Hype and the GT fanbase

[CrackerJacket]

Thing is, CGC's approach is exactly what I think we need right now. He's presenting GT as a great place to prepare yourself for the NFL and life. We already knew that could be the case, but the HC needs to say it and show how it happens; that's what CGC is trying to do! Skepticism is easy, but I'm going with hope, fingers crossed and attired in my GT windbreaker and Adidas cap against the SoTx winter wind.

 

[Animal02]

Would be nice BUT TV is a killer you can see all the games on TV so if you live over 6 hours I can understand those people only wanting to pick a couple of games . I have had season tickets since 1981 but live in Woodstock which is an easy 3o minute dive ( Unless they are working on l -75 like this past year)

Biggest killer of out of town fans is ESPN!
It is impossiple to plan for a game without knowing the starting times. You essentially have to spend two nights in town not knowing if it will be a 12, 12:30, 3:30, 7:30 or 8 pm start. Waiting for an announcement means paying premium for airfare. Prior to ESPN screwing everyone (fortunately we don't have 11 am starts like in the Central Time zone) you could plan ahead and catch an early morning flight, catch the game and leave that evening....booking far enough ahead that the flights were cheap. Now it is a two night hotel stay extra.

 

[stech81]

Biggest killer of out of town fans is ESPN!
It is impossiple to plan for a game without knowing the starting times. You essentially have to spend two nights in town not knowing if it will be a 12, 12:30, 3:30, 7:30 or 8 pm start. Waiting for an announcement means paying premium for airfare. Prior to ESPN screwing everyone (fortunately we don't have 11 am starts like in the Central Time zone) you could plan ahead and catch an early morning flight, catch the game and leave that evening....booking far enough ahead that the flights were cheap. Now it is a two night hotel stay extra.

But we all know all our home games are noon

 

[Animal02]

But we all know all our home games are noon

 

[croberts]

I am a huge CPJ fan but a bigger fan of GT. I am a fan because he came here and stated that he could take us to the top and this guy never gave lip service. He believed. I think most of us see a guy who gave his best shot and is running on empty. At 62 I have seen many new faces come and go. I have hated to see every head coach leave Tech with two exceptions (Bill L@#*% and Pepper). To some it may be surprising than Chan wasn't one of those two. I refused to let his results against Ga rule my life and I saw a uptick in recruiting that absolutely was caused by three young energetic guys. One of those guys is now our head coach. He certainly has one thing in common with CPJ and that is his belief in his ability to get us there. I don't really care to here the delusional few that talk over everyone and act like PJ / 3O was our biggest obstacle nor am I willing to act like the Board of Regents taking away the school of commerce , limited degrees, limited funds, facilities and others were the reasons for our on field short comings. Reality is all of the above. I am excited to see the energy of a young staff that is coming to Atlanta and will more than likely bump our recruiting to a level we haven't seen here in a while. I say this because this guy talked kids into coming to Tech to play in a boring non productive offense that scored 6 points in the ACC championship game and put half of us to sleep during the season. Here is to excitement and getting it done. Welcome home . Another Conyers native with a big leg and a little success against the Dogs told me that our new coach is the BOMB!

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

I am a huge CPJ fan but a bigger fan of GT. I am a fan because he came here and stated that he could take us to the top and this guy never gave lip service. He believed. I think most of us see a guy who gave his best shot and is running on empty. At 62 I have seen many new faces come and go. I have hated to see every head coach leave Tech with two exceptions (Bill L@#*% and Pepper). To some it may be surprising than Chan wasn't one of those two. I refused to let his results against Ga rule my life and I saw a uptick in recruiting that absolutely was caused by three young energetic guys. One of those guys is now our head coach. He certainly has one thing in common with CPJ and that is his belief in his ability to get us there. I don't really care to here the delusional few that talk over everyone and act like PJ / 3O was our biggest obstacle nor am I willing to act like the Board of Regents taking away the school of commerce , limited degrees, limited funds, facilities and others were the reasons for our on field short comings. Reality is all of the above. I am excited to see the energy of a young staff that is coming to Atlanta and will more than likely bump our recruiting to a level we haven't seen here in a while. I say this because this guy talked kids into coming to Tech to play in a boring non productive offense that scored 6 points in the ACC championship game and put half of us to sleep during the season. Here is to excitement and getting it done. Welcome home . Another Conyers native with a big leg and a little success against the Dogs told me that our new coach is the BOMB!

Balanced voice of reason - thanks for the post.

 

[GoldZ]

Not a hype guy either.
Prove it first, because if you don't, all that hype just makes you look silly.
It keeps reminding me of "New Coke"

Not just "New Coke", but B___ L_____ to0. Remember the excitement and enthusiasm about a young energetic coach who was a good recruiter? Prob is, he couldn't coach worth a damn. A lot of people who genuinely support the team are simply turned off by naive hype. Let's just wait till the proof is in the pudding, huh? Imo, CGC is a much better coach than the aforementioned guy that everyone was so hyped up about. This plus TStan getting buy in from the Admin can make for a good outcome, but the sunshine gang needs to realize we did NOT just hire Ralph and George as OC and DC, and CGC is not Ross (but very very few are).

