Tag: ugafootballlive

Three Georgia football assistants receive pay-raise

Clearly, the powers that be are pleased with these defensive staffers’ collective performance.

Three of Kirby Smart’s staff are set to land hefty pay-raises ahead of the 2020 college football season. For anyone who watched every Georgia game in 2019, it comes as no surprise that all three are on the defensive side of the ball.

Last season, Dan Lanning earned $750,000 as a first-year defensive coordinator. Georgia’s 2019 defense was historically impressive and Lanning is now set to reap the benefits. His salary next season will be $1.25 million, as reported by the Athens Banner-Herald.

That’s an eye-popping increase, adding two thirds of his original contract value to his salary. This ranks Lanning in the ninth spot of the highest-paid defensive coordinators and fifth in the Southeastern Conference.

Given last season’s stout defense, he was certainly being underpaid and thus attracted a slew of offers to be another school’s DC. Georgia’s athletics department proved that they’re willing to go deep into their pockets to keep Dan Lanning around.

Co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann is receiving a raise of $50,000. His pay in 2019 was listed at $550,000 annually; the 9.1 percent hike brings Schumann to a clean $600,000 in 2020. He’s done well for himself since making $325,000 two years ago.

Defensive line coach Tray Scott will also be earning $600,000 in 2020. He’s been awarded a $130,000 raise, up from $470,000 in 2019, which was up from his original UGA salary of $400,000 when he arrived in Athens in 2017.

Clearly, the powers that be are pleased with these defensive staffers’ collective performance.

Behind the scenes, Georgia alumnus and director of player development Jonas Jennings is the benefactor of a $100,000 pay bump, bringing him from $306,000 to $406,000 per year.

Watch: Georgia S&C coordinator Scott Sinclair’s creative quarantine workouts

Scott Sinclair acknowledges that the responsible move is to stay at home and get creative with your regular workout routine.

Whether or not your gym is closed due to public health concerns, Scott Sinclair acknowledges that the responsible move is to stay at home and get creative with your regular workout routine. This week, Georgia football’s director of strength and conditioning took to twitter to demonstrate.

Don’t have dumbbells at home? No problem. Use a jug of water or laundry detergent. Get those shoulder presses in.

Need to do four sets of ten step-ups or calf raises? Grab a sturdy, flat seated wooden chair.

My personal favorite: an exercise he calls “how much can you carry at the grocery store?” Sinclair proceeds to pick up a jug of water and bag of oranges and recommends at least 100 squats.

Others include using a four-fold ladder as a squat rack:

In another, he simply loads his wheelbarrow with items from his garage, runs uphill, goes down hill, rinses, repeats:

This is what made me keep up with these videos in the first place. If you haven’t seen it already, the soup can shoulder raise:

And perhaps the most elaborate post, he outlines a game involving a deck of playing cards, workouts assigned to each card, and an imaginary jump rope:

Sinclair implores us to attack the day even when we’re stuck at home. Based upon the work he’s doing at home, the days he attacks have to be waving white flags by now.

Jacksonville Jaguars sign former Georgia WR

A former Georgia Bulldog has a not-so-new home in the pros.

Former Georgia Bulldog Terry Godwin has a not-so-new home in the pros.

Godwin was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of last year’s NFL Draft but was among the final roster cuts prior to the beginning of 2019 season. He was quickly signed by the Jaguars, uniting in Jacksonville with fellow former Bulldog receiver Chris Conley.

The 2019 draftee wasn’t able to break into the team’s 53-man roster and spent fourteen weeks on the Jags’ practice squad. Godwin’s season ended in late December due to a minor injury.

His contract with Jacksonville expired three weeks later.

Following a recovery, the second-most famous T.G. in recent Georgia football history has re-signed with the Jaguars as a free agent.

In his four years at the University of Georgia, Terry Godwin caught 134 passes totaling to an even 1,800 yards and resulting 11 touchdown receptions, including his famed one-handed score at Notre Dame in a mutchup that resulted in a one-point Bulldog victory.

Godwin has yet to see regular season action in the NFL. His original rookie contract awarded him $2.6M over four years.

Georgia football target Kamar Wilcoxson de-commits from Florida

For a second time, Kamar Wilcoxson has taken a step back from his commitment to Florida.

For a second time, Kamar Wilcoxson has taken a step back from his commitment to Florida. The four-star athlete, a projected defensive back, originally pledged to the Gators in 2018 before de-committing in April 2019 only to re-commit three months later.

Wilcoxson is ranked the 12th overall ATH in the 2021 recruiting cycle and the state of Florida’s 31st-ranked prospect as per 247Sports.

Just this week, the Sunshine State standout told Sports Illustrated he was “solid in [his] commitment” to Dan Mullen, Todd Grantham and company. He’s since entertained Alabama and Ohio State fans’ tweets before officially announcing his intention to back off of Florida.

