Georgia Bulldogs: 2012 RB Prospect Rushel Shell

A fair number of Georgia fans who follow college football recruiting closely already know all about Keith Marshall—the stud running back out of North Carolina is the player on the Bulldog's wish list for 2012. So, it's not likely you'll ever see his profile on this site as there are plenty of others who can tell you all about him.

However, there seems to be a lot less fanfare around Georgia's offer to Pennsylvania running back, Rushel Shell—the No. 5 running back prospect in the nation according to 247sports.com—and while that may have a lot to do with Georgia's perceived chances to nab him (which seem pretty slim at the moment), he still bears watching this season.

As a junior, Shell put up monster numbers (323 attempts, 2,510 yards, and 32 touchdowns) to cap off his second consecutive 2,400+ yard season, and he's poised to repeat the feat again in 2011. His combination of speed and power make him a challenge for defense, to bring down and his ceiling is high where the next level is concerned as he appears to be built to carry the running game of just about any team he chooses.

Shell expressed a serious interest in six schools early on—three of which are in the SEC—but has stated that he is open to every suitor at this time and is going to take his time with the process.



(h/t FRONTPAGESCOUT)

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Georgia Bulldogs: Warren Belin's Departure Is Inconvenient, But Not Shocking

You certainly can't blame Warren Belin for making the decision to accept a job at the NFL level. There aren't many position coaches, with his kind of talent, who aren't looking to challenge themselves there—at some point.

While some might feel Belin's decision was shocking, he did give a small hint towards his ultimate goal a few months back when he was interviewed by Fletcher Page of DawgPost Magazine.

The article Page wrote, titled "Intense, Indeed", was meant to be a feature on defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, but the quote that caught my attention—especially after hearing the Belin announcement—was the following, "...From a system standpoint, I'm learning an NFL system and the way coach Grantham goes about the game plan, installing the game plan, calling the game on game day. That experience I'm gaining from being a part of this defensive staff is going to carry me a long time as a coach".

So, the fact that he decided to take an NFL job, in his home state of North Carolina, with his old friend, Sean McDermott, is not so much a shocking surprise as it is an unfortunate inconvenience. Belin's impact at Georgia was immediate, particularly in the area of special teams where the team improved from a dismal 85th and 117th in the nation, respectively, in punt and kick return coverage to 17th and 15th in 2010.

Belin's philosophy was simple, use the best players available and ditch the directional kicks. Hopefully, Georgia can continue that approach in 2011 as it worked more often than not. 

As for the linebackers, Belin's influence cannot be downplayed, but the 3-4 scheme was new to him and coach Grantham played as much a role in the overall development of the inside linebackers as Belin. Belin was a student of the 4-3,  a defense he spent 8-years coaching at Vanderbilt and, coincidentally, will return to as an assistant for Carolina.

So, what's next for Mark Richt and Greg McGarity? Well, they will be searching for two new assistants over the next two weeks, but you can be certain that Grantham will want a guy with some experience in his scheme—less of a learning curve to be worried about in that aspect—and it wouldn't surprise to see that guy come from the next level (just a personal opinion as no candidates have surfaced of yet).

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College Football: Les Miles Must Have An Angel On His Shoulders

It would be easy to say that LSU, sitting pretty at 5-0, ranked No. 's 12 and 9 in the AP and Coaches Poll—respectively—is a good team. After all, they are undefeated, right?

However, if you've actually seen LSU play this year, you would begin to wonder how on earth they aren't 2-3—or worse—because they really aren't that good.

For one thing, their quarterback, Jordan Jefferson is atrocious. He's currently dead last in the conference in passing efficiency—dead last. Considering the fact that he plays in a conference that both Chris Relf (Mississippi State) and Larry Smith (Vanderbilt) call home, that's a pretty amazing feat.

Even more amazing, his teammate, Patrick Peterson, has more return yards (537) than he has passing yards (449).  Wrap your head around that little nugget. That means that through five games, Jefferson is averaging less than 90 yards passing—seriously? 

Tyler Russell, the BACKUP quarterback for Mississippi State, has more passing yards than Jefferson—and he's not even a starter.

On the contrary, Jefferson isn't the reason the Tigers are in the hunt, his team wins in spite of him—not because of him. Time and again, the gods of college football have granted Les Miles' crew a mulligan or a save to keep them from having to suffer on the losing end:

1.  In week one, LSU was one questionable pass interference call away from losing to a totally depleted North Carolina team. 
2. In weeks two and three, it took them until the fourth quarter to put away Vanderbilt and Mississippi State—respectively. 
3. They nearly whiffed against West Virginia in week four.
4. And, in week five, Tennessee all but had them beat if not for a last-minute penalty granting them a second chance at the 'W'.

