Georgia has a 5-star day at National Signing Day

Usually when it comes to Georgia fans, they like to swear in the general direction of Mark Richt.

They blame him when the Bulldogs lose. They blame him when the Bulldog players get arrested. They blame him when the Bulldog players get injured.

But now, Georgia fans are actually happy with Mark Richt- especially after National Signing Day.

The Georgia coach landed No.14 player on the ESPN 300 list DE Lorenzo Carter (despite the close attentions of Florida, LSU and Florida State), which definitely got the fans buzzing – especially those who had been critical of Richt for not filling out his staff after defensive co-ordinator Todd Grantham decided to leave for Louisville.

The 6ft 5, 324lb player said: “The defense is going to be nasty, and I want to be part of it”, at his press conference. Some think he might even play OLB. Whatever happens, Jeremy Pruitt’s pretty happy.

Pruitt also recruited five secondary players – including one safety and four cornerbacks. A number of them might see action as close as the Clemson game bearing in mind the team’s current woes in that department.

Earlier in the day Richt added two five-star running backs in tailbacks Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. Both are thought out of as ‘five-star talent’. Chubb was described as having ‘Todd Gurley-type talent’. Georgia fans can only hope.

Not only that, but Richt also shored up his offensive line with Kendall Baker, Dyshon Sims and Jake Edwards, as well as tight ends Jeb Blazevich and Hunter Atkinson. Atkinson committed to Cincinnati before he was recruited by UGA.

And also, the Athens media have now christened a new ‘return specialist’ (if returning WR/punt returner Malcolm Mitchell wasn’t enough) in Isaiah McKenzie.

Offensive co-ordinator Mike Bobo said: “His No. 1 job is gonna try to be that punt returner, kick returner for us….It could be the difference in one ballgame, and obviously help us on offense if we can sometimes just get 10 yards on the punt return. That’s the first down for the offense. And field position is so crucial, it sometimes doesn’t matter how effective you are as an offense, the percentages go down if the field position isn’t in your favor. It’s hard to go 80 yards on anybody, I don’t care who you’re playing.”

The Bulldogs ranked 8th in the National Rivals Rankings.