Recruiting, Willie Williams, and Table Tennis

Some of you may remember the infamous Willie Williams, who had one of the most storied recruiting periods ever (you can find some info pretty easily on the interwebs). Here's a nice story about how things have changed: Curfew is 9:30, sharp!

My favorite parts:

To understand how the official visit -- the two-day, all-expenses-paid trip that allows prospective athletes to see what a school has to offer -- has changed since your tour, Willie, consider the wildest part of the biggest visit weekend at Georgia this recruiting season. On the night of Dec. 6, some of the nation's top players gathered at the home of Bulldogs coach Mark Richt and played ping-pong. That's right, ping-pong.

"[Richt] is pretty dominant. He didn't lose the entire night," said Bryce Ros, a Kennesaw, Ga., tight end who will officially sign next week to play for a coach who apparently is the best American table tennis player since Forrest Gump.

And, on page two:

Still, maybe the Vols would have had a better chance at landing Owens had the players just driven Owens to Fulmer's house for a rousing game of ping-pong.

I guess instead of competing at the fiddle for your soul, Evil Richt challenges you at ping-pong for your signature on a letter of intent.

Brighter Than Creation's Dark

Athens based band Drive-By Truckers released their new album yesterday. Jason Isbell is noticeably missing, but still a good album; after a few more spins in the CD-player I'm sure I'll call it great...Check out the album when you get a chance.



Rolling Stone - 4 Stars

All Music.com - 4 Stars

Paste - 4 Stars

Songs from guys who watch the road - Houston Chronicle

Getting Ready for Signing Day

Following recruiting has never been something I've considered worth any energy. Too many kids end up not panning out, getting hurt, not making grades, etc. to get all hyped up about recruiting classes. Plus, obsessing over the whims of 18 year-olds is, well, creepy.

That said, the Dawgs successfully complete a major coup today that speaks volumes. A.J. Harmon, an offensive lineman from Lousiville, GA, committed to the Clemson Tigers over the summer. Supposedly, he expressed interest in playing on the defensive line in college (he split time in high school). Clemson said, "sure," while other schools told him that he would play on the O-line.

Rumors swirled that the Dawgs continued recruiting him, though they maintained that he would stay on the offensive line where he belongs. After the four-star recruit attended the "Blackout" game against Auburn, rumors intensified. Harmon reportedly made remarks to the effect that one staff has told him the truth while the other has told him what he wants to hear. Tiger fans watching the Army All-American game were disappointed to learn that Harmon has now committed to Georgia.

In addition to being a great addition to the 2008 class, this spells out a few things to me:

• Offensive line coach Stacy Searels is building the best line in the SEC
• Evil-Richt's efforts to energize the team are energizing recruits as well
• Evil-Richt's evil ways don't include lying to recruits

Just another reason to be excited about 2008 and beyond.

Throw in the towel!!!!

Not since Ivan Drago manhandled Apollo Creed has the sweetheart of the nation been pounded so mercilessly. It was just like David and Goliath, except this time around, Goliath beat David's fanny. I have to say, it was pretty awesome watching the Dawgs in true Evil-Richt black turning the Rainbow Warriors back into pumpkins. That is, it was fun until about halfway through the third quarter when I started to actually feel a little sick watching Colt Brennan get tossed around. Here's a capture of the front page from the Honolulu paper. Click to get a bigger picture.