Athlon: ACC coaches talking anonymously

[Northeast Stinger]

Actually, patterson was slow to the spot and launched laterally instead of vertically. King said he could have thrown it lower and didnt fault the receiver.

It happens. King didn’t want to throw an interception so threw it where only the receiver could get it. Adrenaline probably made the pass sail. Receiver didn’t have time to focus on his leap and catching the ball since he was a step slow to the spot. Both made less than perfect, but acceptable, plays that together represented the proverbial game of inches. Receiver probably feels he should have caught it and King certainly feels he should have given him an easier ball.

 

[jgtengineer]

Actually, patterson was slow to the spot and launched laterally instead of vertically. King said he could have thrown it lower and didnt fault the receiver.

King is never going to fault the reciever that is t the kind of leader he is

 

[Root4GT]

“A very mediocre OL.”

Help me define “very mediocre.” That would probably put us at the very bottom of the conference. Is that what you mean?

And have fun with your answer .

King is never going to fault the reciever that is t the kind of leader he is

Nor should King have faulted Patterson.

 

[GT1977!]

To pound the ball successfully the OL needs to be good to very good. When RBs first contact is in the backfield or the LOS they become very pedestrian quickly. How well the OL plays will dictate how well the GT running game works. Last year’s OL was average at best in run blocking. No way to know for 2026 yet. We did lose by far our best OL to the NFL as a 1st round draft pick.

And our 2nd best 2025 OL-man is now at Florida.
Oh well, I am hopeful that the guys we have up front will benefit from scheme change... double down at point of attack, step inside then screen outside D rush and get RBs to +2-3 yd LB level before contact...if not, I'm sure that the Swarm will let us all know how our OL sucks.....

 

[Root4GT]

And our 2nd best 2025 OL-man is now at Florida.
Oh well, I am hopeful that the guys we have up front will benefit from scheme change... double down at point of attack, step inside then screen outside D rush and get RBs to +2-3 yd LB level before contact...if not, I'm sure that the Swarm will let us all know how our OL sucks.....

I think the scoreboard will answer the question. If the offense is as run centric as many on the Swarm want and the OL can't clear lanes for the RBs, GT's offense will suck. I doubt the offense will be as much of a "Run the Ball" as the Swarm believes.

 

[GT1977!]

I think the scoreboard will answer the question. If the offense is as run centric as many on the Swarm want and the OL can't clear lanes for the RBs, GT's offense will suck. I doubt the offense will be as much of a "Run the Ball" as the Swarm believes.

Oh we are going to run the ball...lots....and lots....and lots...our two best players are Michigan portal kid and Holsey.....
OL better button up and win the first step...

 

[jgtengineer]

Nor should King have faulted Patterson.

I can though it was basically an on air ball drill they do 20k times In practice

 

[UgaBlows]

I can though it was basically an on air ball drill they do 20k times In practice

I mean it went thru his hands right?

 

[Root4GT]

Oh we are going to run the ball...lots....and lots....and lots...our two best players are Michigan portal kid and Holsey.....
OL better button up and win the first step...

And if the OL does not win the first step time and time again, is there a plan B? Hope so. Great running teams have superior OLs as well as backs. GT has the backs. Does GT have the OL? That is the question to be answered.

 

[MWBATL]

Don’t think any of those are necessarily unfair as our team is a question mark right now. But I am surprised that there’s so little benefit of the doubt given with how highly Key seems to be thought of in the media.

We’re not SEC…ergo, no respect pre-season

 

[Northeast Stinger]

And if the OL does not win the first step time and time again, is there a plan B? Hope so. Great running teams have superior OLs as well as backs. GT has the backs. Does GT have the OL? That is the question to be answered.

Wait, you’ve already said that the OL is very mediocre. So, it’s no longer a question for you.

Just busting your chops.

 

[stech81]

Point blank to have a good running team you have to have a good passing team. If not any defense will move 9 up to the line of scrimmage.

 

[TromboneJacket]

Point blank to have a good running team you have to have a good passing team. If not any defense will move 9 up to the line of scrimmage.

That depends on your definition of “a good passing team”. You need to be able to complete passes when the defense cheats up, and ideally in certain base looks too, but you don’t necessarily need to be slinging it around all day and threading it into tight double coverage windows. I wouldn’t say that out passing game under CPJ was necessarily “good” in comparison to our peers, but it was good enough for what we were doing.

 

[Root4GT]

Wait, you’ve already said that the OL is very mediocre. So, it’s no longer a question for you.

Just busting your chops.

Last year's OL was mediocre. This year's OL is very unknown. Carney moving from RT to RG, will not be as good as Red was but should be better than he was at RT. New RT, C, LG and possibly LT depending on Mackenny's health. The OL could be any of these: good, average or bad. We really have no clue at this point.

My guess is Center will be better, RG will be worse and no idea on the other 3 positions. What are your thoughts on the OL for 2026?

​

 

[TromboneJacket]

And if the OL does not win the first step time and time again, is there a plan B? Hope so. Great running teams have superior OLs as well as backs. GT has the backs. Does GT have the OL? That is the question to be answered.

There’s not a lot of offensive plays in football that don’t rely on the O-line winning their blocks.

The D-line dominated in the spring game, but that’s pretty normal for teams who don’t have terrible D-lines. O-line execution relies a lot more on cohesion and synchronicity, so it usually takes longer for them to click. Coach Key is not the kind of guy to sugarcoat things, and he seemed pretty pleased with the performance of the OL thus far. In the past when he didn’t like what he was seeing, he was pretty vocal about it. He knows OL play better than any other aspect of the game, so I trust his judgment.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I have a hunch, but I think we’ll play to the other team’s weaknesses. Just a hunch, mind you.

 

[billga99]

Point blank to have a good running team you have to have a good passing team. If not any defense will move 9 up to the line of scrimmage.

I think we will be a very difference offense. I do think we will run the ball some more but not as much as people are discussing on this board. I also think with a good running game and potentially QB under center, the play action pass will be much more effective. Obviously you can do something similar from shotgun but having both shotgun and under center in your arsenal puts more pressure on the defense.

 

[stinger78]

We have perhaps the best RB room in the ACC. We'd better be able to run the bawl.

 

[GTJackets]

And if the OL does not win the first step time and time again, is there a plan B? Hope so. Great running teams have superior OLs as well as backs. GT has the backs. Does GT have the OL? That is the question to be answered.

I doubt it. I suspect the coaches have plan A to run the ball 90+% of the time every weekend and just hope for the best. The other team's D stacks the box on us? Oh well. We run the ball win or lose. No other options. It's why we brought in a transfer QB. His handoff skills are impeccable. Those other guys just kept trying to throw it, so we had to look elsewhere for our QB.

 

[Root4GT]

I doubt it. I suspect the coaches have plan A to run the ball 90+% of the time every weekend and just hope for the best. The other team's D stacks the box on us? Oh well. We run the ball win or lose. No other options. It's why we brought in a transfer QB. His handoff skills are impeccable. Those other guys just kept trying to throw it, so we had to look elsewhere for our QB.

That is the Swarm's preferred plan!