"I just know No. 3."

Amarlo Herrera has yet to have the chance to be as impressed with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel as many in the DawgNation seem to be. But he begs your pardon.

Because Todd Gurley is a damn man y'all.

(Apologies to Blutarsky for incidentally copying his headline. Great minds think alike I guess. Even when one is really far behind on his reading material.)

Let us not forget.

Been away from the laptop, and really internets altogether. Now that I am back I wanted to make one more point based on reactions to last week's starting safety departure. I've read much in support of the coaches, namely Richt for a firm disciplinary hand and also Pruitt for his relentless pursuit of a no-nonsense secondary. But there's also been some backlash, as should be expected.

I would simply add, remember where we were in early December? Remember the depth to which we had sunk late in the day on January 1st? When I wrote this post in mid-December I was less than a step away from hanging this blog up for a bit. I was out of energy and had no motivation to find my way through an off season that would endlessly regurgitate painful highlight after painful highlight. Like most of you, I needed a boost and somehow and in some weird way Bobby Petrino provided it.

So it bothers me very little to see a kid get summarily dismissed when he describes himself as having one foot out the door. It bothers me very little that Grantham wants our rejects. (Actually, it perturbs me greatly that Grantham can't stop playing grab ass with his former players. But whatevs.) It bothers me only somewhat that we will likely play some combination of walk ons and freshmen in the secondary on a week to week basis.

Look, like I said last week, we knew we needed a makeover in the secondary. I think we're just now beginning to see the depths of that need. It wasn't just talent. It wasn't just experience. It was also attitude.

We've come a long way since January 1st in our own attitude towards Georgia Bulldogs tackle football. We've been given the gift of hope. Don't fumble it before we even get to off season workouts.
Don't fumble it Reader. There's a lot of football yet to be played.

On Matthews' departure

Last summer, via twitter, we saw some players already growing tired of Tray Matthews incessant desire to talk. Most notably, Garrison Smith urged him to shut up and let his play on the field do the talking for him. It seemed like good advice as Matthews' size and speed were never a question. He seemed destined for highlight films and individual awards sooner rather than later.

But he never heeded that advice to just shut the hell up. And now it's quite apparent, that despite an arrest for essentially stealing from the university that houses, feeds and educates him, he was not able to heed Coach Richt's warning either.

So, no. No one's really shocked by this. It was past time for Tray Matthews to earn a second chance. Elsewhere. Perhaps along the way he'll learn to play as well as he tweets.

Most of all I'm glad he won't agitate any UGA players this summer. Yes, the dwindling depth chart in the defensive backfield is enough to make you laugh and cry simultaneously. But it needed an overhaul, did it not?

So Jeremy Pruitt is making a statement to anyone who is listening. And the best way to do that is to close your mouth and play some damn football!

Humpday Hilarity - Love can grow old

A Saban and Kiffin standoff

Sometimes a thousand words can't even begin to explain a picture's worth.

Some possible captions:

• Kiffin: "What's new pussycat?"
• Saban: "Yes Lane. I have seen your wife. Can we please get back to pass skels now?"
• Kiffin: "Look, you stand over there Cochise. I got this."
• Saban: "No. No media Lane. We've been over this. NO MEDIA."
• Kiffin: "Pull a finger Nick. Any finger...."
• Saban: "Son, I've told you every gotdamn day so far...there is no mandatory surf time for the quarterbacks! We're in Tuscaloosa Alabama for Christ sake!"

The Junkyard Dawg Podcast #11 - Ainsley rushes the passer!

The youngest daughter joins me in the junkyard to talk about her favorite players, how the Dawgs will fare against the compeitition this fall, and what plays she'd like to see more of against the competition. 

- find us on Stitcher!
- find us on an Android!
- find us on Libsyn!
- find us on a direct feed! 
- email concerns, questions, and general feedback to thejunkyarddawgpodcast@gmail.com
- The youngest defining GATA!

Happy Hour set against Clempson

Mixers come free with used ticket stub folks!

Richt on Michael Sam

Look, if you think Richt hasn't recruited a gay player before you're either an idiot, blind, or both.

"It's interesting that you have that being that big of a deal. But it is a big deal," Richt said of Sam. "Anybody who has the courage to tell the truth about themselves that may be controversial, I give them credit. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, but it is. And because it was, it took courage."

Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked Tuesday about whether he'd recruit a gay player, and said he wouldn't have a problem with it. Richt was asked if he felt the same way.

"I mean, if the guy can play," Richt said, chuckling, "then yeah we'll recruit him."

Don't be like the ESPN guys and make a big deal of this. It's about football. I'm proud of Sam for his courage. But more than anything, glad to see a really good player get a chance to make a living doing something he's good at.

Back to Athens, I don't care what a guy prefers to do in his own bedroom. Like Richt said, if he can play, and he wants to wear red and black, give him a working fax number!

Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/05/28/3125675/richt-believes-tray-matthews-has.html?sp=/99/210/222/699/#storylink=cpy

"Tailbacks" and "redshirts" do not belong in the same sentence

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, they're like oil and water. Never to be mixed.

Keith Marshall isn't the starting tailback for the University of Georgia. But he'd start for Clempson in 92 days had he not picked the right hat. In fact he'd start for about any major program that didn't have Todd Gurley on the roster.

So it comes as no surprise that Richt doesn't expect him to redshirt after Marshall's knee injury last season.

"Keith's working really hard. I don't think he has any limitations at all in his offseason conditioning," Richt said. "I don't anticipate him having any limitations when football begins."

In other words, barring a setback Marshall will play and at least be Todd Gurley's top backup.

"We're not thinking redshirt at all for Marshall," Richt said.

It was never likely that Marshall would redshirt, but offensive assistants had not ruled it out.

We've come a long way since Knowshon's first year in Athens folks. Because the bigger story is that neither sophomore nor incoming freshman will have designs on the scout team either.

Young fans, old fans, drunk fans, and Sanford Stadium

This is a topic I expect to address in an upcoming podcast. Sure, we've already kind of addressed it that way, but its an issue that begs for deeper discussion.

Here are the talking points as I see them...

• Fan attendance is down across the nation. This is due to student apathy (especially at early kickoffs), HDTV experience at home (close to personal restrooms and beverages of choice), parking/tailgating headaches.
• The home slate of games includes something short of nuns looking for a paycheck.
• Interactivity is low for a society more and more dependent on immediate feedback, connectivity and a mute button.
• Beer...it ain't coming.
• It's the economy stupid.

...please add any I've missed in the comments. We ain't done with this. Not by a long shot.