LSU has no business being anywhere near the top 10 and, with a quarterback who throws more interceptions (6) than touchdowns (2),  and a turnover margin that edges more towards the negative (-2 and counting) than the positive, it won't be much longer before that becomes a reality.

Les Miles better enjoy this ride of good fortune while it lasts because the wheels are looking like they might be getting ready to come off.

The NCAA Don't Need No Stinking Investigators...TMZ Will Do Just Fine

Who needs to investigate the wrongdoings of the collegiate athlete when you can just find a cheap tabloid television show to do it for you?

The fact that A.J. Green jeopardized his season for a few extra spring break ducats was a lot less surprising than his mention of TMZ being the initial impetus of the NCAA's investigation into his actions.

Said A.J., "I didn’t know anything about it, Green said of the party. "When the NCAA told me about it, they said they heard it from [website] TMZ. [The NCAA] just heard it was a rumor, so they came down here and asked me." (AJC, 9/28/10).

In case you have no idea what TMZ actually is, it's a celebrity gossip site known for being very unfriendly to famous people. If tabloid journalism had rungs, TMZ would fall somewhere between US Weekly and The Enquirer—in other words, it's pretty close to garbage.

So, it seems rather comical that the NCAA has agents patrolling cheesy tabloid websites for information on what the college athletes they get paid to keep tabs on are doing. It makes you question their ability to actually find out anything major, that's not self-reported by the institution, on their own.

Perhaps that's why it took them five years to figure out that Reggie Bush was dirty, North Carolina was paying tutors, and South Carolina players were living in hotels—jeez, Marc Emmert (the new NCAA president) has a lot of work left to do if he expects to streamline that operation.

Adding more insult to injury was the fact that the NCAA investigation into A.J. Green's actions continued long after it was established that he wasn't in attendance at the South Beach party. Why was that even necessary? Just thinking out loud here, but, wasn't that the reason for the inquiry in the first place? He was rumored to have been there and—shocker—the rumor turns out to be a fabrication.

Why then mull over his bank statements from the previous 15-months?

Did the NCAA agent feel a little silly coming away empty-handed after their "source" ended up being complete hogwash? Did it then become necessary to find something—anything—to justify their contacting Green in the first place? If that wasn't case, why didn't they just leave well enough alone?

Unfortunately for Green, they did unearth his dirty, little secret. One that he, admittedly, knew was wrong but didn't properly calculate the consequences of after the fact.

It's all over now, thankfully, and Georgia can see what restitution Green can  repay the Bulldogs on the football field. Georgia offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, is already foaming at the mouth trying to come up with better plays than the slants, draws, and iso's he's been blindly running over the last three weeks.

Even still, it's perplexing to think that the NCAA expects anyone to take them seriously when they rely on such trashy mediums as TMZ to point them in the right direction—Seriously?

You know that somewhere, someone is thinking, "if not for that POS (piece of shhhh) website, Georgia could be 4-0 right now", right?...just putting that out there because someone is thinking it—no doubt.

As for the NCAA, when asked about the allegation that they don't have agents who can find their own dirt, minus the help of entertainment news, they had no comment. 

LSU vs UNC: No Marvin Austin? No Greg Little?...The Heels Are in Trouble

The game between the LSU Tigers and the North Carolina Tarheels looked to be a great match-up between two teams with a lot to prove in 2010.

Les Miles, presumably the only SEC coach that is truly on a "hot seat" this year, is trying to show that the wheels on the bus at LSU are firmly mounted. He's got both the talent (albeit mostly young and inexperienced), and the opportunity (the SEC west is fairly open this season) to bring his Bayou Bengals back in a big way this season—if he can avoid the mistakes of last season.

As for Butch Davis and his Tar Heels, they were finally beginning to garner the kind of national attention that a team like North Carolina needs to really get the ball rolling. Their offense wasn't much to brag about but their defense, led by the supremely talented Marvin Austin, was going to be a showstopper. The unit returned nine defensive starters from 2009—most of whom were considered to be NFL level talent.

The presence of what was shaping up to be a very formidable defense was the reason why the opener against LSU looked as if it might go the Heels way—Vegas agreed—they were considered the favorites to win the game at one point. However, once the NCAA came calling, the complexion of the game changed. Now, we are not only uncertain as to how good this game will be, but whether it will be much of a game at all.

