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dynamite drop in Monty
Brent Key possibly to South Carolina?
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dynamite drop in Monty
Pointer
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So what promises were made to keep Key?
What was Key worried about that made him consider leaving?
Can view this situation both positively and negatively.
Positive: We have a coach who is sought after, which is always an excellent problem to have.
Negative: Stuff in the program isn't going in the direction it needs to be for future success.
I think if the answers to these come out, it will be very telling as to the actual state of the program after some recruiting success, but two disappointing seasons.
Hope this thread gets back on track so that we can actually get some of these answers.
What was Key worried about that made him consider leaving?
Can view this situation both positively and negatively.
Positive: We have a coach who is sought after, which is always an excellent problem to have.
Negative: Stuff in the program isn't going in the direction it needs to be for future success.
I think if the answers to these come out, it will be very telling as to the actual state of the program after some recruiting success, but two disappointing seasons.
Hope this thread gets back on track so that we can actually get some of these answers.
smokey_wasp
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I have no inside scoop, so the following is pure speculation on my part:
Remember that Key comes to us from Alabama, so he knows the level of investment and commitment it takes to compete at the highest level of college football. We also know that Georgia Tech has not always displayed this level of commitment and investment at the institutional level (and I am being more than generous with that statement). Remember also that Key talked a big game when he arrived about what he and the staff planned to accomplish.
Perhaps Coach Key needed some reassurance that GT is going to make the necessary investments to compete. Covid probably threw a wrench into some of these plans by taking away a lot of revenue. What might someone like Brent Key want to see to know that he isn't wasting his time here? Could be a lot of things. Bigger recruiting budget? More staff? That's my line of thinking.
Perhaps "no more small ball" has more to do with the size of the Institute's investment in the football program than the weight of the O-line.
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lv20gt
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Answers to a question that we don't know if it is even accurate and even if it is, it's not like it's something that you do an interview about and put out there?
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I am often in situations where
- an important question comes up
- no one knows the answer
- everyone looks at me
- people think I must know the answer
InsideLB
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I agree we haven't yet seen the big can't miss 4-star type OL rolling in so far. At the same time I do think our OL recruiting has improved markedly since Key got here.
Weston Franklin was pretty bigtime (LSU, Miami, Michigan among numerous solid P5 offers). Michael Rankins, another Rivals 5.7 (Auburn, FSU, Miami, among numerous P5 offers). Leftwhich had offers from TN, FSU, & Miss St among other p5 offers. Jordan Williams was a Rivals 5.7 as well who played as a tr-fr and the staff is saying he alongside Gibbs will likely be a pro prospect. Vaipulu had multiple solid p5 offers.
Green, Spiers, and Kootsouradis are lower-rated guys with few if any P5 offers. They are more projects/developmental types.
As you say in your post Key was a big reason Ryan Johnson and Devin Cochran chose GT. Sometimes you take a HS recruit and develop him for several years and get 1-2 years starting out of them. So to be able to bring in proven guys where it's much more certain what you might get from them adds a lot of value to creating a roster. In this day and age of tranfers being able to land these guys brings a lot to the table.
So I am not really disagreeing with you. I just think it's easy to throw the baby out with the bath water: While not getting the uber elite HS prospects we are still getting some pretty darn good prospects with pretty darn good offer lists as well as some high value transfers. Sometimes it takes years to build relationships with recruits that ultimately bring them to a school. Key's only been here two years, and he may yet reel in some of the biggest fish.
Oldgoldandwhite
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With a full spring, an extra year of S&C, and the transfers, we should be much improved next year.
takethepoints
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I never had the high expectations of Key that others here had. If you are a competent coach, you should succeed at Bammer; they don't recruit, they pick. Oth, I did think - and still do - that he is a competent coach and that we'll see continuing improvement in the OL as the youngsters mature. But he isn't a miracle worker; if we win a few more recruiting battles and the development program works, then we'll be ok on the OL, and he'll be the proximate cause of that. That should be enough to satisfy most people.
It doesn't look like he's going anywhere soon (why would anybody jump to USCe from Tech?) so good news for the program.
It doesn't look like he's going anywhere soon (why would anybody jump to USCe from Tech?) so good news for the program.
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I had and continue to have high hopes for CBK because of the very same logic - when it comes to assistants, they don't recruit, they pick. Most of us assume (and rightfully so given the continued success depite continual staff turnover) that Saban has the same knack for spotting coaching talent as he does athletic talent. Back in my business career, we had one plant in the divison that was an industry benchmark type of place. A supervisor or manager at that plant was going to be good because they had a very long history of demanding excellence and being able to train their leaders for success.
We don't expect (or most of us don't anyways) for Key to do what he has done at Bama given their talent. But, if he was given an offer (which I do not know it happened) it means he has carved out a good reputation and people who know can look at his last two years with the proper perspective on things.
SWATlien
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I think yāall underselling how much Saban stresses recruiting. You have to be a strong recruiter to coach at Bama. He is hands on when it comes to that and a mas
www.sportscasting.com
āIāve said it before, there is nobody that works harder in recruiting than Coach Saban.ā(c) Lane Kiffin
How Does Nick Saban Recruit for Alabama Football and Why Is He the Best?
Alabama's success in college football doesn't come without a strong recruiting machine, and Nick Saban runs that machine.
www.sportscasting.com
āIāve said it before, there is nobody that works harder in recruiting than Coach Saban.ā(c) Lane Kiffin
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Offensive Linemen rated 4-stars by at least 1 agency:
Weston Franklin
Ryan Johnson
Offensive linemen rated 5.7 by rivals (0.1 below a 4-star).
Jordan Williams
Michael Rankins
Nick Pendley
Devin Cochran
Thatās 6 in 2 cycles. All of these guys beat the average rating of the last 2 classes. Our offensive lineman recruiting is indeed significantly better than it used to be.
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Pointer
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Yes it's called a large army of bag men. Some schools got more of them then others. That's why, despite coaching changes, the top recruiting schools remain about the same with respect to recruiting.I think yāall underselling how much Saban stresses recruiting. You have to be a strong recruiter to coach at Bama. He is hands on when it comes to that and a mas
How Does Nick Saban Recruit for Alabama Football and Why Is He the Best?
Alabama's success in college football doesn't come without a strong recruiting machine, and Nick Saban runs that machine.
āIāve said it before, there is nobody that works harder in recruiting than Coach Saban.ā(c) Lane Kiffin
Winning more helps some (Alabama, Clemson, OSU, ND) but not really accomplishing much also doesn't change things greatly (MIAMI, UT, MICHIGAN, TA&M, USC WEST, WASHINGTON... I could keep going, but I don't think I need to).
Heisman's Ghost
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I don't get it. Where is the money?
7 championships is worth every dance step.
Pointer
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He has always said it's a process that you need to take one step at a time.
I just didn't realize this is what he meant.
Techster
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The wire cleared...why do you think everyone is dancing?! I kid, I kid...
jacketBMR
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A friend of mind who worked with the team (not concrete info) suspects that Key was not happy with having the AHC title but being confined to just the O-line duties and that this was all about leverage to get more responsibilities within the coaching staff.
GTpdm
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The point is, while everyone is posting video of Saban doing this goofy sh*t, no one is noticing the guy handing brown paper bags full of cash to recruits when they show up on campus.
Heisman's Ghost
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It was a question in jest. We all know that Alabama buys cars, pays players through bagmen, and operates as a quasi NFL franchise so why don't they, UGA, Clemson, LSU, and other criminal enterprises just go all out and form their own conference that is at least honest about their dealings instead of hiding behind fake classes, fake courses, academic standards and ideals that they have no intention of honoring.
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