Mark Richt: "I've Never Accused Anybody of Anything"

Photo Credit: Dave Martin, AP

Poor Mark Richt, he makes a few disparaging remarks on the issue of over-signing and suddenly he's the poster boy for changing the SEC's laws regarding "roster management". Well, in Richt's defense, at the time he let his opinion be known, he wasn't looking to start any trouble. He was simply stating his opinion.

I'm positive that he wasn't trying to be the voice of reason amongst this sea of underhanded SEC head coaches and their like-minded staff.

Oh, was that last bit too harsh? Sorry, I meant SEC coaches with little to no scruples where screwing prospects over is concerned.

Come on, people, let's stop beating around the bush. If you are over-signing every season in an attempt to offset the losses you will incur from guys who don't pan out, don't qualify, or who are destined to spend the better part of their existence holding a clipboard or a towel, then you're kind of a dirtbag.

Quite frankly, I think anytime you tell a prospect he will make your roster—even when you know full well that he more than likely won't—you're a bit of a dirt bag.

So, at least for me, it was refreshing to see Mark Richt say that he was against doing such things.

That said, Richt also clarified that he was not against the act of grey-shirting, but rather just the deception that often accompanies it on the front-end. Today, in comments made to Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he reiterated that position yet again saying "I’ve never accused anybody of anything. First of all, I think everybody should have a right to manage their own numbers. All I’ve said is if you sign 25 guys and there’s only room for 20 and after summer you have to tell two or three of them they have to wait until January and they’re shocked about it, I don’t think that’s right..."

I think that's pretty clear, don't you?

In basic English, for those who still aren't clear, Richt was saying that you can oversign all you like, but don't be a prick about it. Let the kid know your plans so he can make a few of his own. Why anyone would make a big deal out of him saying as much is beyond me.

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Georgia Bulldogs: RB Coach Bryan McClendon Gets A Hefty Raise

Photo Credit: David Manning

Chalk this one up to the 'he's one helluva recruiter' explanation because, otherwise, I'm scratching my head at how running backs coach, Bryan McClendon managed to get a raise which more than doubles what he made in 2010 ($90,000 to 200,000). Tony Ball, Georgia's wide receivers coach, will also see his paycheck get a bump from $165,000+ to $200,000.

But, back to McClendon.

The raise, according to Chip Towers, was McGarity's way of being proactive in keeping the football staff intact. Both Ball and McClendon were apparently pursued by other schools this past season and opted to stay at Georgia. As a result, they were given "competitive counter offers" that allowed them to stay at Georgia and not disrupt the continuity of the coaching staff.

While I can certainly get on board with maintaining continuity, particularly in a year already marked with a ton of questions about Mark Richt's future at Georgia, McClendon's pay raise seems too generous given what he's done as a coach.

That said, it's easy to see that McClendon's value as a recruiter has given him more rope than he might normally have had. Mark Richt said as much himself when he was forced to defend McClendon's sub-par performance at recent speaking engagement.

Said Richt of McClendon's worth, "...Bryan McClendon is a hell of a coach, he’s a hell of a recruiter. And I’m glad we got Bryan McClendon."

Last season, McClendon was key in the recruitment of Isaiah Crowell, Zach DeBell, Quintavious Harrow, and Nick Marshall—all of whom are expected to be impact players at Georgia in the near future and a good recruiter is something that most any head coach will covet.

Bobo has a similar talent and has elicited as much loyalty from Richt as both McClendon and Garner.  By way of mention, however, all three men have had their fair share of criticism from both pundits and fans, about their ability as coaches—none of them appear to be in danger of losing their jobs anytime soon.

I suppose you can't blame Richt for wanting some of the best recruiters in the nation peppering his staff but, at some point, you would hope their coaching talents would be every bit as worthy of the praise.

McClendon is still young, only 27 years old, so he's still growing into his role as running backs coach (much like Bobo), but he is clearly a star on the rise, particularly as a recruiter, and if he's able to bring it all together this season, then Georgia will have made one very good deal.

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