Expectations for the 2021 season

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I hear you and agree to a point. College football, regardless of scheme, is always dependent on the QB play. You say Johnson’s offense worked 75% of the time and I laugh because the guy recruited 1 QB that could do it all (Thomas). He inherited Nesbitt and then had guys with either weak arms or no arms. But to your point, scheme Is important but there are a lot more schemes out there than the TO. If we don’t see improvement this season in scheme then Collins has to dump the OC otherwise he’ll let that guy destroy his career.

 

[Pointer]

I hear you and agree to a point. College football, regardless of scheme, is always dependent on the QB play. You say Johnson’s offense worked 75% of the time and I laugh because the guy recruited 1 QB that could do it all (Thomas). He inherited Nesbitt and then had guys with either weak arms or no arms. But to your point, scheme Is important but there are a lot more schemes out there than the TO. If we don’t see improvement this season in scheme then Collins has to dump the OC otherwise he’ll let that guy destroy his career.

Tevin Washington was arguably the best at executing the option. Tobias also looked promising in the option. Kid who was a backup for Nesbitt was also legit.

He had several good QB's actually.

But the main thing is I think you might have missed the guys point. He wasn't talking about offense, he meant it towards defensive more so because of the fact that it is much harder to recruit elite DL as it's hard to find them and have them keep academic eligibility (O-line is usually pretty smart so it's not as hard there). I think he has a point unless cgc shows out and starts recruiting some 5 star DE's and 4 star DT's. If they prove they can't do this and/or sustain it, then you have to start thinking about scheming your way into getting high level defenses.

 

[billga99]

Last real recognizable Defensive Scheme was under Tenuta. It was definitely high risk/high reward. But he heavily recruited very fast linebackers several which ended up in the NFL. But at the end, if opponents stopped his blitzes, we definitely got burned. But it was fun to watch. And it did give an identity to recruit some very skilled personnel who loved the scheme. I am not saying that is the right approach currently. But we do need to have some approach which means the offenses we play have to practice how to stop us. That was obviously the huge benefit of Johnson's offenses. We need schemes on both sides of the ball which our opponents have to plan against and are fun for players we need to recruit.

 

[tsrich]

College Football Top 130 Team Rankings for 2021

College football's 2021 season is slated to start in late August, but it's never too early to project where all 130 teams will finish at the end of the year.

athlonsports.com

Tech at 77

 

[TooTall]

Ranking The Top 5 Returning ACC Running Backs For 2021

The ACC was absolutely loaded at running back last season. Unfortunately, a lot of the talent is now gone. Of the top 6 rushers last season, five of them -- Travis Etienne, Javonte

www.outkick.com

Gibbs @ #3, but talks about being a national sleeper who has the ability to explode this year!

 

[cthenrys]

College Football Top 130 Team Rankings for 2021

College football's 2021 season is slated to start in late August, but it's never too early to project where all 130 teams will finish at the end of the year.

athlonsports.com

Tech at 77

Oof. UTSA, UAB, and Toledo all above us. For those that don’t think last year counts or that we should count W-Ls this year, if we end the year as the 77th ranked team, then yeah, there’s a problem. Recruiting alone won’t make up that gap

 

[4shotB]

Oof. UTSA, UAB, and Toledo all above us. For those that don’t think last year counts or that we should count W-Ls this year, if we end the year as the 77th ranked team, then yeah, there’s a problem. Recruiting alone won’t make up that gap

It's a matter of perspective. For example, my lovely DIL, mother of my two grandchildren who I value above all on this earth, is a native of Las Cruces and is a New Mexico State alum (ranked 130 in the poll). I get all up in her grill about us being almost ranked twice as high as they are. I think she would pobably hate me except I frequently babysit for free so, if she does, she keeps it to herself. In case you are wondering, they are the Aggies. She never attended a game while on campus. Her first college FB game - the GT vs. LSU Peach Bowl in 2008. Remember that classic? Unfortunately I do.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Tevin Washington was arguably the best at executing the option. Tobias also looked promising in the option. Kid who was a backup for Nesbitt was also legit.

He had several good QB's actually.

