Tag: LSU football news

Georgia football offers scholarship to Aaron Anderson

Saturday, Georgia football made its latest move in the 2022 recruiting class by offering a scholarship to WR Aaron Anderson.

Saturday, 2022 3-star WR Aaron Anderson announced on Twitter that he received a scholarship offer from the University of Georgia.

Anderson (5-10, 187) plays football and runs track at Edna Karr High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a sophomore in 2019, Anderson helped Edna Karr to its fourth-straight Louisiana 4-A state championship.

247Sports has Anderson rated as the No. 53 WR and the No. 15 player in Louisiana. He holds eight scholarship offers from programs like Miami, LSU, USC, Kentucky and now Georgia.

More statistics and rankings will be available after these younger guys play their junior seasons this fall.

Ranking SEC head coaches heading into 2020 CFB season

We ranked all the SEC head coaches, from Georgia football’s Kirby Smart, to Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, to Florida’s Dan Mullen.

The SEC is loaded with head coaching talent as we head into the 2020 college football season.

You have your usuals – Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn, Ed Orgeron, etc.

But then you have your familiar, or in some cases not-so-familiar, yet new faces: Lane Kiffin, Mike Leach, Sam Pittman, Eli Drinkwitz.

Ranking the SEC head coaches heading into the 2020 season is as hard as it’s ever been, and that’s because of all these new hirings. But it’s also because Jeremy Pruitt waited until October to start winning games in Tennessee last year. It’s because Ed Orgeron took a loaded roster and won a national title. Because Gus Malzahn and Auburn always have the talent but can’t seem to win the big ones. Or because, despite a 4-8 season, Will Muschamp was able to knock off Kirby Smart and Georgia.

Related: 2020 Georgia schedule with game-by-game score predictions

With all of this taken into consideration, here’s our SEC head coaching power rankings for the 2020 college football season:

14. Sam Pittman, Arkansas

I would have loved to get Pittman into a higher spot on this list, but what is there to go off of? His last head coaching job came in 1992 and 1993 when he led Hutchinson Community College to an 11–9–1 record over two seasons.

I am 100% rooting for Pittman to succeed in his first season as head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. It won’t be easy, and this is a team that will likely finish with at least five losses for the first few years, but that’s not necessarily a terrible thing as long as they play hard.

Arkansas may not field the most talented teams in the SEC, but if there’s one thing I’m certain of it’s that the former UGA O-Line coach will make sure his guys fight harder than anybody.

13. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri

Drinkwitz gets the No. 13 spot because of what he was able to do at App State last year. In his first season as a head coach, he led the Mountaineers to a 12-1 record and a Sun Belt championship.

But that’s not the SEC. It’s going to be a rocky road ahead for Drinkwitz, as Mizzou will definitely not be one of the more talented teams in the league for a few years.

12. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt

I often find myself rooting for Vanderbilt and Mason.

He took over at Vandy when James Franklin left for Penn State, and though it’s been tough at times, you get the feeling that Commodore fans actually look forward to their seasons.

11. Will Muschamp, South Carolina

If Muschamp had not beaten Georgia last year, he maybe would not even be on this list at all.

But he won and that probably saved his job. He coaches up a good defense, but South Carolina will need to crank up its recruiting efforts if it wants to start contending in the SEC East. Another season with no bowl game may put an end to Muschamp’s head coaching career with the Gamecocks.

10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

Kiffin is a good football coach, there’s no denying that. No. 10 is pretty low for an offensive genius like him. But this conference is simply loaded.

Kiffin did a great job at Florida Atlantic, but I still need to see him win consistently at a Power 5 school.

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Athlon Sports releases 2020 CFB rankings: Projects Florida ahead of Georgia

Athlon Sports released its 2020 college football top-25 and projected the Florida Gators to finish above the Georgia Bulldogs.

Athlon Sports recently released its list of the top-25 college football teams going into the 2020 football season, saying the list specifically represents where they think these teams will finish the season.

From Athlon:

This is not a preseason ranking of teams going into the season. Instead, this ranking takes into account where we project teams to finish after the national championship in January

The SEC is represented six times. Alabama is at No. 2 behind projected national champion Clemson. LSU is at No. 8, Texas A&M No. 11 and Auburn at No. 13.

