GA TECH IS BUZZING! | FOOTBALL HOTBED | NATIONAL UNDERCLASSMEN SHOWCASE ..

[Techster]

I think some people are struggling to see the positives of building excitement. The hype is properly serving its purpose and is bringing the intended results. Those results being mass increases in fan support through surging season ticket purchases and the renewed interest in our program from recruits. Jamious Griffin, Marquez Ezzard, Javier Morton, Josh Downs, etc. are all 4* players that have expressed new interest in the program since CGC's arrival. Several recruits have stressed the importance of playing for their city of Atlanta (Baker, Bryant-Strother, Downs), which is a direct selling point of Collins and his staff. I think it's alright for people to be reserved and feel cautiously optimistic about the future, but it's harmful to discourage others about being legitimately excited. It hurts to perception of the program. We're in the offseason. The offseason is where hype and excitement is built, what else are we supposed to do? It's a game, have fun.

Staying home and repping the 404 is starting to build momentum with elite local recruits. It's pretty awesome TBH.

I said it for years, there are quite a few elite kids that want (and wanted in the past) to go to GT and rep their hometown school. It's just going to take the right coach, with a progressive and forward thinking approach to make it happen. My coaching friends think GT in Atlanta can be he equivalent of USC/UCLA in LA: Recruits going to their hometown school, become stars and celebrities in a big city and get treated like royalty. And they get to do it in front of friends and family. GT has to give them a reason to stay home, and looks like CGC is aiming for that.

If CGC can get the dominos to fall, GT will begin to recruit itself. I think a LOT of fans are going to be shocked at the potential of GT because we've held onto an old mindset for too long.

 

[Cam]

Agree totally.

After thinking about it, I think that a contingent of our fans really identified with the old-school, no frills, service academy-like approach to college football. (Not saying that in an insulting way. That approach had its merits for a time). To them, this new energy and approach just doesn't "feel" like Tech. I think that may be where some of the negative attitudes come from, but I don't want to speak for anyone, just a theory.

I can see that. Under Paul Johnson I loved that our team identity on the field was disciplined, selfless, level-headed, and tough. When asked at ACC media days about Georgia Tech, other ACC players would often describe us as "physical." It was great that teams did not look forward to playing us because we almost always posed a threat of an upset (e.g. we always beat our rotating ACC Atlantic opponent). Unfortunately, off the field we had a poor reputation around college football and it seemed the narrative never shifted even when winning. Paul Johnson's words in his Minnesota post-game press conference have rattled in my brain the last month:

You know contrary to what you guys said, I've never had a problem with the media. Really until I came to Atlanta. I've got about 8 million congratulatory things from everybody who's ever covered me at any school I was at. So, that may have been the perception you guys wanted to paint. You painted it. And you did a good job with it. But I don't think that you ever asked me anything I didn't answer. Or you never asked for an interview that I didn't give you. So, write whatever the hell you want. That's my final press conference.

To me it's clear that he retired because he was sure that GT was never going to turn the corner with the perception of the program built by the media and fans the last 11 seasons. He wasn't going to get the level of fan support (which was declining the last three seasons) and the subsequent funding needed to get to the next level. You heard it in his words about the "arms race" over the years. It was unfair and it finally reached a breaking point where it was no longer fun for him. How you are perceived as a program is instrumental in the success of the program and was also a reason Jeff Monken was never going to be an option despite his immense success at Army. If you watch the video that started this thread, it's filled with statements like "turning the program around" and "bringing the program back." I heard quotes like that from recruits several times over the years, it's nothing new. We had a reputation as a program that was trending downward (or at best plateauing), whether it was the reality or not.

I think we need to enjoy the fact that we're being viewed overwhelmingly positively by the media and fans right now. The hire of the head coach and staff has been universally praised by every media outlet and even by fans of other schools. Someone linked to an Auburn board a little while ago in Jamious Griffin's thread and it was filled with their fans thinking Geoff Collins was going to do great things. They were also surprisingly knowledgeable about the obstacles (e.g. lack of majors) at GT. Florida fans are saying the same from their experience with Collins. Even UGA fans have told me that they're weirdly excited about a "renewed rivalry" and hope we get just good enough to improve their strength of schedule and keep things interesting. The only negativity I've seen is coming from within the fanbase itself, which I understand since we have the most to lose. But for me it is much, much more fun to buy into Collins' vision and get excited about the shifting perception than it is to remain skeptical about his potential for success.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I can see that. Under Paul Johnson I loved that our team identity on the field was disciplined, selfless, level-headed, and tough. When asked at ACC media days about Georgia Tech, other ACC players would often describe us as "physical." It was great that teams did not look forward to playing us because we almost always posed a threat of an upset (e.g. we always beat our rotating ACC Atlantic opponent). Unfortunately, off the field we had a poor reputation around college football and it seemed the narrative never shifted even when winning. Paul Johnson's words in his Minnesota post-game press conference have rattled in my brain the last month:


