Butler signs with UGA, and that's OK.

As you've no doubt heard, K/P Drew Butler of Peachtree Ridge high school, the son of legendary Georgia kicker Kevin Butler has given a verbal commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs.

Buck Billue pontificated over this last week (in a commentary which has, interestingly, been pulled from the 680 The Fan website less than a week after appearing), essentially arguing that Coach Richt should offer scholarships to the kids of former players because of their loyalty to the program. Buck is wrong about this, and a lot of other things. But you already knew that.

However I think offering Drew Butler a scholarship was not wrong. I was going to write about why, but Paul already did it for me, and was far more persuasive than I (or Buck Billue) was ever going to be. The upshot is that Drew Butler is not to blame for Andy Bailey's troubles, anymore than Kregg Lumpkin is to blame for Jasper Sanks. Besides, everyone knows that Jim Donnan is the one to blame for Jasper Sanks.

I would go one step further and say that Butler comes with an added insurance policy in the form of his father. Bailey's main problem is his inconsistency, which for kickers is generally a result of breakdowns in form occasioned by mental breakdowns. Butler will have one of the greatest clutch kickers in NFL history only a phone call away to help him work through the mental aspects of the kicking game. There's simply no way this is a bad thing.

Andy Bailey will come off scholarship after this year, as will Brandon Coutu, meaning there's only one year where we're overallocated at kicker in terms of scholarships. In return for that we potentially fill a hole for the next four years at a position which cost us dearly this year when Coutu went down. If Butler falls on his face, however, I don't think Coach Richt would offer Jesus a kicking scholarship from here on out.

Rodney Garner: "I don't care who's son you are. Our kickers walk on, practice hard, and wash Mudcat Elmore's sweet ride when told to. We'll talk scholarships next year."

Ted Kian also notes that Butler is trying to recruit teammate Cameron Heyward. I don't know if he'll succeed, but it can't hurt. If I thought offering Butler meant we won't have a scholarship to give a talented defensive tackle (Cam Heyward, por exemplo), I would be upset. But that's not the case. We've whiffed so many times down the stretch in the past month that I'm starting to wonder if people think Rodney Garner's an agent of Al Queda (this is ridiculous of course, because we all know that Trooper Taylor is the only Al Queda sympathizer in the SEC). We've got one to give, and it fills a glaring need for 2008 and beyond. Good move, Coach.

This commitment also provides me an opportunity to reference one of the great tomes of 20th century American literature. And that's never bad.

Lewis Grizzard: Never a fan of kickers, with one major exception.