 

[Animal02]

Not just "New Coke", but B___ L_____ to0. Remember the excitement and enthusiasm about a young energetic coach who was a good recruiter? Prob is, he couldn't coach worth a damn. A lot of people who genuinely support the team are simply turned off by naive hype. Let's just wait till the proof is in the pudding, huh? Imo, CGC is a much better coach than the aforementioned guy that everyone was so hyped up about. This plus TStan getting buy in from the Admin can make for a good outcome, but the sunshine gang needs to realize we did NOT just hire Ralph and George as OC and DC, and CGC is not Ross (but very very few are).

That is why I have said I am skeptically optimistic.
(Have to wonder is half the posters here even know what New Coke was )

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Here's the thing: All "fixed" things being equal (facilities, academics, etc.) if GT had all of that, you seriously think a 4 star recruit wants to play in or practice against an offense with the narrative CPJ's spread offense has? The reality is, GT isn't all that far behind those schools in terms of facilities. Sure, we don't have the massive complex that Clemson or Texas or 'Bama or Oregon has, but neither do 90+ percent of college football. Like I pointed out, at one point GT had facilities some of our rivals didn't have and did that help us any? We've got star athletes and celebrities that come to town and use our facilities...that's how good our facilities are. Still, how has that helped us in recruiting?

The next few years will be a big litmus test on the veracity of whether CPJ's offense has held us back in terms of recruiting. We've already got one 4 star recruit putting his commitment on hold because of the change in systems, and we have a prominent former SAs commenting on how the new systems CGC is implementing changes recruiting for us.

As I've always said, the proof is in the pudding. We'll see first hand in the next few years.

The real question for me is if a modest uptick in recruiting, which I expect, is worth it. I mean, can he coach them to produce any better results than the last guy.

 

[Animal02]

The real question for me is if a modest uptick in recruiting, which I expect, is worth it. I mean, can he coach them to produce any better results than the last guy.

But we have other posters quoting TStan as wanting to go after 3* players and upcoach.......which is what CPJ did.......will these other posters complain about poor recruiting if we still end up middle of the pack?
It is rather comical that some believe that being 2nd to last in football spending in the ACC has keptus "close" to other teams....more head in the sand.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

But we have other posters quoting TStan as wanting to go after 3* players and upcoach.......which is what CPJ did.......will these other posters complain about poor recruiting if we still end up middle of the pack?
It is rather comical that some believe that being 2nd to last in football spending in the ACC has keptus "close" to other teams....more head in the sand.

I was optimistic that an infusion in recruiting money/personnel would have given us the recruiting boost necessary to take CPJ's offense and Woody's defense to that mythical next level. Now we're hoping for the same recruiting boost but with a generic offense (ambiguous/meaningless "NFL based" buzzword to lure recruits) that is run by dozen's of other teams , many of which have way more talent than we hope to gain (FSU, Miami, etc) and still struggle to score points.

What I'm really hoping for is a much improved defense that can carry the O much like my Jacksonville Jaguars of a year ago (2017). But that will take a talent shift as well as a scheme one and that doesn't happen over night. You can't just go buy oven ready free agents or select first round draft picks like you can in the NFL.

 

[bobongo]

The real question for me is if a modest uptick in recruiting, which I expect, is worth it. I mean, can he coach them to produce any better results than the last guy.

Well, that's what we're about to find out. Seems to me CPJ's scheme hurt recruiting but also the lack of resources hurt, too. Both things are true. Now the scheme problem is eliminated from the equation and resources are improved. We'll see how it works out. We'll see how the hype works out, too. I'm not much of a hype type, but maybe Collins is onto something. It can't hurt, and we could use a little optimism around here. We just have to give it time.

 

[Vespidae]

So if the plan is to aim for 3* players as you say, and develop them.....why all the complaints about CPJ's recruiting, (not by you) which is essentially what he did. Just a whole lot of hypocrisy by a bunch of posters......

I can only refer posters back to TStan. He does not talk in terms of recruiting 5* players. He has repeatedly said for Tech to succeed, our emphasis will be on Development and turning 3*'s into 5*'s.

"The structural issues at Tech remain.....nothing changes by switching coaches. IMO, that means to overcome that, the proverbial needles in the the haystack must be found (not just hype and saying we are now like all the cool kids) and that will take far more resources than Tech has been spending.

It might require more resources ...but that is not the same as requiring more money. I had a team of 10 Ph.d's in India doing analysis for me that costs less than what we pay a good intern. Really? It's just a spreadsheet. That Tech doesn't do this is not a surprise, but it is a missed opportunity. There are other ways of delivering the output with substantially lower cost.