To me it's clear that he retired because he was sure that GT was never going to turn the corner with the perception of the program built by the media and fans the last 11 seasons. He wasn't going to get the level of fan support (which was declining the last three seasons) and the subsequent funding needed to get to the next level. You heard it in his words about the "arms race" over the years. It was unfair and it finally reached a breaking point where it was no longer fun for him. How you are perceived as a program is instrumental in the success of the program and was also a reason Jeff Monken was never going to be an option despite his immense success at Army. If you watch the video that started this thread, it's filled with statements like "turning the program around" and "bringing the program back." I heard quotes like that from recruits several times over the years, it's nothing new. We had a reputation as a program that was trending downward (or at best plateauing), whether it was the reality or not.

I think we need to enjoy the fact that we're being viewed overwhelmingly positively by the media and fans right now. The hire of the head coach and staff has been universally praised by every media outlet and even by fans of other schools. Someone linked to an Auburn board a little while ago in Jamious Griffin's thread and it was filled with their fans thinking Geoff Collins was going to do great things. They were also surprisingly knowledgeable about the obstacles (e.g. lack of majors) at GT. Florida fans are saying the same from their experience with Collins. Even UGA fans have told me that they're weirdly excited about a "renewed rivalry" and hope we get just good enough to improve their strength of schedule and keep things interesting. The only negativity I've seen is coming from within the fanbase itself, which I understand since we have the most to lose. But for me it is much, much more fun to buy into Collins' vision and get excited about the shifting perception than it is to remain skeptical about his potential for success.

Mutt fans likely weren’t saying those things post 2014 and 2016. And even though we lost a bunch more than we won, most of those games were nail biters over the last 11 years. And all in the face of an overwhelming recruiting/resources deficit.

That said, I can’t help but be caught up in the excitement as well.

 

[takethepoints]

A good season would be a great bonus, but the product we are selling is more than our record. Plenty of teams pull in great recruiting classes in bad years. The fact is recruiters know how to recruit and we've got recruiters now. I will fry up a crow and eat if if we don't pull a top 25 class next year.

Problem = most of the programs that "pull in great recruiting classes in bad years" regularly are programs that have, in the recent past, consistently been in the national top 10 rankings. Hence FSU and Texas have continue to recruit well despite bad performances because they can plausibly argue to recruits that they (the recruits) are what the program needs to get back to the heights. Tech has had some really good years in recent times and can play on that. However, that was under a different coaching staff. The new kids have to prove themselves out.

What you are saying is that there are a lot of recruits out there who will buy a pig in a poke. What I'm saying is that there aren't. That's why we have to hope for a good season (6 wins at least) next year to get us rolling. I have no doubt that we can recruit well if that happens. I would check carefully for bird delivered diseases before I would predict a top 25 class next year, however.

 

[takethepoints]

Staying home and repping the 404 is starting to build momentum with elite local recruits. It's pretty awesome TBH.

I said it for years, there are quite a few elite kids that want (and wanted in the past) to go to GT and rep their hometown school. It's just going to take the right coach, with a progressive and forward thinking approach to make it happen. My coaching friends think GT in Atlanta can be he equivalent of USC/UCLA in LA: Recruits going to their hometown school, become stars and celebrities in a big city and get treated like royalty. And they get to do it in front of friends and family. GT has to give them a reason to stay home, and looks like CGC is aiming for that.

If CGC can get the dominos to fall, GT will begin to recruit itself. I think a LOT of fans are going to be shocked at the potential of GT because we've held onto an old mindset for too long.

I agree we can do slightly better in Atlanta and environs. Problem = the secondary schools in the Atlanta public school system and the metro are simply not up to the task of delivering a large number of quality athletes that will qualify academically for Tech on a regular basis. This was one of the main reasons why Ross had such success on the flats. He used his and O'Leary's New York/New Jersey connections to bring in quality football players who could make a difference for us and get admitted. They were real straightforward about this, btw; I heard O'Leary say that the main reason he liked to recruit up North was that the high schools were better and they could get the athletes into Tech. Add in the occasional Florida/NC/Ohio star and mix in the Georgia athletes who could get in and bingo!

