Where are they now: John Lilly and Juwuan Briscoe
Football’s offseason merry-go-round is still churning for a lot of people, including several former Georgia assistant coaches, and at least one starter on last year’s team.
Juwuan Briscoe, who started the first four games at cornerback last season, was one of five players whose transfer from the team has been announced since the end of the regular season. He’s one of only two who hasn’t chosen a new school yet.
“It’s still in the process,” Briscoe said Tuesday in a brief conversation. He said he didn’t know if he’d be staying at the FBS level, where he would have to sit out this year but have two years of eligibility, or going to an FCS school, where he could play in 2017.
Briscoe said his release restricted him from going anywhere else in the SEC or to Georgia Tech. That follows the parameters that head coach Kirby Smart established since coming to Georgia.
One other transfer off last year’s team, reserve safety Kirby Choates, has either not chosen or not announced his destination. Three others have: Receiver Shaquery Wilson announced he was going to junior college. Cornerback Rico McGraw and linebacker Shuan McGee opted for FCS schools.
Then there are a couple notable former Georgia assistant coaches.
Tracy Rocker, of course, is a free agent after leaving the program two weeks ago for reasons that no one has publicly elaborated on. Rocker told our colleague Chip Towers last week that “everything’s in a good place” but did not elaborate. There’s been no official word yet.
And then there’s John Lilly, who was Georgia’s tight ends coach from 2008-15, and the offensive coordinator in the Bulldogs’ bowl wins in 2014 and 2015. He’s a free agent too.
Lilly spent last year as the tight ends coach for the Los Angeles Rams, but was not retained when the Rams replaced head coach Jeff Fisher with Sean McVay. The Rams hired Shawn Waldron, who was with McVay with the Washington Redskins.
Lilly could not be reached for comment, but someone who spoke to him recently said that Lilly was hoping to stay in the NFL. While a college job could always be on the table – Lilly was known as a strong recruiter – the person who spoke to him said there was a “high percentage” that he would remain in the pros.
