Athlon: ACC Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes for 2020

[Techster]

CGC has made recruiting against GT harder. Period.

There was always the "triple option" negativity the other coaches had to use against us. That's gone.

Look at how many Top 50 recruits we've been able to sign or commit to us compared to the past decade with the previous staff. Now it's not only top 50 in GA, but top 50 in the states surrounding us. We've done this while transitioning and having a bad record. What happens when CGC starts winning? Top 50 recruits start becoming top 25-top 30 recruits.

I use to always say that wait until GT gets the right guy in here and understands GT and how to market us. Here we are. You have to understand the motivations other coaches have when they make these "anonymous" statements. Coaches are no longer looking up and down our commit list and thinking they can cherry pick our best guys. Sure, we'll lose some, but we are also cherry picking against factories as well. It's no longer a one way street where a P5 team comes in, takes one of our commits, and we end up with a recruit from a non-P5 team.

We need to start winning, and our offense needs to show that we can produce like other offenses. Our recruiting has taken a leap since CGC has gotten here, but it's going to get really good once we start winning. GT is every bit the sleeping giant people use to refer to us as, even though we didn't believe it ourselves. No coach in the ACC or SEC is looking forward to that because they know they didn't have to worry about the "other" GA school for recruits. Now they do.

 

[Adadu]

Could not give less of a **** what these other coaches think. We have never gotten respect and that's how we roll. PtBD and we'll find out what happens. To be honest, I think it plays to our advantage if this is really how they feel about us. Look right on through us. Makes the W easier.

 

[nod]

I can’t wait till the Collins defense starts taking full effect, ACC take notice because GT is coming and the defense is going to be awesome.

 

[Techster]

I can’t wait till the Collins defense starts taking full effect, ACC take notice because GT is coming and the defense is going to be awesome.

Once they can get a little more consistent on offense, it allows them to get loose and fast on defense. Collins knows how to wreck you.

THAT's what I'm talking about. They don't call him Master of Mayhem for no reason.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

CGC has made recruiting against GT harder. Period.

There was always the "triple option" negativity the other coaches had to use against us. That's gone.

Look at how many Top 50 recruits we've been able to sign or commit to us compared to the past decade with the previous staff. Now it's not only top 50 in GA, but top 50 in the states surrounding us. We've done this while transitioning and having a bad record. What happens when CGC starts winning? Top 50 recruits start becoming top 25-top 30 recruits.

I use to always say that wait until GT gets the right guy in here and understands GT and how to market us. Here we are. You have to understand the motivations other coaches have when they make these "anonymous" statements. Coaches are no longer looking up and down our commit list and thinking they can cherry pick our best guys. Sure, we'll lose some, but we are also cherry picking against factories as well. It's no longer a one way street where a P5 team comes in, takes one of our commits, and we end up with a recruit from a non-P5 team.

We need to start winning, and our offense needs to show that we can produce like other offenses. Our recruiting has taken a leap since CGC has gotten here, but it's going to get really good once we start winning. GT is every bit the sleeping giant people use to refer to us as, even though we didn't believe it ourselves. No coach in the ACC or SEC is looking forward to that because they know they didn't have to worry about the "other" GA school for recruits. Now they do.

If you read this post from Techster, please hit the Like. It should have at least 50 Likes. Don’t be lazy and keep reading, this post is “it”.

 

[LibertyTurns]

" I'm thinking back to the joke everyone thought Dabo was when he first took over."
I know I did.

I used to refer to him as Dab Uh-O as he regularly crapped himself early on. I think our beat down of the tiggers at Bobby Dodd followed by the Orange Bowl massacre of the SEC girls in 2014 really pissed him off. He’s been on a real tear since then.

 

[Oakland]

"ACC Coaches"

aka: Grad Assistants

This is probably the correct answer or maybe football staff members. I think we have 12 and Clemson has 48.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

In the military it was an unwritten rule to stop talking about the old guy the minute you were handed the keys to drive. Unless you found something very amiss (ie illegal) it’s no longer relevant. Not like the bastard was going to stick around and help you fix it nor did you want him to. Don’t look back, just forward. Nobody’s giving you new personnel, nobody’s hauling in brand new equipment that works perfectly, nobody’s really giving a crap, etc if you’re starting point was not fantastic. It’s all yours. You can start talking once you’ve delivered the results.

This is perfect and exactly why TStan hired Collins and gave him a long contract. And Collins is following his plan. It’s about 1 thing - bringing in talent. Everything else is just noise and window dressing to not alienate the players he inherited. And it worked as those players like Cottrell and Tobias bought in and led the others forward even while it was obvious that Collins was moving on to his guys. After we sign the 2021 class our roster will be miles ahead of where it was when Collins took over. Our QB room, WR room, and RB room are already at a point that is so far ahead of where we’ve been. I loved Johnson, but he never found the next Dwyer or Bebe. And Justin Thomas was a nice QB in that system but other than Nesbitt we never got that dual threat guy. College ball is all about getting better talent than your opponent and then having a legit QB. We’ll be there soon.

 

[smokey_wasp]

"ACC Coaches"

aka: Grad Assistants

Yeah, these quotes aren't really as knowledgeable as you would expect from head coaches who actually watched our film.

