Hunter Morris & Blue Blood

Longtime Auburn coach Pat Dye has died. He was 80. Dye, who played college football at Georgia, had been hospitalized in Atlanta last month with a kidney issue. He had tested positive for the coronavirus.  The news was first reported by 247Sports. Dye was born in Blythe, Ga. He was team captain of the 1956 Class AAA champion Richmond Academy in Augusta. He went on to play from 1957-1960 at Georgia where he was a two-time All-American, under head coach Wally Butts. Dye, a three-time SEC coach of the year, coached the Tigers to a 99-39-4 record in 12 seasons from 1981 to 1992. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Before coaching at Auburn, Dye coached at Alabama, East Carolina and Wyoming. Dye is survived by four children — including Pat Dye Jr., an NFL agent — and nine grandchildren.

Former Auburn coach Pat Dye, who took over a downtrodden football program in 1981 and turned it into a Southeastern Conference power, died Monday. He was 80. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said Dye died at a hospice care facility in Auburn from complications of kidney and liver failure. Dye, who played college football at Georgia, had been hospitalized in Atlanta last month with a kidney issue. He had tested positive for the coronavirus.  The news was first reported by 247Sports. » MORE: Notable sports deaths in 2020 Dye was born in Blythe, Ga. He was team captain of the 1956 Class AAA champion Richmond Academy in Augusta. He went on to play from 1957-1960 at Georgia where he was a two-time All-American, under head coach Wally Butts. When Dye came to Auburn, he inherited a program that was deeply divided after only three winning seasons in the previous six years. In 12 years, he posted a 99-39-4 record, Auburn won or shared four conference titles and the Tigers were ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 10 five times. Dye’s overall coaching record was 153-62-5 in 17 years at Auburn, Wyoming and East Carolina. His coaching career ended in November 1992 when he was forced to resign after a pay-for-play scandal rocked the program, which was placed on two years’ probation. Dye served as athletic director as well as coach for most of his career with Auburn. He remained associated with the university after his resignation and was a frequent commentator on football talk-radio shows. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.  Dye is survived by four children — including Pat Dye Jr., an NFL agent — and nine grandchildren.

Oconee County Commissioners are set to adopt a new County budget: a Commission meeting is set for 6 o’clock Tuesday night, an on-line session in which a final budget vote is scheduled.  From the Oconee Co government website… The Oconee County Board of Commissioners will hold a meeting to adopt the 2021 Fiscal Year Budget at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, during the Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting. This meeting will be held via Zoom; click here for information on joining the meeting.   NOTICE OF  BUDGET ADOPTION The Oconee County Board of Commissioners will hold a meeting to adopt the 2021 Fiscal Year Budget at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 02, 2020, in the Commissioners Meeting Chambers at the Oconee County Courthouse, 23 N. Main Street, Watkinsville, Georgia. A copy of the proposed budget will be available after May 19, 2020 at the Office of the Board of Commissioners. OCONEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOHN DANIELL, CHAIRMAN (pictured above)

The Clarke County School Board names Dr. Beverly Ford as the new principal of Coile Middle School: Ford will replace the retiring Dr. Marsha Thomas, who is leaving after 22 years at the helm of the school in Athens. Dr. Ford has been an assistant principal at Coile.  From the Clarke Co School District… 'Dr. Ford brings years of historical knowledge and experience to her new role as principal of Coile Middle School. She has consistently shown a high level of commitment to the Clarke County School District and our work,' states Dr. Xernona Thomas, interim superintendent. 'She is passionate about meeting the needs of all students and works to ensure rigorous learning strategies are implemented. We are excited to have her as the new instructional leader of the Cougar community.' Dr. Ford received a Doctorate in P-12 Education Leadership from Georgia Southern, a Master of Arts in Special Education from Piedmont College, a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from North Carolina Central, and holds numerous certifications including Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership, Gifted In-Field, and an English to Speakers of Other Languages Endorsement.  'It is truly a privilege to be a part of a community where parents, teachers, and students care for each other and strive to build positive relationships that support academic and social growth,' states Dr. Ford. 'I have enjoyed each experience along my educational journey and excited about my next role as principal at Coile Middle. It is my goal to engage and empower every child and to have them feel a part of the Cougar family. I embrace Rita Pierson's quote, 'Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly

The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office is warning about a phone scam that is apparently making the rounds in Athens, with callers claiming to be US Marshals, court officers, and sheriff’s deputies. They’re telling victims that can avoid arrest by forking over cash. From the Clarke Co Sheriff’s Office… The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office is making efforts to alert the public of several nationwide imposter phone scams involving individuals claiming to be U.S. Marshals, court officers, the social security commission, and even deputy sheriffs. I am urging you to contact the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office at 706-613-3250 if these scammers are attempting to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty or other offenses. They are telling the victims they can avoid arrest by purchasing a prepaid card such as a Green Dot card or gift card and read the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine. Always remember the following: Law Enforcement, U.S. Marshals, nor a social security representative will never ask for credit/ debit card/ gift card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing number. Never give this out over the phone. Never divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers. Report scam phone calls to your local law enforcement. You can remain anonymous when you report. While these callers may sound legitimate, I urge you to question the validity of the call. If in doubt, please call your local law enforcement. Don’t let the scammers swindle you from your hard-earned money.

Former Auburn coach Pat Dye, who took over a downtrodden football program in 1981 and turned it into a Southeastern Conference power, died Monday. He was 80. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said Dye died at a hospice care facility in Auburn from complications of kidney and liver failure. Dye, who played college football at Georgia, had been hospitalized in Atlanta last month with a kidney issue. He had tested positive for the coronavirus.  The news was first reported by 247Sports. » MORE: Notable sports deaths in 2020 Dye was born in Blythe, Ga. He was team captain of the 1956 Class AAA champion Richmond Academy in Augusta. He went on to play from 1957-1960 at Georgia where he was a two-time All-American, under head coach Wally Butts. When Dye came to Auburn, he inherited a program that was deeply divided after only three winning seasons in the previous six years. In 12 years, he posted a 99-39-4 record, Auburn won or shared four conference titles and the Tigers were ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 10 five times. Dye’s overall coaching record was 153-62-5 in 17 years at Auburn, Wyoming and East Carolina. His coaching career ended in November 1992 when he was forced to resign after a pay-for-play scandal rocked the program, which was placed on two years’ probation. Dye served as athletic director as well as coach for most of his career with Auburn. He remained associated with the university after his resignation and was a frequent commentator on football talk-radio shows. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.  Dye is survived by four children — including Pat Dye Jr., an NFL agent — and nine grandchildren.

Longtime Auburn coach Pat Dye has died. He was 80. Dye, who played college football at Georgia, had been hospitalized in Atlanta last month with a kidney issue. He had tested positive for the coronavirus.  The news was first reported by 247Sports. Dye was born in Blythe, Ga. He was team captain of the 1956 Class AAA champion Richmond Academy in Augusta. He went on to play from 1957-1960 at Georgia where he was a two-time All-American, under head coach Wally Butts. Dye, a three-time SEC coach of the year, coached the Tigers to a 99-39-4 record in 12 seasons from 1981 to 1992. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Before coaching at Auburn, Dye coached at Alabama, East Carolina and Wyoming. Dye is survived by four children — including Pat Dye Jr., an NFL agent — and nine grandchildren.

