Expectations?

[jojatk]

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.

That's a good point about momentum and returning players. There's absolutely the potential for that when you have a coaching transition after a couple of excellent seasons. Unfortunately for Collins the 2017 Temple Owls lost quite a lot of production from the 2016 Temple Owls. For example:

- all three starting LBs gone
- only QB with more than 5 passes in a game gone
- starting center and left tackle gone
- 4 out of their 6-7 DL guys gone, including Haason Reddick who was drafted in the 1st round by Arizona after the 2016 season (they lost a TON of DL production but did rotate 6-7 guys so they did return some production)
- starting RB (though their backup RB was excellent and I would have said that they didn't lose a bit except the returning guy was playing hurt for most of the 2017 year... all week he would be in a boot and not practice or practice only a little and then play so his production was severely limited... the 2018 year he was healthy and showed how good he could be getting back to 1000 yards)
- 2 of their starting defensive backfield

So Collins and his incoming staff had to replace some significant experience on defense and all of their QB production and much of their RB production and the leaders on their OL. These are just facts. From them I draw the conclusion that Collins did a pretty good job getting them to 7-6 and then 8-4. I'll say that the one thing I haven't been able to follow up on with my cousin is why they didn't start the Russo kid at QB in 2017. He was a r-fr in 2017, I believe, and eventually got the starting job part of the way through last season as a r-so. He had a terrific HS career and even though he was a r-fr, as I pointed out neither of the other two guys on the roster had any experience at all. So that's the one mystery to me and potentially something that might have made year 1 at Temple even better.

 

[GoldZ]

That's a good point about momentum and returning players. There's absolutely the potential for that when you have a coaching transition after a couple of excellent seasons. Unfortunately for Collins the 2017 Temple Owls lost quite a lot of production from the 2016 Temple Owls. For example:

- all three starting LBs gone
- only QB with more than 5 passes in a game gone
- starting center and left tackle gone
- 4 out of their 6-7 DL guys gone, including Haason Reddick who was drafted in the 1st round by Arizona after the 2016 season (they lost a TON of DL production but did rotate 6-7 guys so they did return some production)
- starting RB (though their backup RB was excellent and I would have said that they didn't lose a bit except the returning guy was playing hurt for most of the 2017 year... all week he would be in a boot and not practice or practice only a little and then play so his production was severely limited... the 2018 year he was healthy and showed how good he could be getting back to 1000 yards)
- 2 of their starting defensive backfield

So Collins and his incoming staff had to replace some significant experience on defense and all of their QB production and much of their RB production and the leaders on their OL. These are just facts. From them I draw the conclusion that Collins did a pretty good job getting them to 7-6 and then 8-4. I'll say that the one thing I haven't been able to follow up on with my cousin is why they didn't start the Russo kid at QB in 2017. He was a r-fr in 2017, I believe, and eventually got the starting job part of the way through last season as a r-so. He had a terrific HS career and even though he was a r-fr, as I pointed out neither of the other two guys on the roster had any experience at all. So that's the one mystery to me and potentially something that might have made year 1 at Temple even better.

Excellent RB and his back-up wasn't bad either, 5 returning OL, 2 good DL, and 2 good DBs, 3 experienced receivers, good return guy, good kicker, and an entirely different, as in improved, recruiting profile for Temple, does not a empty cupboard make. To CGC's credit, he did a good job with the few returning players on D. It will be interesting to see how his 2018 recruiting class develops--hopefully not too well this Fall when we play em!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I am re-watching the spring game right now and I sure damn hope the first team defense was sandbagging big-time. I know they had limited play calls, but they are getting beat one on one like a freaking dog left and right.

 

[YJMD]

Collins took over Temple after having their best 2 years ever, having elevated Rhule to God status and thinking their program was now G5 elite despite having no prior pedigree. CGC had done all his work in the South prior to then and had built his network of connections and recruiting down here. He inherited a team who could be competitive at their level, but he was basically starting from scratch up their with his players, fanbase, and regional connections -- all while knowing he only took the job to launch his career as a head coach. But he did a good job working through adversity and building a positive player culture and saw his team through their bowl intending to help them transition to the next coach as smoothly as possible. Then Manny Diaz happened. Collins did right by Temple, but they don't appreciate him for it much at all.

