So I saw this picture of Gunner Stockton and it made me think of Jimmy Buffett:
Which brings me to today’s Musical Palate Cleanser.
Admittedly when I’m super stressed at work or otherwise, I put on Buffett. It’s either poppy and catchy fun or some real-deal slow, take-me-there ballads. The man had a gift for storytelling through song, and he is missed. My biggest regret is that I never got to introduce the wife to Parrothead culture. Every concert was a blast, every stop was another outdoor party with your long-lost friends and good music in the background all day and all night.
Which brings me to this point. The Senator had a knack for being funny, insightful, and brilliant in his takes and foreshadowing of the scope of Georgia and college football. I admittedly would get lost on some of his posts about NCAA policy and regulations, and didn’t appropriately heed his call that change was coming, and it wasn’t the change we wanted to see.
The portal is one thing, NIL is another, but what we’ve arrived at in a CFP Playoff is a whole other thing to deal with. I’ve been watching the portal news drop, and I’m surprised at the sheer number of quarterbacks that are making themselves available, and it’s shocking. It’s not all quarterbacks that were playing bench roles either…it’s starters who are seeking financial reward in the chance they don’t get drafted. It’s free agency gone wild, and every quarterback transfer that pops up there is a host of media chatter that Georgia should chase them. One such post came up about Air Noland from Ohio State, to which I had to retort:
I get it, our offense had some warts and the receivers and Beck (along with Bobo) took the lions share of the blame. But chasing every shiny toy that come available is not only a way to build and sustain a quality football culture, but it’s not the Smart way, either.
One thing that surprised me after Stockton’s heroics in the SECCG was the amount of chatter I saw around how Stockton had been a neglected talent in the Georgia locker room, and it was long overdue that he got his moment. Not “way to go” or “that’s our boy”, but some low-key vitriol directed at Smart about it.
People are quick to forget that Smart, to sometimes a fault, is a ride or die coach, and will remain loyal to his who remain loyal to him. Bennett is a case study in this, as is Beck. Logic would say it’s Gunner’s turn, and that it’s coming. Hell, it’s here, whether it was time or not. To that end, that’s what Kirby’s done to build a culture that navigated through a conference that was building itself through the portal, and not through top recruiting classes or player development.
Those are just Collectives, mind you. This doesn’t include private donations like those that Phil Knight has made outside the Collectives to bring in top talent. Michigan famously had Dave Portnoy, the social media President of Barstool, pay 10 million to get a QB for Michigan. Six of the top 10 Collectives listed there aren’t making the Playoffs, by the way.
That brings me to my point…when teams are no longer teams and the starting roster can be completely turned over in one recruiting cycle, at what point does a playoff become irrelevant? While the Bulldawg “brand” has remained true for decades, there have been players and teams that have stood as legends of these teams that have defined the high points. Herschel, Belue, Stetson, Bowers…names that are linked to championships, but also names like Edwards, Hearst, Zeier, Greene. They resonate not because they were there for a moment, but were there for seasons.
What we have now is free agency gone wild. Teams are trying to pay for championships, and somewhere it’s going to happen where a team that raised astronomical amounts of money, like Oregon, can win it all…and the argument would remain that the championship is pointless, that it was a guaranteed return on investment, nothing more, and nothing that would remain as a legacy.
The 2022 Georgia Bulldogs may go down as the last true National Champion of a sport that is quickly losing its spirit and legacy.
Granted, not all NIL money collected goes solely to football, but you see my point. Rosters are revolving doors, teams lack identity. Players are even hitting the portal while their teams are actively preparing for the playoffs.
With an unregulated free agency as we’re seeing in college football, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a low seeded playoff team lose a starting player before the quarterfinals are played because an opposing team makes them an offer they can’t refuse. Imagine Klubinik hitting the portal to head to Texas because a Longhorn donor offers up eight figures to enter the portal this week, just to ride the pine and likely make more money there than entering the BFL draft. Not saying it’s going to happen, but it’s not impossible either.
The one positive this year has been parity, the games seem closer and more competitive than ever before, but that’s about it. It doesn’t work out for everyone with the transfer, either. Vandagriff became an interception machine in Lexington and by season’s end wasn’t even starting. Imagine if Beck goes down and BVG comes in instead of Stockton. Had he stuck to Kirby’s script, that’s just what would’ve happened. Who knows what the end result would’ve been.
I’m intrigued by the Playoffs, don’t get me wrong. I am still hoping this is the start of Stetson 2.0 with Gunner, but I also wonder if we are chasing QBs in the portal, what happens after? Say he bombs, does Rashada get looks next season? He hasn’t played at all, so why did he come to Georgia in the first place? What if Gunner shows out, wins it all, but sees some portal QBs come in and gets an enticing offer to head to greener pastures?
This is the CFP/NIL era. Enjoy the Gunner Stockton experience while it lasts, because like a lot of athletes nowadays, he could be in one particular harbor this time next season.
And the teams as we know them, may all be different in 2025. No more legends, no more team defining names like Taneyhill, Tebow, or Cadillac Williams. Just a bunch of semi-pro teams, in somewhat familiar uniforms with many unfamiliar names. All of the faces and all of the places…wondering where they all disappeared.
Outstanding post truly Senator worthy.
“I’m sorry it’s ended,
It’s sad, but it’s true,
Honey, it’s been a lovely cruise”…..
Nice JP. I hate what’s going on now. Years past you couldn’t be a lazy coach/recruiter, I’m looking at you Dan Mullen, and get top notch players. You had to WORK your ass off on the recruiting trail to build a championship team. Nick, with the work ethic of coaches like Kirby, built those relationships and teams. Now it’s just show me the money!
