored as next AD

Happy Mike Campo Day y'all!

But were all scooters parked legally?

The biggest news from both practice and Coach Smart meeting with the media yesterday was that defensive end Michael Barnett will (likely) only miss the rest of the spring and should be able to recover from his knee injury (an MCL sprain) in time to compete when camp resumes this August.

But a lot was made of yesterday being Law Enforcement Appreciation Day and none other than UGA Police Vice Squad Chairman hisself Jimmy Williamson in attendance at the Dawgs' practice. One of Athens' worst kept secrets is that there was no love lost between Williamson and Richt. And although I believe there was much more resentment residing in the heart of the former's than there was the latter's, I certainly can't recall Richt inviting our city, campus and county's finest inside the arena.

I think the gesture was mostly about showing the players that these guys are to be respected and appreciated for what they do in our community. But I also think it had a little to do with the new sheriff in town. So chalk that up as one more thing Smart is doing differently in and around Butts-Mehre.

The Smart Era and some paradigm shifts, part two

I know you haven't seen much of me around here lately. But remember when I asked back in January about the differences we should/could/would expect now that the Richt Era moved south for the Winter? Well, since many national expert shock jocks and writers have recently weighed in and singled UGA and Coach Smart out, maybe it's a good time to add to the list.

Transfers. In the recent past, most of the players that have left the program (of their own doing, not dismissed) were due to playing time and depth chart issues. Sure, there may have been some behavior related issues mixed in and a guy was encouraged to look elsewhere. But overall, there were more cases like Logan Gray, Faton Bauta and Makiri Pugh than otherwise; situations where a player just wasn't seeing the playing time and wanted another opportunity before his eligibility was up.

And before we go too far, I want to say that I agree with the angst over Smart's recent decision in restricting AJ Turman's transfer choices. It has the feel of one spouse exerting control over the other after the divorce is settled.

But, I also agree with Coach Smart exerting said control. It's nonsensical for the media to get in a tither over this and direct their venom at UGA/Smart when programs exercise the same practice every single year. I guess it's just too easy for them to pat Alabama on the back in Januaryfor another Championship after turning a blind eye when Parker McLeod transferred to Western Kentucky.

Is this a complete 180 degree turn for UGA? Yes, absolutely. Maybe that explains some of the media derision. After all, take this quote from Coach Richt after Pugh decided to transfer:

“We are appreciative of Makiri’s contributions during his two years at Georgia,” said Richt. “We understand and support his decision to transfer and wish him great success the remainder of his career.”

To go from that to making a statement to current players that their old coach in Miami is off limits is quite the shift. Still, we had to know this was coming. It's what happens when you make the decision that ten wins ain't enough.

GDay. The PR campaign for #93KDay coupled with a rare spring game that doesn't conflict with Masters Saturday should produce quite a bump in attendance. Of course, the wild card will be the weather. Hopefully it gives us a nice spring day in Athens to reacquaint ourselves with the Gameday experience. Regardless, the build up has been fun to watch, mostly because it's a new regime and there is much curiosity around the program. New faces and new blood add up to excitement!

And I hope Smart continues to push the envelope with the spring game. The more emphasis there is on not competing with Masters weekend and making it as big a crowd as possible will only help provide the players with a competitive mindset.

Media & Public Access. We talked last time about the media being given less access to players and assistant coaches. So far that has played out as expected. What we didn't see coming (at least I didn't) was the legislative support card being played so that the program can, for lack of a better word, "hide" behind Open Records Law when it comes to behind the scenes access to information about the program, such as NCAA compliance issues and coaching contract ins and outs.

Let's be perfectly honest, less access to this level (and to be clear, if Gov. Deal signs the bill it would put Georgia well past other southeastern states) affects the media directly in that it's their job to give the public information. It affects the rest of us indirectly because of that. Right now there are not many fans upset about this development, despite all the print and digital columns asking us to do just that.

