James Graham 2019 Highlights

[SOWEGA Jacket]

The start isn’t really that important. The important decision is what is the depth chart by the end of the season. Of course, Graham or Yates will start just like Johnson started last season. We have 4 guys and all that matters is who wins the job by August of 2021 because we will lose 2 to the portal and we can’t lose the wrong ones.

 

[WreckinGT]

I would be surprised if Graham doesn’t improve and keep the job all season. If he doesn’t then we are in for a rough ride.

 

[Techster]

Graham has talent to play QB. The key with him is consistency. Watch his highlights...he'll make throws that belong on the NFL level, then he'll throw a pass that will make you shake your head. Even though everyone is making a big deal about Jeff Sims (as we should), don't forget JG was a four star rated athlete at one time. You can see it when he runs with the ball.

The best thing that happened for him last season was staying in at QB. It wasn't pretty most of the time, but he got invaluable reps no one else in the QB room did. Now it's up to him to make the most of the head start.

 

[FlatsLander]

I went to a practice this spring and from what I could tell there, it will be a toss up between Graham and Yates. Graham has really improved since last season from what I saw but Yates looks really sharp too. It will be a battle this fall camp but it’s 50/50 in my mind right now. Either way I’ll be happy.

I accidentally watched the vpisu game from 2019 and Yates had the last like 20 minutes of the game. He looked very well prepared and decisive, especially considering he wasn't getting any blocking up front. He's also actually bigger than I thought. He's listed as 6'-2" and I think 210 lbs.

 

[takethepoints]

I expect our frosh QBs to shirt this season. Why waste them by throwing them to the wolves? Now if one of them turns out to be a world beater, he'll end up starting. But looking at their HS films doesn't make me think they were any better in high school then Yates or Graham and both of them have game experience.

But you can't tell about this until people get on the field. If they do …

 

[GaTech4ever]

To steal a line from Pastner, our QB room needs to get old and stay old. I’ll be pretty disappointed if we have to burn Gleason and/or Sims’ redshirts this season because that means Yates and/or Graham didn’t improve enough.

 

[Techster]

To steal a line from Pastner, our QB room needs to get old and stay old. I’ll be pretty disappointed if we have to burn Gleason and/or Sims’ redshirts this season because that means Yates and/or Graham didn’t improve enough.

Would you be disappointed if Sims/Gleason were the second coming of Trevor Lawrence's freshmen season? Remember, Lawrence basically supplanted a QB that took Clemson to the National Championship the previous season. I wouldn't mind burning their redshirt if that was the case...and I'm not saying that's how it will play out, just saying in some instances you burn that shirt.

 

[stech81]

Would you be disappointed if Sims/Gleason were the second coming of Trevor Lawrence's freshmen season? Remember, Lawrence basically supplanted a QB that took Clemson to the National Championship the previous season. I wouldn't mind burning their redshirt if that was the case...and I'm not saying that's how it will play out, just saying in some instances you burn that shirt.

If they can help us win play them.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

The days of redshirting are over for any player with options. The transfer rules have made redshirts impossible. If you redshirt a Sims or Gleason all you are doing is giving them an extra year at their next school. The only way these guys redshirt is if one of Graham or Yates becomes “ the man”. If so, we can afford to let the other three transfer out. But, if it’s close no way we let talents like Sims and Gleason walk out the door. You guys have to wake up to the new realities and not use old logic. I have trust in Collins to figure it out although I think it could take most of the season. The upside for GT is we should have a talented QB for the foreseeable future. Just wait until Fields wins the Heisman and Ohio State wins the Natty and you’ll see how important playing young players is and making the right call. I can easily see Ohio St. going undefeated and see UGA losing 3. Kirby done screwed up big time and Collins won’t let that happen.

 

[swarmer]

To steal a line from Pastner, our QB room needs to get old and stay old. I’ll be pretty disappointed if we have to burn Gleason and/or Sims’ redshirts this season because that means Yates and/or Graham didn’t improve enough.

Figure out who the best player is. The others will transfer or move positions; backfill will incoming talent. Rinse, repeat.

