Emmanuel Johnson has Entered the Portal

[Sheboygan]

Saw he was an aerospace engineering major. Not easy to play football with that major. Lots of math that first year. I hope he was not overwhelmed by the first year classroom shock. Wish him well at wherever he ends up.

This what I am guessing is the reason, but it is obviously a wild guess. AE academics with football is quite a load ! Best of luck to him.

 

[jojatk]

Saw he was an aerospace engineering major. Not easy to play football with that major. Lots of math that first year. I hope he was not overwhelmed by the first year classroom shock. Wish him well at wherever he ends up.

Lots of math every year in that major.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

This is where I simply don’t understand what goes thru the minds of some parents. This young man can attend one of the top universities for free along with all the bennies, aka tutors, food, and best dorms yet he gives it up, for what? I don’t understand how any parent couldn‘t look down the road just 4 years.

Can they really? I've been told on these boards that if they aren't playing in a year or two then it's ok for a coach to tell them that it's time for them to move on. It seems we have embraced the factory model of processing athletes, and since that appears to be the case, then can you really blame an SA for trying to be proactive in the process?

 

[Techster]

Lots of non-P5 schools following him on Twitter.

Only P5 schools following him (so far) are Wake Forest and Oregon State.

 

[ncjacket79]

Can they really? I've been told on these boards that if they aren't playing in a year or two then it's ok for a coach to tell them that it's time for them to move on. It seems we have embraced the factory model of processing athletes, and since that appears to be the case, then can you really blame an SA for trying to be proactive in the process?

Who said a year or two? If you aren’t getting any PT after 2 or 3 you should probably have a long talk with your coach but not as a true freshman. No problem with him looking elsewhere if that’s what he wants to do but he shouldn’t have been getting PT this year except for injuries.

 

[awbuzz]

Any have an AE degree?!?!?

 

[ncjacket79]

Lots of non-P5 schools following him on Twitter.

Only P5 schools following him (so far) are Wake Forest and Oregon State.

If Wake will take him that’s probably as good as it gets. Good school and he will have a shot to play.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Who said a year or two? If you aren’t getting any PT after 2 or 3 you should probably have a long talk with your coach but not as a true freshman. No problem with him looking elsewhere if that’s what he wants to do but he shouldn’t have been getting PT this year except for injuries.

But what does the extra year matter? The poster stated: "I don’t understand how any parent couldn‘t look down the road just 4 years."

My question still remains, if 4 years isn't guaranteed due to the new philosophy then why should a parent be patient?

 

[4shotB]

Somewhere, some coach or team with a need for a DL is shouting "O come, O come Emmanuel". Apologies in advance...still pretty close to Christmas I suppose.

Best of luck to him wherever he lands. GT is not the place for some. Many? Most? Lord knows I saw many regular students just up and leave that place when I was there. For some there wasn't a choice. But for many others it was.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Can they really? I've been told on these boards that if they aren't playing in a year or two then it's ok for a coach to tell them that it's time for them to move on. It seems we have embraced the factory model of processing athletes, and since that appears to be the case, then can you really blame an SA for trying to be proactive in the process?

I’m all on board for processing. My point is if he chose GT for both football and school that’s a smart decision since GT is a top academic school that plays P5 football. If he’s not happy with playing time as a true freshmen then that’s on his misplaced beliefs. As for processing, he could easily pull a knee injury excuse, go on medical scholarship and benefit from his football ability for the rest of his life. Instead he’s leaving to play a game that he’ll be done playing in 3 years. Then what?

 

[SWATlien]

Really really stupid decision. However in his ear did him a disservice.

 

[ncjacket79]

But what does the extra year matter? The poster stated: "I don’t understand how any parent couldn‘t look down the road just 4 years."

My question still remains, if 4 years isn't guaranteed due to the new philosophy then why should a parent be patient?

But 4 years is guaranteed. Not sure what you are getting at. If a kid just wants to play and doesn’t care at what level or truly thinks he getting a raw deal he is free to leave. He didn’t give himself time to develop into the player he could be imo. Otoh it could simply be he saw the other guys on the team and the new guys coming in and decided he wasn’t going to be good enough. Or his father thinks he should be playing more and convinced him to leave. Either way it doesn’t sound like there is a lot of interest so far though so I wish him luck.

 

[JacketOff]

Do some of y’all not realize that it’s possible to get a great education and a great job in the future without graduating from Georgia Tech? You only get one chance to play college football. You can go to school forever if you want to. Having a GT degree is great, but it doesn’t guarantee you success in life. A GT degree looks better on a resume than a lot of degree from other schools, but it doesn’t mean that going to another school disqualifies you from high-quality careers.

A lot of y’all are incredibly immature criticizing decisions of 17-23 year olds who have abilities and opportunities the vast majority of you can only dream about.

 

[Coloradojacket]

This is where I simply don’t understand what goes thru the minds of some parents. This young man can attend one of the top universities for free along with all the bennies, aka tutors, food, and best dorms yet he gives it up, for what? I don’t understand how any parent couldn‘t look down the road just 4 years.

Really...between parents coaches filling these guys heads that they are the greatest and headed for the NFL. unrealistic stay and develop into a good college player and get a degree. If this continues it will not help us.

 

[smokey_wasp]

I know what his dad said, but we don’t know 100 percent what his reasons are. Best to wish him well.

 

[GoJacketsInRaleigh]

Wish him well. This is the new college football. Recruiting in the portal is going to be just as big as recruiting high schools. Constant Free Agency

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

So, so few big nasties to recruit, & even fewer that would qualify at GT. Always going to be an uphill battle, but I agree we got to breakthrough & occasionally get 1 or 2. If not, we will never be better than average without some type of significant advantage on O.

 

[yeti92]

Probably was mutual. If someone doesn't want to be there because they feel for whatever reason they are entitled to more, they are going to half-*** everything and be negative in everything they do. That is anti-good culture, and its better to remove them than let that spread to others on the team, especially for a project like EJ.

 

[MWBATL]

I have no idea why this young man is moving on, but from what those who know him personally have said, he seems like a fine lad. Best of luck to him and here's hoping it works out for him. Whether this is the right choice can not be decided by us, only by him and his family...and the answer may only become clear years from now.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

But 4 years is guaranteed. Not sure what you are getting at. If a kid just wants to play and doesn’t care at what level or truly thinks he getting a raw deal he is free to leave. He didn’t give himself time to develop into the player he could be imo. Otoh it could simply be he saw the other guys on the team and the new guys coming in and decided he wasn’t going to be good enough. Or his father thinks he should be playing more and convinced him to leave. Either way it doesn’t sound like there is a lot of interest so far though so I wish him luck.

4 years is NOT guaranteed. It's now an option that a lot of colleges don't actually offer. Schools don't even have to be consistent in how they choose to award them. You could find a football team with 80 one year renewables and 5 multi-year scholarship players. Most players are still on one year renewable scholarships. GT doesn't publish the info as far as I can tell (most schools don't as it's a bad look) but if we are in the business of playing "big boy football" then it's a fairly safe assumption we are offering one year renewables to our players.

I used to say the same thing about lack of foresight, but when I asked the "what if" a guy wants to stay and get his degree I'm usually reminded that coaches have these "chats" with players and "nudge" them out.

I'll also add that this isn't a CGC thing as these threads were there in the CPJ era as well, albeit not quite as often. I'd lay less of this on any individual coach and more on the current landscape of P5 football.

Either way, I refuse to call a player or family member foolish for chasing their dream, even if it means we lose said player.