"The Dream Team" that was not
Overview: The 2011 recruiting class was supposed to be one of Richt's best as seven of the top 10 players in the state committed to the Bulldogs. A bunch of the commits coined the term "Dream Team" for the class, which finished fifth nationally, but it was really marred by failures and didn't pan out as envisioned.
Five-star DE Ray Drew had a nice career with the Bulldogs but by no means was an absolute terror for years in Athens. Columbus (Ga.) Carver five-star RB Isaiah Crowell was dismissed from the team but has still found his way into the NFL.
There were some successes in that class but it is considered a disappointing group - and it cascaded into average 2012 and 2013 recruiting classes, which undoubtedly caused some issues.
Farrell's take: "Everybody decided they wanted to stay in-state and there was so much talent on paper there. Arguably the two best college players in that class enjoyed their success at other programs - Nick Marshall and Crowell. That class fell apart."
The slide of 2012 & 2013
Overview: After finishing fifth overall in the team rankings and second among SEC teams in 2011 - the class that never lived up to expectations - Georgia slid to No. 12 overall twice in a row in the 2012 and 2013 class, fourth and seventh, respectively, in the conference.
By no means is the No. 12 recruiting class in the country terrible but there was a slide and in the cutthroat SEC, sharks smelled blood in the water.
The top player in the state in 2012, Valdosta Lowndes DB Josh Harvey-Clemons, signed with Georgia but transferred to Louisville after a couple seasons.
The best player in the 2013 class, Loganville Grayson DE Robert Nkemdiche, was one of many 2013 and 2014 state of Georgia stars that left for college, which brings us to our next - and very important point.
Farrell's take: "There were some factors working against them without a doubt. Auburn is oftentimes closer geographically to some kids but they're still in-state kids and they should grow up dreaming about playing for Georgia."
Fleeing the state
Overview: By no means was Richt a bad recruiter. In the Rivals.com era dating back to 2002, Richt's worst class was No. 15 overall. Aside from two No. 12 finishes and a No. 10 close, the Bulldogs always had a top 10 class. It was usually an impressive haul.
But in the 2013 and 2014 classes, Georgia missed out on a bunch of top-flight, in-state recruits that could have completely changed the landscape of its team.
In the 2013 class, Nkemdiche went to Ole Miss, DE Carl Lawson and DT Montravius Adams wound up at Auburn and DB Vonn Bell fled to Ohio State. All four were five-star prospects. The following recruiting class, Georgia missed out on five-star LB Raekwon McMillan (Ohio State) and five-star QB Deshaun Watson (Clemson).
No matter how one looks at it, even some of those players could have made Georgia far more competitive.
Farrell's take: "Nkemdiche was going to follow his brother, there's no doubt about that, but the other guys I just think there were too many talented kids in those classes that got away for it to be acceptable at Georgia. There were a lot of guys that went out-of-state that hurt the efforts of the program at key positional needs."
Lack of QB development
Overview: Richt has a long and impressive track record as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator dating back to the late 1980's. But other than five-star Matthew Stafford and four-star Aaron Murray (along with D.J. Shockley prior to the Rivals era), Georgia has been mired with average quarterback play.
It's unclear whether it's a recruiting issue, a few misses here and there with four-star recruits, not landing Cam Newton, or a deeper development issue that will be left up to others. But the Bulldogs were a mess at QB this season and had some odd juggling of signal callers along the way as well. The questionable handling of the quarterbacks in the Florida loss was particularly distressing.
Even with Stafford (the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft) and Murray (who threw for more than 13,000 yards and 121 TDs at Georgia), the Bulldogs never won a national title, the pinnacle and ultimate measure of it all.
Five-star quarterback Jacob Eason from Lake Stevens, Wash., remains committed to the Bulldogs but has not commented on his pledge since Richt's firing.
Farrell's take: "It can be an argument either way. You've had some guys that were extremely productive at the college level and Stafford was the No. 1 pick, Murray was the SEC career passing leader when he left. But one of these guys, as talented as they were, should've been able to lead Georgia to a national championship so that leads to either quarterback development or offensive philosophy falls on Richt."
Dominate the state?
Overview: There have been 30 five-stars from Georgia in the Rivals era. The Bulldogs have signed only 11. Fourteen have gone elsewhere and five remain unsigned in the 2016 and 2017 classes. That's decent work by Richt but it's by no means locking up the state.
In the last two recruiting classes, Georgia has done quite well locally. So far in the 2016 cycle, four of the six commits in the top 10 are to the Bulldogs. Last recruiting cycle, Georgia signed the top two players and seven of the top 10. There have been thin years, too, like 2012 and 2014 where Richt signed only three of the top 10. In 2013, one of the top 10 players signed with Georgia.
When it comes to top-ranked players in the state of Georgia, too often that high-end talent left the state, like in 2007 with Eric Berry going to Tennessee, 2013 and 2014 with Nkemdiche (although family considerations pulled him to Ole Miss) and McMillan.
Richt needed to lock down the state of Georgia as everyone tried to come in. He didn't exactly do that.
Farrell's take: "It is so important to keep in-state kids home and in a lot of cases Richt failed at doing that with key players. Nkemdiche was always going to be a tough one but there were many others that Georgia didn't land. It definitely could have changed what this team looked like in the last couple years."
