Cootieship (noun) – An esoteric term limited to the recruiting community of the University of Georgia. The term references Quintavious “Cootie” Harrow who many recruitniks believe was offered a football scholarship by Georgia as an inducement to Harrow’s close friend and highly-ranked running back, Isaiah Crowell. The term implies that the cootieship recipient would not have been considered for an athletic grant-in-aid without the connection to the highly recruited student-athlete.
 
 
J.R. Reed is the son of a former NFL player, but many fans dismissed his transfer from Tulsa to UGA last summer as a cootieship to attract his cousin and five-star defensive back, Deangelo Gibbs. Playing at Tulsa, most Georgia fans had never heard of Reed. So when his name surfaced as a transfer candidate, fans looked for a recruiting explanation for the move. My guess is that Reed has never heard the term “cootieship,” and if recent comments from Kirby Smart are any indication, he certainly does not fit the definition.
 
 
Smart singled out Reed for his play during Saturday’s first scrimmage of spring, “Defensively, J.R. Reed had quite a few tackles…” (11:28 mark below)
 
 
When asked if Reed might be a contributor next fall, Smart replied:
 
 
“Absolutely he could have a role. Right now, he’s flashing speed, athleticism, toughness. I’m tough on him. I’m out there every day challenging this guy because I think he can be a really good player. He’s fast; he’s physical. He’s smart, but he hasn’t played many games, he hasn’t played in this system.”
 
“He’s striking people. He’s running hard; he’s playing hard. We saw some of that last year. It’s hard on the scout team because you’re not allowed all the time to knock them out and hit them, but he made a few flashes today, some plays, to where he could crack the starting lineup if he keeps doing what he’s doing.” (8:23 mark below)