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Friday, December 17, 2010

As Glenn stays mum on NFL, Searels mulls the future

Cordy Glenn says he isn’t thinking about going pro yet. But the possibility is in his position coach’s mind.

Glenn, a starting guard, and left tackle Trinton Sturdivant each submitted their name to the NFL draft advisory board. They might not go pro, but offensive line coach Stacey Searels knows there’s a chance.

“We’ll cross that bridge when it gets here, and I think that’ll be right after the bowl,” Searels said. “My hope is that they make wise decisions. I think they’re both good players, and I do want to coach them next year.”

When asked specifically about Glenn and Sturdivant, the coach added: “I’ve talked to those guys, and like I said I hope they both stay here next year. I’ll say this: I hope they both make wise decisions. OK?”

Then he laughed, almost nervously. Searels has been around long enough to know there’s only so much he can control.

Even Glenn admitted that when it comes to the draft, “guards and centers, it’s kind of wishy-washy on how they can get drafted.”

So why did he submit his name?

“I was curious of what the NFL thinks of me,” he said. “I think that’s why most people do it.”

Glenn was recently rated, by ESPN’s Mel Kiper, the top guard prospect among underclassmen. So he could stand a good chance of getting drafted, but the question is whether he could improve his stock by coming back for another year.

“I really haven’t tried to think about that,” Glenn said. “I’m trying to stay focused on Georgia football and the season, and trying to end on the right note.”

Sturdivant’s thoughts cannot be divined because he is unavailable to the media. The former SEC all-freshman standout has had a couple knee surgeries, but was healthy enough to start several games this season.

“They’ve got to look at their projections of where the NFL people say,” Searels said. “And then I think it’s still a crapshoot. Because how many times do you see a guy that’s projected as say a first rounder and he sits in that green room till he’s in the second or third round. If a guy that’s a first-rounder can drop, then a guy who’s ranked a little bit lower, where will he go? So they’ve gotta make wise decisions. They really need to look into all the aspects and advantages of coming back vs. going out.”

Searels, for his part, said he’s excited about the players he knows are coming back, especially some youngsters that didn’t see much action this year. That includes Austin Long and center Chris Burnette, each of whom should be at full-speed for spring practice.

Kenarious Gataes seems to figure heavily in plans next year. He started several games at right guard this year, but he could play some tackle too.

“I think that scenario depends on who’s back,” Searels said.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

We really cannot afford any attrition beyond the seniors, AJ, and Houston leaving. If we lose a couple of linemen, we're really in trouble.

danielcook1975 said...

Our OL has been consistently inconsistent at best. Since 2008, we haven't started the same player in the same spot on the OL for more than 5 consecutive games. While injuries may have something to do with this, our line does not perform as a unit. Even if some of those guys leave, I don't think it'll be much different than it has been since 2008.

Anonymous said...

Why can't people just stay at the same position? Why must everyone play multiple positions until they have wasted their college career?

Willb said...

I don't see any underclassmen leaving other than Houston and Green. That is they shouldn't leave.

I hope Sturdivant is just looking into this because he can. I can't imagine he is seriously thinking of leaving early. Two torn acl's! I have seen him as a player who will likely get a medical redshirt and play two more years. Maybe he's thinking if he is going to get injured again he wants to be getting paid for it. I think if he plays the next couple of years without injury he will make millions upon millions more in the NFL. He will also get a better chance at succeeding.

Glenn could leave I guess. I never thought he would be rated that highly. If he is the top underclassmen guard wouldn't that make him the best senior guard in college football next year? If he truly is doing what is best for his future he will stay. He will get drafted earlier and get a bigger contract and a better opportunity because of it. Unless like a lot of recent Ga players he just wants to be drafted no matter where.

I still think that if Jones or even Curran stayed for there senior seasons there draft stock would of been helped. I don't buy the Curran height thing. He could of improved his stock. With Jones kinda like Houston and Moreno it was kinda our fault for redshirting him though.

It wouldn't surprise me if Glenn and Boykin leave early. Anyone other than them and I will be surprised. Except for Green and Houston of course.

Although I still think it would benefit everyone draft wise other than Green to return for there senior year.

With all the things that fans have been pointing at as being the problem with the program the last couple of years like coaching, s&c, bad character I think our problem is obvious. Players leaving early. If our players don't leave early we are looking at a couple of 10-11 win seasons these last couple of years.

danielcook1975 said...

Willb....
I think you bring up some very valid points on players leaving early. But I tend to think that any player at a college level would leave early if given the chance in the NFL. Let's face it, most of these kids don't have any allegiance to the programs they play for....they only need to be seen every Saturday by NFL scouts that may be impressed by their play.

I still contend that our main problem for the past 5-6 years has been the simple lack of player development. I think we've had some very solid, if not A+, recruiting classes during the Richt era. Within these classes, there have been few players that have exceeded their expectations (Pollack, Wansley, Wall, Curran, et.al) but those key players (Jones, Mudcat, B Miller, B Evans, P Miller, C King, Ealey, just to name a few) in the recruiting class just simply didn't live up to the hype.

Call it what you will, but that points directly to coaching. You have to evaluate each coaching position at its basic level...is the position held by the absolute best coach available? Why do we have a wide receiver coaching the running backs? Is he the best running back coach we could get? If the answer is no, then are we pursuing the best options available?

It's not that I think this coaching staff is the worst in the country by any means, but I think most fans will agree that there is a tendency to overlook glaring problems within the program and accept a level of mediocrity.

Aladawg said...

Both Glenn and Sturdivant would be making big mistakes by leaving. They need to think thru this thoroghly