More than a Team to Tyson

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For Deangelo Tyson, wearing the Georgia G carries with it a little more weight. As much as having 169 little brothers and sisters back home in Statesboro.

I still struggle. I still have to do the right things. I can’t dwell on things that happened back then. I am a growing boy, and I am going to get older. I have to overlook the past to get to my future.

For the rest of us, Coach Garner provides the proper perspective.

A lot of things these kids take for granted, he’s never had. You know, having your own bedroom, having a big Christmas and Thanksgiving; things like that. I’ve got a lot of respect myself for (Tyson) for the type of attitude and the type of outlook that he has on life given the circumstances that he’s come from. I often wonder if it was reversed, would I be that good of a person? So I’ve got a lot of respect for him for what he’s endured.

The honest answer to Garner's question for most of us is certainly no. Do yourself a favor and read the entire piece by Page. It's a solid reminder that many of these kids we bark at have experiences beyond our comprehension. 

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LeMay to Sit Out Senior Season

Faced with about a half-season suspension or playing for a private school, Christian LeMay has decided to sit out his entire senior season.

After briefly considering a transfer to other schools to play his senior season, he and his family decided he would not play this fall. According to his father, Stacy LeMay, he will transfer to a private school to finish his academic work in time to enroll early at Georgia in January. He will be eligible to participate in spring practice and compete for playing time.

"Given the unwillingness of (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools) to apply a more reasonable consequence for such a youthful infraction, as disheartening as it is, we must make the decision to move on and focus Christian's attention to preparing for enrollment at the University of Georgia in January," the family made in a statement toSporting News. "Although rumors suggest that Christian would likely transfer … Christian could not imagine playing his senior season at any place other than with his brother Uriah and his teammates at Butler High School."

LeMay threw for over 3000 yards and 44 TDs last season as he led Butler to its first state title. He's the prized commitment of Coach Richt's 2011 class.


However, it still remains unclear as to how LeMay's suspension from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will affect his future enrollment even though Mr. LeMay has reiterated that Coach Richt is standing behind his scholarship offer. 


The AJCs Chip Towers has the full LeMay Family statement, which concludes:

Christian will now prepare himself for the next season of his life as he takes this time to become stronger spiritually, academically and physically. With the help of fitness trainer Andy Hendel of CrossFit Charlotte and quarterback coach Steve Calhoun of Armed and Dangerous, Christian will certainly be prepared to arrive in Georgia this spring ready to compete. We are fully confident that his best days are still yet to come. GO BULLDOGS!!!

AJ's Just Green, Andrew's Last Name is Luck

Pardon my franch...but how in the hell does AJ not make Maisel's top frickin' twenty list of Heisman favorites? Can I safely assume Mr. Crazy Ivan, that AJ is your #21?

It's a crime against college football sanity to not have AJ Green in your top 5. If it's an oversight, Lasik is ready when you are Maisel. Don't worry, I'll drive.

But then again Maisel goes on to list Andrew Luck, that Stanford stalwart signal caller at lucky number 13. So maybe this is a hoax. A tongue in cheek playful piece designed for a real good belly chuckle. I mean Stanford doesn't even play on television...do they? Whatevs...

LISTEN Ivan...I'm not laughing!!

I don't have the time to invest into reading all 200+ comments, but I hope many of them took after Turk3419's lead and asked What about AJ Green???? The only thing I might add to this gentleman's comment is another 20 question marks.

Monday's Meatloaf - Applying a Silver Lining

The following is not a paid endorsement

Back in January of 2009 I started what can only be referred to as the first 680 the Fan Facebook Page. I invited those guys to join. Some of them did. But soon the second 680 the Fan Facebook Page was born and it can only be referred to as the official one. After all, it has close to 2000 more members.

I'm not upset. Kinda glad they followed my lead. Took the pressure off of posting crap on BookFace Facebook. 

Fast forward a year when I was flustered that there were times when I couldn't hear the 680 the Fan broadcast because I was out of range. That 790 station had an app for my phone that allowed me to listen to them, why couldn't 680?

So I emailed those guys. I went several months just assuming no one bothered reading it. I didn't get a response, not even from that Chuck fella. But now, suddenly it's here. Complete with podcasts and blogs. It blows 790's app away. And I'm sure it was all due to my inspirational, long winded email. So if you're an iPhone user, go download it. If you have a crackberry or that new fangled Droid thing, maybe you should write on the official 680 wall.

