Redshirt report - Offense

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
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12,734
Ty Griffin - Ty is a extremely athletic player and has a lot of upside...the question is where on the field will he make his mark. He has played scout team QB most of the year and gave the defense a good look...he is more athletic than people realize. I think he will potentially get moved over to defense where he can play DB...I think the QB depth is too good and he can find the field quicker at DB. He is about 6' and weighs around 190 as of now.

Donovan Wilson - He is in the mold of a thicker running back...he is well built and fights for tough yards. He came in early last year and got a little bit of a head start....He is at A back but is one of those guys that can play either spot. I am hoping he sticks at A back as of now....He had a good year on the scout team and showed that he is a strong runner. Coaches like his talent and think he could be a great short yardage back...I would compare him to someone like Synjyn Days.

Ricky Jeune - Jeune came in strong and showed a lot early on in Fall practice...after that he quickly hit a wall of sorts and was not able to break the two deep so the coaches decided to redshirt him. He has shown a lot of things to like during his redshirt and I have been told he made some pretty good catches that caught some peoples eyes this year...he is working on his route running but overall he has showed good instincts and hands. He still has some work to do but he is someone that is likely going to get a lot of playing time as a RS Sophomore.

Antonio Messick - He came to Tech just about as raw as they can come...he came from a high school team that did not pass the ball a lot and so he did not get a lot of reps in the passing game....He also came in very skinny. He is 6'3 so his frame makes him look even smaller...The thing to like about Messick is his attitude on the field...he is a physical player and gives his all blocking. He may not be there size wise yet but he can still block due to his mindset. I think he needs more time getting polished before he sees the field but his blocking may earn him time faster than anticipated.

Shamire Devine - The largest recruit in the last couple of years by far...Shamire came in way out shape and has probably lost near 60 pounds...I think he is in the 330 range right now. Even with all that weight on him he almost earned playing time this year....he has a skill set that you just can't teach. He has such quick feet and moves unreal for a guy his size. He will have to keep working on staying in shape and his pad level...but he has the potential in front of him to have a very good career. He has the chance to earn a lot of playing time next year...he is a very important guy moving forward.

Chris Griffin - I posted last year that Chris was my favorite signee and what a high ceiling he had...well he showed that potential during his redshirt year. Chris is the absolute perfect tackle for this system...I swear if you wanted to create a tackle for the option then this is him. Chris picked up the offense quick in his redshirt year as he ran a similar offense in HS and added some weight...he is in good shape and the coaches are sky high on him. He is expected to be the starter come week 1 next year....he is someone that we will see a lot of in the upcoming years...one coach told me that if he had to compare him to someone it would be Andrew Gardner.

I expect to see a lot of Griffin and Devine next year.

Wilson could earn some snaps as a backup A back.

Jeune will be fighting Autry, Waller, Smelter, Summers and Henry for playing time...I expect him to be the 5th guy.

Same goes for Messick but I think Jeune will be higher than him.

Griffin I expect to be a backup.


I will do a defensive report at a later date...might be a week or two before I get to it.
 

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
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Griffin could be a A back...I just think he would translate well to a DB and that is where other programs were interested in him at.
 

ATL1

Helluva Engineer
Messages
7,377
I'm thinking Shamire will start next year.
Could be some interesting battles in the trenches for spots next year. Here's to hoping we get the dominant OLine we've been promised for two seasons now.

Donovan is too big not to get a look as a Bback and be cross trained.

Love the update Eric Merry Christmas. .
 

GTonTop88

Helluva Engineer
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Gibson, GA
Two redshirt freshman on the line and very high ceilings for both of them, could be a strong turning point for this offense for the future. Merry Christmas everybody!!
 

CornerBlitz

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
160
Ty Griffin - Ty is a extremely athletic player and has a lot of upside...the question is where on the field will he make his mark. He has played scout team QB most of the year and gave the defense a good look...he is more athletic than people realize. I think he will potentially get moved over to defense where he can play DB...I think the QB depth is too good and he can find the field quicker at DB. He is about 6' and weighs around 190 as of now.

Donovan Wilson - He is in the mold of a thicker running back...he is well built and fights for tough yards. He came in early last year and got a little bit of a head start....He is at A back but is one of those guys that can play either spot. I am hoping he sticks at A back as of now....He had a good year on the scout team and showed that he is a strong runner. Coaches like his talent and think he could be a great short yardage back...I would compare him to someone like Synjyn Days.

Ricky Jeune - Jeune came in strong and showed a lot early on in Fall practice...after that he quickly hit a wall of sorts and was not able to break the two deep so the coaches decided to redshirt him. He has shown a lot of things to like during his redshirt and I have been told he made some pretty good catches that caught some peoples eyes this year...he is working on his route running but overall he has showed good instincts and hands. He still has some work to do but he is someone that is likely going to get a lot of playing time as a RS Sophomore.