 

[Gtswifty81]

The days of redshirting are over for any player with options. The transfer rules have made redshirts impossible. If you redshirt a Sims or Gleason all you are doing is giving them an extra year at their next school. The only way these guys redshirt is if one of Graham or Yates becomes “ the man”. If so, we can afford to let the other three transfer out. But, if it’s close no way we let talents like Sims and Gleason walk out the door. You guys have to wake up to the new realities and not use old logic. I have trust in Collins to figure it out although I think it could take most of the season. The upside for GT is we should have a talented QB for the foreseeable future. Just wait until Fields wins the Heisman and Ohio State wins the Natty and you’ll see how important playing young players is and making the right call. I can easily see Ohio St. going undefeated and see UGA losing 3. Kirby done screwed up big time and Collins won’t let that happen.

We don’t have seasoned QB like Kirby did. After watching Fromm under perform last year, perhaps Kirby has second thoughts. However, we have an unproven redshirt sophomore, a redshirt freshman, and two true freshman. That’s about as open a QB Battle that you can find in college football. James has the most experience but then again one year was in a triple option offense and he basically missed the spring practice after his first year. James has a knack for the big play but I want to see efficiency on short to intermediate routes. With our improved OL, I think anyone could win the job.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Exactly. Regarding UGA, Fields wasn’t just a high level QB like Sims and Gleason, he was the #1 dual threat recruit. For Kirby not to be able to keep him will be looked upon historically as blunder that will be part of Kirby being replaced. You simply can’t let it play out the way Kirby did. I expect Collins to get all 4 of our QB’s in a game because he knows he’s losing 2 of them next off season, especially with the California kid on the way, so he has to make the right choice going into 2021.

 

[TromboneJacket]

Exactly. Regarding UGA, Fields wasn’t just a high level QB like Sims and Gleason, he was the #1 dual threat recruit. For Kirby not to be able to keep him will be looked upon historically as blunder that will be part of Kirby being replaced. You simply can’t let it play out the way Kirby did. I expect Collins to get all 4 of our QB’s in a game because he knows he’s losing 2 of them next off season, especially with the California kid on the way, so he has to make the right choice going into 2021.

I think the real lesson Kirby failed to demonstrate is that you play the best player, no matter what position. Losing Fields was a blunder on his part, but it has to be pretty rare for a young talented QB who just led his team to a national championship game for the first time in decades to not be the clear best QB on the team. Something something horse that you rode in on. Based on his history at Temple, I think Collins has shown that no one, not even a starting QB, is immune to getting beat out for a job. And with our QB room so full of talent, that’s exactly the mindset we need to get the most out of that talent. Ask Frank Nutile and Anthony Russo how much Collins cares about experience or continuity compared to performance. I look forward to seeing the results of the all-out brawl to the death that will be our QB competition!

 

[WreckinGT]

Exactly. Regarding UGA, Fields wasn’t just a high level QB like Sims and Gleason, he was the #1 dual threat recruit. For Kirby not to be able to keep him will be looked upon historically as blunder that will be part of Kirby being replaced. You simply can’t let it play out the way Kirby did. I expect Collins to get all 4 of our QB’s in a game because he knows he’s losing 2 of them next off season, especially with the California kid on the way, so he has to make the right choice going into 2021.

There is basically zero chance that Fields would have been as successful under James Coley as he ended up being under Ryan Day. That’s two different stratosphere’s in offensive coaching ability. Georgia’s problems on offense have been coaching. Not talent. That’s why they are on their third offensive coordinator in three seasons.

As for us, We are always going to have new recruits so I guess you expect us to play musical QBs forever? Seems easier to do it the old fashion way and just pick a guy and let the others beat him out if they are able to do so. If this isn’t possible then our offensive coaching staff isn’t capable of evaluating QBs in practice which is a problem.

 

[JacketOff]

1. There is basically zero chance that Fields would have been as successful under James Coley as he ended up being under Ryan Day. That’s two different stratosphere’s in offensive coaching ability. Georgia’s problems on offense have been coaching. Not talent. That’s why they are on their third offensive coordinator in three seasons.

As for us, We are always going to have new recruits so I guess you expect us to play musical QBs forever? Seems easier to do it the old fashion way and just pick a guy and let the others beat him out if they are able to do so. If this isn’t possible then our offensive coaching staff isn’t capable of evaluating QBs in practice which is a problem.