Today's Ingredients

• Bubba Watson couldn' quite bring home his first major. But he will be on the 2010 Ryder Cup team.
• Yes. Exactly. Better athletes doesn't make the NFL superior to the college game. (h/t the Senator)
• Dantzler has some good words on the McGarity hire, including an A list of who attended presser. Like Jeff said, Friday the 13th of August 2010, a great day for Georgia!!!
• Quinton also welcomes McGarity home, but with a to do list.
• No, I'm not worried (yet) about the o-line injuries. As things stand right now, no one's missing a game and the backups are getting more 1st team reps.
• Paschall has a nice piece on Demarcus Dobbs and his adjustment from the 5 technique to the 3.
• I'm about ready to eat my words regarding Logan Gray's development. 
• Christian LeMay has been spotted a couple times at practices. Thinking we should hear something this week about his status for his senior season.
• Damian Swann has a top two and one's ok with him playing baseball ($$) too.
• Not gonna lie, wouldn't mind not seeing the lamecocks' all-star TE in Chickumbia next month. cocknfire sounds pessimistic that Weslye Saunders' eligibility will survive the latest in AgentGate.
• And in picturegate, Chip Towers tries to bring closure after Crumley self-reported the violation.
• Sounds like things are progressing in Oxford about as planned.
• RichRod took another step toward sealing his fate in Ann Arbor.
• Lastly, I saw an ESPN feature on JoePa and thought he looked very frail. Not surprising at his age. But at the end the talking heads felt he looked good, ready for football. Not everyone agrees.

It's never pleasant when bad (crap) happens to good people. Like say for instance...when the Dawg Nation's beloved Athletic Director tries to part-time it as a Girls Gone Wild! consultant.


But it's nice that we can close the book on that dreary day in June when all the nerds on north avenue started googling the term red panties to try and figure out exactly what had been found in Evans' lap. We got our guy...and he's not some no name who's just gonna sit on Prez Adams' knee and do his puppet thang.


And he's also not a guy who's gonna cost us over $4 million and charge the Athletic Department to fly all over the world. No, McGarity's not from the Lew Perkins mold and he's not into Buckhead martinis. He's from the Coach Magill mold. Bleeds red and black and knows a thing or two about building winners while keeping the ledger tilted in the right direction. He has an app for that.

And that sounds perfect to me. Grab your fork Reader and dig in. Not much is worse than cold meatloaf.

Bernie

Saunders and the Suite Life

You remember last September when South Carolina's Weslye Saunders nearly single-handedly beat the Dawgs? It was such an incredible performance, he evidently decided he deserved some perks.

Tight end Weslye Saunders, who has been the focus of the NCAA’s investigation of USC, is one of at least three players with rooms at the Whitney... 

What's the Whitney you ask?

According to the hotel website, nightly rates range from $93 to $154 for a two-bedroom suite. A hotel employee said extended-stay rates are available, including a $57-a-night rate for one- or two-bedroom reservations of three months or longer. The $57 rate would equate to a monthly bill of about $1,710, or $855 if split between two people.

Now, South Crackalacky has a $500/month stipend for players who live off campus. So as long as Saunders could foot the remaining $355...he could sit in the lap of luxury. Chicken ranchers just better hope he kept the receipts (h/t Matt Hinton). Saunders is a huge part of the lamecocks' offense. But I wonder how thrilled the ol' Ball Coach would be at risking playing a potentially ineligible player if the investigation lingers...

Lakatos is Turning Over Secondary

Found this old piece by Fletcher Page at DawgPost from back in the spring. It got me all (re)geek'd up about our hire from UConn. Coach Lakatos has brought his in your face style to Athens and the kids are diggin' it. There's no need to reflect on how abysmal last season was in terms of the gives and the takes. If early indications are on target, this season will be a stark contrast to what once was.

But don't take my word for it.

I love how he coaches me. It’s different from last year. He’s more hands-on. When he gets on you, he gets on you in a respectful manner. He’ll coach you hard, but he’s just about football. It’s noticeable. - Nick Williams

It’s more ball. Coach Martinez wanted you to play the man, the hand and basket. He teached that in certain techniques, but coach Lakatos, he wants the ball. Yeah, he wants the ball. - Vance Cuff

My preference is to press. I like being physical and getting up on the line, so I really like it. I think the more we play it, I think everybody enjoys it, and we’re learning the techniques, and the things to get up in the receivers. It’s fun to knock them off their timing and to frustrate them. - Brandon Boykin

Basically, jamming, that’s what most corners really don’t know how to do real good. - Branden Smith

That's a pretty good sampling and the message is clear. They're happy with the new philosophy.

Trivial Update - Picking Flowers Winners in Starkville

#ThursdaysRTrivial episode 55 coming up after this PSA: Some people blaze trails, some pick flowers. Thanks to Johnny Cash you can do both now in Starkville MS.

