SB Nation Atlanta - 2012 UGA Football Offseason: Mark Richt Gets Performance Bonus Increases, No Raise

Mark Richt's Performance Bonuses Increased But No Raise

2012-05-24T18:47:05Z

Instead of receiving a raise this season, Georgia coach Mark Richt will have his performance bonuses increased, according to a report from the Macon Telegraph.

Richt's $2.9 million contract is in the upper half of SEC football salaries, but the wave of money that has come into the conference over the past few years has knocked Richt down the pecking order behind Nick Saban ($4.8 million), Les Miles ($3.8 million), Gene Chizik ($3.5 million) and Will Muschamp ($3.2 million).

Richt will receive higher performance bonuses for an SEC championship, BCS appearance as well as a national title: "We want to reward excellence," Bulldogs athletic director Greg McGarity told the newspaper.

As recently as last September, Richt was in the hot seat in Athens before a late season push that brought Georgia to the SEC championship game.

For more coverage of Georgia football, stay tuned to the SB Nation Atlanta story-stream as well as Dawg Sports.

2012 UGA Football Offseason: Daryl Jones Named Director Of On-Campus Recruiting

2012-05-17T17:26:06Z

University of Georgia Head Football Coach Mark Richt announced Thursday that Daryl Jones will be Director of On-Campus Recruiting for the Bulldogs.

Jones has 17 years experience as a high school coach and athletic director in the state of Georgia. He was named Georgia High School Athletic Director of the Year in 2005.

We’re extremely fortunate to have Daryl joining our staff," said Richt. "He’s a veteran high school coach and administrator who has a complete understanding of the recruiting process along with the relationships between the university and the high schools. He’ll be a great addition to our staff in the areas of high school relations and directing our on-campus recruiting efforts.

Jones' knowledge of the state's high school talent pool should prove to be a great asset for the Bulldogs' recruiting in the years to come.

For more on the Georgia Bulldogs, check out Dawg Sports and SB Nation's college football page.

Mark Richt Addresses Offensive Line Concerns At Savannah Booster Meeting

2012-05-16T15:28:09Z

The Georgia Bulldogs enter 2012 with most of their stout 2011 defense intact (minus a temporarily suspension riddled secondary), as well as Isaiah Crowell and Aaron Murray in the backfield on offense. So naturally, UGA fans greeting Mark Richt on the offseason banquet and alumni dinner circuit are just terrified about the offensive line.

The Athens Banner-Herald followed Richt through such a meeting in Savannah, where the departure of several NFL bound big men Cordy Glenn (second round, Buffalo Bills), center Ben Jones (fourth, Houston Texans) and Justin Anderson (seventh, Indianapolis Colts) was the topic at hand:

"You’d love to be two-deep, but it rarely, rarely happens that you’ve got 10 guys that you think are game-ready," Richt said in an interview before the event. "The reality is it’s usually anywhere between six and eight. We’re shooting for that."

"Their goal is to allow your skill people to make plays," Richt said. "That’s their job. Even in the spring game, we saw more plays being made by our running backs and quarterbacks than we’d seen all spring long. I don’t think there’s any doubt those guys improved. If they’ve improved enough, I’m not sure. We’ll have to wait and see."

Richt named a variety of potential replacements - Kenarious Gates, Chris Burnette, Dallas Lee, Kolton Houston, Mark Beard and David Andrews - but didn't elaborate on specific jobs won until fall practice begins in August.

For more on the Georgia Bulldogs, check out Dawg Sports and SB Nation's college football page.

Georgia Bulldogs And Clemson Tigers Raise Cancellation Fees On 2013-14 series

2012-05-05T19:10:45Z

The Georgia Bulldogs and the Clemson Tigers have agreed to increase the cancellation fee for their upcoming scheduled football games in 2013 and 2014 as both schools look to uphold their obligations for an intriguing non-conference home-and-home matchup.

The initial cancellation fee was set at $500,000 during the original agreement but both sides agreed to raise the fee to $3 million if either school decided to escape out of the game. Both games in 2013 and 2014 will serve as the season opener's in Athens and Clemson.

Terry Don Phillips, the athletic director for the Clemson Tigers, wrote a letter to Georgia Bulldogs athletic director Greg McGarity on April 17th amending the current proposal:

"Despite conference realignment and the expected increase in conference games required by the Atlantic Coast Conference, we are both committed to maintaining the football series between Clemson Universiy and the University of Georgia to play football in 2013 and 2014. To further solidify that commitment and protect either institution from the loss of revenue should either game within that series be cancelled without mutal consent, we have agreed to amend section 15 of the contract agreement and set the cancellation fee at $3,000,000."

For more on Georgia Football check out Dawg Sports. For more college football news and notes head over to SB Nation's College Football page.

