Kirby Smart says Georgia’s freshman running backs are “hard to tackle”
Georgia had the nation’s No. 3 ranked recruiting class for the 2023 cycle with 30 signees.
Amongst those are running backs Branson Robinson and Andrew Paul, who look to carry on the tradition of great ball carriers at UGA.
Kirby Smart spoke about the two freshmen following the team’s first scrimmage over the weekend, saying they are “different.”
“These two young guys are different.” Smart said. “They’re a little heavier, thicker, run behind their pads, and they probably don’t show up best until days like today because they’re a little harder to tackle.”
Robinson was a 4-star prospect who ranked as the nation’s No. 4 running back while Paul was a 3-star and ranked No. 42 at the position.
Robinson is 5-foot-10, Paul is 5-foot-11 and both weigh 220 pounds.
Smart noted that both the bruising backs played well but have room for improvement when it comes to pass protection.
“I thought both those guys [Andrew Paul and Branson Robinson] had good scrimmages. Not great, they’re not where they need to be, not where they need to be in pass-pro, but they are hard to tackle, and they’re thick. I’m very pleased with where they are.
Neither one going through the spring hurts their development in terms of number one, special teams, and number two, picking up pressures.”
Expect both backs to get touches this season, likely sharing time fourth on the depth chart behind Kenny McIntosh, Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards.
Dana got him back. 5-star Mookie Cook, the No. 4 player in the 2023 class, announced his commitment to the Ducks once again.
They did it once, and now they’ve done it again.
Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks added a massive piece to the 2023 recruiting class, snagging a commitment from 5-star small forward Marquis ‘Mookie’ Cook on Friday afternoon. Cook chose the Ducks over the Kentucky Wildcats, Gonzaga Bulldogs, and Arizona Wildcats.
Cook, who is rated as the No. 4 overall player in the 2023 class, previously committed to the Ducks earlier this year. He announced his de-commitment in June, claiming that he wanted to open up his recruitment once again.
Since then, Oregon has landed 5-star PF Kwame Evans, the No. 8 ranked player in the class, someone who Cook has a close relationship with. There’s been a feeling that the two desired to play at the college level together, and now it will happen.
The next step in the process is getting both Evans and Cook to sign on the dotted line with the Ducks, solidifying what could be one of the best recruiting classes in Oregon’s history.
Brett McMurphy revealed his ballot for the preseason AP Top-25
College football insider Brett McMurphy of the Action Network recently released his ballot for the preseason AP Top-25.
Alongside the USA TODAY AFCA Coaches Poll, the AP Poll, which is set to be released on August 15, will act as the primary rankings until the College Football Playoff Selection Committee releases theirs on Tuesday, November 1.
We’ll share with you McMurphy’s top-ten rankings, which may surprise some readers once you scroll past No. 3. A few notable members outside of the top-ten include Clemson (No. 11), Arkansas (No. 14), Notre Dame (No. 18), and Tennessee (No. 22).
Oregon coach Carlos Locklyn believes he’s the best RB on the Ducks. He brings that confident mentality to a loaded RB room.
The Oregon Ducks have a history of putting forth a strong and extremely respectable group of running backs. From LaMichael James and Royce Freeman to Jonathan Stewart and DeAnthony Thomas, the Ducks are known for a stout stable of RBs.
That doesn’t look to be changing under the new coaching staff, with RB coach Carlos Locklyn at the helm.
We talked a lot to Locklyn over the spring months as he worked to rebuild the RB room following a number of transfers. Through the transfer portal and an impressive stretch of recruiting, the Ducks are once again looking strong in the backfield.
For the first time this fall, media members had a chance to talk to Locklyn following the sixth practice of the season. Here are some of the most notable quotes:
“It’s a mature group and they take pride in what they do.” OL coach Adrian Klemm is happy with what he’s seen from his group so far.
The outlook for the Oregon Ducks’ offensive line is certainly positive. With a handful of veteran players returning for one more season, offensive line coach Adrian Klemm had reason for wanting to leave a job with the Pittsburgh Steelers to come back to the college ranks and take over a group that could be among the very best in the Pac-12 this season.
Klemm has also made an early mark in the recruiting world as well, helping to land 5-star offensive tackle Josh Conerly back in the spring. Conerly was ranked as the No. 1 OT in the 2022 class, and Klemm helped push the Ducks over the USC Trojans in the end.
With fall camp now well underway, we got a chance to talk to Klemm after the Ducks’ 6th practice of the year, the first one in full pads. Here are some of the best quotes from the day:
“I have been in dialogue with the people that we need to,” Heupel said. “Our administration has been on the other side of the coin. We feel good about where that is going. Bru is healthy and ready to compete this training camp, so he will be involved in everything we are doing.”