Here, though, he has significantly more resources, a well-designed coaching staff leveraging prior connections, and is in the middle of the community he hails from and knows how to recruit. He's doing everything with much more intention and growth orientation than I have ever come close to seeing in coaching. Granted, this is the closest I've followed a coaching transition, though I don't remember seeing anything close to this with CCG or CPJ. Those were guys who came in and implemented their thing and aimed to do the best within what they knew to do.

What to expect? Who knows. I really like the fluff pieces which show significant S&C gains, much more active practice, and a group of players very engaged in the training. But they're still fluff pieces, and some version of them exist every year for every program. We'll know when we start playing. Personally, I look a little more toward Temple who showed under CGC some losses to lesser programs but also a lot of competitiveness and wins against better programs.

The key point for us is 3-5 years down the road. If we aren't a consistent top 25 program then, CGC's build will have failed IMO. He might still be a good coach in the same vicinity as the last couple, but that's not where his sights are aimed, and it's not mine either.

 

[MidtownJacket]

My expectations are as follows:

I live north of Houston so will probably only make it back for 1 or 2 games in person on the flats. For those I will grab some wings and delicious beer at taco Mac midtown. Hang with my old college buddies and introduce my new daughter (9.5 months old ATM) to the proud legacy of Georgia Tech sports. She watched some games with me last year, and wore white and gold home from the hospital. I can’t wait to get her on campus.

For the games I am not there I’ll be smoking pork shoulder or turkey breast (depending on who is coming over to my house) and drinking pinner or whisky/whiskey depending on the score and who’s with me to cheer on the brave and bold.

As far as the season goes I am hopeful we get to 8+ wins, would be happy at 6-6 and disappointed with anything else.

I am looking for a big step up on Defense.
-Our fundamentals should be better
-The scheme is much more suited imho to today’s offenses where we will be attacking and now reacting
-We should be dictating what an offense does versus just playing off the ball and attacking once the ball is out
-Bigger/Stronger players should result in better line play and tackling.

For Special Teams I think we will also see improvement.
-I expect Mr. Wells to ball out again and continue his deadly accuracy after picking up how scholly
-I anticipate seeing a big step up in how we use field position and the great Mr. Harvin
-I hope to see improvement in our return schemes that will yields results (last year when we were successful it was due to the return man being lights out fast and a little luck, I’m hoping to see the scheme help whoever returns more than they got last year)

For Offense I am curious but expect similar or a bit of a drop off from the last few seasons.
-First and foremost I don’t buy the troupe that our QB’s can’t throw. I do however think they are going to be working on a new system that might actually be tougher on them than a more pocket based one. They’re going to be asked to use their feet less than before but still as a major component. That may make the first few games tough for them to settle in and know when to stick inside and throw v bail out and run.

-I am excited to see how we use some of the converted Abacks in the slot or as hback type players. I think our boy Cottrell has been putting in work this offseason and is going to surprise all of us (even the ones already peeping his potential)

-I think we are going to see a rotation at QB. I know it can make them getting into a rhythm harder, but it’s also harder for the other team to scheme against tendencies so think we will make that trade off


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[AlabamaBuzz]

I am re-watching the spring game right now and I sure damn hope the first team defense was sandbagging big-time. I know they had limited play calls, but they are getting beat one on one like a freaking dog left and right.

And, these facts do not seem to deter the optimists. I hope the fact they were limited in scheme and play calling, maybe this had something to do with their physical performance, but my spidey senses say we are still weak in the front 7.

 

[YJMD]

-I expect Mr. Wells to ball out again and continue his deadly accuracy after picking up how scholly

Given that he hasn't missed a kick, he can't go anywhere up from there. But I'd be super excited if he stayed really accurate and improved his range. Hopefully he gains KO duty as well. He's the only guy that seems to get the ball up and down the way it ought to which makes me think more leg strength and he'll get good consistent hang time and not corner kick to create an alley when we weren't trying to cover the angle. If we can get the ST guys where they need to be when the kick is received, even the short ones won't work out badly.

Good news is we now also have a healthy King with another year of strength training under him.

