Expectations?

[Coloradojacket]

Just a reminder -- The Citadel will enter the season as a Top-25 FCS team, and remember how they were the talk of the nation for a few hours last fall due to the following score at halftime: Alabama 10, The Citadel 10. (Of course, 'Bama woke up and blew 'em out in the second half.) BTW, Citadel's offense is -- heavily triple option (finished 9th in team rushing in the FCS last year), with a twist that they'll occasionally operate out of a T-bone formation, with halfbacks in line with the fullback. No slotbacks. T formation, but with WRs instead of TEs.

Knowing what Offense Citadel runs we should be one of the most prepared teams they play as we have had to defend I for 11 years.....lol....and we will still have a tough time.....

 

[GoldZ]

Matt rhule also had a 2-10 season with temple and a 6-6. And so far with Baylor he is 1-11 and 7-6. He doesn't turn things around, he capitalized off a good class and left. I bet he leaves Baylor within 2 more years as well.

Yeah, you very conveniently left out his back to back 10 win seasons at Temple before Collins took over and went 15-10 the following 2 years. As for Baylor, a 7 win season after a 1 win season with a team in chaos, is also impressive. Not sure why you are minimizing Rhule's turnaround records. Take a peek at Temple's history.
CGC had big shoes to fill at Temple and currently has even bigger ones to fill at Tech. For the sake of the program, which I believe is at a major crossroad, let's all hope he's up to it. We will know sometime during the 2021 season.

 

[Kennethshannon20]

Yeah, you very conveniently left out his back to back 10 win seasons at Temple before Collins took over and went 15-10 the following 2 years. As for Baylor, a 7 win season after a 1 win season with a team in chaos, is also impressive. Not sure why you are minimizing Rhule's turnaround records. Take a peek at Temple's history.
CGC had big shoes to fill at Temple and currently has even bigger ones to fill at Tech. For the sake of the program, which I believe is at a major crossroad, let's all hope he's up to it. We will know sometime during the 2021 season.

I definitely did not leave those seasons out those seasons are what were referred to before I responded. however everyone seems to focus on the fact that Collins had less-than-stellar seasons at Temple and they're ignoring the fact that he had to replace a four-year starting quarterback who broke records and seven starters on the defense as well as a kicker. so basically he was starting over he wasn't carrying anything over from the rhule era.

 

[awbuzz]

I don't care what we do, how we do it, or what it looks like... as long as it wins.

Just wanted to say the same
...

JUST WIN!

 

[jojatk]

Yeah, you very conveniently left out his back to back 10 win seasons at Temple before Collins took over and went 15-10 the following 2 years. As for Baylor, a 7 win season after a 1 win season with a team in chaos, is also impressive. Not sure why you are minimizing Rhule's turnaround records. Take a peek at Temple's history.
CGC had big shoes to fill at Temple and currently has even bigger ones to fill at Tech. For the sake of the program, which I believe is at a major crossroad, let's all hope he's up to it. We will know sometime during the 2021 season.

I think Matt Rhule is a fantastic coach but let's not forget that the Baylor team he took over had gone 7-6 with Jim Grobe (formerly HC at Wake Forest) as the head coach and Rhule coached THAT team to a 1 win season. I'm not at all discounting that they were still reeling from the Briles issues. There were some mitigating factors such as a bit of turmoil at the QB spot when Anu Solomon, who had come in as a grad transfer having played a lot at Arizona, got a concussion two games into the season that ended his career. Zach Smith, a redshirt sophomore, and Charlie Brewer, a true frosh, split the rest of the season with Brewer winning the job for the following year. Though it can definitely be said that Rhule's QB situation was not bad going into his first season as the aforementioned Zach Smith had thrown almost 200 passes the previous year, completing just under 60% of them for about 1500 yards with 13 TDs and only 7 INTs. They did bring back a 1000+ yard rusher from the year before Rhule took over but he also had to replace a lot of production at the receiving spots. So you can forgive a bit of a drop-off. But going from 7-6 more than a year removed from Briles's firing to just 1 win? That's a pretty big drop. Yet I still say Matt Rhule is an excellent coach and I can understand that type of drop-off and don't hold that against him because while I disagree that Baylor was in chaos they were clearly not stable.

