And this is why you can’t get too excited about recruiting rankings and signing classes — you never know who’s going to wash out of a program.

Georgia defensive backs Nick Marshall and Chris Sanders and receiver Sanford Seay have all been dismissed from Mark Richt’s football program for the dreaded “violation of team rules.”

“It’s a privilege to play college football and to be a part of this team and University,” said Richt via press release.  “Along with that privilege comes certain responsibilities.  Mistakes were made and part of our job is helping them learn from mistakes.  Going forward, we are committed to assisting them find opportunities where they can continue their education.”

According to The Athens Banner-Herald, Seay and Marshall have been connected to the theft of cash from a fellow student’s dorm room.

Marshall was a four-star prospect while Sanders and Seay were three-star recruits.  All three were part of UGA’s in-state “Dream Team” class last February.

Darrin Horn is in his fourth year at South Carolina.  He has taken the Gamecocks to a single NIT appearance (and that was during his first year).  This year his team is 8-10 overall, 0-4 in the SEC.

Mark Fox is in his third year at Georgia.  He took the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament last season, but the two NBA-level players he inherited from Dennis Felton bolted for the pros early this past offseason.  His squad is 10-10 overall, 1-5 in the conference.

Suffice it to say, the natives are getting restless in the Peach and Palmetto states.  Thus the calls for calm from Fox himself at Georgia and from Horn’s boss at Carolina.

After last night’s loss to Kentucky, Fox gave his take on the state of the UGA program:


“I think the educated fans and media members can look at us and know what we’ve lost.  But I have no issues with the way we’re going about things on the court.  We have no academic issues.  We have no social (off-court) issues.  When I first came here, there were some issues.  But now we’re two years into changing the culture of Georgia basketball.”


Meanwhile, in defending Horn’s work, Carolina AD Eric Hyman reminded fans that nine of the Cocks’ 11 scholarship players are freshmen or sophomores:


“I know our teams ant to do the best they can and try to perform up to expectations.  Sometimes it happens on their timeline, sometimes it takes longer.  If you’re going to do it the right way, it just takes longer.  You have to have the patience and understanding that if you’re going to do it the right way, it takes a little longer.  I understand the passion and I understand the feeling.  A program has to create hope.  But on the flip side, it takes time to do it the right way.”


Think Hyman had any recent, fast SEC turnarounds in mind with all those “do it the right way” remarks?

Are Fox and Hyman correct in their assessments?  Does it matter?

We now live in a world where I can immediately find the lyrics to the Lithuanian National Anthem with a touch of my iPhone.  It’s a world in which college football coaches are now being canned after two years.

So while Georgia’s coach and Carolina’s AD are preaching the truth, the word “patience” can no longer be uttered in connection with athletics.  Fair, not fair, that’s just the way things are today.

So forget the teams’ depth and inexperience issues and the positive comments coming from both camps.  If Georgia and South Carolina want their fans to stop grumbling they’ll have to start winning.

The favorites took care of business in the SEC last night as Vanderbilt thrashed Tennessee in the opener and Kentucky cruised past Georgia in the nightcap.


Vanderbilt 65, Tennessee 47

The Commodores rebounded from their overtime loss to Mississippi State with their ninth win in 10 games last night.  Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins combined for 39 points on 13-of-26 shooting from the field.  While Vandy raced out to a 9-0 lead, Tennessee continued to go cold on the road.

The Vols — who beat defending national champ UConn on Saturday — clanked in just 35% of their shots against VU’s stingy defense.  The Dores also forced Tennessee into a season-high 25 turnovers and held true freshman hotshot Jarnell Stokes to just 6 points.


Kentucky 57, Georgia 45

Georgia played nip-and-tuck basketball with the nation’s top-ranked team for about 10 minutes.  And then Kentucky came to life.  Senior Darius Miller led the Cats with 19 points as they pulled past UGA before the halftime break and then coasted to their 12th win in a row. 

Despite the win, John Calipari wasn’t pleased with his team’s uneven performance.  “Last year’s team, I couldn’t believe we were as good as we were so I didn’t have to say a whole lot.  This year’s team, we could be really special and we’re not right now.”

When a college athlete finds himself afoul of the law, it’s usually safe to assume that alcohol or marijuana will be mentioned somewhere in the police report.  No surprise then, that’s exactly what University of Georgia police are saying about the arrest of Bulldog starting cornerback Sanders Commings.

Commings was arrested on misdemeanor charges of domestic violence and simple battery Saturday morning.  The police report claimed that Commings “made unwanted physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature” with a 23-year-old UGA student who happens to live with him.  The incident occurred in downtown Athens.  According to police, “Bystanders got involved (in the disturbance) and separated the parties and it became apparent that during the separation of them that (Commings) struck her in the face.”

A police report obtained by The Athens Banner-Herald states that the investigation into the incident concluded that alcohol did play a role.

Another night of life on the road in the SEC.  Two home teams win, two home teams fall.  There’s nothing surprising about that.

So far this season, home teams are 17-5 in SEC action.  And of the five road-team wins to date, two were pulled off by the best team in the league (Kentucky won at Auburn and at Tennessee) and two occurred at the home gym of the league’s worst team (South Carolina lost to Florida and Vanderbilt).

If you’re looking at your team’s schedule and trying to figure out what their final record will be just count road games as losses (unless you’re a UK fan).  You’ll be close in the end.


Georgia 57, Tennessee 53 in OT

It wasn’t a pretty game to watch, but it did have an exciting finish.  In the end, Gerald Robinson scored 16 to lead the Bulldogs past the Volunteers in overtime in Athens.  You can credit good defense (or blame a lack of offensive weaponry) but UGA shot just 35% from the floor while UT hit 40% of its shots.  U-G-L-Y.

