Tag: kirby smart uga

Georgia football player profile: QB D’Wan Mathis

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback D’Wan Mathis was Georgia’s co-winner of the David Jacobs Award in 2019 for overcoming his scary brain cyst

Quarterback D’Wan Mathis(#2):

Class: Redshirt Freshman

Height: 6-6

Weight: 205 lbs

Hometown: Oak Park, Michigan

High School: Oak Park High School

Apr 20, 2019; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback D’Wan Mathis (2) passes during the Georgia spring game at Sanford Stadium.  Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback D’Wan Mathis was Georgia’s co-winner of the David Jacobs Award in 2019 for overcoming his scary brain cyst. Mathis contributed as a scout team quarterback for the Bulldogs in 2019, but was never fully cleared to play until after the season.

As a freshman in 2019, Mathis enrolled early and played in the G-Day game, where he was 15-28 for 113 passing yards. Mathis committed to the University of Georgia after originally being committed to Ohio State. He was a good flip for Kirby Smart and the offensive staff.

Mathis will participate in UGA’s quarterback competition heading into the 2020 college football season. He was a four-star prospect as a recruit.

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Report: UGA QB D’Wan Mathis cleared to play following brain cyst

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback D’Wan Mathis has been cleared to play following a scary brain cyst surgery.

Georgia Bulldogs Quarterback D’Wan Mathis has been cleared to play. According to UGASports, UGA head coach Kirby Smart announced the good news yesterday to an audience of alumni in Charlotte.

Mathis, a four star recruit in the class of 2019, committed to UGA over Ohio State back in 2018.  Mathis is a redshirt freshman, who was able to play in the 2019 G-Day game last season, but underwent surgery on a brain cyst last May.

Mathis is now expected to practice this spring and will battle Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman, last season’s back-up Stetson Bennett and 2020 four-star recruit Carson Beck for the starting quarterback role. At the very least, Mathis will add depth to UGA’s QB room.

Mathis has not been totally shut down since his surgery, but hadn’t been cleared for much contact. Mathis is from Oak Park, Michigan, where he attended Oak Park High School. Mathis was able to get some valuable reps as scout team QB late last season, where he prepared the defense to face Auburn’s Bo Nix. These reps were non-contact in nature.

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Georgia football HC Kirby Smart talks increase in out-of-state recruits

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart discusses the increase in out-of-state recruits committing to UGA.

One of the biggest perks of being the head coach at Georgia is that even if you don’t leave your own state you can still finish with one of the nation’s top recruiting class. 

If Georgia only signed the top players in the Peach State, it would still result in a damn good class signing class.

However, Kirby Smart knows that’s not realistic, so he reeled in 25 players from nine different states and together they formed the nation’s No. 1 overall ranked recruiting class.

Georgia’s often had success recruiting from other states, most notably South Florida. Then there’s the superstar running backs to come from North Carolina. Or the big arm of Jacob Eason from Washington. If Kirby Smart sees talent, he will go to any corner of the map to bring it to Athens.

This year’s class broken down by state:

Georgia: 8

Florida: 5

Texas: 3

Louisiana: 3

California: 2

Nevada: 1

Arizona: 1

Washington D.C.: 1

New Jersey: 1

On the topic of out-of-state kids, Smart said:

“Number one, we had more interest from out-of-state kids. We had some national interest from players that came to camp and really performed well that in the past, we might have lost out on.

We might have been second or third on a national kid that was a really good player. Say a Darnell (Washington), say a Kendall (Milton), say a Kelee (Ringo). But we won a lot of those. The other part is we lost some great battles that were really, really good players. So, I think the two of those merged to make that unique position where we would’ve taken the in-state guy or the out-of-state guy. It just so happens we took the out-of-state guy. But we’re excited for those players. There are a lot of good out-of-state players that play here at the University of Georgia. There’s no limitation to your borders. But we respect and understand how good our state is.”

Kirby Smart on what Todd Monken brings to Georgia’s offense, recruiting

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart discusses what new UGA OC Todd Monken bring to the Bulldogs offense and to recruiting.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart went to the professional ranks to find his next offensive coordinator.

After allowing longtime assistant James Coley a year to run Georgia’s offense, it was evident that Smart had made the wrong decision and took little time to make a change.