 

[whitegoldsphinx]

All these comments prove is that ACC coaches really have no idea what's going on with our program.

I think we will shock some people this season with the talent we put in the backfield and the slot this season.

/

I don't think the coaches of any ACC team have any idea what's going on with the programs of other ACC teams this time of year. They're too concerned with their own teams to really care. Maybe somebody on the staff studies opposition as a side project or something like that.

 

[BleedGoldNWhite21]

I don't think the coaches of any ACC team have any idea what's going on with the programs of other ACC teams this time of year. They're too concerned with their own teams to really care. Maybe somebody on the staff studies opposition as a side project or something like that.

These articles, while they may be fun and entertaining to speculate, are ultimately just click bait because you’re right. I‘d argue they are even more click bait this year considering we’re in a pandemic and most coaches don’t even know their own teams as well as they usually do by August, let alone have any reasonable assessment on other teams.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

I used to refer to him as Dab Uh-O as he regularly crapped himself early on. I think our beat down of the tiggers at Bobby Dodd followed by the Orange Bowl massacre of the SEC girls in 2014 really pissed him off. He’s been on a real tear since then.

He’s still a goofy idiot. But he’s smart enough to know how little about football he knows, and has surrounded himself with top flight coaches. He also knows how to skirt the system - he’s the “aw shucks” version of Coach K.

 

[boger2337]

Good responses here from you and others to my question. I hadn't really considered your point #2.

But at the same time this was to save face with recruits.

Collins is a recruiter before a coach. He was setting himself up to make sure he could land top 30 classes while knowingly going to lose 15+ games his first 2 years.

 

[Buzztheirazz]

Wow. looking at last year's comments was very interesting in retrospect. Also, I wonder why "managing expectations publicly" would be "divisive in the coaching community"?

Edit-my answer has been covered but I didn’t read all responses before postin.
I think ”MEP”=crapping On players publicly=Johnson left cupboard bare.

“He(CPJ) left me OL’s that average 6 foot 285#“

Some coaches probably think it’s unacceptable to crap on the players you inherit.

just my guess

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Reads like fake news. Made up and sent in.

 

[gtstinger776]

Those comments by the ACC coach are not wrong. In some areas, he's very generous.

 

[jgtengineer]

"They picked their QB (James Graham) and rode him good or bad, which is a smart move. They turned the ball over constantly, and they couldn't run. Fix those two things and they'll up their win total."

Wut.

We didn’t pick our QB til Week 6. That was one of the dumb moves by the staff.

We turned the ball over 20 times in 12 games. Not great, not terrible.

Running is literally the one thing we did well. 4.0 ypc (7th in the ACC).

Wonder who the hell had that expert analysis. Reads like an FSU fan who saw a highlight of the Pitt game.

A 3 and out is a turnover especially when you throw three times and run no huddle so only like 23 second tick off the clock. Running was pretty much individual effort by Mason. We did not run the ball well as a team, the line had issues creating lanes to run through and Mason basically ran through contact to get anywhere.

 

[BurdellJacket]

Those comments by the ACC coach are not wrong. In some areas, he's very generous.

New there was a reason I blocked you.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Yeah, these quotes aren't really as knowledgeable as you would expect from head coaches who actually watched our film.

I kind of doubt, without knowing, that these quotes are from the head coaches. They may be farmed out to assistants or coordinators. It does not say in the magazine if they are head coaches it just says "Opposing coaches". It is interesting and different from anything you see in Sporting News but probably should be taken with a heaping grain of salt. I am not sure there was much in the way of superlatives that could be said about Tech last year from the viewpoint of opposing coaches. Among other things they said about Tech: "...they don't have ACC caliber receivers, their offensive line is a mess, and they could only be very vanilla on offense." "They turned the ball over constantly and they could not run." "Fix those two things and they will up their win total" "Collins knows how to wreck you." "You should see a jump this season in the front...they are going to play the run better and they're going to rush the quarterback better.... "So far, they haven't exploded in recruiting or anything..." "They will likely end up a better team with the same record." (note: this was before the changes in the schedule dropping UGA, UNC etc.) I can't say that I really disagree with much of the criticism from opposing coaches except that going from typically in the 50s in recruiting to top 25 or so is a pretty big step and Coach Collins should be recognized by his peers for that. IIWII

 

[InsideLB]

And Collins is following his plan. It’s about 1 thing - bringing in talent. Everything else is just noise and window dressing to not alienate the players he inherited.

This staff is very specific about who they are bringing in from a perspective of perceived fit with the specific type of culture they are building. The culture is what brings out the best in (or squanders) the talent you recruit. Culture is important….Dabo at Clemson, PJ Fleck at the places he's coached, Saban, Matt Rhule at Baylor. The Patriot Way. It's the set of behaviors that govern what happens when you face adversity, what happens when you are challenged. How strong is your bond with your teammates? How hard are you going to work and do you enjoy the grind? Do you expect to be handed something or to earn it in competition? How much do the guys REALLY buy in, how hard will they fight.

I see an incremental upgrade in talent and a more explicit attempt to build a specific culture to give that talent the very best chance of being successful. And ultimately the culture begins to do the recruiting for you. Just keep building and moving forward with the process. Wins will follow eventually if you you do a good job.