Tony Grimes included four teams in the long-awaited cutdown of his top four schools on Sunday afternoon. At this time, it looks like his choice is down to four schools: Georgia. North Carolina. Ohio State. Texas A&M. Final 4 @dhglover @Bubblesdnf @Giavanni_Ruffin @RivalsFriedman @BrianDohn247 @DemetricDWarren pic.twitter.com/oiINaCKm3U Tony Grimes (@757EliteDB) May 31, 2020 Grimes released that quartet of options via his Twitter account. He still has established a plan to make his college commitment on December 1, 2020. @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/o63R0RlvwG Tony Grimes (@757EliteDB) May 31, 2020 The 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior from Princess Anne School in Virginia Beach rates as the nation's No. 1 CB and the No. 7 overall prospect for 2021 on the 247Sports Composite ratings. If you're looking for a quick refresh on all things Grimes, this DawgNation deep-drive profile will define his worth as a young man first and his abilities as a lockdown cornerback second. Grimes has been rated as the top of the board for months now on the weekly DawgNation 'Before the Hedges' program which airs every Wednesday on our Facebook and YouTube social channels. The 5-star prospect had planned to visit Georgia several times over the last few months prior to the global pandemic which sidelined all on-campus recruiting travel. That NCAA ban for both unofficial and official visits has since been extended to July 31. That decision was made by the NCAA over the last week. Grimes had only recently decided to start conducting the weekly zoom and recruiting contact calls he had been making over the last month during the coronavirus epidemic. He had taken a break from that activity. He had visits planned to see UGA in March, April and an official visit was already on the books for June 12. His father, Deon Glover, described an ascending interest level for the family in Georgia at that time. 'We've been to enough schools to say Hey if push came to shove and we need to make a decision now we can make a decision now' and we've been to enough schools multiple times to be able to say that,' Glover said. 'At least with the schools we like. We've been multiple times. With the exception of Georgia.' There is a clear interest here in Kirby Smart's program. 'What's going on at Georgia is elite mimic energy that you see in Clemson and some of the other top programs,' Glover said earlier this month. 'With the program itself. We learned a lot when we were down there the first time and of course, we were going to go back this time in March and go back again in April.' 'We had an official visit set up for June 12. We had put the gas in there with Georgia. Trying to get as much as we can about Georgia in a short period of time. But with those other schools, we have already got enough information on them. For real.' Check out the junior highlight reel for the Under Armour All-American selection below. Did you know the weekly DawgNation.com 'Before the Hedges' program is now available as an Apple podcast? Click to check it out and download. DAWGNATION RECRUITING (the recent reads on DawgNation.com) BREAKING: All-American OL Dylan Fairchild has made his college decision Brock Vandagriff: How does that family feel about the JT Daniels transfer? The JT Daniels to Georgia buzz seems very real BREAKING: Elite 2022 DB Marquis Groves-Killebrew commits to UGA Who is Chaz Chambliss? Carrollton staff shares the goods on the new Bulldog commit BREAKING: Chaz Chambliss commits to Georgia football Taking a deep dive at how well Georgia has been recruiting Metro Atlanta of late Elite 2022 defensive athlete Daniel Martin already has a 'family' feel at UGA Brock Bowers: Nation's No. 3 TE knows what he needs to do before his college decision De'Jahn Warren: The 'nugget' for the nation's No. 1 JUCO prospect with UGA Decrypting that recent tweet from 5-star LB Smael Mondon Jr. Prince Kollie: The ILB target who had 1,085 yards as a receiver in 2019 Lovasea Carroll: DawgNation goes one-on-one with the 2021 RB commit The post BREAKING: Nation's No. 1 CB Tony Grimes includes UGA in his final four appeared first on DawgNation.

