Shane McCord of Hartwell, Georgia, returns an interception in UK's win over the Bulldogs. (AP photo/John Amis)
My friend Chip Towers of the AJC did a blog post earlier today noting the number of Georgia natives who played key roles in Kentucky’s win over the Bulldogs on Saturday.
An excerpt:
In all there were 16 players from Georgia on the Kentucky roster, many of them playing critical roles, such as All-SEC senior cornerback Trevard Lindley of Hiram. Next to their own state, the Wildcats sign more players from Georgia than anywhere else.
The person most singularly responsible for that is Kentucky’s assistant head coach – and head coach in waiting – Joker Phillips, whose recruiting base is Georgia and Atlanta. The Wildcats currently have five players committed from the Peach State, including three from Stephenson High alone: TE Ronnie Shields, LB Jabari Johnson and RB Raymond Sanders. Also committed are CB Eric Simmons of Westlake and PK Joe Mansour of LaGrange. Kentucky has long benefited from what it calls the “LaGrange pipeline.
Good job, Joker and co. Keep ‘em coming. Georgia, like Florida, produces so many good players. They can’t all be Bulldogs or Yellow Jackets. I think most of them would rather play in the SEC for a team that appreciates them. Reminds me of all the good basketball players that have gone away under previous UK coaching regimes.
Yeah, Kentucky has been a real hotbed for basketball recruiting for the last 15 years. So many big time players. Like…well I’m sure I’ll think of one in a minute. Wait, there’s Rondo, but he went to UK. Who are some others FL cat?
It’s looking more and more like Mike Hartline may come into spring practice as the #2 QB.