Most notably, Georgia, the three-time SEC East defending champion, is ranked at No. 7, behind Florida at No. 6.

Athlon Sports stated its reason for putting the Gators ahead of the Bulldogs, even though Florida hasn’t won in Jacksonville in three years, is because of the SEC crossover games and staff continuity.

“Georgia has an edge in overall roster talent,” Athlon Sports wrote. “But the Gators have a small advantage in crossover play (at home versus LSU compared to at Alabama for the Bulldogs) and coach Dan Mullen’s team has more continuity in staff and scheme.”

I suppose Athlon Sports has a point, a Joe Burrow-less LSU at home won’t be as tough as Alabama in Tuscaloosa. However, the SEC East runs through Jacksonville and Georgia has held the keys for the last three years.

And as far as continuity goes, the Bulldogs came into the 2019 season with a new offensive coordinator and still took care of business in Jacksonville.

Georgia and Florida meet this year on Halloween from TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.

Here is Athlon Sports’ projected top-10 teams in college football for 2020:

Athlon Sports’ 2020 Projected top-10

#1 Clemson

#2 Alabama

#3 Ohio State

#4 Oklahoma

#5 Penn State

#6 Florida

#7 Georgia

#8 LSU

#9 Notre Dame

#10 Oregon

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5-star CB Ga’Quincy McKinstry, a Georgia target, releases top-five

5-star CB Ga’Quincy McKinstry, a big-time Georgia football recruiting target, released his top-five schools on Sunday.

On Sunday, 2021 5-star cornerback Ga’Quincy McKinstry took to Twitter to release his top-five schools.

Out of Pinson Valley High School in Pinson, Alabama, McKinstry tweeted a top-five of Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Clemson.

McKinstry ranks as the nation’s No. 23 overall player and as the No. 2 cornerback in the 2021 recruiting class.

According to 247Sports, Alabama is the favorite to land McKinstry, with LSU and Auburn also right there.

Georgia offered McKinstry in March of 2018.

A two-sport star, McKinstry is also a star on the Pinson Valley basketball team. He has won three state championships during his high school career — two in football and one in basketball.

As a cornerback, he earned Alabama Class 6A first-team all-state honors on defense as a sophomore.

Last season, he had 30 tackles, 12 pass breakups and six interceptions.

In addition to defensive back, he also plays wide receiver and kick returner for the Pinson Valley Indians.

Last season as a receiver, McKinstry finished with 47 catches for 700 yards and 12 touchdowns.

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Report: SEC presidents to vote on when players can return to campus

LSU executive said Thursday that the conference’s presidents and chancellors will vote whether to allow players to return to their campuses.

Per Brooks Kubena of The Advocate, LSU executive deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry said Thursday that the conference’s presidents will vote whether players will be able to return to campus on either June 1 or June 15.

The vote could take place as soon as next week.

From Kubena:

Ausberry, told the Louisiana Economic Recovery Task Force that the athletic department is aiming to return its players to campus on June 1, something athletic director Scott Woodward had also said in the department’s virtual Coaches Caravan Wednesday night.

“The presidents are going to take a vote in the SEC,” Ausberry told the task force, a unit of private sector business leaders who advise lawmakers on the economy’s recovery amid the spread of coronavirus. “Do we come back? Do we bring the students back on June 1 or June 15?”

Per 247Sports, SEC administrator Herb Vincent said,

“We are in continuous conversations about athletics activities related to COVID-19 and will make decisions appropriately.”

As states begin to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s only a matter of time before athletes and coaches are allowed back on campuses. The question is, will football be played in the fall?

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said,

“For us to have our football season our universities have to re-engage in a normal operating pattern.”

For now, it looks like we should be hoping for schools to reopen completely before we can expect a football season, or at least that is what SEC officials have led us to believe so far.

247Sports spot on in ranking Kirby Smart 4th best coach in CFB

247Sports ranked Georgia football’s Kirby Smart as the #4 coach in college football. Here’s why he was spot on.

On Thursday, Brad Crawford of 247Sports released his list of the top-25 coaches in college football.

Give credit to Crawford — he took on this story knowing that it would receive mixed reviews from across the country.

