Giff out at Tech and on to the NFL

by Zachary Osterman  cbssports.com
There were no pictures of Giff Smith in the image bank, which is probably the way it should be for a defensive line coach, even at an ACC school.

But the problems for Georgia Tech are twofold:
1.He was also Tech's recruiting coordinator.
2.He's not Tech's recruiting coordinator anymore. Chan Gailey just hired him away .
Remember that puff piece I just wrote on Al Groh coming in and making an immediate impact on Georgia Tech's recruiting efforts? Forget it.
All that talk about solidifying a solid class in 2010? Unimportant now.
Giff Smith was with the Jackets for six years, and he earned for himself a solid reputation as a recruiter. He was raised in Mableton and played at Pebblebrook High School. He's worked for Tech, Georgia Southern, and UGA, a man of his home state through and through.
In charge of recruiting since 2006, Smith was responsible for classes that brought players like Dwyer, Josh Nesbitt, Demaryius Thomas, and Derrick Morgan to the Flats. His crowning jewel was the heralded 2007 class, but he's quietly kept solid recruiting momentum over Paul Johnson's first two years, and as the AJC's Mark Bradley points out, Georgia Tech was setting up for a really pretty haul in 2011.
Now that's up in smoke and Gailey has again found a way to haunt the Yellow Jacket faithful.
Like it or not, recruits commit to people much moreso now than they commit to schools. Personal relationships and a necessary comfort level rule the recruiting scene in a time when a player's every action is magnified to unprecedented levels.
Losing Smith, no matter the reason, burns those bridges. Perhaps not beyond the point of repair, but now it's on Johnson and his staff to simultaneously strengthen those relationships and find someone who can successfully carry on what Smith built in Atlanta.
The departures of Dwyer, Morgan, Thomas, and Morgan Burnett were blows, but expected.
And replacing Dave Wommack with Al Groh is an obvious upgrade from any angle.
But recruiting is so important in college football, and now Johnson is faced with yet another challenge to meet. How he answers this one could decide the course of his program for the next four or five years—or beyond.

State of Georgia Alumni in the Super Bowl - AJC

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The football pipeline otherwise known as the state of Georgia extends to the Super Bowl.
Five New Orleans Saints and four Indianapolis Colts played high school or college football -- or both -- in Georgia. And for the most part, they're impact players.
The Saints' Jon Stinchcomb (Parkview High, UGA) started every game at right tackle and made the Pro Bowl as a reserve. Defensive end Charles Grant (Miller County High, UGA) started every regular-season game, posting 5.5 sacks, before a triceps injury ended his season. Defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove (Georgia Tech) had five sacks and a forced fumble while playing in every game.
Safety Chris Reis (Roswell High, Georgia Tech) and cornerback Leigh Torrence (Marist High) made 17 and 10 tackles respectively, mainly on special teams. Torrence went on injured reserve in November with a shoulder injury.
For the Colts, center Jeff Saturday (Shamrock High, now a DeKalb County middle school) started every game and made the Pro Bowl as a backup. Defensive end Robert Mathis (McNair High) was voted a Pro Bowl starter after getting 9.5 sacks and five forced fumbles.
Linebacker Philip Wheeler (Shaw High, Georgia Tech) made 61 tackles in the regular season, plus three in the AFC Championship Game. Corner Tim Jennings (UGA) made 57 tackles and two interceptions.
With the Pro Bowl coming up Sunday, a week before the Super Bowl, Mathis, Saturday and Stinchcomb will be honored but won't play.
Georgia's strong representation at Super Bowl XLIV comes as no surprise. A 2008 study by USA Today found that Georgia high schools sent the fourth-most players to the NFL, behind only California, Texas and Florida

Dawgs Take Care of Business; Jackets Don't

My Friday post talked about how important this weekend was going to be for both teams. One team took care of their business in an impressive manor. The other team underachieved again. The bulldogs played the spoiler role again in a 15 point win over #8 team in the country Tennessee Vols. Georgia Tech lost late to a Florida State team that had already beat them in Atlanta in December. This looks to be what both these teams are going to be this season. They both play up to and beyond the level of their good opponents, and they play down to the level of the less talented teams they play.  UGA is glad to be showing signs of improvement under coach Mark Fox. Georgia Tech continues to underachieve under the leadership of Paul Hewitt.

