A few notes from practice Tuesday

[Longestday]

CPJ always de-hyped Vad. Every mention of Vad by a reporter was followed by CPJ saying "and we have this guy JT...."

 

[ramblinvak]

I hate to turn this into a Vad and CPJ thread again, but I think CPJ's praise of Vad came at the beginning when Vad's athletic ability was shining. As soon as it became clear that Vad wasnt buying into the system, we saw CPJ's praise start to diminish for Vad. I fully do believe that if Vad had just bought into the system he would have been as successful, if not more, than his predecessors. I never thought it was ability for Vad, I think he always wanted to be a prototypical passer which is not what this offense needs.

 

[Yoda]

Vad wasn't quick enough, period

 

[33jacket]

There is only one athlete attending Tech that I made a flat statement that he was going to be a star as soon as I saw him play a game, and that was Mark Price in basketball. I expect a lot of it was his schooling by his Dad who was a basketball coach, but it was obvious to me that Mark Price had all the moves and the smarts to go with them. It was his first game at Tech, but he already knew what to do on the court, and the talent was there.

Many of us said that about Calvin his first practice on the flats as a true freshman...it was obvious quickly.

 

[swampsting]

CPJ is the quintessential dehyper. If he says a player is "pretty good" or "he did ok" it really means he's a beast.

Yup.

 

[wingsrlevel]

Vad wasn't quick enough, period

I think he was quick enough. I don't think he was physical enough.

 

[Longestday]

Vad was quick and physical at times... speed of decision ability was the biggest issue.

 

[ramblinvak]

Vad was quick and physical at times... speed of decision ability was the biggest issue.

I agree and I feel that his speed of decision making was slow because he never completely bought into the system, IMHO.

 

[Techster]

Many of us said that about Calvin his first practice on the flats as a true freshman...it was obvious quickly.

I wonder what ol' CJ is up to these days...

We heard a lot about DJ Donley as well. I remember reading stories about how Tenuta use to verbally abuse the D because Donley would make big play after big play on them. Not sure how true it was, but it was out there.

 

[Eric]

DJ was a special talent.

 

[wingsrlevel]

I agree and I feel that his speed of decision making was slow because he never completely bought into the system, IMHO.

I disagree that he was physical enough. How many times did he lower his shoulder and run someone over? He had the chance and never took it. Vad never wanted to get dirty. That was his biggest problem IMO. I wish him a bright future at JM but it is what it is.

 

[UgaBlows]

Seriously, how many times are yall gonna beat this Vad horse into the dirt?

 

[Techster]

DJ was a special talent.

I think he was suppose to move over to D once CPJ came in...but man, under Gailey it would have been DJ on one side, and Demaryius on the other side with probably Renfree throwing to them. Nasty...

 

[croberts]

DJ was a special talent.

Eric, I lost track dj. I thought he was going to transfer to Purdue but never saw it . What happened to him?

 

[LargeFO]

I thought he eventually just decided to go back to south GA.

 

[croberts]

There is only one athlete attending Tech that I made a flat statement that he was going to be a star as soon as I saw him play a game, and that was Mark Price in basketball. I expect a lot of it was his schooling by his Dad who was a basketball coach, but it was obvious to me that Mark Price had all the moves and the smarts to go with them. It was his first game at Tech, but he already knew what to do on the court, and the talent was there.

I agree with mark price but would add that the only running back I have seen in a gold uniform as a true freshman that could make you dream about tech football all night was Eddie Lee. I truly think he was the best of McClendon, William Andrews, and the back that went up to Clemson that year. We will know after about three games this year if I will be dreaming again about a new back in gold. I am a wagering man!

 

[daBuzz]

Many of us said that about Calvin his first practice on the flats as a true freshman...it was obvious quickly.

Absolutely true. I remember that day well. My youngest son got his autograph that day on a little stuffed Buzz doll. He has about 30 signatures on that thing he got at various practices, including Demaryius Thomas' autograph.

Funny story. My son was a big fan of James Butler and walked over underneath the shed where players were sitting down to take off their cleats after practice. He walked up to Butler and asked him to sign it. James signed it and then asked if he wanted the player beside him to sign it (pretty sure it was Bilbo but I'm not 100% positive). Logan said, "No...he hasn't earned it yet!" James Butler laughed so hard I thought he was going to fall on the ground. From that point on, every day he would see Logan at practice, he would walk over & give him a high five and start laughing again.

 

[daBuzz]

I wonder what ol' CJ is up to these days...

We heard a lot about DJ Donley as well. I remember reading stories about how Tenuta use to verbally abuse the D because Donley would make big play after big play on them. Not sure how true it was, but it was out there.

I thought he eventually just decided to go back to south GA.

He did. Went back to his home town and, as far as I know, never transferred to another school.

 

[jeffgt14]

Absolutely true. I remember that day well. My youngest son got his autograph that day on a little stuffed Buzz doll. He has about 30 signatures on that thing he got at various practices, including Demaryius Thomas' autograph.

Funny story. My son was a big fan of James Butler and walked over underneath the shed where players were sitting down to take off their cleats after practice. He walked up to Butler and asked him to sign it. James signed it and then asked if he wanted the player beside him to sign it (pretty sure it was Bilbo but I'm not 100% positive). Logan said, "No...he hasn't earned it yet!" James Butler laughed so hard I thought he was going to fall on the ground. From that point on, every day he would see Logan at practice, he would walk over & give him a high five and start laughing again.

That’s great. I always loved Butler too he was a great all around safety. I remember having a picture of him on my wall. Not sure what ever happened to him though. I believe he got a super bowl ring with the Giants and remember him signing a pretty decent contract with the Rams.

 

[Eric]

Eric, I lost track dj. I thought he was going to transfer to Purdue but never saw it . What happened to him?

He needed to pass some Summer classes to get into Purdue...I remember he got sometbinf like 1 D and 2 F's. After that he quit and I've never heard of him again.