News

Post-signing day show with Scott Howard and Coach Garner.

Garner: We knew going in we had to sign some DL. We came out with what we consider one of the top DL classes in the country, and we had to sign some safeties with Davis leaving. Those were priorities for us. Kade Weston was in the top 5 DTs and Jeff Owens in the top 15. We also feel good about Sesay, Battle and Moon. All were considered pretty good players.

No exact science in recruiting. Each coach has an area they’re responsible for. We put guys on the board and rank them. We were fortunate that this class came off the top of our board.

Every Wednesday is recruiting night. We watch tape while we’re eating dinner and have a GA write up evaluation forms. It's not just defensive staff watching defensive players and so on.

We hopefully won’t be going after marginal guys, because we have to compete with Tennessee, Florida and so on, and they’re not playing with marginal players.

First, the coach whose area evaluates a guy, then the position coach, then the coordinator. Richt has the final say before an offer is made. Athletic ability and character rate high – how does a guy fit into what we’re doing and what Coach Richt wants this program to represent This year, there were several kids who had the ability to play at UGA but there may have been some things that may have been a warning. It is a non-issue to us if someone else comes in and takes those guys; they know what’s best for their program.

Richard in Marietta – what went into final decisions on Blackmon, Mincey, Chris Scott and Kyle Moore? Also, why the need to make inroads in Douglass & Washington HS in Atlanta?

Garner: every year is unique .. personal issues with Blackmon staying close to LaGrange by attending Auburn .. Chris Scott didn’t grow up a UGA fan; we have to get used to that since Atlanta is such a transient area .. Mincey has always been attracted to some of the Florida schools; we should still be able to go into Charlton Co. as we’ve had good success there in the past.. Kyle Moore is not from Ga; dad works for Wal-Mart and mom played college hoops for Texas. Garner thinks UGA needs to be able to recruit inner city schools just as well as we recruit in rural areas. When you’ve not had a history of signing guys out of a particular school, you have to work much harder so the kid knows it's OK and knows the choice is a good choice. For instance, Kade Weston kept hearing every day why wasn’t he going to Penn State, Maryland, etc. But we had guys in some out-of-state schools talking us up this year.

Also, we (coaches) don’t want to give the impression we want guys from out of state instead of the best in Georgia. There were good players in Georgia this year we didn’t get. We constantly ask ourselves what we could’ve done differently. We don’t think there is anything we could’ve done that way this year and can look ourselves in the mirror and know we did our best.

Scott – the 19 guys who signed came in very quickly; we were done by lunchtime. Garner said the last fax came out about 10:30. Scott commented on the lack of drama. Garner said there were some guys still signing later in the day, though we encourage guys to sign early in the day. Sometimes coaches and schools set things up later in the day. We did very well this year with none of our guys even wavering.

The final dead period begins Saturday at midnight. If guys are on your campus still visiting, they can finish up their visits on Sunday but a coach can’t go on the road Sunday. Then starting Monday there is no contact.

Greg from Suwannee: is there a certain number of players we go for at a position? He used the QBs in NC as an example.

Garner: you do have a target number .. sometimes to get 2 at a position, you may offer 6-8. Once two have committed, you go back and tell the others we’ve filled up at that position.

Allen in Rutledge – summer camps seemed to be important in decision making this year.

Garner: We were able to get several commitments from guys who were in our summer camp. We get a chance to work with them and they get to work with us. They get to see how we coach and we get to see their work habits. We coach in summer camp just like we coach during the season. Our three-day July mini-camps (one night) have been very successful in recent years. We get fundamental and agility practices in, and are able to get a good evaluations. You can show off your stadium and facilities, so long as you do it with the entire camp group and not just specific guys.

The entire staff should be given credit for the class. Recruiting coordinator is responsible for setting areas for each coach, visits and so on, but the entire staff has responsibilities and deserves credit. The coordinator is responsible for whatever services are needed and that the whole process is organized.

Scott asked about NCAA recruiting rules. Garner said the book is very thick, especially with the push for recruiting reform last year because of some things. We’re very fortunate that we have a great staff. No one missed a beat.

Scott: Any impact from VanGorder leaving? Garner: Anytime that happens, we have to make sure all bases are covered – kids he was recruiting had to be reassigned to other coaches. We do a lot of team (multiple coaches visiting) recruiting, which helps in case someone leaves; someone else is familiar with that prospect. Bryan Evans and Jeff Owens are examples of guys who were visited by multiple coaches. We did put Kirby Smart on the road the last two weeks, once he got here. He had been recruiting some guys in Florida for LSU so was familiar with the territory. We had planned to put Coach Jancek on the road but his father was terminally ill so he had to go back and forth to Mich.

Lou from Americus: thanked Garner for staying at UGA. Garner said he is glad he was able to stay. UGA is now his longest tenure anywhere – 7 years so far (compared to 6 at Auburn).

Jerry: is a scholarship for four years, or a year at a time, renewable? And how is off-campus living handled?

Garner: only way a guy loses his scholarship is if they do something to get in trouble, such as flunking out, failing a drug test or getting arrested. We don’t tell a guy we’re not going to take his schlarship away if he doesn’t pan out. Room, board, food, tuition and books are covered, and there is a calculation done in the business office for off-campus living.

Very hard for us to be attractive to a young RB this year, with Brown, Ware and Lumpkin all sophomores next year. We were not even targeting RBs this year unless there was a great one who was interested in us. Add in Cooper and Milton and the RB cupboard is full right now.

Sam in Peachtree City asked about Will Thompson’s possible 6th year, and Marcus Jackson’s health following the blood clot last summer. Garner said Thompson is applying for the 6th year. Jackson will undergo another series of tests soon; he and his family will have to make a tough decision once those tests are completed. He was cleared earlier for more strenuous workouts, which have been monitored closely by Ron Courson and the training staff.

Focus on next year’s class has already started; a batch of letters went out on signing day to next year’s HS seniors.

Spring practice starts March 5. Mat drills start Saturday morning, then M-W-F at 6:30 am until spring practice.