Antonio Messick - He came to Tech just about as raw as they can come...he came from a high school team that did not pass the ball a lot and so he did not get a lot of reps in the passing game....He also came in very skinny. He is 6'3 so his frame makes him look even smaller...The thing to like about Messick is his attitude on the field...he is a physical player and gives his all blocking. He may not be there size wise yet but he can still block due to his mindset. I think he needs more time getting polished before he sees the field but his blocking may earn him time faster than anticipated.

Shamire Devine - The largest recruit in the last couple of years by far...Shamire came in way out shape and has probably lost near 60 pounds...I think he is in the 330 range right now. Even with all that weight on him he almost earned playing time this year....he has a skill set that you just can't teach. He has such quick feet and moves unreal for a guy his size. He will have to keep working on staying in shape and his pad level...but he has the potential in front of him to have a very good career. He has the chance to earn a lot of playing time next year...he is a very important guy moving forward.

Chris Griffin - I posted last year that Chris was my favorite signee and what a high ceiling he had...well he showed that potential during his redshirt year. Chris is the absolute perfect tackle for this system...I swear if you wanted to create a tackle for the option then this is him. Chris picked up the offense quick in his redshirt year as he ran a similar offense in HS and added some weight...he is in good shape and the coaches are sky high on him. He is expected to be the starter come week 1 next year....he is someone that we will see a lot of in the upcoming years...one coach told me that if he had to compare him to someone it would be Andrew Gardner.

I expect to see a lot of Griffin and Devine next year.

Wilson could earn some snaps as a backup A back.

Jeune will be fighting Autry, Waller, Smelter, Summers and Henry for playing time...I expect him to be the 5th guy.

Same goes for Messick but I think Jeune will be higher than him.

Griffin I expect to be a backup.


I will do a defensive report at a later date...might be a week or two before I get to it.

Any idea on Wilson's speed? I would love to see a set with Hunt-Days and another good size A-Back, similar to the Jones-Allen-Dwyer sets. Jones played larger than his size and AA was a beast on the edge with speed to take it to the house. Just ask FSU.
 

4shotB

Helluva Engineer
Retired Staff
Messages
4,616
nothing to add other than I want to thank you for this report and specifically for the work that you do to manage this site. it is really nice to see a place that is so focused on analysis and discussion about football. Merry Christmas.
 

GT_B

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
640
I am very glad this site is growing, GTsports talk was a decent place to talk GT football, but the activity level there has slowed, you create a thread and there's only 5 posts like 3 days later. Stingtalk is 90% sarcasm / personal jabs and 10% actual football talk, you spend more time shuffling through 20 posts of personal attacks and failed attempts at humor to get to 1 comment of actual football knowledge, which is really tiresome. This board has a ton of good football knowledge and Eric does a great job with updates on recruiting. Keep up the good work Eric, I really enjoy this board.
 

Oldgoldandwhite

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,628
I am very glad this site is growing, GTsports talk was a decent place to talk GT football, but the activity level there has slowed, you create a thread and there's only 5 posts like 3 days later. Stingtalk is 90% sarcasm / personal jabs and 10% actual football talk, you spend more time shuffling through 20 posts of personal attacks and failed attempts at humor to get to 1 comment of actual football knowledge, which is really tiresome. This board has a ton of good football knowledge and Eric does a great job with updates on recruiting. Keep up the good work Eric, I really enjoy this board.

It seems that the two main GT sports boards, almost every thread gets derailed after a few post with their version of comedy and innuendo.
 

GT_B

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
640
It seems that the two main GT sports boards, almost every thread gets derailed after a few post with their version of comedy and innuendo.

yes...which is annoying. Typically its the same 5 or so suspects that derail a thread and try to troll everyone on the board...but those same 5 never get the boot, just gain VIP status the more they do it...
 

OldJacketFan

Helluva Engineer
Messages
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yes...which is annoying. Typically its the same 5 or so suspects that derail a thread and try to troll everyone on the board...but those same 5 never get the boot, just gain VIP status the more they do it...

One thing you'll find here is that Eric and the guys aren't about to tolerate trolls who wander in. It's one of the main reasons I enjoy the SWARM :) There are going to be disagreements when you get this many folks but, for the most, the disagreements are kept within reasonable bounds.
 

OldJacketFan

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Eric, couple of questions for you. One, what's Donovan's top end speed? Is the type of back that can take it to the house as well as getting the tough yards? (2) Any idea what Chris' weight is now? IIRC he hit campus in the 260Lb range.
 

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
Messages
12,734
Eric, couple of questions for you. One, what's Donovan's top end speed? Is the type of back that can take it to the house as well as getting the tough yards? (2) Any idea what Chris' weight is now? IIRC he hit campus in the 260Lb range.

Decent speed but he is not a speedster...I would say he is a little faster than Sims.

I do not know his weight...I would guess 280-290..I will check with him.
 
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