Collins took over from Rhule and immediately had to replace every bit of QB experience they had. The two guys left on the roster who had any experience had a grand total of 11 pass attempts between them and they had to replace a 4 year starter. He did return a really good RB in Ryquell Armstead (who had a bit over 900 yards rushing the prior year) but he was not 100% most of the year and they also lost a 1000 yard back in Jahad Thomas. A good amount of their receiving production did return so that was a positive for the QBs but neither of those guys really distinguished themselves and would lose out to r-soph Anthony Russo the following season. Despite having the replace a four year starter at QB, an almost 1000 yard rusher, have a second terrific RB be injured (but still play) most of the year, and still go 7-6 isn't terrible. They went from 10 wins to 7 wins. Baylor went from 7 wins to 1 win (remember, Rhule did NOT take over for Briles and Baylor went bowling in Grobe's only year as HC). Rhule then turned it around at a P5 program going back to 7-6. Collins went 8-4 his second year at a non-P5 program.

My read on all of that, which is all factual information, not opinion (other than saying I think Matt Rhule is a terrific coach and that the QB situation he inherited was better than the one Collins inherited... though it'll be hard to convince me I'm wrong about that) is that Collins's first Temple team could have done much worse given what they had to replace on offense but they maintained a winning record and when they finally landed on the right QB the following year things started to pick back up. The one question I have about his first year, and I need to ask my cousin who recently graduated from Temple and who is a huge sports fan, is why they didn't try out Russo his r-frosh year since the other two guys really didn't light it up at all. But my point is that I think Collins did a terrific job going 15-10 in his first two years at Temple given what they had to replace and Rhule had a lot to overcome in his first year and didn't overcome it that well but the second year did a much better job and, I suspect, will have Baylor back in the 10 win area perhaps even this year.

How does this all relate to GT? I THINK we have a better QB situation this year than Collins had in his first year at Temple in that I believe our guys are potentially more talented than what he had. Hopefully that and the fact that I do think we have some good football talent on this team will translate into some very good play on the field and more than 5 wins. But I'm also prepared for some transition time just like I was prepared when we had other coaching changes. I'm a pretty patient guy as long as I see positive things that make me feel there's reason to believe improvement is coming.

 

[stech81]

I'm also a patient guy, I'm will to wait till the end of the first half of game one to pass judgement. ( I'm old and could be running out of time) I really do think without injuries we could surprise some people.

 

[takethepoints]

I agree we recruited TE's to play OL. But they were not "highly rated" tight ends. They were good TE's who were projecting to be OL at the next level, like we were using them.

Not Klock. The rest, maybe.

 

[Techfan02]

I'm curious about why people say this is a rebuilding year cause CGC has done the right thing with incorporating a read option and speed option in to the offense which they know the defense will be improved actually having to practice against similar plays and tricks instead of like 5 basic formations CPJ ran and when our quarterbacks are throwing like 25-30 times a game compared to 3 plus throwing more in practice why can't they throw they'll get better with experience that's what's wrong with other fans they don't initially think in depth they just see option to spread well they have no idea what they're doing takes to long yada yada no plus GCG has been there for 6-7 months now so i imagine the players won't just blank and forget everything they've learned in a game.

 

[Buzztheirazz]

I'm curious about why people say this is a rebuilding year cause CGC has done the right thing with incorporating a read option and speed option in to the offense which they know the defense will be improved actually having to practice against similar plays and tricks instead of like 5 basic formations CPJ ran and when our quarterbacks are throwing like 25-30 times a game compared to 3 plus throwing more in practice why can't they throw they'll get better with experience that's what's wrong with other fans they don't initially think in depth they just see option to spread well they have no idea what they're doing takes to long yada yada no plus GCG has been there for 6-7 months now so i imagine the players won't just blank and forget everything they've learned in a game.

Sweet run-on paragraph

 

[ncjacket79]

I'm curious about why people say this is a rebuilding year cause CGC has done the right thing with incorporating a read option and speed option in to the offense which they know the defense will be improved actually having to practice against similar plays and tricks instead of like 5 basic formations CPJ ran and when our quarterbacks are throwing like 25-30 times a game compared to 3 plus throwing more in practice why can't they throw they'll get better with experience that's what's wrong with other fans they don't initially think in depth they just see option to spread well they have no idea what they're doing takes to long yada yada no plus GCG has been there for 6-7 months now so i imagine the players won't just blank and forget everything they've learned in a game.

No idea what any of this means.