Yesterday, it was reported that defensive tackle, Marvin Austin has been suspended indefinitely. That was a mighty blow, but most saw that one coming. Now, today, it has been learned that Greg little will be out as well.

That hurts the offense a great deal because Little was the leading receiver in 2009. He tallied 724 yards and five touchdowns for the Heels last season and was one of the most explosive players on the team.

Little's suspension places more pressure on North Carolina quarterback, T.J. Yates, to make something happen—not good. Yates is already fairly pedestrian as a quarterback, does he really need to be placed in this position, this early in the season, on this grand of a stage? It just seems like a recipe for disaster.
 
Furthermore, even if Yates can hold it together, who can he count on to step-up and make plays for him at the receiver spot? Is Erik Highsmith ready to go from freshman phenom (37 catches, 425 yards, and two td's) to sophomore superstar? Is Jheranie Boyd ready to step in and become legit? Yates will need the play of both if he plans to keep the defense of LSU honest.

Ryan Houston and Shaun Draugn will also be counted on to try and exploit the weaknesses LSU has up front. The Tigers have plenty of talent, as mentioned above, but they are young and it is not yet known if they will be better than last season's unit (which often struggled with the pass rush and often gave up too many rushing yards).

If Houston and Draughn can find some room to run, they might be able to control the tempo of the game and keep the quick feet of the Tigers offense off the field—a must if they plan to keep the game interesting.

As of now, it is not known how many of North Carolina's players will miss the first game (up to 16 is possible), so it is hard to say just how thin the Heels' defense will be when it takes the field. However, if the rumors are true, and they will not only be without Marvin Austin, but possibly Quan Sturdivant (LB), Bruce Carter (LB), Kendrick Burney (CB), and Deunta Williams (FS) as well, nothing the offense does will matter because it wouldn't be enough—LSU would win the game handily.

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Georgia Bulldog 2011 Commit, Christian LeMay, Won't Play in 2010

The final word is in and the decision is final, Christian LeMay, the highly-touted QB recruit out of North Carolina, will not play his senior season of high school football for the Butler Bulldogs.

LeMay, suspended back in June for committing a violation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School's (CMS) code of conduct rule, appealed the decision of the disciplinary board on July 26th—hoping for some leniency on what LeMay's father described as a "youthful infraction" which did not involve violence or weapons.

LeMay was given a 40-day suspension (total) for the act, and was told that he could return to Butler after his suspension was served. However, by doing so, LeMay would have all but forfeited his senior season as the starting quarterback for his high school football team.

The senior LeMay introduced the possibility of his son finishing out his career at a private school, but was hopeful that the situation would not come to that end.

However, after their appeal was denied, the family felt the best route for Christian to take would be to complete his studies in a "private setting" and enroll at the University of Georgia in December—as initially planned.

He will continue to work independently with a trainer and QB coache until that time so that he can remain in football shape.


His commitment to Georgia remains solid, as evidenced by the statement below, and also gives the impression that the  touches Georgia Bulldogs are still high on him as well.

No word yet on how this might affect his overall recruiting ranking, or if there is any reason to believe that this will affect his standing with the UGA admissions committee—currently the latter is not thought to be a concern, but one never knows in situations like these.

The full statement, given by LeMay's father, read as follows:

We first want to thank all of those who have supported our family during this time. The e-mails, letters, text and words of encouragement have been life fueling from supporters of Christian both locally and nationwide. We specifically want to thank (incoming Georgia recruits) Christian Conley and Ray Drew for standing with our son and contacting him daily, Panthers wide receiver Kenny Moore and QB training coach Steve Calhoun for working him out over the summer. Also, Sporting News and all the other recruiting networks that maintained Christian’s National Ranking on their boards.

As a result of Christian’s youthful infraction (that does not involve drugs, weapons or any form of violence), Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools imposed a severe punishment on our son ... which we appealed to their highest form of due process.

On July 26th the CMS board maintained the merciless ruling of a 40-day reassignment to an alternative school “to possibly be reviewed in 30 days”. (This was) in addition to a four-day suspension already served. The ruling also states that after completing the reassignment days, he could “possibly” return to Butler, meaning it is “possible” that he could not return to Butler.

Adhering to such a severe ruling would not only prevent Christian from playing until November due to the 10-day conditioning rule (if he returned to Butler HS), but it would also hinder him academically as the alternative school does not provide the required classes needed for him to finish in the fall of 2010 and move on to the University of Georgia in January.