#ThursdaysRTrivial episode 55 "From FABULOUS to ACTUAL" Have a seat everyone, it's time for the weekly twitter twivia show that's an arrested development, not an arrested country singer. REPLY back your answer for a chance at an ACTUAL prize. The Dawgs play the dogs in Starkville on Sept 25th. It'll be a homecoming of sorts for OL Josh Davis of Tylertown High School. What other Tylertown HS product will play in the game?

I wish I could remember where I saw the comment. It may have been on Twitter, but I think it was on a message board. But the guy said how the Dawgs' away uniforms were his favorite, that there was something special about  seeing them in the opponents' stadium.

I couldn't agree more. No, there's no place like Sanford. And I'd rather be there on a Fall Saturday than anywhere else. But experiencing the sights and sounds of Glory, Glory away from home is simply awesome. But it must be tenfold for the Dawgs who are suddenly much closer to home, friends and loved ones. I hope Josh Davis makes a stack of pancakes in Starkville.

I intended to have a BIG announcement prior to this episode. And just as I was preparing for it, news broke about McGarity...then Branden...then Banks. So suddenly my BIG news was noticeably SMALL. But the show had to go on.

And going from 54 episodes of plain old fabulous prizes to an actual prize really brought out the trash talk. The tension was palpable, and the results produced another photo finish.

So...Scott gets TrTs first actual prize! (confetti...Price is Right babes...catchy music...you know, the works) Shan gets more cowbell...what else? Mike gets an Alex Trebek bobblehead doll. Many thanks to Mary of ecollegefinder for the sponsorship. You can dress like Scott too if you'd like, just visit MitchellandNess.com.


And if you'd like to sponsor an episode of ThursdaysRTrivial, just hit me up.  

Extra! Extra! Extra! McGarity, Banks and Branden!!!

Suddenly the Dawgwebs are blazing.

• First, it appears Greg McGarity has landed back in Athens. I'm personally thrilled at this news. He was the best candidate in my mind and puts a nice ending to the Damon Evans debacle.
• Second, Branden Smith will rejoin the team with academic blessings tomorrow. He tweeted a short while ago that he was headed back to Athens and had Georgia on his mind. But it was difficult to put too much stock in those words after watching his status updates the last couple days. Simply put, he's a difference maker and he'll be wearing the G baby!!
• Lastly, sad news that Quintin Banks will be retiring from football. He's never overcome his knee problems, but I think I can speak for all of us in the Dawg Nation when I say that we were all really, really pulling for him to make a comeback this fall. Luckily, he'll still be on the sidelines as a student assistant.

So...welcome Greg. Welcome back Branden. And you're a DamnGoodDawg Quintin.

Thursday Headers - Tackled to the Ground

Stir these into your coffee...or Red Bull...or beer. However you roll.

• Carvell writes that Coach Fox has offered Miller Grove's Brandon Morris, a 6-7 small forward who's skills set is off the charts. Morris also has current offers from Clemson, Auburn, Georgia State and Nevada.
• Clarkson brings us up to speed with Bacarri Rambo...or at least as close to we can get to Rambo speed.
• PWD gives us a look at the new video that will charge up the crowd going into the 4th quarter. I give the highlights an A...the music...no thanks.
• Weiszer finds Grantham relatively unbothered by the injury situation at ILB.
• Paschall looks at what life is going to be like on the road. I had forgotten that Josh Davis was from Mississippi.
• Emerson runs down the competition for starting jobs at DawgPost. 
• Exile has some scrimmage thoughts.
• And my favorite morning read...Who taught you guys how to tackle the last five years? Coach Warren Belin ladies and gentleDawgs.

AJ Brings Enough Spotlight to Share

I was halfway towards writing a post about Smart Football's "6-3 deep post" yesterday when I realized it had already been done...and better. Reminded me that the first rule of Georgia football blogging is to always check with the Senator first.

But I will add that the weapons that Coach Bobo (and more directly Aaron Murray) has at his disposal is exciting. AJ Green lining up wide on Orson Charles' side and letting them work their magic on the opposing safety will produce results. The same goes for Aron White when he's on the field. Figgins too. And Lynch had a TD in yesterday's scrimmage on top of a good spring. 

Of course, Charles creates the matchups that make readers of Chris' piece on the 6-3 post drool. But the point is that AJ is the type of athlete that makes the entire team better. (I almost typed offense in place of team, but remember AJs favorite all time play is on special teams when he blocked that Sun Devils' kick) He's just that type of player who's gonna make it easier on whatever 10 other players are on the field.

Most notably, the quarterback.

"When in doubt, throw it to No. 8," coach Mark Richt said.