 

[Coloradojacket]

So what I want to still know is when are they going to start selling a Gold Adidas Jerseys and those 404 hats. I get a new jersey every year and a new hat....well last year I bought all three jerseys. Hell I just bought a new flag to hang outside the house for the season, here in Colorado

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I'm curious about why people say this is a rebuilding year cause CGC has done the right thing with incorporating a read option and speed option in to the offense which they know the defense will be improved actually having to practice against similar plays and tricks instead of like 5 basic formations CPJ ran and when our quarterbacks are throwing like 25-30 times a game compared to 3 plus throwing more in practice why can't they throw they'll get better with experience that's what's wrong with other fans they don't initially think in depth they just see option to spread well they have no idea what they're doing takes to long yada yada no plus GCG has been there for 6-7 months now so i imagine the players won't just blank and forget everything they've learned in a game.

That is probably the longest single sentence I have ever read in my life. LOL

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

So what I want to still know is when are they going to start selling a Gold Adidas Jerseys and those 404 hats. I get a new jersey every year and a new hat....well last year I bought all three jerseys. Hell I just bought a new flag to hang outside the house for the season, here in Colorado

It would look a helluva lot better without that stupid blue section on it.

 

[Techfan02]

Literature isn't my strongest subject.

 

[GT_05]

Literature isn't my strongest subject.

It’s nice to see somebody who doesn’t get bent out of shape about a little kidding. Grammar may not be your thing but you have thick skin and good character. That’s worth a lot. [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[iceeater1969]

Literature isn't my strongest subject.

You seeme like a nice poster - so i read in the periods and added content so it agreed with what i think.
Although i am better at yada yada usage, i applaud your style.

 

[lv20gt]

I'm curious about why people say this is a rebuilding year

Even without considering the changing schemes we return one of the lowest amounts of production in the nation. With how our program is that alone is a warning sign of a rebuilding year. Without the coaching change the arguments of defensive players getting used to the new system in year 2, and possible positive trade offs in talent (as a QB) for experience at the QB spot would probably warrant the rebuilding to be more of a treading water outlook.

CGC has done the right thing with incorporating a read option and speed option in to the offense which they know

Incorporating some plays the players know doesn't really change the fact that a lot of what they will be asked to do, especially in the passing game, will be significantly different from what they were asked to do before. Also, while plays can be put in that are similar, the similarity might make it harder to adjust for the differences. For instance running the option from the gun vs under center might be familiar, but it could also lead to issues with the spacing or timing if it's different. Ditto with the blocking from a different stance. Repetition is so important for any system and we just don't have it.

the defense will be improved actually having to practice against similar plays and tricks instead of like 5 basic formations CPJ ran

The defense might be improved, but it's not a sure thing. We return very little in the front 7, and better coaching can only do so much. The defense will almost certainly improve in the coming years but it's not promising for a huge leap for the next upcoming year.

when our quarterbacks are throwing like 25-30 times a game compared to 3 plus throwing more in practice why can't they throw they'll get better with experience

And the key is bolded, and applies to almost every area of our team. Yes, they will get better with experience. But while they are getting that experience things will be very rough. Right now we are at a severe disadvantage in both repetitions in practice and game time experience in the systems we run compared to our opponents. That doesn't just go away over night, and even if we adjust fast it could be 8 or 9 games into the season before we really start to see noticeable effects. Even then there are likely going to be holes that can only be fixed through recruiting.

 

[Techfan02]

Even without considering the changing schemes we return one of the lowest amounts of production in the nation. With how our program is that alone is a warning sign of a rebuilding year. Without the coaching change the arguments of defensive players getting used to the new system in year 2, and possible positive trade offs in talent (as a QB) for experience at the QB spot would probably warrant the rebuilding to be more of a treading water outlook.



Incorporating some plays the players know doesn't really change the fact that a lot of what they will be asked to do, especially in the passing game, will be significantly different from what they were asked to do before. Also, while plays can be put in that are similar, the similarity might make it harder to adjust for the differences. For instance running the option from the gun vs under center might be familiar, but it could also lead to issues with the spacing or timing if it's different. Ditto with the blocking from a different stance. Repetition is so important for any system and we just don't have it.



The defense might be improved, but it's not a sure thing. We return very little in the front 7, and better coaching can only do so much. The defense will almost certainly improve in the coming years but it's not promising for a huge leap for the next upcoming year.



And the key is bolded, and applies to almost every area of our team. Yes, they will get better with experience. But while they are getting that experience things will be very rough. Right now we are at a severe disadvantage in both repetitions in practice and game time experience in the systems we run compared to our opponents. That doesn't just go away over night, and even if we adjust fast it could be 8 or 9 games into the season before we really start to see noticeable effects. Even then there are likely going to be holes that can only be fixed through recruiting.