Smart demoted Coley and brought in Todd Monken to call the plays for Georgia’s offense.

Monken came to Georgia after serving as offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Monken is well-known for his successful air attack offenses that he’s orchestrated over the years.

By the time Monken stepped foot in Athens, Georgia, most of the heavy lifting had already been done as far as recruiting goes.

But for a new face to step into the picture that late in the recruiting process can be a scary sight for young prospects and their parents.

However, Monken and Smart handled the situation smoothly, not allowing Coley’s departure to have a negative impact on recruiting.

In fact, Monken helped Georgia to land the nation’s No. 1 overall recruiting class for 2020.

“We’re excited about what Todd brings to us. As far as the recruiting process, he got involved in most of these late,” Smart said. “Most of the work hadKirby Smart on what Todd Monken brings to Georgia’s offense, recruiting been done on a lot of these guys. If you think about it, I think all of our wideouts signed early, so that was not a major factor in this recruiting class.”

Smart also commented on his previous relationship with Monken, however, pointed out that he would prefer to talk about the new signees.

“We really want this to be about our signing class, but Coach Monken and I crossed paths at LSU. He came in with Les Miles’ staff, and I was there for a month, or three or four weeks, before I came here. So, we were briefly on the same staff. We’ve crossed paths through our time at speaking engagements, recruiting on the road, the Southern Miss job, lot of interactions in different ways.”

When asked about what we should expect from Georgia’s new-look offense in 2020, Smart sounds just excited to figure out as we do. But right now, he would not give us much information regarding that.

“I don’t know the answer to that. The roles on our staff still aren’t complete with an assistant coach spot open. I think that will play out as we go along. Certainly, I’m excited. I know the kids are excited for an opportunity and looking to see where that goes. I can’t honestly say right now. I think everybody wants to hear some grand speech opening this up and doing that. What you need is to be productive offensively, score points, and do explosive plays, which we talk about consistently.”

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart discusses importance of ‘character’ in recruiting

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart talks about a player’s character.

Georgia landed the nation’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class for the 2020 cycle, making that the second time in three years that Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have done so.

For Kirby, the talent level of a player he is recruiting is obviously a big deal, but to him nothing is as important as getting a player of high character.

Kirby spoke about that in detail during his signing day press conference.

“It should never be the only thing, but it’s definitely the most important thing,” Smart said, referring to a player’s character.

“The older I get, the wiser I get, and the more you realize that chasing guys that don’t believe in the same principles and values of your university and of your program, they’re just not worth it. There’s too much time spent on guys that if you’re having to chase them around, it’s just not worth it. Take the guys that want to be there and go play with guys that want to be there. Number one, you’ll enjoy your job day-to-day. Your staff will enjoy it more, as will the other players. It’s very important for us.”

You don’t have to be a football coach for that advice to impact your life.

Well said, Kirby.

Georgia football offers scholarship to 2021 four-star DE Cade Denhoff

The Georgia Bulldogs have offered a scholarship to 2021 four-star DE Cade Denhoff, who plays football at Lakeland Christian School.

The Georgia Bulldogs have offered a scholarship to 2021 four-star defensive end Cade Denhoff. Denhoff plays high school football at Lakeland Christian School in Lakeland, Florida and is a top one-hundred recruit in next year’s class.

Denhoff, per 247sports.com, has visited UGA already on an unofficial visit. Denhoff is also considering Clemson, Alabama, Nebraska, and LSU. He was excited to announce his scholarship offer via Twitter:

According to MaxPreps, Denhoff recorded 11 sacks last season. Denhoff also plays basketball. Kirby Smart and Dan Lanning hope Denhoff will be the next great defensive end at UGA.

Denhoff has a 4.2 GPA, is an Under Armor All-American, and is 6’5″, 228 lbs. Denhoff will continue to add to his frame before joining the ranks of major college football.

UGA is currently focusing on the class of 2020. The Dawgs have an elite class of 2020, with several five-stars. UGA only has a few commitments in the class of 2021, but the staff is offering lots of scholarships in recent months.