 

[Animal02]

It might require more resources ...but that is not the same as requiring more money. I had a team of 10 Ph.d's in India doing analysis for me that costs less than what we pay a good intern. Really? It's just a spreadsheet. That Tech doesn't do this is not a surprise, but it is a missed opportunity. There are other ways of delivering the output with substantially lower cost.

I am not saying we should spend like FSU or Bama.....but at some point, you simply need more bodies to do the work.

 

[Animal02]

Not just "New Coke", but B___ L_____ to0. Remember the excitement and enthusiasm about a young energetic coach who was a good recruiter? Prob is, he couldn't coach worth a damn. A lot of people who genuinely support the team are simply turned off by naive hype. Let's just wait till the proof is in the pudding, huh? Imo, CGC is a much better coach than the aforementioned guy that everyone was so hyped up about. This plus TStan getting buy in from the Admin can make for a good outcome, but the sunshine gang needs to realize we did NOT just hire Ralph and George as OC and DC, and CGC is not Ross (but very very few are).

And......if he doesn't find a better sports coat.....he will start reminding me of Herb from WKRP.....just with less hair.

 

[flounder]

Well, that's what we're about to find out. Seems to me CPJ's scheme hurt recruiting but also the lack of resources hurt, too. Both things are true. Now the scheme problem is eliminated from the equation and resources are improved. We'll see how it works out. We'll see how the hype works out, too. I'm not much of a hype type, but maybe Collins is onto something. It can't hurt, and we could use a little optimism around here. We just have to give it time.

Yeah, we'll find out. I'm not anti-CGC, I just think our issues are systemic and we're doomed to failure if we think changing coaches will improve things without addressing those issues. I would love nothing more than to be wrong and have to eat my words.

 

[GTJake]

We got a couple of things right so far, we got the right AD and IMO, the right coach ... I think both these guys "Get GT", especially TStan.
TStan knows whats "broken" and he is going to give it his all to fix it.

 

[Techster]

So predictable.....the anti option crowd ignore the elephant in the room to focus on the mouse in the corner.

For years, CPJ's option offense was the elephant in the recruiting room...and in many ways it's still the elephant in the room as TStan and CGC do not want to disrespect CPJ and his system. That's why CGC is quick to say "Pro Style" and "NFL offense" and not bring up CPJ's option offense at all. It's why TStan chooses to say "innovative" coach as opposed going back to the same style with a Coach Monken or Coach Bohannon.

Personally, I'm a CPJ fan and LOVE the option. In fact, I've pounded the table that our offense needs to keep elements of the option around. However, I'm pretty objective about what the narrative our program has been. I follow recruiting, and it's one of the things that keeps me entertained during the offseason. As a GT fan, you've got to have your head in the sand if you don't think CPJ's system was a big deterrent for a lot of the high level recruits. I mean, you have recruits flat out saying it, HS coaches saying it, recruiting service reporters saying it, local media saying it, national media saying. At what point does a GT fan take their head out of the sand about this?

Over the last 10 years, our system has become just as big of an impediment to recruiting as academics, APR, lack of money, and lack of majors. Think about that.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I am not saying we should spend like FSU or Bama.....but at some point, you simply need more bodies to do the work.

Especially when trying to find needles in haystacks spread all over the country.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

For years, CPJ's option offense was the elephant in the recruiting room...and in many ways it's still the elephant in the room as TStan and CGC do not want to disrespect CPJ and his system. That's why CGC is quick to say "Pro Style" and "NFL offense" and not bring up CPJ's option offense at all. It's why TStan chooses to say "innovative" coach as opposed going back to the same style with a Coach Monken or Coach Bohannon.

Personally, I'm a CPJ fan and LOVE the option. In fact, I've pounded the table that our offense needs to keep elements of the option around. However, I'm pretty objective about what the narrative our program has been. I follow recruiting, and it's one of the things that keeps me entertained during the offseason. As a GT fan, you've got to have your head in the sand if you don't think CPJ's system was a big deterrent for a lot of the high level recruits. I mean, you have recruits flat out saying it, HS coaches saying it, recruiting service reporters saying it, local media saying it, national media saying. At what point does a GT fan take their head out of the sand about this?

Over the last 10 years, our system has become just as big of an impediment to recruiting as academics, APR, lack of money, and lack of majors. Think about that.

I haven’t seen one Coach Johnson supporter say his offense had no impact on recruiting. Now some, including me, have said his offense and play calling maximized his talent and made us more competitive so that the net was a gain not a loss.

Even so, I admit we still needed more talent especially at key positions. We also needed a better defense and special teams play. I was hoping the additional resources in recruiting would give us the bump in talent needed to bring his scheme to the next level. I guess we’ll never know.