You make good point about all the arguments. I understand about the offense returning a small amount of starters but when your making a scheme change they loss of starters doesn't make as much of an impact talent wise as they would leadership wise. Secondly The defense is based on effort more than scheme and I know while we lost a very good amount of talent in the front seven we'll be able to manage fine with the talent there, and with a good secondary being coached by CGC will no doubt improve. My final 2 points are just kinda basic that we have guys who can throw while people say they can't and it's only gonna get better as the year progresses and finally practicing against a offense that passes and runs a style that teams have base formations and designs will help players recognize and adapt to be better at stopping it.

 

[AE 87]

I think Matt Rhule is a fantastic coach but let's not forget that the Baylor team he took over had gone 7-6 with Jim Grobe (formerly HC at Wake Forest) as the head coach and Rhule coached THAT team to a 1 win season. I'm not at all discounting that they were still reeling from the Briles issues. There were some mitigating factors such as a bit of turmoil at the QB spot when Anu Solomon, who had come in as a grad transfer having played a lot at Arizona, got a concussion two games into the season that ended his career. Zach Smith, a redshirt sophomore, and Charlie Brewer, a true frosh, split the rest of the season with Brewer winning the job for the following year. Though it can definitely be said that Rhule's QB situation was not bad going into his first season as the aforementioned Zach Smith had thrown almost 200 passes the previous year, completing just under 60% of them for about 1500 yards with 13 TDs and only 7 INTs. They did bring back a 1000+ yard rusher from the year before Rhule took over but he also had to replace a lot of production at the receiving spots. So you can forgive a bit of a drop-off. But going from 7-6 more than a year removed from Briles's firing to just 1 win? That's a pretty big drop. Yet I still say Matt Rhule is an excellent coach and I can understand that type of drop-off and don't hold that against him because while I disagree that Baylor was in chaos they were clearly not stable.

Collins took over from Rhule and immediately had to replace every bit of QB experience they had. The two guys left on the roster who had any experience had a grand total of 11 pass attempts between them and they had to replace a 4 year starter. He did return a really good RB in Ryquell Armstead (who had a bit over 900 yards rushing the prior year) but he was not 100% most of the year and they also lost a 1000 yard back in Jahad Thomas. A good amount of their receiving production did return so that was a positive for the QBs but neither of those guys really distinguished themselves and would lose out to r-soph Anthony Russo the following season. Despite having the replace a four year starter at QB, an almost 1000 yard rusher, have a second terrific RB be injured (but still play) most of the year, and still go 7-6 isn't terrible. They went from 10 wins to 7 wins. Baylor went from 7 wins to 1 win (remember, Rhule did NOT take over for Briles and Baylor went bowling in Grobe's only year as HC). Rhule then turned it around at a P5 program going back to 7-6. Collins went 8-4 his second year at a non-P5 program.

My read on all of that, which is all factual information, not opinion (other than saying I think Matt Rhule is a terrific coach and that the QB situation he inherited was better than the one Collins inherited... though it'll be hard to convince me I'm wrong about that) is that Collins's first Temple team could have done much worse given what they had to replace on offense but they maintained a winning record and when they finally landed on the right QB the following year things started to pick back up. The one question I have about his first year, and I need to ask my cousin who recently graduated from Temple and who is a huge sports fan, is why they didn't try out Russo his r-frosh year since the other two guys really didn't light it up at all. But my point is that I think Collins did a terrific job going 15-10 in his first two years at Temple given what they had to replace and Rhule had a lot to overcome in his first year and didn't overcome it that well but the second year did a much better job and, I suspect, will have Baylor back in the 10 win area perhaps even this year.

How does this all relate to GT? I THINK we have a better QB situation this year than Collins had in his first year at Temple in that I believe our guys are potentially more talented than what he had. Hopefully that and the fact that I do think we have some good football talent on this team will translate into some very good play on the field and more than 5 wins. But I'm also prepared for some transition time just like I was prepared when we had other coaching changes. I'm a pretty patient guy as long as I see positive things that make me feel there's reason to believe improvement is coming.

This is why only looking at W-L is a poor way of assessing a HC.

OR

This is excuse-making and defense of mediocrity.

I've always chosen option 1.

 

[GoldZ]

Agree AE 87, but only in the short run. Collins, in his defense, only had 2 years at Temple. As a vote for your no. 2 option, seems that some are severely discounting the momentum of back to back 10 win seasons on the entire program and returning players at a school like Temple.