But that was then and this is now. The problem of trying to find 4 (and maybe 5) star athletes who can a) get in and b) want to come to Tech is the reason I keep harping on recruiting infrastructure and, though less then some others, national recruiting. I think the "old mindset" you mention is, in part, the recognition of the continuing - and it is - difficulty caused by Tech's curriculum and admission standards. Some here (I'm not saying you) seem to think that this can be wished away by "relentless recruiting" or that the Hill and the BoR are going to change things so that Tech can win more football games. To say that they are living in a fools paradise is to be generous. I think Coach and his assistants can do better in recruiting - I said in another thread that I expect them to get us to VT level directly - but I think you are being way, way to sanguine about our prospects going forward.

Hope I'm wrong and you're right, of course. That'd be awesome.

 

[InsideLB]

My very humble opinion is that if GT just can recruit a few more difference makers--particularly on the D-line--and coaching remains solid, we are going to win a lot of football games. We tend to do more with less, and our guys tend to be hard workers. They have to be.

Of course I will take a 2007 type class every year and I hope it happens. What I think more likely is we will get 1-2 more difference makers per year and perhaps raise the overall baseline quality of talent we get. We have been so close in so many games and also had some special seasons recently. Seems to me like just a little bit more would put us over the top. I'll be psyched for top 20 classes, however I think plugging away with classes in the 20-40 range with a few more difference makers in the mix will do wonders.

Nothing wrong with being optimistic, cautiously optimistic, or skeptical. One thing really working in our favor is expansion of recruiting staff and facility upgrades. Throw in ACC network $$$ and Adidas and that's a lot of positives having little to do with a staff's innate ability to recruits guys. Resources matter. So it's reasonable to assume we can at least somewhat upgrade recruiting and therefore results. Coaching looks to remain solid.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Reminds me of when Pastner was hired.

Interesting that Hall took us to the CWS his first year. (And 2002 and 2006).

A lot of hype then. So it can go either way........

 

[Animal02]

There was very little from the last two years to point to and say "our program is about to turn the corner". Maybe we were headed for another Orange Bowl. But more than likely we were going to struggle for 7 wins.

With Collins, we are still going to struggle with 7 wins. I don't see the difference.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

The difference will have been two years of over the top hype that has fallen flat on it's face IF the results not what is "expected". That will have a far more lasting damage image wise

 

[ncjacket79]

The difference will have been two years of over the top hype that has fallen flat on it's face IF the results not what is "expected". That will have a far more lasting damage image wise

That’s silly imo. Either you win or you lose and if we fall flat it won’t make any difference what kind of hype there is now. In fact if there was no hype over a new staff we should just give up. Hype is expected today and is probably our best chance of making an impact on recruiting, getting the attention of GA athletes and media and getting the program where we all want it to be. Clearly results are crucial but we have a window to become more relevant whether we win or lose in the short term and need to sell the future.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

My very humble opinion is that if GT just can recruit a few more difference makers--particularly on the D-line--and coaching remains solid, we are going to win a lot of football games. We tend to do more with less, and our guys tend to be hard workers. They have to be.

Of course I will take a 2007 type class every year and I hope it happens. What I think more likely is we will get 1-2 more difference makers per year and perhaps raise the overall baseline quality of talent we get. We have been so close in so many games and also had some special seasons recently. Seems to me like just a little bit more would put us over the top. I'll be psyched for top 20 classes, however I think plugging away with classes in the 20-40 range with a few more difference makers in the mix will do wonders.

Nothing wrong with being optimistic, cautiously optimistic, or skeptical. One thing really working in our favor is expansion of recruiting staff and facility upgrades. Throw in ACC network $$$ and Adidas and that's a lot of positives having little to do with a staff's innate ability to recruits guys. Resources matter. So it's reasonable to assume we can at least somewhat upgrade recruiting and therefore results. Coaching looks to remain solid.

Your last sentence is key if true.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Part of me resents the “turning Tech around/new era” mantra as a slap in the face to the last staff/decade of GT football as if we’ve been cellar dwellers the whole time. But part of me realizes it’s necessary to gain traction with recruits.

 

[Techster]

I agree we can do slightly better in Atlanta and environs. Problem = the secondary schools in the Atlanta public school system and the metro are simply not up to the task of delivering a large number of quality athletes that will qualify academically for Tech on a regular basis. This was one of the main reasons why Ross had such success on the flats. He used his and O'Leary's New York/New Jersey connections to bring in quality football players who could make a difference for us and get admitted. They were real straightforward about this, btw; I heard O'Leary say that the main reason he liked to recruit up North was that the high schools were better and they could get the athletes into Tech. Add in the occasional Florida/NC/Ohio star and mix in the Georgia athletes who could get in and bingo!