I don’t think anybody expects, or wants to go through another year of QB musical chairs. I think what @SOWEGA Jacket is trying to say is that there isn’t an established “guy” right now, and that this upcoming season will he used to figure out who that guy is. His initial response was about saving the redshirt years for the freshman, and he said that hopefully that would be unnecessary because one of them had won the job. Graham, the returning starter, had a completion percentage of 45.1% and only 12 TDs to 7INTs. Yates only completed 4 of his 12 pass attempts. Now, obviously those numbers aren’t totally the fault of the QB, but they still aren’t good. If Sims or Gleason outplay Graham, who can be presumed to start week 1, and Yates, there’s absolutely no need to redshirt them. Even if it’s going to “waste” a year of their eligibility for a bad team, getting as many game reps as possible is much more important for long term success than saving a year down the road.

I also believe you took his statement a bit out of context with the new recruits coming in every year, and everybody having to earn their spot every year. He made the comparison to Fields and UGA because Fields was the more talented player, but didn’t earn the job because Kirby wanted continuity with Fromm. Graham is going to start this year, but what we don’t want to happen is one of the frosh to be better than him but not earn the spot and end up transferring out. What happened at Clemson between Kelly Bryant and Trevor Lawrence is almost the exact opposite of how the UGA situation played out, and you see how it worked out for them.

On an unrelated note, I had been thinking about this with the higher talent levels Tech has in the QB room. Joe Hamilton was the last Georgia Tech QB drafted, all the way back in 2000. Obviously when you run the TO for 11 years it’s a bit harder to develop NFL caliber QBs, but the point still stands, and it’s a bit embarrassing considering the talent pool that surrounds the Institute. Here’s how some of our rivals compare with QB drafts since 2000

• UNC: 2 drafted (TJ Yates 2011, Mitch Trubisky 2017
• Duke: 2 drafted (Sean Renfree 2013, Daniel Jones 2019)
• Miami: 2 drafted (Ken Dorsey 2003, Brad Kaaya 2016)
• Virginia: 1 drafted (Matt Schaub 2004)
• Virginia Tech: 3 drafted (Michael Vick 2001, Tyrod Taylor 2011, Logan Thomas 2014)
• Pitt: 2 drafted (Tom Savage 2014, Nathan Peterman 2017)
• Clemson: 3 drafted (Charlie Whitehurst 2006, Tahj Boyd 2014, Deshaun Watson 2017)
• Georgia: 5 drafted (Quincy Carter 2001, David Greene 2005, DJ Shockley 2006, Mathew Stafford 2009, Aaron Murray 2014, Jake Fromm 2019)
• Florida State: 5 drafted (Chris Weinke 2001, Adrian Mcpherson 2005, Christian Ponder 2011, EJ Manuel 2013, Jameis Winston 2015)

And just for fun, here’s some teams I wouldn’t call rivals (at least anymore) but who we are competing for recruits against.

• Auburn: 3 drafted: (Jason Campbell 2005, Cam Newton 2011, Jarrett Stidham 2019)
• Florida: 3 drafted (Jesse Palmer 2001, Rex Grossman 2003, Tim Tebow 2010)
• Louisville: 6 drafted (Chris Redman 2000, Dave Ragone 2003, Stefan Lefors 2005, Brian Brohm 2008, Teddy Bridgewater 2014, Lamar Jackson 2018)
• NC State: 4 drafted (Phillip Rivers 2004, Mike Glennon 2013, Jacoby Brissett 2016, Ryan Finley 2019)
• Tennessee: 4 drafted (Tee Martin 2000, Erik Ainge 2008, Jonathan Crompton 2010, Josh Dobbs 2017)
• Stanford: 5 drafted (Todd Husak 2000, Randy Fasani 2002, Trent Edwards 2007, Andrew Luck 2012, Kevin Hogan 2016)

So it seems like there’s at least a decent amount of correlation between QBs getting drafted and overall program success. It’s obviously not a foolproof barometer, but generally the more QBs you get drafted the better your program is. You can also just look at the years these guys were drafted, and most of those programs were top tier while all of these guys they were there. Hopefully getting away from the TO and attracting more talent will help draw some NFL caliber QBs to Tech, and we can develop them even further. It should be very reasonable to have a QB get drafted every 2-3 QB generations.