QB room is gonna be full.' That was one family member's response Thursday afternoon when a text from one of my brothers passed along the surprise word that the Dawgs are getting another quarterback. Actually, observations about Georgia having a 'crowded' quarterback room were a fairly widespread reaction nationally, even among sports media types, as former Trojans starting quarterback JT Daniels announced he was transferring to UGA from the University of Southern California. After all, Daniels, a redshirt sophomore, will be joining a position group that already included four scholarship QBs as well as several preferred walk-ons (including Will Muschamp's son, Jackson, who turned down a scholarship at Colorado State to walk on at UGA). Currently on the roster are presumed starter Jamie Newman, a recent graduate transfer from Wake Forest; junior Stetson Bennett, last year's backup; redshirt freshman D'Wan Mathis, who finally has been cleared to play after recovering from brain surgery; and incoming freshman Carson Beck. The Dawgs also have a commitment from 5-star Brock Vandagriff of Bogart, who's set to join Kirby Smart's team for the 2021 season. So, yes, that's a jam-packed QB room for new offensive coordinator Todd Monken to oversee , but I remain convinced of one thing: It will thin out. Let's face it, in an age when each of the past three Heisman Trophy winners and three of last year's Heisman finalists all had transferred from another school, you're not going to see any program stockpile highly rated QBs like FSU did in its heyday. You can carry a bunch of tailbacks successfully, because at least three of them probably will see considerable playing time, but that doesn't happen with quarterbacks, as the Dawgs have seen in recent years with Jacob Eason and Justin Fields transferring elsewhere when they couldn't dislodge Jake Fromm from the starter's spot. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if to see Georgia lose at least one of the quarterbacks currently on its roster before the season begins. And, looking ahead to next season, when Newman's one-and-done time at UGA is over, the eventual winner of the battle for the starter's job will be lucky to have even one of the current scholarship QBs sticking around to back him up. To borrow a phrase we've heard all too often over the past couple of months, that is the 'new normal' in college football. Very few elite QBs are inclined to wait on the sideline a couple of years for their chance to be the starter. That's why the transfer portal is so busy these days. So, yes, it's good for Georgia to have all these QBs on the roster right now, but it probably won't last very long. If Daniels gets his NCAA waiver, he'll be the most experienced QB on the roster after Newman, and he'll have three seasons of eligibility left. That's sparked a lot of speculation that Bennett may see the writing on the wall and decide he'll need to transfer elsewhere in order to see playing time. And, unless Mathis wows the coaches in camp and moves into starting contention, you've got to wonder if he'll stick around past this season, too. After Newman is gone, if the 2021 starting QB competition ends up being between Daniels, Beck and Vandagriff (assuming he doesn't take a redshirt year), you're talking about two 5-star players and a 4-star player. Nobody gets the luxury of carrying a QB roster like that anymore, so chances are that at least one, if not both, of the players who don't win the starting spot will move elsewhere as well. Yes, any coach would love to have a pair of highly rated backups as an insurance policy, but, again, that's not the new normal in college football: If you have an established starter, you're probably going to have to keep recruiting highly rated talent to compete with him, knowing that those who lose out are unlikely to be content sitting on the bench or playing mop-up duty more than one season. And, while Smart has been aces at drawing top QB talent to UGA, he so far hasn't been successful in keeping a highly rated backup from going elsewhere. CBS Sports' Barton Simmons summed it up nicely when he tweeted about Daniels' move: ' This is the way you have to recruit (if you're able to). Load the room with the best guys you can and assume some attrition.' Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly noted in 2018, 'When you're recruiting, you're going to have to have it in your mind that if your No. 2 doesn't feel like he's going to get a shot, you may lose him. I've come to grips with it a couple years ago. I don't see it changing.' As for what Daniels' arrival in Athens means for the 2020 quarterback situation, there's been a lot of speculation that he might challenge Newman for the starter's spot, if he's given a waiver by the NCAA to play immediately for UGA. Some even have floated the idea that Smart brought Daniels in because he has concluded he needs an option besides Newman. I'm skeptical about that idea, however. Yes, Daniels was the third highest rated QB in the 2018 class (behind Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields), and only the second true freshman quarterback to start an opener for the Trojans. And, he did that after graduating one year early from the vaunted Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California (which also produced Bama's Bryce Young ) . Still, his freshman numbers were solid, but not spectacular (the USC team wasn't very good that year). And, while he did win the initial battle to keep the starting job last season, he lost it due to injury. Rising sophomore Kedon Slovis, who stepped in for Daniels and proceeded to shatter USC's freshman records on his way to Pac-12 offensive freshman of the year honors, was widely expected to retain his starting job this year, leaving Daniels as the odd man out, according to Ryan Kartje, the USC beat writer at the Los Angeles Times. Thus, Daniels transferred. Meanwhile, Newman is a dual passing-running threat who put up some impressive numbers the past couple of seasons at Wake Forest, and already is drawing NFL interest. If Daniels is eligible and physically able to participate fully in preseason camp, I'm sure he'll be given a chance to compete for the starter's job, and competition usually makes the eventual starter better (certainly, Fromm played better the two seasons when he had to beat out highly rated competition). However, the biggest reason I'm skeptical about Daniels' chances of taking the starter's spot this season is simply the fact that he's coming back from a major injury. Assuming preseason practice begins sometime in July or August (based on the current prevailing wind favoring starting the season on time), it still will be less than a year since Daniels suffered a season-ending ACL injury in USC's first game of last season. Had USC been able to hold spring practice this year, Daniels wouldn't have been cleared to participate fully, because he still was recovering from a second clean-up surgery on his knee. He is expected to be good to go by August, but it's the rare athlete who gets back in top form that quickly after rehabbing a knee. Remember, as good as Nick Chubb was in 2016, returning from knee surgery, it wasn't really until the 2017 season that he was his old self. And it wasn't until late last season that Zamir White, also coming back from knee surgery, appeared to be regain his form fully. So, while Daniels might be available as a backup in 2020, if needed, I tend to think that, in bringing him in to the program, Smart really has his eye more on 2021, and the chance to have an experienced QB behind center when the Dawgs open with Clemson in Charlotte. Finally, there's one more reason for Bulldog Nation to celebrate Daniels' arrival in Athens: Tennessee, which has been drawing considerable hype with its own recruiting lately, was hoping he'd wind up in Knoxville after he entered the transfer portal in April. Instead, we get the latest example of the stratospheric level at which Smart is recruiting these days. The post UGA quarterback room likely won't stay crowded' very long appeared first on DawgNation.

