Smart hires Scott Sinclair
Scott Sinclair, the strength and conditioning coach at Marshall University the past three seasons, has been named to the same role under new Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. Sinclair is replacing Mark Hocke, who was hired after the 2014 season to replace Joe Tereshinski. Ed Ellis, the head strength coach at the University of Central Florida since 2004, has been hired by Smart as the senior associate director of strength and conditioning.
So why are things so weird?
A trio of Georgia football players - receiver Malcolm Mitchell, tackle John Theus and outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins - played their last game for the Bulldogs this past Saturday. Each did his share in helping Georgia turn back Penn State 24-17 in the TaxSlayer Bowl, but now it's off to the National Football League and the unknowns that come with it.
"Later this year, hopefully I will be living somewhere that I have no control over," Theus said. "It's crazy to think about, because I don't want to grow up and pay bills. I like being a kid and having everything done for me in college."
Theus, Mitchell and Jenkins have started training for the next step, which takes place at the Senior Bowl on Jan. 30. They are the only Georgia players invited to the coveted game in Mobile, Ala., which Mitchell calls, "the first interview that I'll have with coaches at the next level."
The Senior Bowl will be followed by the NFL combine and a pro day in Athens, and then it's the countdown to the NFL draft, which will be held April 28-30 in Chicago.
"These are the moments that you've always asked for," Mitchell said. "Of course, you want to do well in college for your team, but as far as your professional career, this is the transition you've always waited for."
Said Theus: "It's definitely a nervous excitement. I'm excited about what's next, but I'm also nervous because I've never been through it. It transitions very fast, and there is no time to take a break or breathe."
According to updated projections by CBS, junior outside linebacker Leonard Floyd is pegged as the No. 23 overall prospect, which would make him the only Georgia player picked in the opening round. Floyd announced in late November that he was forgoing his senior season for the NFL.
CBS projects Theus as the No. 70 prospect and Jenkins No. 71, which would make them early third-round picks. Mitchell jumped up in the revised rankings to 149th overall, which would put him as an early fifth-round pick.
A fifth potential Georgia player who could be drafted, kicker Marshall Morgan, is rated No. 3 at his position and No. 235 overall by CBS. That would put him in the middle of the seventh (final) round.
Such projections are sure to change for the now-former Bulldogs, as is everything else in their new world.
"There is no more free gear for me," Jenkins said with a smile. "It's crazy, and it's bittersweet. I started packing my stuff and realized how crazy it was, because I'm not going back to Athens.
"I'm doing my own thing, and it's a weird feeling that I'm not used to."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.