Now that we have the majority of the coaches named and we know basically the offensive and defensive systems we will run I wanted to take a look at Richt’s recruiting during his time with Georgia. I’ll be going through his recruiting position-by-position until I get through all 293 recruits from 2002 to 2014. I chose 2002 to start for a couple of reasons:
- It’s easier because most of the sites start at 2002
- It’s difficult to evaluate him on the 2001 recruiting class due to limited time to put a class together
I've already covered the QB's, so now we move on to the RB's.
Richt recruited 19 RB's at Georgia, and they averaged 5-10, 195 and 4.00 stars.
Michael Cooper- 6-0, 215 and 3.50 average stars. Cooper was from GA and was a flameout. He actually transferred to my alma mater and sucked there as well. His problem was he very entitled based on HS press clippings.
Reshard Dudley- 5-10, 208 and 4.00 average stars. Dudley was from FL and never actually played for GA.
Thomas Flowers- 5-10, 183 and 3.00 average stars. Flowers was from GA and made 7 career starts.
Kregg Lumpkin- 6-0, 190 and 5.00 average stars. From GA and made 9 career starts. He was the #2 RB behind Reggie Bush coming out, but never really stood out and suffered a lot of injuries. He also grew to 228 lbs. by the end of his college career.
Danny Ware- 6-1, 205 and 3.00 average stars. From GA and made 2 career starts. Physical specimen ended up playing at 225 lbs.
Thomas Brown- 5-10, 185 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and made 20 career starts. All-SEC and was drafted.
Knowshon Moreno- 5-10, 205 and 4.00 average stars. From NJ and made 19 career starts. All-SEC and became a 1st round pick.
Caleb King- 5-10, 200 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and made 10 career starts.
Dontavious Jackson- 5-10, 195 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and left the program due to the depth chart stacked ahead of him.
Richard Samuel- 6-0, 197 and 4.67 average stars. From GA and made 9 career starts. Physical specimen grew to 236 lbs. and played some FB. Actually returned kicks as a freshman, but has to be described as a 5-star bust.
Carlton Thomas- 5-7, 159 and 3.67 average stars. From FL and made 2 career starts. Tiny, but not a returner for Georgia. Another that was a bit of a flameout.
Washaun Ealey- 5-10, 205 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and made 9 career starts. Huge freshman year, but eventually was asked to leave. Another RB that grew into a monster at 220 lbs.
Ken Malcome- 5-10, 212 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and made 3 career starts. Grew into 225 lb. battering ram, but was also asked to leave team.
Isaiah Crowell- 5-10, 210 and 5.00 average stars. From GA and made 7 career starts. Former top prospect had a myriad of issues and was kicked off team. Had the makings of a true star if he kept his head on straight.
Todd Gurley- 6-0, 205 and 4.00 average stars. From NC and made 27 career starts. He was All-American, drafted in 1st round, and was a freak. Grew to 226 lbs. but still returned kicks.
Keith Marshall- 5-10, 190 and 4.67 average stars. From NC and made 2 career starts. It's hard to believe now, but Marshall was the 5-star RB recruit in the same class with Gurley. Non-descript career in the end.
AJ Turman- 6-0, 205 and 4.00 average stars. From FL and has yet to make a start.
Nick Chubb- 5-10, 208 and 4.33 average stars. From GA and has made 14 career starts. Hat tip to 247 on this one, as they are the only service to have him as a 5-star. Up to 220 lbs. and an All-American.
Sony Michel- 5-10, 205 and 4.67 average stars. From FL and made 6 career starts. We all know this one, and he is a very good player and complement to Chubb.
Richt likes his RB's to be big
Richt is probably known best for his QB recruiting, but the position that averaged the most stars was actually RB. Of the 19 RB's that have been brought in, only Carlton Thomas was truly small. Otherwise, his RB's almost all grow to be in the 210-225 range and are strong between the tackles.
Richt also likes speed in his RB's
Many of the RB's that grew to the 220 lb. range were still used on kick returns due to their straight line speed. Expect Richt to bring in at least one RB every year, and most often he will bring in two. The RB's will most likely always be highly rated, as the one recruit to be a consensus 3-star at the position was Danny Ware (and he turned out to be a solid take). For this reason, it does not surprise me we didn't call our lowly rated RB recruit when he took over the reins.
Expect our RB's to mostly be local
Richt killed it in recruiting RB's from GA, and basically had his pick of the highly rated kids from the state. 12 of the 19 RB's were from GA, with three coming from FL. Richt started to infiltrate FL RB's a little more towards the end of his tenure.
Expect lots of RB usage
Richt will take a bellcow when he can find one, but if he doesn't, he has no problem rotating RB's based on the hot hand approach, or game plan specific. 10 of the RB recruits started fewer than 10 games in their career at Georgia. Only five RB's started more than 10 games in his career at Georgia.
We will be bringing in more size at RB moving forward, that much is clear. Richt has always found a place for gadget players who technically aren't RB's who will line up in the backfield if they need a receiver out of the backfield, but otherwise the RB's will be big, strong, and fast. I would expect that Gray will get a legit shot at some carries under Richt, and other RB recruits with size will be brought in. This was eye opening to see that Richt truly has brought in elite RB's from jump street and bodes well for his evaluation skills at the position. With RB coach Thomas Brown following him, what Richt is looking for from the position is already well ingrained.