Here was his top-five:

1. Nick Saban, Alabama

2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson

3. Ed Orgeron, LSU

4. Kirby Smart, Georgia

5. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma

I don’t think there’s any question about numbers one and two. Saban and Swinney have taken turns ruling college football for the last decade.

But after those two is when fans start to think their coach should occupy that #3, #4 or #5 spot.

I’m not here to bash Crawford’s ranking of Smart at #4. Instead, I 100% agree with it. How can you not?

I saw a story that stated Georgia fans should be offended by Smart’s ranking on this list. It mentioned recency bias as the main reason Orgeron was put at #3.

I’m not on board with that. Some can call it recency bias, but I call it a national championship win, meaning he’s accomplished something that Smart has not. Meanwhile, they were both playing in the same conference, and LSU kicked Georgia’s butt for the second straight season. At one point, you have to tip your cap to Coach O.

Smart’s time will come where he’ll eventually pass Coach O, but that won’t be until he wins a title. He’s doing everything else right. He’s getting his team to the big games, he’s recruiting better than any coach in America, he catapulted Georgia back into the national spotlight and he’s producing NFL talent.

All that’s left is a ring. That may be a very simplistic way of looking at it, but in the end that’s how success is measured. Have you not been watching the Jordan documentary?

Had Georgia beaten LSU last season in the SEC Championship Game, then we would be having a different discussion. But Georgia did not just lose, it got pounded by a final score of 37-10. The year before, Georgia got spanked in Baton Rouge 36-16. In Smart’s last two games vs Orgeron, his Bulldogs have gotten beat by a combined score of 73-26.

So no, Georgia fans have no right to be offended about the #4 ranking for Smart. If anything, we should be celebrating the fact that Georgia has the fourth best coach in America.

I loved Mark Richt as much as the next guy, but come on, he was never a top-five coach in America. Maybe not even top-10.

Kirby’s time will come.

A few other notable names on the list:

#8 – Florida head coach Dan Mullen

#9 – Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher

#13 – Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn

#15 – Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops

#21 – Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt

247Sports ranks top-25 CFB coaches: Where is Georgia’s Kirby Smart?

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart was ranked 4th in 247Sports’ list of the top-25 coaches in college football.

On Thursday, Brad Crawford of 247Sports released his list of the top-25 coaches in college football.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart checked in at No. 4.

Crawford’s top-five was as follows:

1. Nick Saban, Alabama

2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson

3. Ed Orgeron, LSU

4. Kirby Smart, Georgia

5. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma

Smart was named the Bulldogs coach in 2015 after serving as Alabama defensive coordinator under Nick Saban for eight years.

Smart has led his alma mater to a 44-12 record over four years as the Bulldogs head coach and has boasted three consecutive No. 1 ranked recruiting classes.

There is no question that Smart has built a powerhouse at Georgia. He recruits at an elite level and has one of the best defensive minds in all of college football.

So, what separates Smart from Saban, Swinney and Orgeron?

A national championship.

Smart has led Georgia to three consecutive SEC East titles, an SEC Championship title, a College Football Playoff victory and a National Championship bid, but a couple of close losses to Bama have held the Bulldogs from the top of college football.

Jan 1, 2018; Pasadena, CA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart holds the Rose Bowl trophy — Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

However, Smart will have another shot at a title in 2020 and it may be with the most talented team he has had in his time at Georgia.

The Bulldogs return many of the starters from the 2019 record-breaking defense and have a new air-raid offensive system behind the arm of Wake Forest transfer quarterback Jamie Newman, and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

A few other notable names on the list:

#8 – Florida head coach Dan Mullen

#9 – Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher

#13 – Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn

#15 – Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops

#21 – Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt

Watch: Kirby Smart, Will Muschamp recall hilarious old Nick Saban story

UGA football HC Kirby Smart & South Carolina Gamecocks HC Will Muschamp recalled a hilarious story of Alabama HC Nick Saban from LSU days.

Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp are two of the SEC’s brightest head coaches, and similar to a number of college football’s coaches, they both learned from the best, Nick Saban.

The two coaches previously spent time together as teammates in Athens and coaches at Valdosta State and then LSU, where they coached under Saban.