Dylan Fairchild is a state heavyweight wrestling champion and an All-American football player out of West Forsyth High School. Needless to say, he is a priority target for the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2021 recruiting cycle. He was so well-regarded by Georgia line coach Matt Luke, that Luke wanted to make sure he offered him in person earlier this year. When he told DawgNation this week he was ready to make his college decision, he spoke with a conviction and a clear purpose that we rarely hear from a recruit. Especially not one rated as the nation's No. 2 OG and the No. 40 overall prospect (247Sports) for the class of 2021. Toss in the global pandemic denying all the college visits he thought needed to take. Sprinkle in the fact that he never thought he'd be committing this early regardless of the COVID-19 concerns. Fairchild just knows. He makes a very telling case. 'It was always Georgia and Auburn,' Fairchild said. 'I think it was those two. Those were the closest but I think that Georgia was there. I think I was sitting there and I don't think I had that two hour or three-hour conversation with other schools like I did with coach Matt Luke and coach [Kirby Smart] to get to know each other.' 'To get to really really know each other. The more I am around Coach Luke and I see his style and the way he coaches and takes care of his kids, the more I have grown closer with him. We've built a very good bond.' The 4-star prospect becomes the ninth public commitment of the 2021 recruiting class in Athens. That moves the Bulldogs up to the nation's No. 12 class for 2021 on the 247Sports Team Composite rankings. 'Georgia is going to be the best of both worlds for me,' he said. 'Even with football, I am picking a school that even without football I would want to go too. You never know what could happen. This football life could end in one moment. I think I am going to go to a place where I am going to be happy with football and I am going to be happy with school, too.' 'I think Georgia is really the best of both worlds. I think all the pieces of a national championship are falling right into Georgia's hands. I want to be a part of that and do something special over there. I think that me and a few other guys have that same mindset. I'm just ready to go.' 'I've been talking with Brock [Vandagriff] and Micah Morris and a few other guys and we are all with this. We are ready to be a part of something really special at Georgia.' Dylan Fairchild: This is one committed member of the class He actually knew he wanted to be a Bulldog before he got his first Georgia hat. The West Forsyth rising senior called the Georgia staff at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. That was a private chat and he made his commitment. He then joined DawgNation for a special recruiting announcement on its Facebook and YouTube social channels. When Fairchild sent out his tweet letting the world know he was a Bulldog, he was live on the air with DawgNation. 'If I were to do this without the whole coronavirus thing going around I would go see the Georgia coaches and do it in person,' Fairchild said. 'It just wanted to give them that respect and call them. Person to person. Just tell them I was 100 percent with this and ready to go. I'm ready to get to work already.' It was a bit unexpected here, but he said the fact he couldn't visit the Georgia coaches in person actually helped him come to that decision faster than he ever expected. 'The Zoom meetings really helped me more,' Fairchild said. 'It really made it feel like I was doing a one-on-one with the coaches on a recruiting visit. I don't think it would have been the same for me with that if I was on a recruiting visit on the campus at Georgia. You can really ask the questions you would really want to ask face-to-face and in some circumstances it helped even more than doing it when you are around a bunch of people and have a lot of activities going on.' 'I think in my case the Zooms actually helped me more.' Fairchild ranks as the nation's No. 7 OG and the No. 135 overall prospect on the 247Sports Composite ratings. He grew up a Georgia fan with his family barking at the TV every Saturday in the fall. His family is made up of mostly Bulldogs with a few Georgia Tech fans sprinkled in. 'I don't know it is just like it kind of all matches up,' Fairchild said. 'There's just no way that if I went to any other school. There's no way at any point that I would regret it if I went to Georgia. It was just meant to happen. All the recruiting put aside, I just think that degree from Georgia is just going to be the best fit for me. I've never been more excited about something.' Check out his junior highlight reel. Did you know the weekly DawgNation.com 'Before the Hedges' program is now available as an Apple podcast? Click to check it out and download. The post BREAKING: Elite OL Dylan Fairchild has made his college decision appeared first on DawgNation.