Georgia failed to make Denhoff’s top seven earlier this year. This came before the Dawgs offered him:

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UGA 2020 commit Corey Wren re-opens recruitment

Georgia Bulldogs class of 2020 wide receiver commitment Corey Wren de-commits from UGA

Georgia Bulldogs class of 2020 wide receiver commitment Corey Wren has backed off of his commitment to UGA and is re-opening his recruitment. Wren is a three-star receiver from New Orleans, Louisiana and plays high school football at John Curtis High School.

Wren announced his de-commitment late last night via Twitter:

Wren is also considering Arizona State and Houston. Wren is a smaller receiver with excellent speed. At Arizona State or Houston he’d have a path to quicker playing time.

Wren’s de-commitment brings UGA’s class of 2020 down to only fifteen commitments. Georgia’s recruiting class continues to be ranked in the top-five, but the Dawgs need to land a few more targets before signing day.

Kirby Smart and company have bigger concerns than most coaches at this time of year. While most coaches around the country are sitting at home and recruiting, Kirby Smart, James Coley, and Dan Lanning are all hunkering down preparing for Saturday’s SEC Championship Game against the LSU Tigers.

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Can Georgia football continue their biggest advantage over Tech?

The Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart have been dominating the Georgia Tech in the recruiting. Can Geoff Collins flip the script?

The Georgia Bulldogs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have a rivalry that goes deeper than what happens on the football field. The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets battle throughout the year for talented recruits in the state of Georgia. UGA fans know the Dawgs has dominated in-state recruiting since Kirby Smart took over, but is one of their best advantages, a lack of legitimate in-state recruiting competition fading away?

The last time Georgia Tech landed a top twenty-five recruiting class was in 2007! Back in 2007, the Yellow Jackets recruited several NFL players: OLB Derrick Morgan, S Morgan Burnett, and RB Jonathan Dwyer. Georgia Tech struggled mightily in recruiting, largely thanks to the triple option system, which no defender want to practice against and no NFL offense runs.

Now, under first year head coach Geoff Collins, the Yellow Jackets have the 25th best class of 2020. The results on the field haven’t been pretty, but Georgia Tech is poised to improve. Everybody knew switching systems is more than a one year process.

Enter the Georgia Bulldogs, who have been dominating recruiting in the state of Georgia. Kirby Smart has Georgia competing with the elite programs across the country in recruiting and on the field. UGA’s previous recruiting class to be ranked below tenth was all the way back in 2013. Let’s be honest, Georgia’s biggest recruiting competition comes from the SEC. That being said, Georgia Tech isn’t going to be a pushover moving forward.

Georgia’s class of 2020 is ranked fifth in the country. The Bulldogs can send a message to recruits with another big-win over the Yellow Jackets this Saturday. As for now, Georgia Tech seems to be trending in the right direction. Will they be able to improve in their second year under Geoff Collins? Lots of second year coaches struggled to make the leap this past season. He’s not going to make the National Championship game like Kirby Smart did in his second season in Athens.

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Kirby Smart addresses Georgia football’s offensive woes

Georgia faithful still wonder how the much longer the Dawgs’ D can bail out the struggling offense.

Georgia’s 2019 defense is a statistical anomaly. The Junkyard Dawgs will enter their final regular season game ranked fifth in total defense, second in rushing defense, seventh in passing efficiency defense, and have only allowed one rushing touchdown.

The Bulldog Nation thoroughly enjoys watching a defense that can guarantee a win requiring only 21 points. Georgia is one of two teams (Clemson being the other) that hasn’t given up more than 20 points thus far this season.

That said, Georgia faithful still wonder how the much longer the Dawgs’ D can bail out the struggling offense.

Head coach Kirby Smart acknowledged the fans’ echoed concerns after the Silver Britches’ lackluster offense.

“There were things [against Texas A&M] that we missed that were there. That’s the frustrating thing.”

He continued: “You get an opportunity on first and ten to make the plays that we had, and you’ve got to make those.”

Smart, obviously aware of the situation, added that “some of that had nothing to to with the calls…it had to do with execution.”

“[The defense] got tired toward the end of the game. We’re going to have to overcome that, because two weeks in a row now, we’ve kind of lost momentum late and struggled on a couple drives.”

Quarterback Jake Fromm has thrown under 50% for three consecutive games. Compared to his career percentage of 65.5%, the current trend is surprising.

“Offensively, we’ve got to improve. There’s no bones about it.” Smart The message this week is that the next step is the most important step.”