 

[Oakland]

The days of redshirting are over for any player with options. The transfer rules have made redshirts impossible. If you redshirt a Sims or Gleason all you are doing is giving them an extra year at their next school. The only way these guys redshirt is if one of Graham or Yates becomes “ the man”. If so, we can afford to let the other three transfer out. But, if it’s close no way we let talents like Sims and Gleason walk out the door. You guys have to wake up to the new realities and not use old logic. I have trust in Collins to figure it out although I think it could take most of the season. The upside for GT is we should have a talented QB for the foreseeable future. Just wait until Fields wins the Heisman and Ohio State wins the Natty and you’ll see how important playing young players is and making the right call. I can easily see Ohio St. going undefeated and see UGA losing 3. Kirby done screwed up big time and Collins won’t let that happen.

Agree with you, but remember players are now allowed to play in 4 games without their red-shirts being burned. I think Yates played in just 4 games last season. The 4 game rule and the transfer portal have been an interesting development for college football.

 

[WreckinGT]

I don’t think anybody expects, or wants to go through another year of QB musical chairs. I think what @SOWEGA Jacket is trying to say is that there isn’t an established “guy” right now, and that this upcoming season will he used to figure out who that guy is. His initial response was about saving the redshirt years for the freshman, and he said that hopefully that would be unnecessary because one of them had won the job. Graham, the returning starter, had a completion percentage of 45.1% and only 12 TDs to 7INTs. Yates only completed 4 of his 12 pass attempts. Now, obviously those numbers aren’t totally the fault of the QB, but they still aren’t good. If Sims or Gleason outplay Graham, who can be presumed to start week 1, and Yates, there’s absolutely no need to redshirt them. Even if it’s going to “waste” a year of their eligibility for a bad team, getting as many game reps as possible is much more important for long term success than saving a year down the road.

I also believe you took his statement a bit out of context with the new recruits coming in every year, and everybody having to earn their spot every year. He made the comparison to Fields and UGA because Fields was the more talented player, but didn’t earn the job because Kirby wanted continuity with Fromm. Graham is going to start this year, but what we don’t want to happen is one of the frosh to be better than him but not earn the spot and end up transferring out. What happened at Clemson between Kelly Bryant and Trevor Lawrence is almost the exact opposite of how the UGA situation played out, and you see how it worked out for them.

On an unrelated note, I had been thinking about this with the higher talent levels Tech has in the QB room. Joe Hamilton was the last Georgia Tech QB drafted, all the way back in 2000. Obviously when you run the TO for 11 years it’s a bit harder to develop NFL caliber QBs, but the point still stands, and it’s a bit embarrassing considering the talent pool that surrounds the Institute. Here’s how some of our rivals compare with QB drafts since 2000

• UNC: 2 drafted (TJ Yates 2011, Mitch Trubisky 2017
• Duke: 2 drafted (Sean Renfree 2013, Daniel Jones 2019)
• Miami: 2 drafted (Ken Dorsey 2003, Brad Kaaya 2016)
• Virginia: 1 drafted (Matt Schaub 2004)
• Virginia Tech: 3 drafted (Michael Vick 2001, Tyrod Taylor 2011, Logan Thomas 2014)
• Pitt: 2 drafted (Tom Savage 2014, Nathan Peterman 2017)
• Clemson: 3 drafted (Charlie Whitehurst 2006, Tahj Boyd 2014, Deshaun Watson 2017)
• Georgia: 5 drafted (Quincy Carter 2001, David Greene 2005, DJ Shockley 2006, Mathew Stafford 2009, Aaron Murray 2014, Jake Fromm 2019)
• Florida State: 5 drafted (Chris Weinke 2001, Adrian Mcpherson 2005, Christian Ponder 2011, EJ Manuel 2013, Jameis Winston 2015)

And just for fun, here’s some teams I wouldn’t call rivals (at least anymore) but who we are competing for recruits against.

