Through the years, Bill Belichick has always leaned on a collection of college coaches like Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Greg Schiano to provide NFL-ready prospects. It appears Mark Richt is this year’s model.
Honestly, if the 2018 Patriots end up winning it all, the University of Miami coach will deserve some sort of acknowledgment for his role in New England’s roster-building process. He coached and/or recruited six current Patriots as collegians: Isaiah Wynn, Sony Michel, David Andrews, Malcolm Mitchell and John Atkins all played for Richt when he was at Georgia, while Braxton Berrios spent the last two seasons with Richt at Miami.
Wynn, Michel, Andrews, Mitchell and Atkins were teammates on the 2014 Georgia team -- in all, there are five ex-Bulldogs on the current roster, tied for most on the team. (That's compared the four current Rutgers' alums.) On Thursday, Andrews was asked if this makes Georgia the new Rutgers.
“Is Georgia the new Rutgers?” he replied with a smile. “Oh, I’m going to have to talk to (Devin McCourty) and (Duron Harmon) about that and all those guys. We might be now. We’ll have to see.”
This week, Richt reflected on what made that 2014 Georgia group special, both on and off the field.
“Those guys, we got a chance to recruit them, and when you’re going out and recruiting, you’re looking for a certain thing,” Richt explained.
“I mean, you want a guy with a skill set where he’s able to play a position, but at the same time, the academics and the off-field things all have to check out. We care what kind of person they are as teammates. We want to bring in good football players, but we also want guys who truly love the game, and are good men as well. Those guys all fit that bill.”
The 2014 Georgia team finished 10-3, and ninth in the final AP poll. Andrews was the starting center on that team while Wynn played 11 games on the offensive line as a true freshman. In addition, Mitchell had 31 catches for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Atkins (who was signed as an undrafted free agent this spring by the Patriots) was a backup defensive tackle who played five games and had nine tackles in his first year as a collegian.
And Michel, who finished with 410 rushing yards on 64 carries (6.4 yards per carry) and five rushing touchdowns as a freshman, was part of a dynamite backfield that included Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb.
“I thought he was a great player,” Andrews said Thursday when he was asked about what stood out about Michel that season. “I think being a senior and watching freshmen come in that work hard and things like that, those kinds of attributes stick out a little bit more than on the field.”
Congratulations to Sony Michel! The newest New England Patriot!
— Mark Richt (@MarkRicht) April 27, 2018
As for Wynn, Andrews had the chance to line up alongside him that year, and he made a considerable impression.
“Over the years watching him, I thought he was just very gifted and it just kind of came natural to him from what I saw. I’m no scout or coach, but I just always thought he was a really good player,” Andrews said. “Isaiah’s got a great spirit, a great smile. He’s just laughing, having fun, but he’s very good at knowing when it’s time to go to work, and you could see that when he was a freshman and things like that.”
“I love him,” Richt said of Wynn. “He was a guy who you knew wasn't the prototypical tackle size, as far as height. But he’s strong enough and smart enough to play anywhere. I think he can play any of the five positions along the offensive line. I mean, not many guys can do that. Most of the time, guys are either a guard/center type or a tackle type. Not all five. But Isaiah has the skill set and intelligence to play all five.
“I really believe he could make a great center. Now, they probably don’t want to do that because they already have David Andrews there, but Isaiah could do it if needed. He’s just a quiet guy who wants to show up and work — a good, humble man. He’s as good as they come.”
Congratulations to Isaiah Wynn! The newest New England Patriot!
— Mark Richt (@MarkRicht) April 27, 2018
In addition, Richt spent the last two seasons at Miami where he had the chance to coach Berrios and said the slot receiver has a lot of those same characteristics.
“I know Bill well enough to know what he likes in players,” said Richt. “And I can tell you that Braxton has those sorts of traits they look for.”
In the end, only time will tell what sort of legacy this group will be able to carve out on the NFL level. But based on the early returns from Andrews and Mitchell -- and the potential in this year's draft class -- it wouldn't be surprising to see the Patriots rely on Richt more and more in the years to come.
“Sometimes, people have success with one guy,” Richt said, “and they look at it and say ‘They must be doing something right there.’ I guess some of it is that Bill just took a look at our system at Georgia and Miami and realized what kind of guy they’re going to get if they take some of those players. They’re going to get as good a teammate as possible.”