SEC Extra Points with Barrett Sallee: Mark Richt Not Retiring from Georgia
The coaching carousel never stops spinning, and for a moment, it appeared that it could take off at ludicrous speed in Athens, Georgia.
Rumors surfaced Monday and Tuesday that the Belk Bowl could be the last game in red and black for Georgia head coach Mark Richt, who was wrapped up his 14th year at the helm of the program with a 37-14 win over the Louisville Cardinals.
Brian Straw of Houston's SportsRadio 610 tweeted the following just hours before the game:
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That isn't happening. Richt told reporters after the game that the plan is to return to Georgia for the 2015 season, according to Seth Emerson of The Telegraph (Macon, Georgia):
And why wouldn't he?
Running back Nick Chubb had a career-high and SEC bowl-best 266 rushing yards in the Belk Bowl, Georgia returns four of its five starting offensive linemen, and the defense will be in its second season under coordinator Jeremy Pruitt in a down SEC East.
Unless there's something going on behind the scenes that is truly impossible to overcome, Richt owes it to himself to keep fighting. The program wasn't able to elbow its way through the open window in the division in either of the last two seasons, but that doesn't mean Richt should throw in the towel.
Losing a Key Piece?
Most of the talk after LSU's 31-28 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl loss to Notre Dame centered around the possibility of defensive coordinator John Chavis' possible move to the same role at Texas A&M or the stagnant LSU offense, which was again one-dimensional by necessity against the Fighting Irish.
That offense could take another hit.
Left guard Vadal Alexander was asked after the game if he had made a decision regarding the possibility of an early jump to the NFL draft.
"I have to sit down and talk to my family about it," he said. "We have to discuss it, but I haven't made a decision yet."
If he chooses to jump, it'd be a big blow to the LSU offense. The Tigers are already losing senior left tackle La'el Collins and senior right guard Evan Washington. If Alexander also bolts, the Tigers could easily struggle next season at the one dimension they do well.
Running back Leonard Fournette was a stud this season and capped if off with a 264-total-yard, three-touchdown performance vs. the Irish. But if Alexander and Collins—LSU's two best offensive lineman—depart, and the Tigers have to replace both guards, it's unlikely that the holes Fournette and the rest of the Tiger running backs ran through in 2014 will be as big in 2015.
LSU deals with early entrants into the NFL draft every year, and it came back to bite them offensively this year. The Tigers need Alexander back in a big way.
Tone-Setter
Arkansas held Texas to a pitching wedge worth of offense during Monday night's Texas Bowl, when the Longhorns managed just 59 total yards and just two on the ground.
No, it was worse than that. It was more like a 60-degree lob wedge out of the rough that's all grass.
The strong defensive performance from Bret Bielema's crew absolutely sets up the Hogs to be an elite defense in 2015. Are defensive end Trey Flowers and linebacker Martrell Spaight moving on?
Yes.
But the return of defensive tackle Darius Philon coupled with the late-season success of defensive coordinator Robb Smith gives Arkansas a solid foundation to build off of.
After shutting out LSU and Ole Miss in November and stymieing the Longhorns, it's clear that the program is heading in the right direction. That's not good enough, according to Bielema (via Bo Mattingly of Sports Talk with Bo):
Will the Hogs be contenders in the SEC West in 2015? That might be a stretch. But a jump to the nine- or 10-win plateau is possible, similar to the jump Ole Miss made this year. The right defensive coordinator and system are in place, running backs Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins return with quarterback Brandon Allen, and four offensive linemen will be back.
Look out, SEC West. Even if the Razorbacks don't win, they'll surely beat up the opposition.
The Waiting Game
While head coaches and coordinators draw most of the attention during the coaching silly season, position coaches also become hot commodities.
One position coach who is drawing a ton of attention is Florida's defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson. Robinson has been in his current role at Florida since Will Muschamp was hired to be the Gators head coach in 2011, but he's now in limbo after Muschamp was let go and subsequently signed on to be Auburn's defensive coordinator.
Will Robinson stay? With his recruiting coordinator duties possibly going to Arkansas linebackers coach Randy Shannon, according to Fox Sports contributor Joey Vizzi, it doesn't seem like it.
Will he follow Muschamp to Auburn? Could he be waiting to see what happens at Texas A&M?
Robinson is still on Florida's staff and will be with the team during Saturday's Birmingham Bowl against East Carolina. As soon as the clock hits zero at Legion Field, however, expect things to move quickly on the "T-Rob" front. He played safety at Auburn and is known as one of the top recruiters in the state of Florida, according to 247Sports.com.
If Auburn steals him away, it will be the biggest recruiting win of the season, high school prospects included.
It's That Time of Year
The holiday season is the perfect time to tell your loved ones that you love them, and what better way to do that than with tickets to one of the biggest games in college football history?
That's exactly what one Alabama fan did on Christmas, when he surprised his father with tickets to the Crimson Tide's Allstate Sugar Bowl national semifinal matchup with Ohio State.
"It's sugar. It's a bowl. It's a Sugar Bowl."
Watch the emotional reaction:
Quick Outs
- Nick Chubb for Heisman in 2015? His performance against the Louisville defense will get him in the discussion, but only two non-quarterbacks have won the award since 2000 (Reggie Bush in 2005 and Mark Ingram in 2009). He's going to have to top 2,000 yards to win it in this day and age of quarterbacks with video game numbers.
- Watch out for Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs in the TaxSlayer Bowl. This is the first time in his career that he's received No. 1 snaps in a camp-like setting. The sophomore could explode against the Iowa defense.
- LSU, it's time to go to Brandon Harris at quarterback. It actually was time three months ago, but better late than never.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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