PHOTO: Pink UGA Helmet Raises Questions

2012-05-04T12:00:56Z

Aaron Murray tweeted a photo on Thursday of a pink Georgia Football helmet along with the note "Ready for our Pink out game next year" Is this real or is this a doctored photo? No doubt that the helmet in the picture looks official enough right down to the Larry Munson tribute sticker.

Take a look after the jump.

UGA is no stranger to uniform changes ranging from one of their blackout games to the Nike Pro Combat Uniforms that they wore when they took on Boise State in last season's opener at the Georgia Dome. Still switching to pink helmets or (gasp!) pink uniforms is taking things to another level.

I think it is doubtful that they would wear these in an actual game but would be quite a statement if they were worn for Breast Cancer Awareness.

For more on UGA Football and the SEC head over to Dawg Sports and Team Speed Kills. For more college football news and notes check out SB Nation's College Football page.

Georgia Bulldogs 2012 Post-Spring Wrapup: Cheers For Crowell, Questions For The OL

2012-04-23T12:00:08Z

There was plenty to be excited about after G-Day, but a thin offensive line and big (if temporary) holes in the secondary could still stand between the Dawgs and a second straight trip to the Dome.

Even as Georgia was closing out the 2011 regular season on a 10-game winning streak and chartering buses for a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game, Bulldog Nation and rival fans alike were asking: What are the Dawgs' chances of repeating that feat in 2012 -- and maybe winning the conference title next time?

With a second straight top-notch recruiting class, a month of spring practice and the G-Day game in the books, the answer to that question is . . . pretty much the same as it was when people first started asking it about five months ago: "Decent."

On paper, Georgia's talent level can match that of any team in the conference, and the scheduling gods have once again laid out a pretty manageable path back to the Georgia Dome for the Dawgs. But spring practice held surprises both pleasant and less-than-pleasant for the Dawgs, and left a few questions unanswered.

Impressive unit we knew would be impressive: The defensive front seven. With D-linemen John Jenkins and Abry Jones and linebackers Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree all coming back, we knew the defensive front would be good -- but now we know it'll also be deep. With Cornelius Washington and Ray Drew looking superb for most of the spring, Georgia now has a backup defensive line that would start at 90 percent of the schools in Division I-A, including more than a few SEC programs. The depth situation isn't quite as definite at linebacker, but Georgia has recruited considerable raw talent at that position over the past couple years, and with that talent beginning to develop nicely,Todd Grantham has the luxury of being able to fine-tune personnel combinations over the summer rather than having to hunt desperately for warm bodies. Last year Georgia set a milestone by finishing in the top 15 nationally in total defense -- a stratum they regularly occupied under Brian VanGorder but achieved only once in the six seasons following his departure; there's no reason to think they won't repeat that feat in 2012.

Impressive unit that was a pleasant surprise: The RB corps. One way of describing this unit last season was "inconsistent"; a more colorful way might perhaps be "careened between 'awe-inspiring' and 'hot mess.'" Uber-freshman Isaiah Crowell was gimpy for a good part of the season, Richard Samuel was lost for the season after the Florida game, and nearly everybody got suspended for rule violations at some point. By the end of spring, though, Crowell was being lauded both for his maturity and his improved pass-blocking skills -- something the retooled offensive line will definitely need -- while backup Ken Malcome, who was flirting with a transfer last September, appears to finally be staking his claim on meaningful playing time. Samuel, meanwhile, has bounced back enough from his injury to lead the team with 43 rushing yards on G-Day. The one disappointment from the day was that highly touted 2012 recruit Keith Marshall didn't play -- he was out with a hamstring injury -- but when Marshall returns to full strength and is joined by fellow blue-chipper Todd Gurley this summer, it looks like the Dawgs will have a stable of running backs that can compete with any team in the country.

Struggling unit we knew would struggle: The offensive line. The graduation of Ben Jones and Cordy Glenn dealt a blow to a unit that had already been dealing with depth issues for what felt like eons, and as expected, neither offensive line looked like it'd fully gelled yet on G-Day. Part of that, of course, had to do with the fact that a couple of the first-teamers (Dallas Lee and Chris Burnette) played on both the Red and the Black squads and were surely worn out by the time the game ended. And, of course, they were playing one of the better defenses they'll face all year long. Still, nine sacks -- even if they were only of the "tag" variety -- and three forced fumbles were a pretty clear indication that this unit has a ways to go.

The punting game was a bit of a disaster as well. Which we knew it might be, given that the team is stuck using walk-ons while it waits for 2012 recruit Collin Barber to arrive and fill Drew Butler's considerable shoes at that position, but otherwise a 33.6-yard average on eight punts is hard to spin positively.

Struggling unit that was a bit of a surprise. There weren't any huge shockers from G-Day -- none you could draw major conclusions from, at least -- though both the receiving corps and the defensive backs looked somewhat inconsistent. In the secondary's case, that had a lot to do with the fact that backups were getting plenty of playing time in anticipation of the first few weeks of the season, in which nearly the entire starting DB corps will be suspended for one reason or another. Interestingly enough, though, a guy who could've made major contributions at both positions -- two-way player Malcolm Mitchell -- could only watch from the sidelines as he nursed a tweaked hamstring. Think there'll be a major battle between coaches for his services over the summer?

