Let's just analyze some of this bull****.
1. "Following his visit back to Athens over the weekend, a source said they were very confident Georgia was far-and-away the leader."
Not just "very confident". But very confident that UGa was "far-and-away" the leader. Yet Jackson decided to pick Miami on the plane flight out of Georgia. Simply stated, overconfidence is a killer.
2. “I don’t know what happened,” the source said.
Exactly. UGa folks don't even have the mindset to comprehend getting outworked. They can't handle the truth.
3. [on the subject of NIL]: "It’s just not the way Smart is going to play ball."
And this is a lie. We could go back in time to all the years when UGa was paying players under the table. Or we could just focus on the current system where Smart DOES play ball, but on his own terms, wherein he wants to pay less money in the early years, though he is more than happy to pay up on the back end. UGa demands a "discount" from what others are willing to pay, and then MIGHT pay more in the future...you know, if you play for it. So he wants to get the BENEFITS of the NIL era while only offering the old-fashioned pay-for-play compensation structure. Interesting.
4. “I want to see the fire,” Smart said. “I want to see the passion, the energy. I want to see who wants to be a good football player. Who really cares about this game. Like, they care more about the game than they do their NIL revenue stream."
Let me get this straight. If you CARE about being compensated after 100 years of the NCAA/University cartel forcing players to play for free, then somehow you don't have "fire" or "passion" or "energy"? As if the NFL players don't have those attributes because they all want to be paid for their labor? And you try to sell these kids on how you will (someday) make them rich in the NFL? Very strange.
5. “Like if you really, really, really care about the game and want to be good it doesn’t matter about any kind of money. It matters how I play the game and more and more we’re seeing across college football, the purest, the ones that care about the game the most, play the hardest."
Hey, wait, has Kirby one-upped Prison Mike with the TRIPLE really? So money shouldn't matter? Just purity? Give me a ******* break, UGa and Kirby are as impure as it gets.
6. “And usually the team that plays the hardest wins. I know everybody thinks it’s just whoever is more talented but there is a whole lot to how hard you play and how much you care about it.”
Usually. Sure. So was UGa "playing hard" and "caring more" last year when they lost 3 games? I mean, Kirby appears to be telling us that it's not about talent and it's not about money, it's really about playing hard and caring. OK. So then why is he so bothered about losing out on the #1 overall (at the time) player in the country? Kirby don't need no talent. Kirby don't need no NIL babies. Kirby just needs to whip his boys into playing hard and caring, right? RIGHT?
7. "Georgia might not have Miami, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M kind of NIL money backed up by shoe companies or oil reserves. But the Bulldogs have some bank. They might not tap a tech billionaire like Michigan did for five-star QB Bryce Underwood but the Dawgs are well-heeled."
OK, so why is Miami in that list? Do we have a shoe company? Or oil reserves? Or a tech billionaire? So first, he poor-mouths Georgia as broke compared to the richies. Then he brags that Georgia has cash. PICK A LANE.
8. "Smart is just not going to push his entire stack into the middle on one player, say, Cantwell. If the Bulldogs can circle back on five-star Immanuel Iheanacho or make a less-costly run at four-stars Carter Scruggs, Malakai Lee, Ekene Ogboko and others, that might be more rewarding in the end. At least, that’s the bet Smart is making."
This self-consolation is hilarious. Can someone tell this guy that $2M (or $2.5M) is not Miami's "entire stack". If it's Georgia's "entire stack", then he's going to need to be sedated. I love the pivot. They are going to "circle back" on another 5-star, as if he will be more affordable. And then he cites 3 "less-costly" 4-stars, as if he can get a BOGO on a couple of OTs in the Top 200 overall. Sure. THAT is the bet Smart is making. Are you sure the "bet" that Smart "was making" wasn't that Jackson Cantwell will give UGa a big discount on his services? Because up until the moment that Jackson picked up that Miami hat, Kirby Smart legitimately thought he had the inside lane. See, generally, Points #1 and #2 above.
9. "With more NIL money freed up as Cantwell packs his flip flops for South Beach, Georgia can spread more around to multiple offensive linemen, to four-star tight end Mark Bowman, to four-star all-purpose back Derrek Cooper, to five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson and others."
OK...FIRST, they aren't getting Derrek Cooper. More importantly, if UGa claims they were willing to go to $1.5 million, how much do they think they are going to have to pay for those "multiple linemen" and "4-star" TEs and RBs, and a 5-star LB. "And others". What, they are going to get all those blue-chippers for $200K apiece? Hilarious.
10. "Smart is doing the intelligent thing – spread the money across multiple bets and coach them up. Find that fire, passion and energy he’s talked about so often."
HOW IS KIRBY DOING THE INTELLIGENT THING? He did not politely withdraw from the Jackson Cantwell pursuit. HE WAS TOLD "NO". Stop acting like it was "a choice" to "spread the money across multiple bets". NO, THAT'S JUST YOUR PIVOT. You had no choice in the matter. And how many guys do you think you'll get for what you are willing to spend on Jackson Caldwell? At best, they will get TWO blue-chip players for the money the would have given to Jackson Cantwell. That's the truth. Now, they could get three or four 3-stars if they are willing to bargain shop, but still.
11. "Right or wrong, this is how Smart is going to run his program. It’s worked out pretty well so far as he’s winning nearly 85 percent of his games and has two championships already. Cantwell chose Miami. Georgia (and Smart) will live to fight another day."
Oh, what a noble man Kirby Smart is. He will stubbornly run his program however this guy thinks Kirby CHOOSES to run it whenever someone chooses a school other than UGa. "It's worked out pretty well so far". Sure, Jan. It worked out pretty well when UGa was NOT losing recruits to ******, irrelevant schools like Miami. But, hey, Georgia (and Smart) are going to live to fight another day.
Kids, stay away from that copium, it's addictive as ****...