signing day helmet
Georgia Bulldogs UGA logoATHENS, Ga. -- There is an explanation behind every name, and Chucks Amaechi has a good one.
The new Georgia inside linebacker's full first name is Chukwuma, and it's Nigerian. Amaechi's father was born and raised in Nigeria, and his 6-foot-3, 220-pound son racked up 18.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks this past season at Arizona Western Junior College.
"When I was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck four times," Amaechi said Wednesday afternoon. "They said I wasn't supposed to live, so Chukwuma means 'Only God knows.' My dad says only God knows why I didn't die on that hospital bed."
Amaechi, one of eight early Bulldogs enrollees, played at Westview High School in Avondale, Ariz. He signed with North Dakota State in 2012 and redshirted, and he played as a redshirt freshman at Phoenix College, which makes Athens his fourth locale in as many years.
His first name is pronounced "Chukes," which he said has led to a lot of confusion.
Weathering the storm
Georgia's consensus top-10 class came about despite the December departures of offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and offensive line coach Will Friend to Colorado State.
Bobo was replaced by St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, while Friend was replaced by McNeese State line coach Rob Sale.
"When you lose coaches, you lose relationships," Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt said. "You lose time spent, and that certainly came into play, but Coach Schottenheimer and Coach Sale did an excellent job of coming in and getting to know everybody and rallying."
Said Sale: "The honeymoon is over for me, and it was over when I was on the road from Maryland to New Jersey and back. I would be evaluating, and someone would come in and ask if I had watched so and so, and I was like 'Which helmet was that, the white one with the red letters?'"
Two late additions
The Bulldogs added two signees Wednesday who were not Bulldogs public commitments at any point during the recruiting process -- Atlanta defensive tackle DaQuan Hawkins and East Point defensive back Kirby Choates.
"Those guys had been on our radar for a while," Richt said. "DaQuan is as good-looking as any of them, and in the beginning we were thinking there was no doubt he could play on offense. The more time we spent watching him doing his thing, you could see that he was going to be a great defensive lineman.
"Kirby is a tough, athletic kid who has loved Georgia for a long time, and when the opportunity came to get him, he accepted that offer, and we're glad that he did."
Odds and ends
Tae Crowder, who was committed to Georgia Southern at the start of the week, could play fullback and/or tight end, which would be similar to Quayvon Hicks. ... Richt said the increase in cost of attendance for student-athletes did not come up much in recruiting due to the adjustments being so hard to define. ... Sale said new signees Pat Allen and DeVondre Seymour could each start out at tackle, while Sage Hardin could get a first look at center. ... Richt to a fan when asked about Seattle's final play in Sunday's Super Bowl: "I've called too many plays and made too many mistakes to point fingers."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.