But that was then and this is now. The problem of trying to find 4 (and maybe 5) star athletes who can a) get in and b) want to come to Tech is the reason I keep harping on recruiting infrastructure and, though less then some others, national recruiting. I think the "old mindset" you mention is, in part, the recognition of the continuing - and it is - difficulty caused by Tech's curriculum and admission standards. Some here (I'm not saying you) seem to think that this can be wished away by "relentless recruiting" or that the Hill and the BoR are going to change things so that Tech can win more football games. To say that they are living in a fools paradise is to be generous. I think Coach and his assistants can do better in recruiting - I said in another thread that I expect them to get us to VT level directly - but I think you are being way, way to sanguine about our prospects going forward.

Hope I'm wrong and you're right, of course. That'd be awesome.

The era of Ross and CPJ/CGC is totally different. Schools in Cobb/Gwinnett/North Fulton/and parts of Dekalb are MUCH better, and produce a high number of elite of recruits. I've lived in Atlanta since first grade, went to HS here in GA, went to GT and graduated in the early 2000's. I can tell you from first hand experience and following recruiting since I was in middle school that even from the time I graduated GT till now, the complexion of the Metro Atlanta area is vastly different in terms of HS education quality and number of elite recruits.

I would go so far as to say if CGC can hand pick recruits just from the areas I mentioned above, GT would be in the playoffs every year. Look at the elite guys that have either gone to UGA or left the state...do a quick look on 247 and you'll be amazed. I am not trying to harp on it, but offensive system of the previous staff held GT back more than fans will ever know. Elite kids are now looking at GT as a viable option both to play in college and develop them into NFL prospects. Now expand our circle into the Southeast and high value areas like the Baltimore/DC/Houston areas? I'm not sure GT fans realize how much we've missed out.

Academics at GT is definitely a hurdle, but the hurdle isn't as high as some want to make out to be. GT will never recruit like UGA, Clemson, 'Bama, or any of the "cool" factory schools, but GT definitely has the ability to pull in more elite prospects than we have in the last decade.

I think we haven't even scratched the surface of how big of a player GT can become in the recruiting world. Like I've said repeated, easy to say...and the proof will be in the pudding. I've waited for years for a coach that has the recruiting vision of CGC to go along with a recruiting friendly system like what Patenaude is bringing. We finally have it, and I think GT will be VERY happy with the results over the next few years.

 

[Animal02]

That’s silly imo. Either you win or you lose and if we fall flat it won’t make any difference what kind of hype there is now. In fact if there was no hype over a new staff we should just give up. Hype is expected today and is probably our best chance of making an impact on recruiting, getting the attention of GA athletes and media and getting the program where we all want it to be. Clearly results are crucial but we have a window to become more relevant whether we win or lose in the short term and need to sell the future.

Nope....if we fall flat......all the hype talk will be used to negatively recruit against Tech for a long time.
You become more relevant by your results.....not just by talking about it.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Staying home and repping the 404 is starting to build momentum with elite local recruits. It's pretty awesome TBH.

I said it for years, there are quite a few elite kids that want (and wanted in the past) to go to GT and rep their hometown school. It's just going to take the right coach, with a progressive and forward thinking approach to make it happen. My coaching friends think GT in Atlanta can be he equivalent of USC/UCLA in LA: Recruits going to their hometown school, become stars and celebrities in a big city and get treated like royalty. And they get to do it in front of friends and family. GT has to give them a reason to stay home, and looks like CGC is aiming for that.

If CGC can get the dominos to fall, GT will begin to recruit itself. I think a LOT of fans are going to be shocked at the potential of GT because we've held onto an old mindset for too long.

Can be like USC or UCLA?

I’d say we are already akin to UCLA and the mutts are our USC. Biggest difference right now is USC can’t quit stepping on their own feet and the mutts are firing on all cylinders.

 

[iceeater1969]

Nope....if we fall flat......all the hype talk will be used to negatively recruit against Tech for a long time.
You become more relevant by your results.....not just by talking about it.

Do we really have to get results.?

I will text Tstan and let him know.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Staying home and repping the 404 is starting to build momentum with elite local recruits. It's pretty awesome TBH.

I said it for years, there are quite a few elite kids that want (and wanted in the past) to go to GT and rep their hometown school. It's just going to take the right coach, with a progressive and forward thinking approach to make it happen. My coaching friends think GT in Atlanta can be he equivalent of USC/UCLA in LA: Recruits going to their hometown school, become stars and celebrities in a big city and get treated like royalty. And they get to do it in front of friends and family. GT has to give them a reason to stay home, and looks like CGC is aiming for that.