THE THREE BIGGEST QUESTIONS HEADING INTO SUMMER

1. Can John Theus step into the left tackle spot right away? The Dawgs pursued the five-star OL recruit out of Jacksonville knowing they'd need him sooner rather than later. The recruitniks all described Theus as one of those rare players with the physical gifts and mental maturity to contribute as a true freshman -- if that turns out to be true, it wouldn't instantly solve all of Georgia's offensive line issues, but it'd fill the most important position in the unit and give line coach Will Friend some much-needed breathing room from a personnel standpoint.

2. Who will step in to spell the defensive backs? Of the four presumptive starters in Georgia's secondary, only one of them -- safety Shawn Williams -- will be available for the Dawgs' conference opener at Missouri on Sept. 8. Only one of those suspended players, cornerback Sanders Commings, is assured of being back by the time the Dawgs welcome a rapidly improving Vanderbilt squad to Sanford Stadium two weeks later. Malcolm Mitchell might be part of the answer, but until someone can magically replicate his field-stretching skills in the WR corps, he can't be all of it. Someone else is going to have to step up to carry the unit through that first month of the season, and it looks like the coaches are still searching for that person.

3. What's it going to be like with two true-freshman kickers? The punting game couldn't be much worse than what we saw on G-Day, but the fact remains Georgia will more than likely head into the 2012 season with true freshmen at both punter and place-kicker, and that's naturally going to make some folks nervous. We won't know until the start of the season whether Richt has enough confidence in his rookie special-teamers to not go for it on every single fourth down.

Poll

How confident are you in the Georgia Bulldogs as they head into the summer?

My confidence is sky-high. We should compete for the national title.

9 votes

Pretty confident. We should be at least as good as last year.

20 votes

Somewhat -- we're good enough to win the East again, but I'm not taking anything for granted.

17 votes

Not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous.

10 votes

I'm bracing for disaster in 2012.

9 votes

I still don't know enough to decide.

1 votes

66 votes | Poll has closed

Max Garcia To Transfer To Florida, According To A Report

2012-04-21T20:58:09Z

Former Maryland Terrapins offensive lineman Max Garcia has made his decision on where he plans on transferring to. According to Rivals Ryan Bartow, Garcia narrowed his list to five schools and his decision is to transfer to the Florida Gators.

Breaking News: Maryland OL transfer Max Garcia just committed to Florida.
— Ryan Bartow (@RyanBartow) April 21, 2012

The other four finalists were the Georgia Bulldogs, Wisconsin Badgers, USC Trojans and Mississippi Rebels. Georgia was thought to be the leader since he is from the state, or even Wisconsin since that was where he took his most recent visit.

Garcia was a starter for Maryland and was one of many players to transfer, and after he sits out the 2012 season due to transfer rules he will have two years of eligibility left for Florida.

For more on Georgia Football check out Dawg Sports. For more college football news and notes head over to SB Nation's College Football page.

Mark Richt Defends Georgia's Player Discipline Policies

2012-04-18T14:22:13Z

The Georgia Bulldogs entered the 2012 offseason as the prohibitive favorites to repeat as SEC East Champions, but have been sidetracked by a rash of off-field player discipline issues that will leave them without several defensive starters for their first two games this fall.

Obviously that blight has taken center stage as Richt makes the alumni dinner rounds after spring practice. Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph has a full transcript of Richt's very, very long response to a fan's comment at the beginning of a Bulldog Club dinner in Augusta Tuesday.

Here's some of the highlights - the fan thanked Richt for his stance on player discipline, which opened the floor for a lot of this...

"Did anybody here go through college, did anybody maybe do something stupid, and not have the whole world know? I know I did. ...

"When a mistake is made, there needs to be a consequence, there needs to be a discipline, there needs to be a learning experience from it. I'm not gonna change the way I discipline. Some people may think it's soft. A lot of people think you might be losing control of your program because you have a lot of suspensions for the season. But the reality is that's how you keep control of your team, by disciplining your team.

And this...

"And I think a lot of guys think it's bulletproof. They don't think it's not gonna happen - and it does. Once they live through it, they understand how tough it is. But then again, the third thing is you've gotta love them. I love Sanders Commings. Do I love all these other guys that have had issues over the year? I sure do.

And this...

"The sad part of it is it's so public. The other part of it that's sad is it does affect myself. The coaching staff. It affects the Bulldogs nation, the University of Georgia, their teammates. But that's what a team is all about. The good and the bad. ...

You can't blame Richt for being verbose in defense of his policies and his commentary on the state of NCAA player discipline. He's as well versed on the subject as any coach in America.

For more on the Georgia Bulldogs, check out Dawg Sports and SB Nation's college football page.