Georgia Recruiting: Coaching Vacancies Killing Dawgs as Signing Day Approaches

The Georgia Bulldogs got their man rather quickly last week when defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt was lured away from Florida State just 48 hours after the job opened in Athens.  Over the past six days, however, Pruitt and head coach Mark Richt have been unable to fill two unoccupied coaching positions.

These coaching vacancies are killing the Georgia Bulldogs as national signing day approaches.

Misplaced Priority?

Last week, Daryl Jones, Georgia's on-campus recruiting coordinator, told Seth Emerson of The Macon Telegraph, "Coach Pruitt is out there working a million miles an hour."

Photo courtesy of 247Sports

Indeed, it's hard to question the tenacity with which Pruitt attacks recruiting.  Case in point: Emerson also reported that Pruitt and Richt made an in-home visit to uncommitted 5-star defensive end Lorenzo Carter last Thursday night.  According to Michael Carvell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pruitt is slated to visit Bryson Allen-Williams, a 4-star linebacker who's committed to South Carolina, later this week.

In Pruitt, Georgia found a man who willingly hit the recruiting trail running.  Furthermore, if his previous track record is an indication, he will add value to the Dawgs on national signing day.

But a degree of inaction with regard to filling other vacancies is concerning.  While the changing of the defensive guard may have been viewed as a positive for fans who disapproved of Todd Grantham's performance, so much coaching turnover may reek of turbulence for potential signees.

Coach	Title	Date Departed	New Job
Scott Lakatos	Secondary Coach	January 9, 2014	None Yet
Todd Grantham	Defensive Coordinator	January 12, 2014	Louisville, Defensive Coordinator
Kirk Olivadotti	Linebackers Coach	January 16, 2014	Washington Redskins, Inside Linebackers Coach
Chris Wilson	Defensive Line Coach	January 17, 2014	Southern Cal, Defensive Line Coach

Coaching Concerns

Pruitt is expected to coach Georgia's defensive backs in addition to his coordinating duties, per Marc Weiszer of The Athens Banner-Herald, but without a position coach to head up the linebackers and defensive line, Georgia is losing ground for front-seven personnel.

Lamont Gaillard, a 4-star defensive tackle, committed to the Bulldogs in July of last year but is now scheduled to visit Miami, according to Nate Adelson of 247Sports.  He is also considering Louisville.  Heading up the Cardinal's recruitment of Gaillard: Todd Grantham.

Additionally, the coaching deficiency could negatively affect the recruitment of two of Georgia's top remaining targets—Lorenzo Carter and Elisha Shaw.

Carter is being courted by Pruitt, but his primary Georgia recruiter is running backs coach Bryan McClendon, according to 247Sports.  Each of Carter's other top choices has a defensive line coach involved in his recruitment.  Georgia does not have a defensive line coach, period.

School	Primary Recruiter	Secondary Recruiter
Georgia	Bryan McClendon, Running Backs Coach	Jeremy Pruitt, Defensive Coordinator
Florida State	Charles Kelly, Linebackers Coach	Sal Sunseri, Defensive Ends Coach
LSU	Brick Haley, Defensive Line Coach	John Chavis, Defensive Coordinator
Florida	Brad Lawing, Defensive Ends Coach

Shaw is a 295-pound 3-star defensive tackle.  Chris Wilson was his primary recruiter at Georgia; now that duty also falls on McClendon, per 247Sports.  

Even Pruitt's stellar recent history (BCS National Championships at Alabama in 2011 and 2012 as secondary coach; BCS National Championship in 2013 at FSU) is limited by the void of defensive assistants.  

Undoubtedly, casting a vision to these young athletes is difficult without a completed staff.  While Pruitt may be able to give broadly sweeping summations of his 3-4 defense, he can't provide specifics on the coaching style, expectations and capabilities of his position coaches.  These missing details may give recruits cause for concern.

Short-Term Loss, Long-Term Damage

As Bleacher Report's Brian Jones points out, recruits like Gaillard and Carter will make or break Georgia's 2014 recruiting class.  More importantly, however, missing on such targets could leave Pruitt shorthanded in the future.

Ten starters return for the Bulldogs defense this year, but the front seven may need a complete overhaul in 2015, as players like Ray Drew, Jordan Jenkins, Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson depart.  That's when a poor closing of this recruiting period will begin to yield consequences.

To be sure, Georgia's slow approach to filling coaching vacancies is hurting this recruiting class.  But the collateral damage could be felt to a greater extent several years down the road.

 Note: All stats, ratings and rankings courtesy of 247 Sports unless otherwise noted.