- It’s easier because most of the sites start at 2002
- It’s difficult to evaluate him on the 2001 recruiting class due to limited time to put a class together
I've already covered the QB's, so now we move on to the RB's.
Richt recruited 19 RB's at Georgia, and they averaged 5-10, 195 and 4.00 stars.
Michael Cooper- 6-0, 215 and 3.50 average stars. Cooper was from GA and was a flameout. He actually transferred to my alma mater and sucked there as well. His problem was he very entitled based on HS press clippings.
Reshard Dudley- 5-10, 208 and 4.00 average stars. Dudley was from FL and never actually played for GA.
Thomas Flowers- 5-10, 183 and 3.00 average stars. Flowers was from GA and made 7 career starts.
Kregg Lumpkin- 6-0, 190 and 5.00 average stars. From GA and made 9 career starts. He was the #2 RB behind Reggie Bush coming out, but never really stood out and suffered a lot of injuries. He also grew to 228 lbs. by the end of his college career.
Danny Ware- 6-1, 205 and 3.00 average stars. From GA and made 2 career starts. Physical specimen ended up playing at 225 lbs.
Thomas Brown- 5-10, 185 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and made 20 career starts. All-SEC and was drafted.
Knowshon Moreno- 5-10, 205 and 4.00 average stars. From NJ and made 19 career starts. All-SEC and became a 1st round pick.
Caleb King- 5-10, 200 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and made 10 career starts.
Dontavious Jackson- 5-10, 195 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and left the program due to the depth chart stacked ahead of him.
Richard Samuel- 6-0, 197 and 4.67 average stars. From GA and made 9 career starts. Physical specimen grew to 236 lbs. and played some FB. Actually returned kicks as a freshman, but has to be described as a 5-star bust.
Carlton Thomas- 5-7, 159 and 3.67 average stars. From FL and made 2 career starts. Tiny, but not a returner for Georgia. Another that was a bit of a flameout.
Washaun Ealey- 5-10, 205 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and made 9 career starts. Huge freshman year, but eventually was asked to leave. Another RB that grew into a monster at 220 lbs.
Ken Malcome- 5-10, 212 and 4.00 average stars. From GA and made 3 career starts. Grew into 225 lb. battering ram, but was also asked to leave team.
Isaiah Crowell- 5-10, 210 and 5.00 average stars. From GA and made 7 career starts. Former top prospect had a myriad of issues and was kicked off team. Had the makings of a true star if he kept his head on straight.
Todd Gurley- 6-0, 205 and 4.00 average stars. From NC and made 27 career starts. He was All-American, drafted in 1st round, and was a freak. Grew to 226 lbs. but still returned kicks.
Keith Marshall- 5-10, 190 and 4.67 average stars. From NC and made 2 career starts. It's hard to believe now, but Marshall was the 5-star RB recruit in the same class with Gurley. Non-descript career in the end.
AJ Turman- 6-0, 205 and 4.00 average stars. From FL and has yet to make a start.
Nick Chubb- 5-10, 208 and 4.33 average stars. From GA and has made 14 career starts. Hat tip to 247 on this one, as they are the only service to have him as a 5-star. Up to 220 lbs. and an All-American.
Sony Michel- 5-10, 205 and 4.67 average stars. From FL and made 6 career starts. We all know this one, and he is a very good player and complement to Chubb.
Richt likes his RB's to be big
Richt is probably known best for his QB recruiting, but the position that averaged the most stars was actually RB. Of the 19 RB's that have been brought in, only Carlton Thomas was truly small. Otherwise, his RB's almost all grow to be in the 210-225 range and are strong between the tackles.
Richt also likes speed in his RB's
Many of the RB's that grew to the 220 lb. range were still used on kick returns due to their straight line speed. Expect Richt to bring in at least one RB every year, and most often he will bring in two. The RB's will most likely always be highly rated, as the one recruit to be a consensus 3-star at the position was Danny Ware (and he turned out to be a solid take). For this reason, it does not surprise me we didn't call our lowly rated RB recruit when he took over the reins.
Expect our RB's to mostly be local
Richt killed it in recruiting RB's from GA, and basically had his pick of the highly rated kids from the state. 12 of the 19 RB's were from GA, with three coming from FL. Richt started to infiltrate FL RB's a little more towards the end of his tenure.
Expect lots of RB usage
Richt will take a bellcow when he can find one, but if he doesn't, he has no problem rotating RB's based on the hot hand approach, or game plan specific. 10 of the RB recruits started fewer than 10 games in their career at Georgia. Only five RB's started more than 10 games in his career at Georgia.
We will be bringing in more size at RB moving forward, that much is clear. Richt has always found a place for gadget players who technically aren't RB's who will line up in the backfield if they need a receiver out of the backfield, but otherwise the RB's will be big, strong, and fast. I would expect that Gray will get a legit shot at some carries under Richt, and other RB recruits with size will be brought in. This was eye opening to see that Richt truly has brought in elite RB's from jump street and bodes well for his evaluation skills at the position. With RB coach Thomas Brown following him, what Richt is looking for from the position is already well ingrained.