Given the unwillingness of CMS 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. Although, rumors suggest that Christian would likely transfer to one of the excellent programs such as (Duncan) Byrnes (S.C.), (Rock Hill) South Pointe, Greensboro Dudley and even Victory Christian Center, Christian could not imagine playing his senior season at any place other than with his brother Uriah and his teammates at Butler High School.

Therefore, having come to resolve that following the CMS consequence would not accomplish “student achievement” for Christian, we as a family have concluded that he will forgo his senior football season and focus on his preparation to attend the University of Georgia.

We are quite honored that other colleges continue to show strong interest in Christian attending their school. However, we have continued healthy communications with (Georgia) coaches and the commitment remains the same on both ends.

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 Cross fit Charlotte and QB 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!!!

The LeMay Family

So, what say you? Are you concerned that LeMay won't have any on-field action this season?

College Football Vegas Odds: Take Georgia, Leave BYU, and Other Sure-Fire Winners In Week One

The college football odds-makers released a few of lines over the weekend and, I have to admit, I found a few of them very intriguing—particularly as an admitted follower and supporter of the Georgia Bulldogs. That said, I perused a few of the prognostications by both Vegas and those who offer some offshore action and decided to pick a few games that favor you, the bettor, if you are the gambling kind.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I will say that I do not proclaim myself to be an expert in the game of betting on college football. In fact, my knowledge is probably about as extensive as any novice, but I do know a little something about college football and I feel pretty confident in saying that I've won more than I've lose where picking a game is concerned.

That said, dispute me if you's like, but I'm going all-in on these five teams during the week one of the college football season:

1. UL-Lafayette at Georgia (Georgia -28)

The Georgia Bulldogs are not a team that one can usually bet on with a lot of confidence. In 2009, they were 5-7 against the spread (ATS)—often losing when favored. However, they return 16 starters, 10 of which are on defense and, although mixed results will be expected of the new-look defensive unit, there is still enough talent on that side of the ball to feel confident that they'll be fighting hard in week one.

UL-Lafayette will come in with an offense that will be mediocre (at best)—returning only five starters. Furthermore, the Ragin' Cajuns didn't prove to be stout in their games against upper-tier opposition last season; losing by a total margin of 83-points to both LSU and Nebraska, for an average margin of defeat of 41.5 points.

The last time Georgia faced a Sun Belt opponent was 2007 when they won a 44-34 squeaker over Troy in Athens. Don't expect it to be anywhere near that close against UL-Lafayette. Look for Georgia to take control early and win their opener by better than four touchdowns.

2. Washington State at Oklahoma State (Oklahoma State -14)

This game is dangerous. It's a risky proposition to be too bold in choosing either team to do anything but disappoint you this season. Oklahoma State lost the hear of it's offense, defense, and special teams in Zac Robinson, Perrish Cox, and Keith Toston. So, it's a rebuilding year in Stillwater—no matter what Mike Gundy tries to tell you.

However, a rebuilding Oklahoma State is still 10 times better than a Washington State Cougar team that hasn't had a winning season since 2004 and has won increasingly less games since 2006—culminating in a one-loss stinker in 2009.

The Cowboys will be playing in the friendly confines of Boone-Pickens stadium and still have Kendall Hunter to run the ball for them on offense. They won't have to fight too hard for this one as the Cougars return a unit that not only was dead last in total defense, but ranked near the bottom of the FBS in offense as well.

Easy (Boone) Pickens...if you ask me. Take the Cowboys.

3. Washington at BYU (BYU -3)

I'm confused by this one, but I'm going to presume that the Cougars are getting a lot of love for simply playing at home—right?

The Huskies are the sexy Pac-10 pic for this season and they are led by probable Heisman candidate, Jake Locker. Many are expecting Steve Sarkisian to lead his squad to a bowl berth this season and, possibly, challenge the Pac-10 for a spot in the championship. High hopes abound for this Seattle bunch.

On the other hand, BYU lost most of their offense–most devastatingly Harvey Unga (RB) and Max Hall (QB). Even more, that front seven that made Oklahoma look like a high school football team in their 2009 opener has only one returning starter to speak of...uh-oh.

BYU might be formidable in Provo, but they are also the same team that managed to lose to an inconsistent Florida State squad in week three, so they aren't invincible by any stretch.

Call me crazy, but I like the Huskies in this one.

4. LSU at North Carolina (North Carolina +1.5) "UPSET SPECIAL"

I expect this game to be ugly, close, and down-to-the-wire. It's not that I think North Carolina is amazing, but rather my thinking that the Tar Heel defense is phenomenal. I believe it's good enough to make life for LSU (who lost every significant ball carrier at the end of 2009) very difficult on offense.