• Auburn: 3 drafted: (Jason Campbell 2005, Cam Newton 2011, Jarrett Stidham 2019)
• Florida: 3 drafted (Jesse Palmer 2001, Rex Grossman 2003, Tim Tebow 2010)
• Louisville: 6 drafted (Chris Redman 2000, Dave Ragone 2003, Stefan Lefors 2005, Brian Brohm 2008, Teddy Bridgewater 2014, Lamar Jackson 2018)
• NC State: 4 drafted (Phillip Rivers 2004, Mike Glennon 2013, Jacoby Brissett 2016, Ryan Finley 2019)
• Tennessee: 4 drafted (Tee Martin 2000, Erik Ainge 2008, Jonathan Crompton 2010, Josh Dobbs 2017)
• Stanford: 5 drafted (Todd Husak 2000, Randy Fasani 2002, Trent Edwards 2007, Andrew Luck 2012, Kevin Hogan 2016)

So it seems like there’s at least a decent amount of correlation between QBs getting drafted and overall program success. It’s obviously not a foolproof barometer, but generally the more QBs you get drafted the better your program is. You can also just look at the years these guys were drafted, and most of those programs were top tier while all of these guys they were there. Hopefully getting away from the TO and attracting more talent will help draw some NFL caliber QBs to Tech, and we can develop them even further. It should be very reasonable to have a QB get drafted every 2-3 QB generations.

Yes, Graham's numbers weren't good last year. Neither were Sims or Gleason's numbers against significantly lesser competition. As long as we pick one of them I don't really care who it is. If we throw away the season because we are scared to pick a guy then that will be pretty infuriating.

 

[Techster]

The new norm in college sports, not just college football: You will lose kids to transfer.

Wait until the one time transfer rule is passed...it's going to get crazier. The best thing the coaches can do is keep recruiting the best players they possibly can. If a kid decides to leave because he thinks he deserves more playing time, so be it. You can't coach and give kids playing time hoping they stick around because your #1 priority should be winning the game. Teammates know which kids deserve playing time and which kids don't.

This staff is recruiting the best kids they can, and it's up to the kids to prove they deserve playing time. The field work speaks more than the recruiting credentials. Jordan Mason is the prime example. Lightly recruited RB from the CPJ regime, but proved he's our best RB even though the staff recruited one of the best RBs in the country.

If a QB transfers out, I have faith this staff will recruit someone just as good to replace him.

 

[YJMD]

I don't think we are at much risk of losing players who are vying for significant playing time or are waiting their turn behind someone who will be graduating in 1-2 years. We'll have attrition, we've already seen that. People will transfer out. With the exception of Kelton Dawson, have we lost anyone who we figured to play any significant time? Braun doesn't count given he transferred before CGC really got his way of doing things established. RE: Dawson, he's among a group of talented developing players, so it's hard to say whether he was going to be a major player for us on the line. Benson maybe? It's also really hard to figure where he might have been on the depth chart given all the talent we have there.

Primadonna is not the personality we are going after. And we're not going to let anyone who can contribute now languish on the bench to give the guy ahead of them all the touches. I could possibly see this happening at QB even though it's clear last year we were going to give anyone who earned it a chance to play in the games. As we are getting more competitive and in tighter games, pulling your best QB for a series is a risky move. I actually still think we will give other ATL guys at least a series in those games ongoing. It can work, but we've most often seen it when you're #2 guy is a special threat running the ball. One thing CGC has been clear about is the need to make sure someone is game ready as soon as their number is called due to injury. To have that, guys are going to need actual game experience.

 

[smokey_wasp]

To steal a line from Pastner, our QB room needs to get old and stay old. I’ll be pretty disappointed if we have to burn Gleason and/or Sims’ redshirts this season because that means Yates and/or Graham didn’t improve enough.

Not worried about shirts. We have another stud coming in next year who I frankly think could start day 1, depending on how the other guys progress. Play whoever gives us the best chance to win. No need to be strategic with redshirts if you're bringing in fresh talent every year. Pastner isn't really the guy I would be emulating at this point unless we are thinking it's going to take 5 years to get back to a bowl game. Different situation, different recruiting, different type of game.