On the plus side, neither team could build more than a five-point lead throughout the nip-and-tuck battle.  The Dawgs erased Tennessee’s five-point lead in the game’s final six minutes to force overtime. 

With the win, Georgia avoided an 0-4 SEC start.


Ole Miss 75, Mississippi State 68

In Oxford, MSU came in with a five-game winning streak over their rival.  But with the exception of a brief flurry mid-first half, it was Ole Miss that controlled last night’s game.  Thanks to Reginald Buckner.

Buckner — who came in averaging 6.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game — exploded for a career-high 19 points and 15 boards to lead the Rebels.  “He was tremendous,” Andy Kennedy said afterward.  “Obviously the difference in the game.”

Renardo Sidney led the 18th-ranked Bulldogs with 17 points.  Arnett Moultrie — who transferred to Starkville from UTEP — logged his ninth double-double of the season (10 points, 12 rebounds).

All-American tight end Orson Charles will bypass his senior year at Georgia for a shot at NFL fame and fortune, according to ESPN.com.  Charles caught 45 balls in 2011 for 574 yards and five touchdowns.

The former high school teammate of Aaron Murray had become a security blanket for the Dawgs’ quarterback and his talents will certainly missed next season.  When it comes to blockers, the UGA run game will lose Charles, fullback Bruce Figgins and O-linemen Ben Jones, Justin Anderson and Cordy Glenn.

Georgia’s latest five-star running back is already on campus, in class, and giving his head coach reason to smile.  Here’s what Mark Richt had to say about Keith Marshall yesterday:


“He’s a very talented young man.  He’s very focused.  As a matter of fact, I walked into the meeting last night and he had a playbook in his hand and he was looking over assignments.  It just gave me a moment to grin seeing how excited he was about being at Georgia.

I’m sure he’s a little nervous, too, like a lot of guys.  I remember my first night I spent away from home.  There’s a little bit of anxiety, but it’s mixed in their with a lot of excitement.”


Speaking of nervousness and anxiety, sophomore-to-be tailback Isaiah Crowell — the Dawgs’ five-star signee from a year ago — might want to pay attention to his coach’s praise of Marshall.  If Crowell doesn’t live up to his promise of becoming more responsible, it’s his playing time that Marshall might nab.

Mark Richt isn’t the only man on the Georgia staff who’s staring at a contract extension.  According to UGA athletic director Greg McGarity, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham will also be rewarded for his work in 2011:


“We recognize the job that Todd has done leading our defense.  We’re talking about it, we’re working on it.  Recruiting is going on right now.  We’re working on making sure that Todd stays at the University of Georgia.  We want to make sure he knows he’s appreciated…

The focus to me is more or less longevity on the front end.  The salaries are things you can do periodically.  There’s no real urgency there. … With respect to Mark and with respect to Todd, I think it would be a hard argument to say we’re not being fair to them, judging from where they rank among their peers.”


Grantham currently has one year remaining on a three-year deal that pays him $750,000 per year.  In November, his agent leaked word that he wanted a multi-year extension for his client.

Georgia ranked 5th in the nation in total defense this past season, allowing just 277 yards per game. 

To the 25 or so folks who emailed Georgia AD Greg McGarity after the Bulldogs’ Outback Bowl loss, the top Dawg has a message for you:


“What is important is for people to know that Mark Richt is our football coach, and he and his staff and these players spend so much time in an effort to bring championship football to Georgia. … The more negative people become, the more it distracts you from being successful.”


McGarity said he received about 50 emails after UGA’s 33-30 overtime loss to Michigan State and “about half” of those came from people complaining about coaching decisions. 

“Anytime you lose a game, especially one as gut-wrenching as that one was, people get frustrated and they vent in various ways,” he said.  “If the game was lopsided, if we had lost 42-0 or something, then there would be some concerns.  But to point the finger at a player or a coach or offense or defense or special teams is a waste of time.  That was a true team loss.  There are plenty of second-guessers out there, but there are so many what-ifs on either side it could have gone either way.”

As we mentioned yesterday, nothing causes a mood swing in a fanbase like a bowl game.  Just look at what’s being said and written at Florida and Georgia as an example.

In Gainesville, suddenly the outlook seems pretty good after a 24-17 win over a 6-7 Ohio State team.  The messageboards are filled with optimism.  The press is writing stories about positives, rather than negatives.  The Gators suddenly have… momentum.

Ah, but in Athens, it’s a different tune.  The Bulldogs lost 33-30 in overtime to an 11-3 Michigan State squad.  Now some folks are asking questions about Mark Richt and his program all over again.

Florida (7-6) beats a bad Ohio State team and things are looking up.  Georgia (10-4) loses to a good Michigan State team and things are no longer so rosy.

Mood swings.

But one place the mood hasn’t swung is in the Georgia locker room:


“I think the whole Dawg nation is very excited.  I know as a team we’re pretty excited about the future of this team and the direction we’re heading right now.  We have to use this (loss) as motivation.” — quarterback Aaron Murray

“We’ve got a whole lot coming back.  I’m really looking forward to the offseason and the season coming up.  We’re definitely going to be better We definitely are going to be bigger, stronger, faster.” – linebacker Jarvis Jones


The Georgia team feels good about the future and it should.  UGA will probably be picked to finish on top of the SEC East again next year. 

But Georgia will have more pressure to deal with moving forward, too.  The schedule will raise expectations.  And the mood swing mentioned up top will have many Dawg fans pointing all summer long to 2012 being yet another “prove it” year for Richt.