But the main thing is I think you might have missed the guys point. He wasn't talking about offense, he meant it towards defensive more so because of the fact that it is much harder to recruit elite DL as it's hard to find them and have them keep academic eligibility (O-line is usually pretty smart so it's not as hard there). I think he has a point unless cgc shows out and starts recruiting some 5 star DE's and 4 star DT's. If they prove they can't do this and/or sustain it, then you have to start thinking about scheming your way into getting high level defenses.

Yeah. I just think in this era of football that the key to winning is scoring almost at will. Outside of a few teams, no one plays much defense. This isn’t a GT issue, but a rules issue. You breathe on a receiver and it’s PI. You make a hard tackle and it’s targeting. You hit a guy within 2 yards of the sideline and it’s a hit out of bounds. You look at the QB with a mean face and it’s a late hit. The key to winning is having a QB who can get his team in the end zone often.

And I agree, Tevin was a good consistent QB. But good QB’s aren’t what make special seasons. We‘ve all seen the electric qualities that Sims possesses. The question is can he be consistent at that high level or will it be a roller coaster ride with him. Getting all those snaps last year was huge for him. If it kicks in for him we won’t have to worry about defense because we will score. And I still have a little hope deep in my heart that our defense we improve, but I’ve just about given up hope for that.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Oof. UTSA, UAB, and Toledo all above us. For those that don’t think last year counts or that we should count W-Ls this year, if we end the year as the 77th ranked team, then yeah, there’s a problem. Recruiting alone won’t make up that gap

Not worried about that, at all.

 

[slugboy]

College Football Top 130 Team Rankings for 2021

College football's 2021 season is slated to start in late August, but it's never too early to project where all 130 teams will finish at the end of the year.

athlonsports.com

Tech at 77

“Defensive Strength: After giving up 36.8 points a game and 5.86 yards per play, this unit can only improve in 2021.”
That’s not exactly the optimism I was looking for on defense.

 

[Vespidae]

So I love the Calculus discussion and yes I took it as well. But let' bring it back to recruiting.......No one else requires it or has to take any math in college. Maybe College Algebra. Point being is when recruiting for Tech you start with 70% less kids you can talk to than other schools. That is just the facts. And that number may be low these days. So point being, we aint going to get a bunch of 4 and 5 stars. We are going to get 2s a bunch of 3s and a few 4s. Then coaching and scheme comes in. And that is what we need to see from the current staff.

This. I love all the optimism that GT is going after 5 stars. But TStan was very clear ... “We can’t do that! Our strategy is to find 3 stars and develop them into 5 stars.” So few want to believe him.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Yeah. I just think in this era of football that the key to winning is scoring almost at will. Outside of a few teams, no one plays much defense. This isn’t a GT issue, but a rules issue. You breathe on a receiver and it’s PI. You make a hard tackle and it’s targeting. You hit a guy within 2 yards of the sideline and it’s a hit out of bounds. You look at the QB with a mean face and it’s a late hit. The key to winning is having a QB who can get his team in the end zone often.

And I agree, Tevin was a good consistent QB. But good QB’s aren’t what make special seasons. We‘ve all seen the electric qualities that Sims possesses. The question is can he be consistent at that high level or will it be a roller coaster ride with him. Getting all those snaps last year was huge for him. If it kicks in for him we won’t have to worry about defense because we will score. And I still have a little hope deep in my heart that our defense we improve, but I’ve just about given up hope for that.

I am all in on Sims. The only proviso is whether he gets support from other positions and the offensive line gives him time to throw.

Put another way, do you think he would be an adequate QB at Alabama? He would be a monster.

 

[awbuzz]

Eligibility has not got one thing to do if you count the season if you played the games they count. HeII lets not count 2015 because of all the injuries we can all pick games not to count. If we look hard we can get those 512 loses down to 300.
So if you are the AD and don't count last year do you ask the coaches to give their money back from last year, and do you give the fans back their money for last years tickets , and do you add one more year to CGC ?

I paid Season Tickets and went to all home games last year... The season counts!

