Around the Dawghouse: Paul Finebaum predicts Georgia will return to the College Football Playoff
Around the Dawghouse will bring you daily updates from what people and publications are saying about Georgia, from inside and outside of Athens.
Paul Finebaum has Georgia back in the playoff
Paul Finebaum, one of the most recognized voices in college football, has given his College Football Playoff predictions and Georgia fans will like what he had to say.
Appearing on WJOX in Birmingham, Alabama, Finebaum offered up who he thought would be playing the 4-team playoff, including his eventual champion.
“Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State. I have Alabama winning it all,” Finebaum said
Overall, that’s a fairly pedestrian top-4, given that those teams will begin the season ranked No. 1, 2, 3 and No. 5 in the first AP Poll. Finebaum picking both Alabama and Georgia also follows a popular trend of people picking two SEC teams to return to the College Football Playoff.
But very few people seem to be willing to put Georgia in the playoff over Alabama, and Finebaum still thinks Alabama will prevail over Georgia, given that he went with Alabama as his champion.
Mark Richt gives you advice on how to make a sandwich
Former Georgia coach Mark Richt was recently profiled by The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach and the most entertaining part of the story was Richt giving a breakdown of how to make a sandwich.
“If it’s ham and cheese, OK, you’ve got to go — if you’re going to put mustard and mayonnaise on it — you’ve got to go mustard first,” Richt told Auerbach. “Then the meat. Cheese on the meat, and then tomato on the cheese, and lettuce on the tomato. The top, your lettuce is going to touch the mayonnaise side. You can’t put the mustard on the lettuce side. It just doesn’t work.”
The rest of the profile is well worth a read as Richt and a number of people close to him touch on his time in Athens and how he’s been able to turn around Miami.
While not all fans may feel this way, it’s really cool to see Richt so relaxed and doing well at Miami. It’s safe to say that Georgia’s decision to move on from Richt and bring in Kirby Smart has been a win-win for both sides.
Mel Tucker tabbed as future head coach
ESPN released a lengthy and comprehensive list of future head coaching candidates and Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker was indeed on it.
Adam Rittenberg explained what makes Tucker, who is entering his third season as Georgia’s defensive coordinator, such an enticing candidate.
“Schools seeking a mix of NFL and top-level college program experience should look in Tucker’s direction,” Rittenberg wrote. “The 46-year-old has worked at Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and LSU, along with three NFL franchises in between. Tucker nearly landed the Tennessee vacancy last year and should be a top head-coaching candidate if Georgia continues its ascent.”
If the Georgia defense preforms as well as it did a year ago, Tucker will almost certainly find himself getting serious head coaching looks. Especially because his defense will have to replace Roquan Smith, who was one of the top players in all of college football last season.
Deandre Baker gets some love from Todd McShay
NFL draft guru Todd McShay recently published his list of the top 32 NFL prospects. And Baker, who emerged as a lockdown corner last season, came in at No. 17 with a grade of 89.
“An instinctive corner, Baker does a good job of reading receivers’ routes in man coverage and is excellent in dealing with route combinations,” McShay wrote. “While not big at 5-11 and 185 pounds, he contains well and has no fear mixing it up in run support. Extremely experienced.”
Baker is the only Georgia player on the list but another former Bulldog is rated just below him, as Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram is ranked as McShay’s No. 21 prospect. Abram transferred from Georgia shortly after Smart replaced Richt.
The only cornerback ranked higher than Baker is LSU’s Greedy Williams, who McShay has ranked as No. 6. Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver is the No. 1 overall player according to McShay.