 

[Kennethshannon20]

Excellent RB and his back-up wasn't bad either, 5 returning OL, 2 good DL, and 2 good DBs, 3 experienced receivers, good return guy, good kicker, and an entirely different, as in improved, recruiting profile for Temple, does not a empty cupboard make. To CGC's credit, he did a good job with the few returning players on D. It will be interesting to see how his 2018 recruiting class develops--hopefully not too well this Fall when we play em!

I don't know about that recruiting that you're talkin about the 13 14 and 15 class we're 69,77 and 80

 

[GoldZ]

I don't know about that recruiting that you're talkin about the 13 14 and 15 class we're 69,77 and 80

The one I specified.

 

[gtrower]

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

They better as hell not start selling the 404 hats after using them in a fundraiser based on their exclusivity.

 

[GT_05]

They better as hell not start selling the 404 hats after using them in a fundraiser based on their exclusivity.

That would be a MAJOR FAIL.


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[Heisman's Ghost]

What do you mean by this?

I cannot imagine how or why any coach worth their salt would "flop" at a program like Miami. They have just about everything you need to be a successful power 5 program except a truly large and rabid fan base. I know that Shannon, Golden, and The Rev. did not meet their fairly high expectations but when we played them they sure looked good. Fast, athletic, players, plenty of four stars and an occasional five star. No wonder we had so much trouble with them.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

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.

Sounds like the old straight T from the 1950s. "Heavily triple option"? I can see that leading to all kinds of problems for our defense but we will see. We MUST beat The Citadel, Temple, and USF to even think about having a successful year. I see no other way forward. Beat those three and win, say half of the Coastal games and that would be pretty satisfactory and much better than what is currently being predicted.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

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

William Faulkner was famous for writing excessively long sentences in his novels but his were grammatically correct while this one is...challenging.

 

[iceeater1969]

At Temple how did recruiting rank - Rhule / Collins?

Son / daughter law teach at Baylor. The Grobe hire was alwsys an integrity time out to do a real search . Rhule came in and tried to play conservative big boy football but didn't have the horses. To his credit he adapted , got the right qb, and has recruited well. He is well liked even though they are just competitive on field. Did well against Texas , but got hammered by ranked teams. Baylor fans thinks he is doing good job and are satified w slow rebuild. The first year brought back memories of the decade where they only beat power 5 teams.

 

[Kennethshannon20]

The one I specified.

Except you said "and an entirely different, as in improved, recruiting profile for Temple" but the recruiting their that rhule brought in sucked.....see the ratings I specified. What are you talking about???

 

[Beerbrewingjacket]

I expect to see a competent OL. I expect to see 3rd and long go to 4th and long. I expect us to look like a special teams unit. Not a special looking unit.

Doing those 3 things will make me happy. They’ll lead to success. Oh and I look forward to our QBs not being taught reverse foot work when they drop back. Turns out the NFL doesn’t like it either.

 

[knoxjacket]

I cannot imagine how or why any coach worth their salt would "flop" at a program like Miami. They have just about everything you need to be a successful power 5 program except a truly large and rabid fan base. I know that Shannon, Golden, and The Rev. did not meet their fairly high expectations but when we played them they sure looked good. Fast, athletic, players, plenty of four stars and an occasional five star. No wonder we had so much trouble with them.

The only thing they have going for them is location. Crap facilities, small private school, undergraduates are more similar to Emory or Tulane students than Florida States or Bamas, in a city full of non-CFB fans, etc, etc.

Honestly we have more in common with Miami than probably any other ACC school.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Those are good observations but they get good players all the time regardless of who the coach is. Must have something going for them maybe location is more important than people give it credit for being. Of course, south Florida is a recruiting hotbed and has been for as long as I can remember but Florida, FSU, and Auburn have all made inroads into what was once a Miami fiefdom.

 

[GoldZ]

Except you said "and an entirely different, as in improved, recruiting profile for Temple" but the recruiting their that rhule brought in sucked.....see the ratings I specified. What are you talking about???

When you win 10 games two years in a row at a program with Temple's history, you have indeed created an "improved recruiting profile". The class I was referencing by Collins was the 2018 class, as specified.