Tag: ole miss football news

College Football News ranks SEC head coaches: Where’s Kirby Smart?

College Football News ranked the top SEC head coaches. Where is Georgia football’s Kirby Smart?

Pete Fiutak of College Football News recently released a list ranking the SEC head coaches heading into the 2020 season.

Checking in at No. 3 on the list is Georgia’s Kirby Smart, who trails only Nick Saban (1) and Ed Orgeron (2).

At No. 4 is Dan Mullen and at No. 5 is Gus Malzahn.

As much as I’d love for Smart to be in that No. 2 spot, I do not disagree with Fiutak here.

Smart’s time will come, and within the next five years he may very well occupy that No. 1 spot.

For now, he’s sitting at No. 3 on Fiutak’s list, likely right on the verge of taking over that No. 2 ranking. As long as he keeps winning the SEC East, beating rivals and putting his team in striking distance for the College Football Playoff…he’ll be considered a top-five coach in America.

Orgeron or Smart at No. 2 was likely a somewhat difficult decision. Fiutak went with Coach O since he accomplished something Kirby hasn’t yet, a national championship.

I’ve heard it all – “Anyone could win with that roster.”

Sure, Smart probably would have won it with that roster LSU had last year. But, at the end of the day, he didn’t have that roster. No other way around it.

Also, how can you not love Coach O?

As for Saban, there’s no arguing that one.

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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CB Daran Branch flips from Ole Miss to UGA; Georgia announces signing

Georgia football announced the signing of 3-star CB Daran Branch today, an Ole Miss flip.

Georgia football has announced the signing of 3-star cornerback Daran Branch today, National Signing Day.

Branch made news today when he flipped his commitment from Ole Miss to Georgia, adding to there Bulldogs’ already No. 1 ranked recruiting class.

Branch, out of Amite, Louisiana, committed to Ole Miss in November of 2019, but today decided he wanted to be a Georgia Bulldog.

At 6-2, 180 pounds, Branch is described as a physical cornerback.

Branch took a visit to Georgia on January 24th.

The University of Georgia announced the signing on Twitter.

Georgia football flips Ole Miss CB commit

Georgia football was able to flip an Ole Miss CB commit.

Georgia was able to flip cornerback Daran Branch from Ole Miss.

Branch is a 3-star cornerback out of Amite, Louisiana who ranks as the nation’s No. 672 overall player and, until today, was committed to play at Ole Miss.

Georgia had been coming for Branch, though. He took an official visit to UGA on January 24th and then visited Ole Miss last weekend.

Georgia offered the 6-2, 180 pound cornerback at the end of December and had been gunning for the Rebel commit hard, Branch told 247.

We predicted this yesterday when we outlined two players that could commit to Georgia today. The other, Cameron Kinnie, also committed to UGA today as well.

 

Is Georgia football still in it? Recruiting Director at Rivals makes Zach Evans prediction

Is Georgia football still in the mix for Zach Evans? Mike Farrell at Rivals thinks so.

Zach Evans, the 5-star running back out of North Shore High School in Houston, Texas, originally signed with Georgia but then later requested that the Bulldogs release him of his National Letter of Intent. Georgia did just that.

Evans, who may be the most talented player in the entire 2020 recruiting class, was supposed to announce his decision at the Under Armour game before backing out and delaying his recruitment.

Now, however, Georgia appears to be back in the fold for Evans.

Despite already signing with UGA and then being released from his NLI, some recruiting expert still think the superstar tailback will end up at Georgia when the dust settles.

Another name to keep an eye on is Broderick Jones, a 5-star offensive lineman who has been committed to Georgia for quite some time. He has not signed with the Dawgs, though, and Auburn has been making a strong push for the 6’6″ 300 pounder out of Lithonia, Georgia.

When asked to make a prediction on where these unsigned five-star players will go, Rivals.com’s National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell said he still thinks that both Evans and Jones will be heading to Georgia.

“Evans will end up at Georgia, Jones will also end up at Georgia.”

Evans is believed to be visiting Knoxville this weekend, according to Farrell. Ole Miss and Florida are in the mix as well.

At North Shore in Houston, Evans had another stellar season as a senior, rushing for 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns on just 127 carries, with an average of 12.6 yards per carry. In 2018, when he was named MaxPreps’ National Junior of the Year, Evans tallied 1,785 rushing yards and 29 scores. His sophomore season,  Evans racked up 1,483 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns.

It’s official: Georgia announces hiring of former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke

Georgia football announces hiring of former Ole Miss HC Matt Luke

Well, the rumors are no longer rumors.

Former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke will replace Sam Pittman as Georgia’s offensive line coach, after the former accepted the head coaching job at Arkansas on Sunday.

Coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs wasted no time filling the spot Pittman left open and are already back on the trail, hoping to retain all the recruits gained by the Razorbacks’ main man.

This morning, the rumors on Luke to Athens quickly turned into reports, before the Bulldogs officially announced the signing just after 12:00 pm.

Luke will also serve as Georgia’s associate head coach. He coached Ole Miss’ offensive line from 2012 until 2016 and was named interim head coach after the firing of Hugh Freeze. Luke, who played center at Ole Miss in the 90’s, became his alma mater’s permanent head coach after the 2016 season.

Now, Georgia will turn its focus to the Early Signing Day, which is only 8 days away, as well as re-tooling the offensive staff.

Make sure to follow along with UGA Wire for the latest updates on the ongoing changes in Athens.