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound McCoy appeared in six games for USC in 2020. McCoy totaled 21 receptions, 236 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Dixon appeared in 41 games with the Tigers, totaling 1,420 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 218 attempts. Dixon recorded 20 receptions, 190 receiving yards and one touchdown at Clemson.
Dixon committed to Tennessee in June 2017. Dixon decommitted from the Vols in Oct. 2017. Dixon signed with Clemson on Dec. 20, 2017. He enrolled at Clemson in June 2018 from Taylor County High School in Butler, Georgia.
Heupel was also asked if Dixon had a preexisting relationship with Tennessee’s coaching staff.
“For us as a staff, not really, as far as a previous relationship,” Heupel said. “Obviously, he had a lot of familiarity with Tennessee if you look back at his recruitment.
“He has some experience playing at this level. His skillset, athletic ability, change of direction, his explosive long speed, all of those things are things that we need inside of that room. For those reasons, I felt like he was the right fit to bring in.”
Following the Vols’ scrimmage, second-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media.
Heupel discussed redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker’s performance during the Vols’ scrimmage.
“I thought he was really good,” Heupel said of Hooker. “He was really efficient, effective, handled the operation side of it extremely well. He’s been in really good command of what we’re doing offensively, keeping us out of bad plays, bad situations.
“He’s turning the negatives into zero, been decisive getting the ball out of his hands. He’s in complete command of what we’re doing on the offensive side of the ball. Run game, pass game and protections as well. I’m really pleased with his progress through spring ball, but even after spring ball to where he is now. He did some really great things out there today. Yesterday, he had a great day too. I love where he’s at. Keep fighting, be ready for week one, and go be your best.”
Bo Nickal’s UFC impressive debut had Twitter sounding off
Former Penn State wrestler and national champion [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] made his UFC debut Tueday night as part of the Dana White Contender Series. The Contender Series serves as a proving ground of sorts for up-and-coming talent in the sport of MMA and Nickal proved he deserved to be there.
Heading into the event, Nickal was 1-0 as a professional but his lengthy combat sports career in wrestling had him ready for the bright lights in Las Vegas. After winning a national championship in Madison Square Garden, not much could faze the young MMA prodigy.
He made quick work of his opponent taking him down and submitting him n just 63 seconds and the entire sport of MMA took notice.
Since high school Roquan Smith has stood up against organizations trying to take advantage of him
Former Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith has requested to be traded from the Chicago Bears, the team that drafted him eighth overall in the 2018 NFL draft, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Smith (25) is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and has been in contract negotiations with the front office that have reached an impasse. Smith has been on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list since the start of training camp.
Smith wrote a statement in which he made public his desire to be traded. The statement was posted to social media by Rapoport on Tuesday.
The two sides have been attempting to work on an extension since April, but Smith feels that the offer he received is not only bad for himself, but for the linebacker market as a whole.
Smith reiterated that he wanted to finish his career in Chicago, “but the new front office regime doesn’t value me here.”
“They’ve refused to negotiate in good faith,” Smith wrote. “Every step of this journey has been ‘take it or leave it.’ The deal sent to me is one that would be bad for myself, and for the entire LB market if I signed it.”
But for Smith, this is not the first time he has stood up to a front office, or college football program that he feels was trying to take advantage of him.
Prior to his rookie season in 2018, Smith held out due to contract negotiations. Those disagreements stemmed from a then-new league policy that would subject defenders to ejection/suspension if they initiate contact with their helmet, a very common tackling technique.
The real issue generated around contract language transcribed by the Bears that cunningly stated that Chicago reserves the right to void any guaranteed money to Smith if he were to miss playing time as a result of this new rule.
Although the Bears finally came around and changed the terms, to Smith, and rightfully so, this showed a clear lack of support for him by his new organization. Rather than standing by Smith if this new rule were to come into play, the team was instead telling him they will take away his money if he is ejected or suspended by it.
UGA/UCLA/National Signing Day:
Dec 2, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Roquan Smith (3) is awarded MVP after defeating the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Ever since his days at Macon County High, Smith has taken the unconventional route in continuing his football career at the next level.
It started with his National Signing Day announcement that saw him don UCLA gloves, signifying a commitment to the Bruins over the home-state Bulldogs in 2015. Only there was one problem, for UCLA.
Shortly after committing to the Bruins, he was informed of the news that UCLA’s defensive coordinator had bolted for the Atlanta Falcons. Smith shortly changed his mind about that decision – making national headlines – and cautiously took his time before eventually choosing Georgia a week later.
But when finally choosing to play for UGA, Smith – showing his smarts here – chose to sign a financial aid agreement rather than a letter of intent. By doing so, he protected himself from being tied to a university if Georgia had any unexpected coaching changes prior to his enrollment. If Smith wanted to change schools yet again, this allowed him to do so.
In doing this, Smith proved to America that he not only was a bright kid, but one who knew how to protect himself and his future, not allowing big businesses (like Georgia and now the NFL) to control him.
