Georgia football: hopefully Georgia tech never fires Paul Johnson

Georgia football defeated the Paul Johnson led Georgia tech Yellow Jackets for the third time in the last four years and the eighth time overall.

Georgia Tech, we in the Bulldog Nation hope you never fire head coach Paul Johnson, and I don’t think we’re the only ones. In 2008, you let your inferiority complex get the better of you. Instead of trying to compete for championships and top-notch recruits, you did a complete 180 and hired a triple-option head coach in Paul Johnson.

Not just any triple-option head coach. A dyed in the wool triple-option head coach. The kind that only runs the offense to negate his team’s deficiency in talent, not utilizing the passing capabilities of the flexbone at all. Because for whatever reason, you thought that technical schools face the same recruiting limitations as service academies.

In hiring Johnson, you’ve essentially given up the recruiting war. Johnson barely recruits the three-star prospects Georgia offers scholarships to. To no other fault than our own, Georgia hasn’t taken advantage of that recruiting advantage within our state until Kirby Smart came back. But two schools have, and they’ve rode that to national championships since you hired Johnson; Alabama and Clemson.

Six of the commits in Clemson’s current no. 6 overall class are from Georgia. Three commits of Alabama’s no. 1 class are from Georgia. Not all of those kids who are choosing other schools over Georgia would choose Tech if y’all recruited more seriously. But maybe a couple would.

Since 2014, 23 Georgia players have signed with Clemson, including quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence. In that same span of time, Alabama signed seven players from the Peach State. That’s 30 players in the last five recruiting classes that chose not to sign with Georgia, but also barely considered Georgia Tech.

How would college football be different today if just four of those guys chose Tech over Clemson or Alabama? If Watson decided to stay home in the state of Georgia when he was snubbed by Mike Bobo? Would the Tigers have the 2016 National Championship? Would Alabama be as dominant today?

But when it comes to players who do stay in Georgia, the Dawgs go unopposed. Countless players who cited proximity to home as a major factor in their decision, didn’t have options to choose from thanks to Paul Johnson. It was Georgia, or leave the state.

Because of Johnson, Clean, Old Fashioned Hate is just an annoyance or a chore, like taking out trash. Recruits aren’t on the line. Playoff spots and rankings aren’t up for grabs. This rivalry includes two power-five schools from the most talent-dense state in the nation, yet it’s a complete disappointment to everyone outside of the state. But for Georgia football, we love the recruiting and talent monopoly you’ve surrender to use. For that, please keep Johnson forever.