From 2000-04, Saban was head coach of the LSU Tigers. Muschamp was his linebackers coach in 2001 and defensive coordinator from 2002-04. Smart, who is four years younger than Muschamp, was with Saban for one season at LSU, coaching the defensive backs in 2004 before spending a year as running backs coach in Athens in 2005. After his year at Georgia, Smart would spend the next decade coaching under Saban, starting with the Miami Dolphins and then the Alabama job.

While being interviewed by CBS Sports this week, both Smart and Muschamp recalled a hilarious story displaying Saban’s lack of tech skills.

You’re going to love this one:

The Gamecocks’ head man provided a young Smart with key leadership skills in their lone season as Bulldog teammates. Muschamp later hired Smart as a defensive backs coach for Valdosta State, where the two extended a previous friendship.

Now, as both men are set to embark on their fifth seasons as head coaches of two SEC programs, they can only reflect on where they have come from.

Donovan McMillon includes Georgia football in top-10

UGA football recruiting: Georgia Bulldogs make top-10 for elite recruit Donovan McMillon.

Georgia has made the top-ten for the 200th ranked player in the nation, Donovan McMillon.

McMillon holds 53 scholarship offers but was able to cut that list to ten on Friday.

A 4-star safety in the class of 2021 out of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, McMillon’s top-ten schools are as follows:

Georgia, Florida, LSU, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State and Virginia Tech.

He ranks as the nation’s No. 200 overall player, No. 8 safety and the No. 8 player in his state.

Out of his ten finalists, he has actually only visited two, Virginia Tech and Penn State.

Once he is allowed to visit schools again, he hopes to cut his list in half to five.

Chiefs reveal why they passed on Georgia RB D’Andre Swift for Clyde Edwards-Helaire

The Kansas City Chiefs reveal why they passed on Georgia football RB D’Andre Swift for LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the NFL Draft.

Swift slides…

Georgia had two players selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday night, offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson.

Georgia is happy to have two players go in the first round, but running back D’Andre Swift slipping into the second round was a move that shocked Bulldog fans and quite frankly most NFL fans as well.

The Philadelphia native was long considered the best ball carrier in the draft, and likely still is despite the Kansas City Chiefs selecting LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire over him.

We kept waiting and waiting to hear Swift’s name called, but that did not happen on the first night. Most expected the Dolphins, Chiefs or Bucs to take Swift.

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Instead, Miami traded down from  No. 26 to No. 30 and took Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. But the real shocker came with the final pick of the first round when the Kansas City Chiefs took Edwards-Helaire, making him the only ball carrier taken in the first round.

Most football fans in general could not understand why the Chiefs went with Edwards-Helaire over Swift, who was the second highest player on Mel Kiper’s Big Board at the time of the selection.

But here’s why…

According to ChiefsWire, the reason has been revealed.

Apparently, Chiefs Super Bowl winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes made the decision.

From ChiefsWire:

The Chiefs called up Edwards-Helaire with Clark Hunt, Andy Reid, Brett Veach, Eric Bieniemy, and Deland McCullough to congratulate him on joining Kansas City. In the call, they let him, and the rest of Chiefs Kingdom in on a little piece of information. Both Reid and Veach revealed that Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had hand-picked Edwards-Helaire as the player that he wanted for the Chiefs. And so, they made it happen.

Here’s a snippet from head coach Andy Reid’s phone call with Edwards-Helaire:

“Hey, listen we’re fired up for you, man,” Andy Reid began. “We asked Pat Mahomes, ‘Who do you want?’ And he picked you. How great is that?”

“I’m ready to work coach you know that,” Edwards-Helaire responded.

“… Coach and I were thinking your way,” Veach said. “Then when we texted Pat [Mahomes] and I said, ‘Give me a name and don’t think about it.’ And he said, ‘Clyde [Edwards-Helaire] and I said, ‘We’re good.’”

Edwards-Helaire is a great player, but he’s no Swift. Either way, Swift is going to make one team very happy when he hears his name called early on in the second round. He is the second-best available player on Mel Kiper’s Big Board.

Remember the last Georgia running back taken in the second round? He just finished second in the NFL in rushing yards last season. I’m talking about Nick Chubb, by the way, who was taken #35 overall by there Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft.

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