My biggest grip is the Senator saw it coming but the f*cking big wig commissioners that were so damn smart, making all the money AND decisions, sat idlily by and just let it happen. Their, I’m so smart attitude went for MICKEY”S MONKEY, I meant MONEY, and this is where they got us.
Nice Mother’s Finest reference…don’t see too many of those.
I’m sure some of the decision makers saw this coming as well. They just didn’t care. Bling over tradition.
Man this hits a little close to home this morning. I was never a “Parrothead” (RangerRuss was) but a Jimmy Buffett phase in my early 20’s that I never have really gotten away from.
The portal timing problem is difficult to solve. How do you not have it in December? They have to do it now so kids can be at the new school for the second semester. Or do you you say the price of transferring is you miss spring practice by only having the portal open then? I don’t know the answer that is just for the players, but isn’t wreaking havoc on rosters during the season.
I do think they should either get rid of the early signing period and just go back to only the February date like it was previously. Or, if there needs to be an early signing period, have it in August before the season starts. That would at least make December a little less hectic. Also the kids who know where they want to go can sign and just focus on their senior season.
Great post. I am still interested in following UGA football because I still see the bones of a more traditionally constructed roster with a reasonable degree of continuity. And, selfishly, because we have been on a helluva run over the last four years. If it gets to where we are building our team like Ole Miss and TAMU, I will probably still have the muscle memory to watch UGA play, but will likely check out on really following the sport. That is what happened with college basketball for me. That’s just watching laundry to me.
That’s where I am. I’ve watched less CFB than ever..my interest is just waning. . If it gets much worse, I’ll probably lose that.
A solution..Need a rule (or something similar)….for every transfer you take, your max roster drops two…If you take more than three transfers in a season, each successive one drops your roster by three (for as long as that player is on the team). The answer lies in making it too costly for coaches to take a lot of transfers. Trying to persuade players to stay out of the money grabbing game isn’t going to work. You have to make it unsavory for the coaches to take them.
Let’s review the Senator’s key points as best as I can remember.
1) The NCAA has lost control. I don’t know that Bluto desired a commish but did advocate for major change in leadership.
2) The kids deserve and are now earning their share of the pie. How it’s done and if it’s a fair amount was likely to be resolved only by a CBA.
3) The coaches have unfettered free agency, so do the kids. Goose & Gander….
4) The solutions or maybe better stated “compromises” will unfortunately be decided by the courts and amateur collegiate football as we know it will forever be gone. Employment status, agents and a CBA will result. It’s NFL Lite because that structure was always going to make the most money for the top scho…errr…franchises and the billionaire NFL owners are delighted they don’t have to fund it until it’s time to step in and own franchise rights. Can’t wait for the Jones clan to own Texas and Blank to own Georgia.
Most of us will checkout by then. The Senator would have. I’ll die and be buried in the Red&Black Power G logged coffin (yes…that’s a thing and in my will) but my interest in Fall Saturdays will certainly change. I honestly give this a 5 – 10 year window. Hell…we haven’t even played the first CFP game and calls for reform are coming from all the usual suspects. Just waiting for the new Congress to chime in.
I will indeed be just wasting away in Margaritaville soon.
Missing the Senator’s contract law smarts here — does anyone know why NIL collectives are not structuring strong incentives to finish out the post-season into their agreements? It might take a couple more years, but i would assume that the market will sort itself out in time.
I do wonder when we will see the first big power struggle between an NIL collective and a coach. That separation is going to make for a weird situation sooner or later.
My guess…market forces. The more restrictive an NIL offer, the less likely a kid accepts. We are probably headed for collusion among NILs and some smarmy ADs (👀 Auburn) and then the lawsuits fly, Congress investigates, etc.
The game has become overtly professional but money is still being deployed amateurishly. What’s going on now reminds me of what happened when free agency hit MLB. Some teams spent like drunken sailors throughout the late 70s to mid-80s. Not only did they see mixed results on the field, but owners of other teams also eventually reigned them in – and this despite massive increases in MLB revenue during that time.
The free agent market (for non-star players, at least) has fluctuated since then because one thing has remained constant: The most successful franchises develop much if not most of their rosters internally and complement them with free agent signings. I think (hope) this bodes well for UGA and other programs that focus on player scouting and development. Pay for play is the new reality but just doling out piles of cash to random QBs does not guarantee success. The best way to create a team that plays well together is by maintaining at least some organizational and roster consistency.
“All of the faces and all of the places…wondering where they all disappeared.”
Very appropriate song. The next few lines fit the situation quite appropriately as well.
“If it suddenly ended tomorrow I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times and riches and son-of-a-bitches I’ve seen more than I can recall”
I’m afraid what we grew to love has or soon will end. We’ve seen the good times and now we are seeing the son-of-a-bitches ruin what was once a wonderful thing.
I got to see Jimmy twice when I lived in Tampa. Hard to believe he’s gone. Just reminds us we are all getting pretty long in the tooth and changes happens whether we want it or not.
I think the current situation can be summed up as: Why don’t we get drunk (on Mickey’s money) and screw (everyone)?
That made me laugh.
Post of the day!
Great post and outstanding MPC! I live about a mile from A1A (much further north than where JB strolled down the avenue), and that album has always been special to me. Still pop it on the turntable when I need a little cogitation. Go Dawgs!
“I recommend you try a little mental floss”….
Maybe a little closer to what used to be an illegal grin…
First saw Jimmy under a big circus tent in a field just outside of Athens in 1978…
was hooked ever since…
Everybody has a story or opinion, without Mr. Jerry Jeff Walker, James William Buffet never makes it to Key West, this based on “everything happens for a reason”…he just “lived his life through a song”…