Though Ohio State is the current favorite to secure Wilcoxson’s services, the IMG Academy transfer originally from Lilburn, Georgia has been extended a scholarship offer from Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. It’s one of the high schooler’s 30 total D1 offers.

The first of many came from a coach presently employed by Smart. Georgia faithful may be interested in knowing that current Dawgs’ secondary coach Charlton Warren held the same position in Gainesville at the time Wilcoxson initially committed to Florida.

With rapport in Athens and plenty of time before both December’s early signing period and February’s National Signing Day, expect Wilcoxson to make at a few trips to northeast Georgia.

Georgia football picks up commitment from in-state DE

Georgia’s 2021 recruiting class has new pledge.

Georgia’s 2021 recruiting class has new pledge. Four-star strongside defensive end Jonathan Johnson announced his commitment to the Bulldogs via Twitter.

The junior out of Douglasville’s Douglas County High School stands 6’4″ and weighs north of 250 pounds, making him a candidate to be an edge rusher or, with hypothetical gained weight, can easily transition to an interior defender if needed.

Recruiting analyst Barton Simmons of 247Sports recently appraised as a “big bodied defensive end that is a good candidate to kick down to an interior defender. Thick frame and not overly long.”

Jefferson told Rivals.com:

“I’m a Georgia boy, so UGA is the perfect fit for me.”

The addition of Jefferson gives the Dawgs their fourth pledge in the 2021 cycle, along with quarterback Brock Vandagriff, defensive back David Daniel, and defensive tackle Marlin Dean, all of whom are ‘Georgia boys’ as well.

Former Georgia football RB Todd Gurley: “I got fired on my day off”

Gurley was two years into a contract with the Los Angeles Rams that included a $21 million signing bonus and $45 million in guarantees.

Following rumors of the Los Angeles Rams’ intention to trade tailback Todd Gurley, the organization decided to cut the former Georgia Bulldog standout the day before the team would’ve been contractually obligated to pay their 2014 first-round draft pick another $10.5 million.

L.A. will save $10.5 million against the cap. The Rams failed to find a trade destination; Gurley will now be free to sign with the team of his choosing for the first time in his NFL career.

Gurley was two years into a contract with the Los Angeles Rams that included a $21 million signing bonus and $45 million in guarantees.

Gurley, now a free agent, is free to find his own best fit.

Gurley didn’t seem blindsided and took the news in stride.

Several former teammates and competitors (along with Bulldogs and Rams faithful) provided predictions as to how Gurley’s future could and should unfold in coming weeks.

Twitter reacts: former Georgia football RB Todd Gurley cut by Rams

Reporters, Gurley’s former teammates, former Georgia lettermen, and other Georgia fans took to twitter to make sense of the news.

Following rumors of the Los Angeles Rams’ intention to trade tailback Todd Gurley, the organization decided to cut the former Georgia Bulldog standout the day before the team would’ve been contractually obligated to pay their 2014 first-round draft pick another $10.5 million.

L.A. will save $10.5 million against the cap. The Rams failed to find a trade destination and now Gurley will be a free agent for the first time in his NFL career.

Gurley was two years into a contract with the Los Angeles Rams that included a $21 million signing bonus and $45 million in guarantees.

Gurley, now a free agent, is free to sign with any NFL team of his choosing.

Reporters, Gurley’s former teammates, former foes, former Georgia lettermen, and other Georgia fans took to twitter to make sense of the news:

Which Georgia football alumni are most affected by pro day cancellation

For several recently departed Bulldogs, it’s going to be a bit more difficult finding opportunities to prove what they want to prove.

This week, the SEC cancelled all remaining spring competitions amid COVID-19 concerns. In their official announcement, the plans to halt play include abandoning spring football scrimmages and each school’s pro day.

Pro days are the last setting in which college football standouts perform drills before a plethora of NFL coaches and scouts prior to the NFL Draft.

If a player wasn’t invited to the NFL scouting combine or performed less-than-ideally at the combine, this is typically their last chance to turn heads and earn a drafted rookie contract instead of going undrafted and having a lower-dollar contract with far fewer guarantees.

For several recently departed Georgia Bulldogs, it’s going to be a bit more difficult finding opportunities to prove what they want to prove.

Tyler Clark, defensive tackle:

Clark has been projected as a late-round pick on some of the many mock drafts floating around the internet. The recent graduate out of Americus considered declaring for last year’s NFL draft but chose to return to Athens following a lower-than-preferred draft grade. In his senior season, he recorded a career high in tackles for loss and tied his career high in sacks.

Former Georgia defensive tackle and NFL veteran Toby Johnson took to twitter to voice his displeasure over Clark’s omission from the NFL Combine.

