The Daily Recap: Branson Robinson 'leaning toward' enrolling early

Here is the July 23 edition of The Daily Recap presented by JFQ Lending.

Exclusive interview

Fresh off his trip to SEC Media Days, Jed May booked it from Hoover, Ala. to Mississippi to speak with running back Branson Robinson (Germantown/Madison, MIss.), who committed to Georgia on Thursday.

Robinson was asked if he has decided on enrolling early.

“I haven’t made my mind up to leave early or not,” Robinson said. “I’m leaning toward leaving early in December. I have all the credits so I can leave if I choose to.”

Robinson said he’s been all about Georgia since the program offered him a scholarship. Throughout the process he developed a strong rapport with both head coach Kirby Smart and running backs coach Dell McGee.

Robinson said he’s looking forward to getting to Georgia—whenever that may be—to begin his collegiate career.

“I’m ready to go down there and show everybody what I can do.”

How Georgia beat Tennessee for Robinson

Robinson said his final decision came down between two schools.

Georgia’s top contender for Robinson was Tennessee. Robinson explained why, in the end, he chose the Bulldogs over the Volunteers.

"It really came down to two -- Georgia and Tennessee -- and both were good options, but when I got down to everything and looked at the pros and cons, there were too many risks at Tennessee and too much talent, too many playmakers and too good of an O-line at Georgia," Robinson said. "To be successful in the SEC, the hardest conference, a running back needs just a little bit of help."

For quite some time, Georgia was the leader for Robinson, making his decision not too surprising. Helping to cement his decision was what he experienced on his visit to Georgia.

"They answered all the questions we had coming in on the visit," Robinson said. "That played a big part because we sat down with (offensive coordinator Todd) Monken, we talked about how they'd use me in their scheme, how they'd use me in space and how they have the right people in place for me to be successful, to maximize my skills and my talents."

The moment Robinson committed to Georgia

Reacting to Robinson’s commitment

Georgia is still close to Pittman’s heart

Although he’s entering his second season as Arkansas’ head coach, Sam Pittman said he still holds his time as Georgia’s offensive line coach in high regard.

“A lot of it is about the program, the plans, the practice schedule. I'm not speaking for Coach Smart. I'm sure he took a lot of that from when he left Alabama with Nick Saban. I love the practice schedule like that,” Pittman said. “The relentless pursuit of athletes is what Kirby Smart does. It's fourth and a half-inch every day at the University of Georgia. Therefore, that's why he's done such a nice job of coaching and such a nice job of recruiting.”

Bulldogs in broadcasting

Patrick Garbin wrote about the strong trend in sports broadcasting that features numerous former Georgia athletes who have gone into the field.

Among those is former quarterback D.J. Shockley, who spoke to Garbin about what motivated him to think about becoming a broadcaster as a post-football career option. After working as an analyst for the SEC Network, ACC Network and others, Shockley recently accepted a position to be the weekday sports anchor at FOX 5.

“When I was at Georgia, I’d see some college athletes being interviewed on television, and I’d think to myself that I needed to be better than that when speaking to the media. I wanted to make sure, when a microphone was in front of my face, I was presenting something of substance,” Shockley said. “That’s why I decided to major in Speech Communications. And that’s when I began thinking I could possibly go into broadcasting when I was done playing football.”

Former quarterback Aaron Murray also realized broadcasting could work for him after football while he was in college.

“Obviously, as a Georgia quarterback, I did a lot of interviews and was in front of a camera a lot. So, I developed a comfort level,” Murray said. “I’ve always loved football—loved talking about the sport, breaking down film. And I looked at broadcasting as maybe a way to stay around the game after I had finished playing. So, I kind of knew during my time at Georgia that broadcasting could be a great opportunity for me down the road.”

Hmm...

Outside the Vent

Dani Dennis-Sutton committed to Penn State over Georgia.

Auburn’s Bo Nix on adding Demetris Robertson to the Tigers.

Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz brought a lot of humor to SEC Media Days.

Jim Harbaugh: ‘We’re going to do it or die trying.’

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