2024 Football Portal

bobongo

Helluva Engineer
Messages
7,753
Goodness gracious! If this young man is not starting then we have nothing to worry about but I haven't seen anyone that would keep him out of the starting lineup. He is pretty damn good. I'll take his type of 3 stars coming out of HS all day.
Height was a solid 4-star out of high school:

 

SOWEGA Jacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,114
This is why I’ve been saying from day 1 that the portal is the biggest tool to ever land in the lap of GT. GT has been hosed with every NCAA decision for decades because they all hurt real schools like GT who have actual academic standards. When I first grasp the concept of the portal, I quickly realized that with the number of studs in this state who are whined and dined and sign elsewhere as 17/18 year olds, that GT could become a welcoming home spot. And it has proven to be that way. Sure, we lost Gibbs and a few others who thought the grass was greener, but we have never had this many 4 stars on our roster - EVER.

The key for GT football is having smart coaches off the field who can parlay the rules to attract players back to Atlanta. And yes, we also need game day coaches like Buster who can use our assets properly. Allowing JamaAl Haynes to get a looksy at RB shows we have smart coaches. Most coaches would not have tried that.

This FSU is shaping up to be one of those program defining games. We are right on the cusp of changing our perception and bursting onto the real scene. Unfortunately, GT has generally lost those type of games, ala Penn State. I know we have the weapons. We need the OLine to simply Will the win ala the last Orange Bowl.
 

swampsting

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,881
Height committed to Miami over us, then made a late switch to Auburn, IIRC.
Saw him play in high school in the playoffs. He looked the part. He looked to be 6-5, 215 at that point. But to be honest, he wasn't even close to being the best player on his team. That was the Brahma bull RB Dublin had that Western Kentucky turned into a DE.
He looked like a beast walking on to the field. I just don't recall him doing a lot in the game I saw him.
 

Jacket05

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
733

LongforDodd

LatinxBreakfastTacos
Messages
3,265
Height was a solid 4-star out of high school:

What I saw looking him up showed 3 star rating. I don't remember where that was but his USC film looked pretty dam good. The link preview says he's 6-5. Open the link, it lists him as 6-3. Who knows what 247 has going on to be that off with his stats, And perhaps others.
 

techdad

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
104
I don’t know the answer to your question but it reminds me of a conversation we’ve had for at least the last twenty years in Tech circles. Good defensive linemen are scarce to begin with and among those very few seem cut out for the riggers of being a student athlete at Tech.
For some of these guys it has nothing to do with academics. Barton came from Furman which is a high academic school. Also, some of these guys were released by the new Defensive coaches.
 

Billygoat91

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
487
For some of these guys it has nothing to do with academics. Barton came from Furman which is a high academic school. Also, some of these guys were released by the new Defensive coaches.
I think the academics argument is not going to be all that common in the future. This is just the new norm in college football. GT is not the only school with new transfers leaving right away. Kids are looking for either playing time or a check. For a guy like Barton, he probably just wants to play ball and start somewhere. Nothing wrong with that.
 

Tech Lawyer

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
217
This is why I’ve been saying from day 1 that the portal is the biggest tool to ever land in the lap of GT. GT has been hosed with every NCAA decision for decades because they all hurt real schools like GT who have actual academic standards. When I first grasp the concept of the portal, I quickly realized that with the number of studs in this state who are whined and dined and sign elsewhere as 17/18 year olds, that GT could become a welcoming home spot. And it has proven to be that way. Sure, we lost Gibbs and a few others who thought the grass was greener, but we have never had this many 4 stars on our roster - EVER.

The key for GT football is having smart coaches off the field who can parlay the rules to attract players back to Atlanta. And yes, we also need game day coaches like Buster who can use our assets properly. Allowing JamaAl Haynes to get a looksy at RB shows we have smart coaches. Most coaches would not have tried that.

This FSU is shaping up to be one of those program defining games. We are right on the cusp of changing our perception and bursting onto the real scene. Unfortunately, GT has generally lost those type of games, ala Penn State. I know we have the weapons. We need the OLine to simply Will the win ala the last Orange Bowl.
I totally agree with you on FSU of having the potential for being program defining game. Everyone will have them as a top ten team entering the season. The reality is that FSU will lose at least (4) games next year with an average schedule. The FSU media has come to the conclusion that this year's team isn't close to the 2023 team. They will have excellent edge rushers and very good DBs. After that, DJ can throw the deep ball and the hope is that their run game will be better. Defending their offense (who will be without their OC due to NCAA sanctions) should be fairly manageable. I trust Buster to figure out how to get us 30 points and we will have a major upset before all of college football. I will say that we have many, many tough opponents left and every week will be challenging. For example Miami, NCST, ND an VT ( the Hokies looked good in their spring game. ) The first game can put us on the map , but we will have a challenging season ahead.
 

apatriot1776

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
730
Don’t blame Barton at all for leaving. Kid is a RS Senior and only has one shot to get enough tape to maybe make the league. If anything it’s odd he came in the first place if he knew he needed to compete for the spot.
 

