Clinging to hope

Sunday morning I sat eyes half open, feasting reluctantly on a bowl of Special K Protein cereal and a half cup of skim milk, when I saw something on SportsCenter very telling: Bowling highlights. Is there any surer sign that football season is nearing a close and that we are about to enter the dismal two month period where football fans get Giddy over National Signing Day and the NFL draft.

Usually this is a time of minor depression for me but this year is so different. Thank the Lord that football season is almost over so we can forget this year happened. I should give props to my Atlanta Falcons. Although the " One and Done" playoff performance was very disappointing, they had a magnificent season and I couldn't be happier where this program is going.

However, I'm a Dawg fan and perhaps to a level that isn't considered "healthy" at times. This past season hurt like coming home to find your spouse smoking a crack pipe -Shocking, disappointing and coming to the end of a rope. I have see-sawed back and forth on whether or not I want to see Mark Richt gone. More often than not, gone is what I felt, although I have grown to appreciate and admire him over the years. Obviously he's going to get a chance to turn things around and this is the right thing to do but there is MUCH to answer.

So, as a loyal but deeply hurt fan what is there to do other than hope. It seems MUCH of our immediate turn around is all banking on recruiting. But, if the "Dream Team" comes to fruition, the IS much to hope for and it is looking good. We landed two HUGE recruits from Valdosta last week. Over the next two weeks we learn a lot about our fate. The three must have recruits are still available and I'm telling you I think we are going to get all three:

John Jenkins
Isaiah Crowell 
Ray Drew

These Three are key to making it happen. We have a lot of other awesome recruits coming. But these are the three we need to make IMMEDIATE impact. I say now I think we get all three. I sense the perfect storm brewing in Athens.  I watch recruiting and National Signing Day with great optimism. This is my Superbowl. This is my hope as a Bulldog faithful.

One of our Valdosta recruits has been burning up Twitter this weekend. While it's good to see him jump head first into being a Dawg, some of his tweets are less than inspirational and immediately cause concern over behavior as he isn't concerned about perception. Let's hope it's piss and vinegar and not a future arrest by campus police in Athens.

John Jenkins is indeed the missing link. He seems to be a good kid who appreciates his position and is handling it maturely. I can't wait to see him blow up offensive lines while wearing the red and black.

Isaiah Crowell is a wild card in recruiting and development. He is without a doubt a game changer and leaking talent. Does he have potential to get into trouble? he reminds me of a young Ricky Williams. The hair may have something to do with that.

Ray Drew is a born leader. With hardcore Christian values and incredible work ethic on top of being a physical freak, this guy has leadership potential right out of the can. I think he will set a great example for his teammates.

We get these recruits and we BETTER make something amazing come from it. We will see. We as fans can only hope. The guys gotta get to work!