Georgia football: What's on the Bulldogs's Christmas List

Christmas is right around the corner, and so is the Rose Bowl. Georgia football is going to have a busy Holiday season this year.

I’m in the Christmas spirit this year much more than previous years. Why? because Georgia football is in the College Football Playoffs. It’s about three years too late, but the Bulldog are in the final four. A National Championship is within arms length, we just need to take it. But there’s more a Georgia fan could want. So here is a Georgia fans Christmas list for 2017.

New coaches

The one downside to winning is that other teams like to poach your coaching staff. That’s what Georgia is experiencing at the moment. Outside linebacker coach Kevin Sherrer is leaving Georgia to become defensive coördinator at Tennessee.

The announcement came not long after Tennessee hired Jeremy Pruitt, another former Georgia coach, to be their new head coach. Sherrer joined Georgia in 2014 when UGA hired Pruitt to be the new defensive coördinator. Sherrer was the only coach left over from Mark Richt’s coaching staff when Kirby Smart took the head coaching job in 2016.

That’s one spot Georgia will have to fill and there a re a few names being thrown around. The most common is former Georgia Southern head coach Tyson Summers who is a good friend of Smart and was Mike Bobo’s first defensive coördinator at Colorado State. But would Summers go all the way down the ladder to position coach?

Georgia will also fill another position in the off-season as the NCAA now allows schools to have 10 assistant coaches. And that spot is a real mystery right now because it isn’t even clear what position Smart will want to fill or create.

Shane Beamer is currently Georgia’s tight ends and special teams coach so Smart may want to hire a new coach to lighten Beamer’s load. Or maybe Georgia can hire a coach just for kickers while Beamer handles coverage and return teams. Either way, for Christmas, Georgia needs two new coaches.

A Rose Bowl victory

Clearly, this is the number one thing on the Bulldogs Nation’s mind right now other than the Georgia basketball game with Massachusetts. For Georgia football to accomplish their ultimate goal of winning the National Championship, they must win the Rose Bowl.

Georgia has not played in the Rose Bowl since January 1, 1943. That’s right, 75 years ago. The Bulldogs defeated UCLA in one the most important games in Georgia football history to win the National Championship.

In 2018, Georgia plays the Big 12 Champion Oklahoma Sooners. This is the very first meeting between these two schools. Oklahoma is by far the best program has never played before. But that changes on New Year’s Day.

Just seeing the Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl will be a fascinating sight. But winning the game will excite the Bulldog Nation more than any win from this previous season.

A top-three recruiting class

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Georgia’s 2017 recruiting class finished third nationally and second in the SEC. Another top-three class would be awesome. Right now, according to 247 Sports, Georgia is fourth nationally and first in the SEC. The only teams ahead of Georgia are Ohio State, Miami and Ohio State. And no team has as many five-star commits as Georgia. Both the Bulldogs and Buckeye’s have three.

Three current Georgia commits are ranked no. 1 at their position. Justin Fields is the no. 1 dual-threat quarterback. Zamir White is the no. 1 running back. And Adam Anderson is the no. 1 outside linebacker.

Georgia is far from finished with their 2018 class. 247 Sports projects the Bulldogs to sign the following top-300 prospects:

Offensive guard Jamaree Salyer: No. 10 nationally; no. 3 in the state of Georgia; no. 1 offensive guard.
Offensive tackle Cade Mays: No. 16 nationally, no. 1 in the state if Tennessee; no. 2 offensive tackle.
Tight end Luke Ford: No. 49 nationally; no. 1 in the state of Illinois; no. 2 tight end
Offensive guard Trey Hill: No. 38 nationally; no. 6 in the state of Georgia; no. 2 offensive guard.

And Georgia can still make a run for players like Brenton Cox (no. 2 strong-side defensive end); Channing Tindall (no. 5 outside linebacker); Alontae Taylor (no. 23 wide receiver). Signing at least half of those kids will put Georgia in the top-three at the very least.

A National Championship

You all knew this was coming. But it’s what we all want the most. It’s been way too long and Georgia has come so close so many times. The 1981-83 teams were mere plays away from winning national championships. 2002 team just needed to hold on to the lead over Florida. In 2007, Georgia was robbed by the BCS. And Georgia was just one play away in 2012.

We do not want to relive any of that. And we certainly do not want more moments that conjure those same emotions. A National Championship is within our grasp. Just win these next two games and we are champions.

We need the fans to do those spiked pads justice and become the Road Warriors once again take over a foreign stadium. And then we need to show whoever we play in the final, that Atlanta is firmly inside the Bulldog Nation.

Coaches need to put together the best game plan, and players need to execute work their tails off in practice. This is not the time to slack off. Let’s be honest with ourselves, we’re desperate. 38 years is just too long.

In that time, we’ve watched all of our major rivals win national titles. That’s not an exaggeration. Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, Clemson, even Georgia tech have all won National Championships in that span of 38 years.

Next: Georgia basketball overcoming every obstacle so far

Our time is now. And if it’s not, then we’ll make it ours. It is time to break some hearts, make little kids and grown men cry and let almost four decades of frustration flow out. All I want for Christmas is a National Championship. I’m not picky with how I get one. I just want one.

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The 2017 Georgia football Christmas List

By Kyle Funderburk | Dec 9, 2017