Another big recruit makes the right call for (in my imagination) the right reason

Good news out of Calhoun High School, as rising-senior wide receiver Da 'Rick (I'm assuming that's pronounced "Derek?") Rogers commits early to play for the Bulldogs in 2010.  At 6' 3", 206 lbs., he continues the happy trend of physically-dominant receivers signing on in the wake of A.J. Green's success last season.   

Initial report found at the following link: 

http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2009/06/09/top-receiver-rogers-choose-dogs/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting

The beauty of this is that he chose UGA over the high-riding Gators.  I love it when players pick UGA over schools with more successful football programs, because it makes me feel like the city of Athens and the campus itself won them over; like maybe, on one of his official visits, Rogers saw some of the same intrinsic charm I see everytime I walk down Clayton or across North Campus.  As a fan, it gives me a sense of security that the city itself might be our most enduring recruiting tool.  Rodney Garners will come and go, but Athens will always be here.

In truth, he might have chosen UGA for any number of reasons, not the least of which being the high likelihood of immediate playing time on a still-thin receiving corps.  But until Da 'Rick tells me otherwise, I think I'll go on believing he signed on because he saw the seamless interweaving of a beautiful, sprawling, classically-Southern campus with a vibrant, unique, classically-collegiate town, and decided he just had to be a part of it.

It's not THAT far-fetched.  The alternative was Gainesville, after all.

Dropping Anchor

It has taken nearly four years, untold thousands of miles, numerous explosions, and a few too many days of hospitalization, but I am once again a full-time Georgia resident.  That very fact has sustained me through many dark days.  I could needlessly insert some sort of cliche about not appreciating where you're from until circumstances carry you elsewhere, or drag out a tired Lewis Grizzard quote about nailing one's feet to the Georgia earth, but why bother?  Anyone who has ever left home knows what it is to miss home, and, consequently, knows what it feels like to love home anew.

That being said and out of the way, 88 days until kick-off.