Bogey

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,789
I totally agree with you on FSU of having the potential for being program defining game. Everyone will have them as a top ten team entering the season. The reality is that FSU will lose at least (4) games next year with an average schedule. The FSU media has come to the conclusion that this year's team isn't close to the 2023 team. They will have excellent edge rushers and very good DBs. After that, DJ can throw the deep ball and the hope is that their run game will be better. Defending their offense (who will be without their OC due to NCAA sanctions) should be fairly manageable. I trust Buster to figure out how to get us 30 points and we will have a major upset before all of college football. I will say that we have many, many tough opponents left and every week will be challenging. For example Miami, NCST, ND an VT ( the Hokies looked good in their spring game. ) The first game can put us on the map , but we will have a challenging season ahead.
We should not underestimate Norvell at all. This will be a very tough game uss.
 

SOWEGA Jacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,114
FSU will be a tough game and I would favor them to win right now until GT shows we can win these type of games.

This game is more about GT. We’ve had a handful of games since the 1990 season that could have changed our program trajectory. The first was Penn State. We looked awful and instantly lost ALL momentum that 1990 gave us. After we crushed Miss St in the OB we came out and had a craptastic season which ultimately ended Johnson’s tenure after a multi season slide.

Right now, news regarding GT football has been trending positively which leads to better recruiting and more positive media exposure. A win against FSU would give us a week 1 storyline in the national press especially with the ACC GOR turmoil. But if we lose, we will instantly lose everyone but us diehards as GT just being GT. If we come out and play smash mouthed tough football against FSU where Jamaal and King just run it down their throat then I won’t be worried about other teams. Sure, we’ll lose some but if we can do like we did a lot last season more consistently we’ll win a fair share of games and have the media on our side.
 

Tech Lawyer

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
217
FSU will be a tough game and I would favor them to win right now until GT shows we can win these type of games.

This game is more about GT. We’ve had a handful of games since the 1990 season that could have changed our program trajectory. The first was Penn State. We looked awful and instantly lost ALL momentum that 1990 gave us. After we crushed Miss St in the OB we came out and had a craptastic season which ultimately ended Johnson’s tenure after a multi season slide.

Right now, news regarding GT football has been trending positively which leads to better recruiting and more positive media exposure. A win against FSU would give us a week 1 storyline in the national press especially with the ACC GOR turmoil. But if we lose, we will instantly lose everyone but us diehards as GT just being GT. If we come out and play smash mouthed tough football against FSU where Jamaal and King just run it down their throat then I won’t be worried about other teams. Sure, we’ll lose some but if we can do like we did a lot last season more consistently we’ll win a fair share of games and have the media on our side.
I agree with you on almost everything. I am certain Coach Key's message to the players is worry about GT. That being said, given the two teams right now GT should win. Number one, I have confidence in our offense. Two, I am not at the FSU practice field, but Coach Norvell does offer more media accessibility than most schools. They have seen almost everything. You can hear the FSU media concern in so many areas including DJ. Their vision for the year is best described as being "hopeful." I hope that FSU continues to receive the hype when the football magazines come out later in May. And on the other side of the coin, you watch- GT's OL will be rated 9th in the conference. Our receivers and RBs will be ranked 7th. The perception is starting to change on Haynes King. The whole thing is clear to me. We are going to win in Dublin. As a side note, I wonder if the Ramblin Wreck Club has considered bringing the RW over to Dublin on a ship? Wouldn't that be something if it rolls out on the field? Talk about an intro!
 

mtodd30

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
849
That Safety from Cincy - Top 50 player in GA in his recruiting class is always a good sign.

I don’t know how good Cincy was last year, but definitely not as good as when Sauce and Desmond Ridder were there. Maybe wanted to move up to a Power 5 program.

Brooks is gonna be done after this year, I bet he smells playing time! I’ve been worried about the safety position when he leaves, but now we might have a good replacement for next year, and some depth for this year
 
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