 

[awbuzz]

It's a matter of perspective. For example, my lovely DIL, mother of my two grandchildren who I value above all on this earth, is a native of Las Cruces and is a New Mexico State alum (ranked 130 in the poll). I get all up in her grill about us being almost ranked twice as high as they are. I think she would pobably hate me except I frequently babysit for free so, if she does, she keeps it to herself. In case you are wondering, they are the Aggies. She never attended a game while on campus. Her first college FB game - the GT vs. LSU Peach Bowl in 2008. Remember that classic? Unfortunately I do.

Yep, we got Peach Clobbered.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I am all in on Sims. The only proviso is whether he gets support from other positions and the offensive line gives him time to throw.

Put another way, do you think he would be an adequate QB at Alabama? He would be a monster.

The jury is still out. Bama expects their QB to be accurate. Sims hasn’t shown that yet. We all hope he gets there. I’m not knocking him at all. I’m knocking his high school coach who let him play athlete at QB. I know his team won games and he was a Super 11 QB, but the training he got for the next level wasn’t close to what a guy like Peery received or what Swann is getting. With a year of college coaching and the sheer volume of reps he received last year puts the ball in his court. I‘m rooting for him because he wears a GT jersey and I hope it clicks. With the quality of players we are recruiting GT will soon be past the phase of hoping an athlete can play QB. We’ll have QB’s playing QB who can make all the throws.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

The jury is still out. Bama expects their QB to be accurate. Sims hasn’t shown that yet. We all hope he gets there. I’m not knocking him at all. I’m knocking his high school coach who let him play athlete at QB. I know his team won games and he was a Super 11 QB, but the training he got for the next level wasn’t close to what a guy like Peery received or what Swann is getting. With a year of college coaching and the sheer volume of reps he received last year puts the ball in his court. I‘m rooting for him because he wears a GT jersey and I hope it clicks. With the quality of players we are recruiting GT will soon be past the phase of hoping an athlete can play QB. We’ll have QB’s playing QB who can make all the throws.

You may be right but here is my reasoning. Any lack of accuracy on Sim’s part is amplified by the lack of support from the offense. I have seen plenty of inaccurate throws by Bama quarterbacks the last few years but these don’t cripple the offense because it’s not a one-man show. Bama QBs can learn on the job and STILL win because there are other scoring threats.

 

[WreckinGT]

You may be right but here is my reasoning. Any lack of accuracy on Sim’s part is amplified by the lack of support from the offense. I have seen plenty of inaccurate throws by Bama quarterbacks the last few years but these don’t cripple the offense because it’s not a one-man show. Bama QBs can learn on the job and STILL win because there are other scoring threats.

In the last three years Alabama QBs are over 70% completion with a 9 to 1 TD to INT ratio. They aren't learning on the job, they are gashing folks. Sims will likely never get to that level but he can be very good. If he can just get his completion percentage somewhere near 60% and improve his decision making a decent amount then we are in good shape the next few years. He wasn't an accurate QB in high school though so the accuracy is a concern. This season will certainly tell us alot.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

In the last three years Alabama QBs are over 70% completion with a 9 to 1 TD to INT ratio. They aren't learning on the job, they are gashing folks. Sims will likely never get to that level but he can be very good. If he can just get his completion percentage somewhere near 60% and improve his decision making a decent amount then we are in good shape the next few years. He wasn't an accurate QB in high school though so the accuracy is a concern. This season will certainly tell us alot.

I’ve watched Alabama. The eyeball test shows me QBs who make the easy throws first, then get the “all day protection” to make the harder throws. And when that fails they have running backs who can pick up the needed yards to keep a drive alive.

The 30% failure rate on passing can easily turn into a 50% failure rate if your offensive line is making you hurry your throws, or you are forced into long yardage situations because the offense is constantly giving you 2nd down and 15 because of penalties.

I honestly don’t think you can compare Tech’s offense to Alabama’s and see it as apples to apples. Put Sims behind that line and give him those receivers and you get a better comparison. If the disparity between quarterbacks is still there then you are clearly right.

 

[cthenrys]

Not worried about that, at all.

Well there you go…

 

[Lotta Booze]

This. I love all the optimism that GT is going after 5 stars. But TStan was very clear ... “We can’t do that! Our strategy is to find 3 stars and develop them into 5 stars.” So few want to believe him.

And yet we've already found so many 4 stars...