Favors Ready to Prove Himself

By Carroll Rogers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It has been more than a month and a handful of ACC games since Georgia Tech last played Florida State. In the development of freshman Derrick Favors, it has seemed a lot longer than that.
On Dec. 20, Favors was muscled around by the Seminoles, who welcomed him to conference play by halting his streak of nine consecutive double-digit scoring games to start his Tech career. Favors looked lost against Duke, when he had more traveling calls (three) than field goals (two). He disappeared altogether against North Carolina, playing only 19 minutes because of foul trouble.
But after using 12 points against Virginia to show glimpses of progress, Favors heads to Tallahassee on Sunday to take on the front line of Florida State with the confidence of his team-high 17 points against Clemson.
Ask Favors what's changed and he says adjusting to the physical play in the ACC.
"It was just hard work paying off," he said. "Go hard, practice hard, lift weights, get your body ready for all the punishment that goes along in the paint."
He has followed junior Gani Lawal's lead, lifting weights after every game. He'll do push-ups in his room.
"In high school, he had some guy leaning on him who was about 6-3, 185," Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "Now he's got a guy like [FSU's Solomon] Alabi who's 7-1, 250. It's a big difference."
Hewitt said Favors' added strength translates into a better position down low, which made him a better target against Clemson.
"He understood what he had to do to hold position," Hewitt said. "When we threw the ball into him, he made sure he grabbed it and made a strong, decisive move. I thought there were times early in the year when we'd throw him the ball, and he didn't really go to it strong or didn't present a big-enough target. So our guys were a little afraid to throw it in."
Now guards Iman Shumpert and Mfon Udofia don't mind going in, or up. Favors has put together a highlight package of dunks, including a reverse alley-oop finish against Clemson.
The question circling now is whether Favors still is prepared to make a quick exit to the NBA, as most expect. In a mock draft at NBAdraft.net, Favors has fallen from No. 2 to No. 6 in a month.
Len Elmore, a former standout post player at Maryland and the NBA, has watched Favors in Tech's past two wins, over Clemson and North Carolina, as an analyst for ESPN.
He thinks another season or two of college play would benefit Favors, though admittedly, he believes that's true for all players coming out of high school.
"[Favors] is obviously a big, strong, athletic young man that has a great deal of potential," Elmore said. "The upside is almost unlimited in what he may be capable of doing. The question is understanding and learning the game."
Elmore thinks Favors could use more time to work on his footwork, his man-to-man defense, his face-up jump shot, and overcoming foul trouble.
"I think the most important thing is he appears to be a solid individual," Elmore said. "He's not so totally in love with himself and his skills that he can't work to get better."
For his part, Favors is focusing on the season.
"One of the things I tell him is don't worry about that," said South Atlanta coach Michael Reddick, who talks to Favors at least once a week. "Play as hard as you can, learn as much as you can, and when the season is over, you can evaluate that and make a decision whether you play another year or two or declare. Right now I want him focusing on Florida State."

Dawgs Take Down the Vols at Home

The Dawgs take care of business! An impressive performance by the Bulldogs at home against the #8 Tennessee Volunteers in a fifteen point win that was never really close in the second half. Thompkins and Leslie combined for 40 of Georgia's 78 points. This was a win they needed in athens to get any respect in the SEC. They had suffered close loses in conference, but when your opponent sees that you are winless in conference its hard to muster respect.

A win against Florida this week will give Georgia a fighters chance to make their way back up in the conference ranks.

Crucial Week of Basketball

This upcoming week is crucial for both schools' basketball squads. Georgia is sitting at 0-3 in the SEC with a big game on Sunday against the #8 in the nation Tennessee Volunteers followed by a Wednesday matchup against the Florida Gators. The Dawgs have been good in the upset role this season with big wins over Illinois and Georgia Tech. Even with all the trouble they have run into this season this Volunteer team is very talented and will give them everything they can handle. This Bulldog team isn't going to make any postseason noise this year, but they have the talent to give top tier teams a run for their money.

Georgia Tech is coming off two recent wins over North Carolina and Clemson and they need to keep rolling and avoid their usual rollercoaster ride of a season. North Carolina has been exposed as not being as good as advertised; despite some big non-conference wins over Michigan State and Ohio State. Tech needs to prove they are as good as their record by beating a Florida State team that already beat the Jackets in Atlanta earlier this year.

Georgia needs to get an SEC win. Georgia Tech needs to avoid a letdown.

680 The Fan interview with Todd Grantham

New defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs, Todd Grantham, was on 680 The Fan this morning doing an interview with the crew from the Rude Awakening. I was very impressed with what the new coordinator had to say. It sounds like UGA's defense is in very good hands. Visit 680 The Fan to hear the audio.
Todd Grantham interview
This is what former UGA quarterback and current 680 radio host,Buck Belue, had to say about the interview.
So I listened to Georgia's new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham on 680 The Fan on Thursday morning and left very impressed. His reputation on the field is "fiery." Off the field, in an interview setting he was very personable. Didn't hear him talking down to the guys, as he explained his 3-4 scheme and how it would fit at Georgia. Impressive. This guy looks to be a great fit.
Grantham is busy recruiting and analyzing his new personnel. He plans to meet with his new players starting tomorrow (Friday). In perperation for those meetings, he has put together tapes on each player, involving about 30 plays from last season. After the meetings, he will begin putting together a depth chart for spring football.
Richt is playing this recruiting angle correctly. Not much time is left, so Grantham is targeting guys that are hanging in the balance right now. That's smart. Let him sell Jeffrey Whitaker, Mike Thornton and Deon Rogers.
Coach Grantham's sales pitch is right on the money too. We want guys that want to come to Georgia and win. And I'll coach those guys up "just like I was coaching DeMarcus Ware or Jay Ratliff." Recruits know Grantham can help them develop and get a shot at the NFL. I like the first part...guys that want to come to Georgia and win.
The transition from the 4-3 to the 3-4 shouldn't be that radically different, once they get the personnel in place. DeAngelo Tyson wants to be the nose tackle. Abry Jones is thinking he's a better fit at DE. There will be some shifting around on the D-Line. And one of the big keys to a smooth transition is finding some playmakers at the OLB position. Not sure who those guys are right now.
It took 42 days, but it appears as though Georgia found a good fit for the job. Todd Grantham is a very impressive guy right now.