Hits and Misses

Em_Jae20

Em_Jae20

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Just a little fun topic of discussion. Regardless of who they signed with, who are some recruits you all hit and/or missed on? Who are some guys you thought would be all world and did nothing and vice versa? Who were some less heralded guys that you all believed would be good and went on to carve out a nice career and vice versa?
 
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IronJacket7

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Keith Brooking - Hit (Not highly rated or recruited)

Donnie Davis - Miss (Very highly rated and recruited)
 
kg01

kg01

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Hit: Philip Wheeler - Was a lowly rated guy. Was the scout team player of the year IIRC then broke out after redshirting.

Miss: Derrick Steagall - Was an all-world guy who's career was plagued by injuries. Did very well for us when he could hit the field though so maybe doesn't belong in the "miss" category. One of my favorite HS/GT players ever. I remember reading about him the the AJC and being excited he was going to be a Yellow Jacket.
 

Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau

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Em_Jae20 said:
Just a little fun topic of discussion. Regardless of who they signed with, who are some recruits you all hit and/or missed on? Who are some guys you thought would be all world and did nothing and vice versa? Who were some less heralded guys that you all believed would be good and went on to carve out a nice career and vice versa?
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Miss--I-Perfection Harris
 

alaguy

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Hit-- Godhigh-maybe the best walk-on in 50 yrs
Miss-Hobie Holliday- a 4-5 star that did little
 
IronJacket7

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kg01 said:
Hit: Philip Wheeler - Was a lowly rated guy. Was the scout team player of the year IIRC then broke out after redshirting.

Miss: Derrick Steagall - Was an all-world guy who's career was plagued by injuries. Did very well for us when he could hit the field though so maybe doesn't belong in the "miss" category. One of my favorite HS/GT players ever. I remember reading about him the the AJC and being excited he was going to be a Yellow Jacket.
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Me too. I have a football he signed. He is still one of my favorite GT players even though his tenure was plagued.
 
Boomergump

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One Hit was Kamichael Hall. I think he was rated fairly low and made a late offer. He was a very important player for us in the Tenuta years.

The big miss that I am going to throw out there was one that actually worked in our favor, big time: Quincy Carter.
 
JazzyD95

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Hit- Jamea Thomas, Phillip wheeler, Gary guyton, Andrew Gardner, Vance walker
Miss-jc Lanier, ayers, bostic(as of now), donely, willie white,

All I can think of off the top of my head
 
swampsting

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Good calls on hits, Jazzy. I'd add Sean Bedford to a list of hits. And I think Donnie Davis is the biggest miss of all. Everybody wanted him. We got him. And couldn't give him back. Steagall had some injuries, IIRC. Rashaun Grant (again, injuries) and Sidney Ford (didn't he put up sick numbers at Pepperell?) were misses, too.
 

takethepoints

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The hit of all time = Mackel Harris. He was the fastest LB (legit 4.4) in the game when he played, but nobody much wanted him because he only weighed 190. Watching OLs try to block him was almost as much fun as watching him run down TBs from behind coming off the back edge. Close second = Brent Cunningham. He weighed 145 soaking wet out of high school, but I've never seen shake and bake like that since. He also got to full speed as fast as OJ (i.e. one step).

The miss of all time = The Dude. Charles Dudish could have been the most talented QB we've ever brought to Tech, but a combo of behavioral problems and really bad offensive schemes doomed what could have been a brilliant career.
 
Techster

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swampsting said:
Good calls on hits, Jazzy. I'd add Sean Bedford to a list of hits. And I think Donnie Davis is the biggest miss of all. Everybody wanted him. We got him. And couldn't give him back. Steagall had some injuries, IIRC. Rashaun Grant (again, injuries) and Sidney Ford (didn't he put up sick numbers at Pepperell?) were misses, too.
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Donnie Davis was recruited by Ross and O'Leary to run the system that Shawn Jones ran. He was perfect for that system. It was a similar system that Joe Hamilton ran.

Ross left for the NFL and "he who shall remain nameless" came in and totally screwed up Davis's development...which culminated in the Nameless Coach's decision to bring in Luginbill (who's now a big talking head for ESPN). That decision divided the locker room.

O'Leary came in and slowly built up Davis's confidence. Davis was a big part in O'Leary's and GT's turnaround in the aftermath of the Nameless Coach's tenure. If Davis had played under Friedgen's tutelage, who knows what may have happened to Davis's career. If anything, Davis was just unlucky with the timing and coaching changes. Had Davis been a QB in this zone read/option era he would have been a star.

Donnie Davis eventually led the Arizona Rattlers to an Arena Bowl championship if that means anything.

Davis is far from being the "biggest miss of all".

BTW...Davis is a great example of how much Ma Tech cares about its SAs even far after their playing days. Read this if you haven't already:

http://gtalumnimag.com/2010/02/i-was-robbed-of-a-true-college-experience/
 
Ibeeballin

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Miss: Laurence Marius. One of Tenuta's favorites. Pretty much had the read carpet laid out for him. Would've been a 3 yr starter opposite of JWD
 
OldJacketFan

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Techster said:
Donnie Davis was recruited by Ross and O'Leary to run the system that Shawn Jones ran. He was perfect for that system. It was a similar system that Joe Hamilton ran.

Ross left for the NFL and "he who shall remain nameless" came in and totally screwed up Davis's development...which culminated in the Nameless Coach's decision to bring in Luginbill (who's now a big talking head for ESPN). That decision divided the locker room.

O'Leary came in and slowly built up Davis's confidence. Davis was a big part in O'Leary's and GT's turnaround in the aftermath of the Nameless Coach's tenure. If Davis had played under Friedgen's tutelage, who knows what may have happened to Davis's career. If anything, Davis was just unlucky with the timing and coaching changes. Had Davis been a QB in this zone read/option era he would have been a star.

Donnie Davis eventually led the Arizona Rattlers to an Arena Bowl championship if that means anything.

Davis is far from being the "biggest miss of all".

BTW...Davis is a great example of how much Ma Tech cares about its SAs even far after their playing days. Read this if you haven't already:

http://gtalumnimag.com/2010/02/i-was-robbed-of-a-true-college-experience/
Click to expand...

Just one more reminder of what Tech can offer IF you want to pursue an education! This example, an many others we've seen, ought to be front and center with EVERY SA recruited by Tech!
 
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