Tyler Clark will certainly show up on a professional roster at some point before the ensuing NFL season, but the cancellation of pro day isn’t doing his career any long-term favors.

Jake Fromm, quarterback:

Georgia’s golden boy is one of three quarterbacks to go undefeated against Florida in more than three starts (including John Rauch, Buck Belue), but many Georgia faithful were surprised he chose not to go for a perfect 4-0 record against the reptiles. Fromm delved into what went behind that decision in the days preceding his performance the NFL Combine.

The problem for Fromm was that the aforementioned performance ended up being pedestrian.

Taking reps after former teammate Jacob Eason, an eventual Washington transfer for whom he took over in the 2017 season opener following an Eason leg injury, Fromm was decidedly the less impressive quarterback (at least in that specific day’s drills) between the two.

Fromm’s last season in Athens was the least productive of his three total campaigns. The judgment to declare early made sense as his draft stock has still been high and it’s easy to see his final collegiate season as a statistical outlier under a new quarterbacks coach.

Looking forward to a league that places value on quarterbacks ahead of almost every other positions, the cerebral Jake Fromm is sure to end up on a roster and still projects as draft pick. If he had received the opportunity to participate in a pro day, however, he could solidify himself as a second-day pick (draft rounds two through four) as opposed to a third-day selection (rounds five through seven) or even as an undrafted free agent.

Tae Crowder, inside linebacker:

Tae Crowder’s path to the University of Georgia was a meandering one.

Crowder was a last-minute addition to the Dawgs’ 2015 signing class, receiving his scholarship offer the morning before National Signing Day. He hadn’t taken an official visit. He spent no time in personal meetings with Georgia coaches. Yet he committed on the spot.

“It was always my dream to play at the University of Georgia,” Crowder told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2015.

As Harris County’s offensive player of the year during his senior season, Crowder came to Athens as a dual receiver and running back.

He was quickly moved to inside linebacker, and, after redshirting his first year in Athens, spent another year fine-tuning his linebacking skills before spending three years starting, recording 122 tackles, and grabbing two takeaways along the way(s).

Considering his history of position changes and a lack of invitation to the NFL Combine, Crowder loses a lot of face time prior to the draft.

Twitter reacts as SEC cancels G-Day, all SEC spring scrimmages

The SEC announced that it will be cancelling all spring scrimmages, including Georgia football’s G-Day

Amid concerns regarding COVID-19, the Southeastern Conference has canceled play for all remaining winter and spring sports.

This includes out-of conference contests, SEC championship tournaments, and each school’s spring football scrimmage. No football program will host a pro day for its NFL prospects.

For college football fans, they kept their fingers crossed in hopes that spring games would be played as scheduled. However, we all knew that was a long shot.

At the end of the day, it’s just a scrimmage. But for the players, fans and coaches, oftentimes it’s much more than that.

For some fans, spring games are the only Georgia games they can attend in person, given the free admission into the event.

For the coaches, the spring scrimmage is not terribly instrumental in determining depth charts as they have multiple scrimmages throughout the offseason. But what they will be missing out on is an opportunity to get big-time recruits on campus and show them a good time. On the bright side, it’s an even playing field across the conference seeing as how all spring games have been called off.

And for a large number of the players, this was going to be their final G-Day, an event that many of them look forward to. It’s also a chance for the freshmen to begin making a name for themselves among the DawgNation. That will have to wait until fall.

With the SEC confirming what we had all suspected for the last week, Georgia fans took to Twitter to express their sadness over the situation.

 

SEC cancels all remaining competitions, includes spring football games

Conference commissioner Greg Sankey made the necessary decision. It just makes everything else seem even worse somehow.

Amid concerns regarding COVID-19, the Southeastern Conference has canceled play for all remaining winter and spring sports.

This includes out-of conference contests, SEC championship tournaments, and each school’s spring football scrimmage. No football program will host a pro day for its NFL prospects.

Conference commissioner Greg Sankey made the necessary decision. It just makes everything else seem even worse somehow.

“This is a difficult day for all of us, and I am especially disappointed for our student athletes. The health and well-being of our entire conference community is an ongoing priority for the SEC as we continue to monitor developments and information about the COVID-19 virus.”

As per the SEC’s official statement:

“Team and individual practices, meetings and other organized gatherings, whether required or voluntary, remain suspended through at least April 15.”

For more into how the global health pandemic affects the world of college sports:

Georgia football produces positive video amid coronavirus pandemic

Finebaum: NCAA president Emmert’s handling of cancellations “inexcusable”

Coronavirus forces NCAA to make big decisions regarding eligibility, recruiting

SEC cancels its men’s basketball tournament due to coronavirus

NCAA grants spring season athletes an extra year of eligibility

Will Georgia football cancel G-Day due to coronavirus?

Georgia football Pro Day postponed amid coronavirus outbreak