Where do I stand? Like I've said before, it's a new dawn. What Kirby wants, let's give it to him. We're not a program satisfied with old school bowl games. We have to win at (almost) all costs. If that means less access for media, the public, and lowly bloggers like me...so be it.

"We're going to the Ramsey!!". Just for fun, we know pool days and high dives are no longer. RIP Natatorium Go-Pros! What do you think takes its place? Will Smart give the 1's a steak dinner while the 2's get a spoon and a can of Spam?

Best of Athens survey

When you have a moment, take a couple minutes to fill out this survey on things to do around Athens. Rent Like a Champion is using the results to better equip out of town guests with everything they need to know about what there is to do, eat, and drink while in the Classic City.

And really, is there a better person to ask than an experienced Dawg fan like yourself? I don't think so.

via

Happy Birthday 34!

Now 54 years old, Herschel still has never lost to Florida. Happy Birthday to The Goalline Stalker!

Keith Marshall proves that $peed pay$

File this under "Hard work really does pay off" - Keith Marshall sets top 40 time at the NFL Combine and Adidas pays him $50,000.

Marshall ran an official 4.31-second 40-yard dash time on Friday, which turned out to be the fastest time this year at the NFL scouting combine.

Because of the lightning-fast time, Adidas is set to pay Marshall $50,000.

Marshall, who began the 2015 season third on Georgia’s depth chart behind Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, came to Georgia with a reputation for being one of the fastest recruits in the country. Even after sustaining a torn ACL in 2013, which held him out of the majority of his 2014 season, Marshall showed what kind of speed he still has in Indianapolis on Friday.

Marshall ran unofficial times of 4.29 and 4.31 seconds before earning the official 4.31 mark.

Pretty cool for a guy who had a tough luck road and then was vastly under-utilized last season, especially late. Happy to see his hard work on the field and in recovery pay off. And for those of you who weren't aware, Marshall lost his grandmother last week too.

All of that, coupled with his superior all around performance in Indy, and I think this post deserves a signature Truth4 stiffarm!

Chubb Town

Looking forward to this one. Great story. If you haven't read about it already, be sure you set those DVRs.

A seven year NSD streak ends

Although I'm not much for the ugly drama that is recruiting these days, I've long been a fan of National Signing Day. Real life will keep me away from Butts-Mehre today for the first time since I started the little blog here.

By the end of the day we'll probably look on this class as a conservative yet impressive one. Smart and his staff have done a bang up job of transitioning right into their own wants and needs while sealing up most of the question marks. The class may end up being a small one, but there could be plenty of excitement as well.

Mostly, I wanted to go today to see Smart speak to the crowd and get a firsthand sense of the new era. For those of you going, enjoy your day in Athens. For the rest of us, we'll use Twitter and the F5 key to keep abreast of developments as we are able.

Go Dawgs!

-------------------

For any interested, I have a NSD list I follow for recruiting specific news. You're welcome to use it as well. For you Rivals followers, they have a nifty new app that sends notifications to your mobile device. I've been testing it out the last week and give it a solid thumbs up.

"Should you tweet at a recruit?"

Timely and (unfortunately) relevant...this is genius. (h/t Scott)

The fact that so many engage with high school age kids on this level, thinking that what they type makes an actual difference, is cute in a "Bless y'all's hearts" kinda way. The fact that so many engage with high school age kids on this level to vent their own ill-conceived frustrations is sad, sick, and pathetic.

Hey, just don't be that guy.

Recruiting "spinning up"

Nothing like making a good impression.

Coach Smart arriving at Lanier in style. @LanierFootball pic.twitter.com/Of973fwwTu

— LanierHS Athletics (@LanierADNews) January 28, 2016

Bet Lake Lanier looks nice from that elevation.

-----------------------

UPDATE: 

Yup. It is quite the view. Thanks Coach Smart!

Riding in style with @Coach_mtucker this morning looking for some #Dawgs #CommitToTheG #Chopper pic.twitter.com/83RRAsECAV

— Coach Kirby Smart (@KirbySmartUGA) January 28, 2016