If CGC can get the dominos to fall, GT will begin to recruit itself. I think a LOT of fans are going to be shocked at the potential of GT because we've held onto an old mindset for too long.

Tech recruiting itself. For elite talent. That would be a major paradigm shift. It would mean we will suddenly compete for top guys with uga and help keep Bama, Clem, UF, FSU, Tenn, Aub etc our of metro Atl.

I like what you are drinking....actually I think you may be smoking something.

 

[RickStromFan]

I don't recall much hype for Pastner. I think most were initially disappointed in that hire, but talked themselves into cautious optimism, at best.

It was more relief that Coach Gregory was gone than it was ever "Hype" for Pastner.

 

[ncjacket79]

Nope....if we fall flat......all the hype talk will be used to negatively recruit against Tech for a long time.
You become more relevant by your results.....not just by talking about it.

Nope. No one will care about the hype. Kids don’t remember that kind of thing. We would be starting over and the fact that we were losing (in your scenario) is all they will think about.

 

[takethepoints]

The era of Ross and CPJ/CGC is totally different. Schools in Cobb/Gwinnett/North Fulton/and parts of Dekalb are MUCH better, and produce a high number of elite of recruits. I've lived in Atlanta since first grade, went to HS here in GA, went to GT and graduated in the early 2000's. I can tell you from first hand experience and following recruiting since I was in middle school that even from the time I graduated GT till now, the complexion of the Metro Atlanta area is vastly different in terms of HS education quality and number of elite recruits.

I would go so far as to say if CGC can hand pick recruits just from the areas I mentioned above, GT would be in the playoffs every year. Look at the elite guys that have either gone to UGA or left the state...do a quick look on 247 and you'll be amazed. I am not trying to harp on it, but offensive system of the previous staff held GT back more than fans will ever know. Elite kids are now looking at GT as a viable option both to play in college and develop them into NFL prospects. Now expand our circle into the Southeast and high value areas like the Baltimore/DC/Houston areas? I'm not sure GT fans realize how much we've missed out.

Academics at GT is definitely a hurdle, but the hurdle isn't as high as some want to make out to be. GT will never recruit like UGA, Clemson, 'Bama, or any of the "cool" factory schools, but GT definitely has the ability to pull in more elite prospects than we have in the last decade.

I think we haven't even scratched the surface of how big of a player GT can become in the recruiting world. Like I've said repeated, easy to say...and the proof will be in the pudding. I've waited for years for a coach that has the recruiting vision of CGC to go along with a recruiting friendly system like what Patenaude is bringing. We finally have it, and I think GT will be VERY happy with the results over the next few years.

What you say about the Atlanta and metro high schools is correct; they have become more stringent. Problem = since the 1990s, Tech has upped its game as well. I haven't looked at the numbers, but I'm guessing that 50 - 60% of the students at Tech in 1990 couldn't get in today. Or, to put it another way, every advance in the academic standing and requirements by Georgia's high schools has been matched and then some by similar advances at Tech.

I agree that if Coach could hand pick recruits from the metro area, we'd be in high clover. But he can't. Really. He can't. I'm sure that we can pick up that few extra difference makers that Inside is talking about above and that will make it easier for us to win. But, as you point out, we will never recruit like the usual suspects. Having "elite kids" look at Tech is all very well and we will get some of them, especially if we are careful about how we recruit. But, again, I think you are being way, way too sanguine about the skies opening up because we have a new coaching staff.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

What you say about the Atlanta and metro high schools is correct; they have become more stringent. Problem = since the 1990s, Tech has upped its game as well. I haven't looked at the numbers, but I'm guessing that 50 - 60% of the students at Tech in 1990 couldn't get in today. Or, to put it another way, every advance in the academic standing and requirements by Georgia's high schools has been matched and then some by similar advances at Tech.

I agree that if Coach could hand pick recruits from the metro area, we'd be in high clover. But he can't. Really. He can't. I'm sure that we can pick up that few extra difference makers that Inside is talking about above and that will make it easier for us to win. But, as you point out, we will never recruit like the usual suspects. Having "elite kids" look at Tech is all very well and we will get some of them, especially if we are careful about how we recruit. But, again, I think you are being way, way too sanguine about the skies opening up because we have a new coaching staff.

With so many 4.0 students failing to get in....and uga opening an engineering school....I wonder why Tech can’t expand it’s enrollment. Is the campus capacity maxed out?