I’ll put this here:
Using this, do you see a particular athlete that Georgia missed on that would’ve made for a generational, program-changing player? Was it Lawrence? Derrick Henry? Arch Manning (joking)?
What’s your thoughts?
Friday Fodder for Filibustering: Generational Miss
Lawrence coming in a year behind Fromm would have been as messy as with Fields.
I don’t know that Henry would have had the same impact without basically being the only back. If he gets 15-ish carries a game he isn’t making the same impact.
Give him a great defense and hand it to him 35 times a game and all of a sudden he looks like #34.
The one that got away that would have changed everything for us IMHO is Deshaun Watson.
Henry was a great back. Was he better than Gurley and Marshall, who came the same year? Maybe, but I wouldn’t call it a generation miss. Deshaun Watson? Maybe. I don’t know if we ever had a shot at him, but not getting in on him early seems like a miss. C’est le guerre.
It’s a good game to play what ifs, but there’s no guarantee any of those guys works out at UGA. What if Henry came, and tore an ACL in his first camp? What if Watson came and got arrested for sexual assault? We chase the top guys, we get who we get, some pan out. Some don’t.
Jamal Lewis and Derrick Brown. If Kirby had landed Brown he would’ve had a natty sooner. Derrick Henry is a good suggestion too.
Marcus McNeill would’ve been a huge get for CMR.
I don’t know if Lawrence would have changed everything, but I do know he would have at least been willing to compete in spring 2019 for the starting job rather than taking his ball and going home.
Watson in 2014 does change everything.
With Deion Walker bright in from the portal Kirny has three natties. Not exactly a miss but if that could have happened the ‘23 defense looks way more like ‘22.
The answer is Calvin Johnson.
That was Johnson’s miss. His decision to play with Reggie Ball over David Greene and DJ Shockley is still a mystery.
His Mom wanted him to be an engineer. He worked on some sort of space age toilet as part of his school project.
He wanted to be Howard Wolowitz.
https://youtu.be/PrX3EmdKtRc?si=LMhMJS1e_aoEaVA9
I just hope we don’t come to regret letting Jackson Muschamp transfer to Vandy…
Bo Jackson
Emmitt Smith
Laremy Tunsil, dude had the best weed connections.
More seriously, Alvin Kamera.
And don’t forget Robert Nkemdiche for all your synthetic weed connections.
Oh, we coulda got the Lovely and Talented Trevor Lawrence?
Derrick Brown was a big whiff early in Kirby’s tenure that allegedly cost Tracy Rocker his job. I wonder about DeVonta Smith. He was close to the Richt staff and evidently moved to Bama after Richt got canned.
Derrick Henry
Derrick Henry originally committed to UGA but switched to Alabama.
The old but good nugget, redshirting Moreno, lol.
Robert Edwards playing DB his first season
You raise a point, but that made me wonder if Edwards woulda lasted longer in football as a DB. Not a big deal. I think obscure thoughts.
In order probably Bo Jackson, Emmit Smith, Jamal Lewis. Any of those 3 could have changed the whole program in the late 80s and 90s.
In no particular order….
1. Ronnie Brown-not sure we ever offered or if having him would’ve been a program changer. But I loved the way he played the game.
2. Devonta Smith-committed in 2015 and decommitted after kirby was hired. Maybe 2nd and 26 doesn’t happen.
3. Eric Berry-That dude was just so damn good.
Jamal Lewis, Derrick Brown, Derrick Henry, Will Anderson, Deshaun Watson. That’s the list of most painful misses.
That whole 2013 class is a forever what-if.
Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, Derrick Henry, Reuben Foster, Montravious Adams, and Karl Lawson all should’ve been Dawgs.
Brice Ramsey over Joshua Dobbs in the same class. Yeeeesh.
This was the true beginning of the end for the CMR regime.