GRAPEVINE SPECIAL : OK folks, what grade do you give the 2003 UGA football signee class? No need for me to throw out a grade for you; some of you would just agree—some of you would just disagree. So, let’s just test your crystal ball today. You do the grading!! Consider these facts, and you make the call.

--UGA signed an All-American RB—Kregg Lumpkin receives the highest star rating (5 star) available by both Rivals & The Insiders—both consider him the #2 RB in America. Then kick in the versatile and solid Danny Ware for fullback duties—don’t kid yourself—many others were interested in Mr. Ware’s football abilities.

--UGA signed an All-American WR—Sean Bailey, a 5 star WR—both Rivals & The Insiders consider him the #4 WR in America. Then kick in TJ Gartrell, a SuperPrep All-Dixie team member (now you tell me how many teams would say “NO” to a WR the quality of TJ?)

--UGA signed an All-American DB—Paul Oliver, still another 5 star prospect—both Rivals & The Insiders consider him to be in the top 5 CBs in America (Rivals considers him to be the #1 CB in America). Then kick in versatile Thomas Flowers, another SuperPrep All-Dixie team member who had a ton of folks very interested in his talents on both sides of the ball—Further, kick in Mikey Henderson, the lightning fast athlete who is a 2 year All-State football player and an All-State trackster; Mikey can also play on either side of the ball.

--Is there anybody even close to signing the LBer class UGA signed yesterday? If so, please let us know ASAP. There’s All-American Desmond Williams with a 4 star rating by both Rivals and The Insiders. Desmond in certainly considered by most to be in the top 10 inside LBers in America. Then comes Super Southern 100 Danny Verdun, another 4 star LBer who is considered by most to be in the top 15 inside LBers in America. And, then comes 2 year All-State football player Dana Graydon, still another 4 star LBer who is considered by most to be among the top 15 outside LBers in America. And, then comes 2 year All-State football player Marcus Howard who is considered by many to be among the top 32 LBers in America as a 3 star prospect (and folks, my crystal ball just started blinking brightly on that one—my crystal ball is saying the recruiting services missed the boat a tad on this lightning fast MVP player—Mr. Howard is going to prove just how good he is very soon). And, then comes Jarvis Jackson (a Metro Super 11 player & Metro Defensive Player of the Year), another 3 star fast and hard hitting LBer, who is considered by many to be among the top 35 outside LBers in America (another one causing my crystal ball to blink erratically). That my friends, is quite a group of backers!! Oh, and did I mention Odell Thurman, the very promising young UGA player of a year ago who now returns to compete immediately for a starters’ job? 

--Is there anybody even close to signing the TE class UGA signed yesterday? Again, if so, please let us know. There’s former 5 star/Super Southern 100 (and All-American if I recall) Leonard Pope, arguably the best TE in the South in 2002. Leonard returns a year stronger and bigger. Then comes Super Southern 100 Coleman Watson, arguably the best TE in the South in 2003, and considered by most to be among the top 15 TEs in America. And, then comes versatile 3 star Trahern Holden, considered by most to be among the top 50 TEs in America. Outstanding trio there my fellow Dawg friends!!

--You’d be hard pressed to name many teams having an OL group of signees better than UGAs. After all, there’s All-American 4 star Zeb McKinzey, arguably the best interior OL in the entire South, who many consider to be among the top 15 OL prospects in America. Then comes Super Southern 100 4 star Trey Chandler, an elite OT prospect in the South, who most consider to be in the top dozen OTs in America. Then there is All-Stater 3 star Fernando Velasco, considered by many to be among the top 40 prospects in America at his OL position. Then there’s All-State 3 star James Lee, considered by many to be among the top 60 in the US at his OL position. And, then comes All-State 3 star Nick Jones, considered by many to be among the top 55 prospects in America at his OL position. And, then comes All-State 3 star Ken Shackleford, who is considered to be among the top 50 prospects in America at his OL position. And then comes All-State 2 star Tommy Gainous, considered to be among the top 130 OL prospects in America. That’s seven OL folks—UGA certainly filled their needs here number-wise!! 

--UGA signed one DL prospect for 2003—but with the Dawgs 3 and 4 deep in this area, was it critical that they sign more in 2003? And the one they got, 4 star Super Southern 100 Richard Cook was considered by many to be in the top 10 DEs in America. Mr. Cook has all the talent in the world!! Just in case, versatile Ken Shackleford could play on the defensive front.

--Let’s not overlook the specialists. UGA lost their kick-off man and punter, but All-State 3 star Andy Bailey, who is considered by most to be among the top 25 kickers in America, will be given a shot a both jobs this Fall. 

--UGA signed no QBs, but I think you need to ask yourself if the Dawgs really needed to sign one in 2003?

OK, time for you to grade the 2003 UGA football signees. Remember now, try to put just a tad of emphasis on UGA’s recruiting needs for 2003—that will help you come up with a more honest and accurate grade. By the way, I was tough on the Dawgs---no A+ from me—no sir—they just got an A for very good from me (sarcasm intended folks). If you get into the B range with your grade, I strongly suggest you go back and read the above facts again, and give it another try. If then you again end up in the B range, then kindly pour your half empty glass of sour milk out, pour yourself a glass of fresh milk, and retry once again. Of course, all of this is speculation on paper—the real grade for the class would be in reality and can more accurately be determined 3 or 4 years from now—but who will care about it then, we’ll all be too excited about the 2007 UGA signees at that time!!

Seriously folks, I rate UGA’s class as a solid A. One thing I am seeing that really impresses me. Coach Mark Richt is proving that controlling our Peach State is his top recruiting priority—this is his second consecutive year of doing so. He truly believes that by getting 15 or so of the State’s top prospects annually, UGA will be in the championship hunt with regularity. That’s good news, because controlling the Peach State next year will be the toughest challenge Coach Richt has had to do thus far. I say that for these two reasons: (1) it sure appears the State of Georgia will be more loaded (especially quantity) with talent in 2004 than it was these past two years, AND (2) Coach Richt will have far less scholarships to deal out next year as compared to the last two years. One other thing Coach Richt did yesterday that was impressive to those that really understand the 85/25 numbers game. Attrition would have probably taken care of the situation if he had signed 25 yesterday. But he proved he would only spend that ship on a super blue chipper like an Ernie Sims—and when that didn’t pan out, the man wisely stopped at 24 signees—saving that extra ship for these next two years when ships will be harder to come by, and may be better spent down the road when ships become a premium!! That my fellow Dawg friends is thinking ahead, which is still another essential factor in successful football recruiting!!