Whoever said that this time of year is the dog days of summer got it half right. It appears that these are the Dawg days of summer. It seems that every other day a story concerning UGA athletics breaks. There are the positive stories like Chris Colwill and Sheila Taormina making the United States Olympic Team. There are the surprising stories like Jeremy Jacob deciding to transfer from the basketball program because of a fear of insufficient playing time. Hey, Dennis Felton’s team will not remind anyone of 1990 UNLV, but evidently Jacob thinks they might be 1990 Georgia Tech.
And of course, there have been the not-so-positive police blotter stories of late. Mark Richt dismissed Michael Lemon from the football team last week due to him being charged with two counts of assault, one being a felony. The Lemon story continues to be a fascinating one as it shows how in a minute one’s life can change. Allegedly Lemon let anger and rage get the best of him when police say he attacked a fellow Georgia student earlier this month. He hopes to one day return to the team, but that seems like wishful thinking due to the seriousness of the charges against him.
Still, I think it’s in everyone’s best interest that Lemon rebounds from this incident and leads a productive life. With all due respect to the alleged victim and what he was put through, an imprisoned Lemon does not help anyone. If guilty, he has a lesson to learn and punishment to pay (part of which he’s already paying), but after that’s complete it would be nice for him to play football again, if not for Georgia, for another school.
There is yet another football-related story that is making news and this one is on the positive side. Cornerback Jordan Love’s verbal commitment marked the Bulldogs 12th such commitment this recruiting season. Love’s commitment continues a recent trend of early commitments under Richt. Last year at this time Georgia had 16 commitments and by mid-July of 2006 they had nine. A lot of those that follow recruiting don’t like early commitments, as conventional wisdom says that the best players do not commit early. Yet Georgia and several other recruiting powers, most noticeably Texas, have seen those early commitments pay off. Probably a more accurate portrayal of early commitments is that a program’s ability to get them depends on its stature. Under Richt, Georgia’s prestige seems to go higher and higher every year and kids committing early to the Bulldogs is a reflection of that.
Another note on the commitment of Love is that he also represents a rarity. He’s not from Georgia. He is the third commitment for the Class of 2009 that is not from the Peach State, joining Tampa, Fla., quarterback Aaron Murray and Memphis, Tenn., offensive lineman Austin Long. Love hails from Glen Allen, Va., which is just north of Richmond and a little further inland than the recruiting hotbeds of Tidewater and South Hampton Roads. With the abundance of talented prospects in the State of Georgia, the Bulldog coaches have often said that if they go after an out-of-state player, they are definitely sold on his ability. In fact, despite making up only a small portion of the team’s roster, 10 out-of-state players are projected to start for Georgia this year. Household names like Stafford, Moreno, Ellerbe and Massaquoi all hail from out of state. Only time will tell if the coaches are right about Love and he joins that group in the future.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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