Too bad North Carolina's offense isn't nearly as impressive.

Even though the Tar Heels will bring back eight offensive starters—including quarterback T.J. Yates—they are still not going to shock the world by putting up major point totals. So, if LSU plays even a little bit competent on defense, they will have no problem shutting UNC down.

That said, this game will be about field position and special teams. I give the slight edge to North Carolina here as LSU lost its two leading return men in both Trindon Holliday and Chad Jones while the Tarheels, who were ranked near the top of the FBS in special teams defense last season, return the bulk of their special teams unit.

I'm calling for an upset by the Tar Heels in week one...assuming the NCAA doesn't dismantle the defense in short-measure. If that happens, well, it's going to be LSU in a walk.

5. Connecticut at Michigan (Michigan -3.0)

While I can understand the desire to bet on a team that stands 5-0 ATS on the road (UConn), this is still a Michigan team that has a ton of talent on offense and a lot of expectations riding on the success of the program, under Rich Rod, this season.

The Huskies are as stout as they come on defense and this game will, no doubt, be a big one for Randy Edsall's bunch this season, but the Huskies sustained some important losses with the departures of not only Andre Dixon (1,093 yards rushing and 14 TD's) and Marcus Easley (48 receptions, 893 yards, and 8 TD's), but in big legged punter, Desi Cullen (42.8) as well.

Even more, there has to be some hesitation as to how much pressure the Husky defense will get up front minus all of their starting linebackers from last season.

No pass rush means a lot more time for Tate Forcier, or Denard Robinson, to pick apart or just plain run circles around that front seven and find their receivers.

The Wolverines may have a lot of questions coming into this season (including whether or not the defense can find a playmaker or two), and Rich Rod could find a pink slip in his box come season's end, but this game will be won by the Wolverines—bringing the UConn ATS streak to an unceremonious end. 

Forget Pac-10 Expansion, USC's Sanctions Just Altered The Landscape of College Football

The NCAA has released its report on the USC Trojans and the findings have netted the following sanctions:

1. USC is banned from post-season play for two seasons. 
2. They will lose 10 scholarships per year over the next three (30 total)
3. The team will have to forfeit all games in which Reggie Bush appeared, starting from December 2004 to the 2006 Rose Bowl. This includes the national championship win over Oklahoma.

Reggie Bush was said to have been "disappointed" with the outcome and he "disagrees" with the findings. Those findings were, in short, that Bush and his family accepted more than $300,000 in gifts and monies from an agent while he was enrolled at USC.

The money was given to Bush in order to secure a spot as his agent once his college career was over.

In light of the sanctions, coach Lane Kiffin was quoted as having said the following:

"I don't think it's going to have an impact on our recruiting," Kiffin said. "We've talked to a lot of people from our team, to our signees, to recruits, and we have not felt an impact at all, because USC is still USC. We're still going to play an extremely high level of football. You can still get a great education if you come to USC. I don't feel an impact at all so far today, talking to a lot of people, talking to our staff, a lot of different kids." (USA Today, 6/10/10)

Let me just say that whatever Lane Kiffin is drinking, give me a sip, because he is clearly wasted in LA LA land.

He thinks it won't have an impact?...Of course it will have an impact. Very few players on that USC roster are there for academic reasons. So, it doesn't matter how great the education opportunities are at USC.

If education were the primary goal of every top notch football player in the nation, then both Stanford and Notre Dame would be more relevant each year, Duke and North Carolina would rule the ACC in more than just basketball, and Vanderbilt would be the SEC Champion on a regular basis.

In truth, these guys go to school to play football. The education is a lovely perk but, at the end of the day, they are trying to make dollars.

How do you make dollars? You go to a winning program with a national reputation, you dominate in conference play, and you make an appearance in the best bowls that the post-season has to offer—period.

That said, USC and Lane Kiffin are screwed for the next two years as the Pac-10 just became an equal opportunity employer. Stanford, UCLA, and Cal have to be salivating at the possibility of netting some of the guys who may now reconsider their interest in USC.

Even more, the NCAA will allow any junior or senior who wishes to transfer from the program, in light of this decision, to do so without imposing their traditional one-year ban on play. I don't know that any player will necessarily do so, but the option is there and it may prove to be tempting.

It's got to be a sad day for the Trojan fan, but the Tennessee fan has to be laughing his collective backside off. Lane Kiffin finally got a little visit from the karma fairy and, for once, the joke appears to be on him.

Ha. Ha. Ha.