McCollum in the Mix?
Georgia Bulldog fans may or may not know the name Andy McCollum. I will explain shortly why you should. Andy and I both played football at Marietta High School and graduated in 1977. Andy was our quarterback and went on to play for the Austin Peay Governors. He grew out of the quarterback position and played tight end and even some guard before his playing days were through.
McCollum started his coaching career at Middle Tennessee and was there from 1981-1988, coaching all the skill positions on both sides of the ball and special teams at one point or another. From there he went to Texas-El Paso and coached linebackers/wide receivers and special teams from 1989-1993. Baylor hired McCollum in 1994 and Andy became defensive coordinator and associate head coach in 1995. This was when Baylor was good. Middle Tennessee State hired McCollum away in 1999 to be it’s head coach and Andy laid the foundation for MTSU’s present success on the FBS level. He is now wrapping up his third year as NC State’s linebacker coach.
Now, why am I talking about Andy McCollum? Because coaches at Georgia and Georgia Tech are talking to him. In recent days both programs have touched base with McCollum. Why? Because they know he’s a quality coach from Georgia that knows Georgia and recruits Georgia very, very well. Both the Dawgs and Yellow Jackets are looking to retool their defensive staffs although UGA has a head start in the process. Depending on how the DC scenario plays out in Athens, Andy McCollum might be a complimentary piece of the puzzle for the Dawgs.
I certainly hope so.
Peach State Pigskin
I’m trying something a little different. My contribution to www.SouthernPigskin.com will be to once a week, shed a little light on the states other pigball programs. That’s right, Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern and maybe even a little Georgia State Panther action. Even though there is no Georgia State Panther action. Don’t hate me because it’s not all Dawgs, all the time.
As a Georgia guy, this season has been tough to witness. When I decided to do a blog back in the spring, I had no clue it would be this difficult to share my true feelings in a public forum. This was supposed to be fun. I am hopeful we can be successful this weekend against Tennessee Tech.
I am making no predictions, believe me.
Georgia will be without wide receiver A.J. Green because of an internal injury(lung) suffered at Florida last weekend. Joe Cox will remain at quarterback and try to regain some early season success. Caleb King is starting at running back as Washaun Ealey has struggled with pass protection responsibilities.
Now Georgia Tech is definitely on a roll, having outlasted and finally crushing Vanderbilt last weekend. Tech is getting back to their conference schedule with a very important game against Wake Forest. What the heck is a Demon Deacon? Anyhoo, Wake has not had a great year at 4-5, and no one save Miami has had an answer for Paul Johnson’s offense. Miami had the perfect combination of athletes, motivation and discipline to beat Tech. I’m not sure anyone else has that mix.
The Deacs will surely have to pick their poison, with Josh Nesbitt at QB, Jonathan Dwyer at RB and Demaryus “Bey Bey” Thomas at WR, Tech has many weapons. Thomas might be the most physical wide receiver in the country and yes that includes Julio Jones. With this group, Tech is averaging over 35 points a game and 440 yards in total offense each week.
I’ll say a little prayer for you Wake Forest.
Georgia Southern is struggling with a 4-4 record, having lost every other game in a see-saw campaign. This week they travel to Birmingham to take on Samford…Go Dawgs! Just kidding I had to say it. The GSU Eagle faithful are definitely not used to mediocrity and many are calling for a return of the old guard in a new coach; but there are other “options”.
Chris Hatcher is a great coach and had a lot of success at Valdosta State. In only his third season as GSU Head Coach, Hatcher has worked with an extremely young group, especially the last two years, but there is no reason he cannot employ the Hatch Attack in Statesboro, Georgia. Be patient folks!
Samford is 3-5, so maybe this week’s game will be just what the doctor ordered.
I am following Coach Bill Curry on Twitter to see how things are progressing in Downtown Atlanta and Georgia State. They scrimmaged in the Georgia Dome last Thursday and Coach Curry had this to say: ”Great enthusiasm in the Dome! We hit hard,ran to the ball well,completed a high percentage of passes,and kicked ..punted well.Good day overall”. Yesterday Curry mentioned the Leadership training the team is going through to prepare for the future:”Leadership Training-SMART/PREPARED-5th characteristic of champion is to prepare in ways the opposition is not willing to prepare”.
I think Georgia State football is in good hands.
Does Georgia Have the Right Tribe?
I was listening to 680 the Fan earlier and Paul Johnson was a guest. Yes, that Paul Johnson. The one that needs Industrial Strength Imodium….think about it. Anyhoo, the sports dudes were asking about Tech being on a great “run” the last few weeks and being almost unstoppable against FSU. After that they talked about their upcoming opponent Virginia Tech. Then Coach Johnson said something that caught my ear. In talking about being unstoppable, he was speaking in general but he invoked the Georgia Bulldogs as an example.
“It’s like people looking at stopping Georgia, he said.
It depends on what Indians are flinging the arrows”.
Wait. Did he just say what I think he said? My impression was that he was saying that our tribe does not have the warriors it once did. Did you hear him? Did you pick up something different? I have also read recently that Jim Donnan has been quoted as saying that our personnel is not the same as the first half of Coach Richt’s era. I think that is probably true, but I still take him with a grain of salt because those were “his guys” that were supposedly the better guys.
I am a firm believer that just because a guy is not an All-American, that doesn’t mean he sucks. But it is hard to look at our 2002 SEC Championship roster compared to now and not think there has been some drop off in over-all talent.
What do you think?
Tell me what you really think!