Locker room issues?

forensicbuzz

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Fwiw, a lot of tail end CPJ guys/first year or two CGC (year or two older than Juanyeh Thomas) wouldn't piss on CGC if he was on fire.

The skinny on the whole "nobody can bench 225 20x" was apparently a farce. The day they "tested" was immediately after a max out day and nobody wanted to push it hard and blow a pec.

Also the OL weight stuff is just not true
This may all be true, but I can't believe it would lead to guys not playing their hardest or doing whatever they could to win. Just doesn't jive with the high-level competitor these guys are. They're the ones out on the field being watched. They want to do as well as they can for or despite CGC.
 

IM79

Jolly Good Fellow
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Exactly. 5 of those losses were one possession losses. My memory (questionable) is that included loses by 1,2, or 3 points.

But my main memory is that the team looked disciplined and solid, platoons getting on and off the field etc. I thought they would win more in his third year based on what I was seeing but at least he had a winning season by 3rd year.
yeah, My memory of those years is very hazy. what stands out of those years for me are the S. Carolina, Maryland and UNC games. Especially the UNC game where Shawn Jones made the run.
 

forensicbuzz

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yeah, My memory of those years is very hazy. what stands out of those years for me are the S. Carolina, Maryland and UNC games. Especially the UNC game where Shawn Jones made the run.
I remember South Carolina my sophomore year. Road trip to Columbia with a fraternity (don't even remember which one). 34-0 over the #8 team in the country. Good times.
 

Heisman's Ghost

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In yesterday's Locked On podcast that Byrce Koon does he talked a lot about issues with players (primarily from CPJ recruits but some CGC recruits) not being bought in and causing major issues in the locker room. He also mentioned that most if not all the guys that were not bought in have now left the program.

If this is the case, which Bryce seems to be certain is it, then that likely contributed to many of the issues we had last year especially on D. I felt like most of the defensive play calls were not bad but broke down cause of miscommunication or players being out of position. If the players don't believe/trust in the coaching staff then they will likely do their own thing and end up out of position.

Thought I would start this thread to see what others thought about Bryce's comments and also to see if anyone here had any further insights into what is/was actually going on. Please don't turn this into a CPJ vs CGC or Fire CGC debate. The focus is more on the player dynamic not the coaches.
After 3 years I am skeptical. The problem is more about lousy game day coaching, player development, and some recruits not panning out as alluded to by Roddy Jones.

In yesterday's Locked On podcast that Byrce Koon does he talked a lot about issues with players (primarily from CPJ recruits but some CGC recruits) not being bought in and causing major issues in the locker room. He also mentioned that most if not all the guys that were not bought in have now left the program.

If this is the case, which Bryce seems to be certain is it, then that likely contributed to many of the issues we had last year especially on D. I felt like most of the defensive play calls were not bad but broke down cause of miscommunication or players being out of position. If the players don't believe/trust in the coaching staff then they will likely do their own thing and end up out of position.

Thought I would start this thread to see what others thought about Bryce's comments and also to see if anyone here had any further insights into what is/was actually going on. Please don't turn this into a CPJ vs CGC or Fire CGC debate. The focus is more on the player dynamic not the coaches.
 

Heisman's Ghost

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If your scenario is accurate and the players were playing poorly because they didn't believe/trust in the coaching staff and were not responding to the coaching, then it IS STILL the coaches fault. If players will not listen and do what you are telling them to do, then said players should not be in the field. It would be better to play smaller/slower guys who try to do what they are supposed to do than incredible athletes who will not do what they are supposed to do.

I am not conceding that your scenario is accurate, just stating that if it were, the coaches should have addressed it early on. I also see the players looking to the sideline until after the ball is snapped as a sign that the play calls were not getting to the players in time to know what they were supposed to do on given plays. The secondary appeared to be confused very often this past year. Some of that might be on the players, but I am certain that at least some of it was on the coaches.
The pine is a coach's best friend. Don't want to make the sacrifices required to get better? Don't want to get with the program? Fine, sit down and enjoy the view.
 

Heisman's Ghost

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I remember South Carolina my sophomore year. Road trip to Columbia with a fraternity (don't even remember which one). 34-0 over the #8 team in the country. Good times.
My recollection is that it was at Grant Field. South Carolina was in the top ten and Tech was terrible. I was living in North Carolina and it was the only game I saw that year. I will double check and see but Todd Rampley had a career game and South Carolina just did not have that week. It happens.
 

Heisman's Ghost

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Game was at BDS... Todd Rampley's only good game that year. That game literally came out of nowhere.
Yep. You are right. Tech won three games that year VMI, The Citadel, and South Carolina. South Carolina was undefeated coming into that game with wins over #6 UGA, North Carolina and a nail biter the week before the Tech game with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. They ran out of gas and it was the end of the line for the Gamecocks.
 

cthenrys

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My recollection is that it was at Grant Field. South Carolina was in the top ten and Tech was terrible. I was living in North Carolina and it was the only game I saw that year. I will double check and see but Todd Rampley had a career game and South Carolina just did not have that week. It happens.
Todd Ellis was the USCe QB. The joke (not a great one) was that Ellis tried to shoot himself but someone intercepted the bullet. Rampley had the game of his life...
 

Jacket05

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I'm just not buying this. It may be that he lost some of the locker room, but I think he had the locker room, to begin with. There were always going to be those who kept quiet and waited to be shown, but I don't think anyone didn't play their hardest when on the field. These guys are competitors and no one is going to do less than the best they can because they all have aspirations and a piss-poor effort won't help them achieve their aspirations.
I don't think anyone quit or didn't play hard, at least anyone that got playing time. I think where this may have caused the most problems is in the secondary with players leaving their assignments to try to make big plays cause they thought they knew better and then it left people completely uncovered.
 

cthenrys

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Yep. You are right. Tech won three games that year VMI, The Citadel, and South Carolina. South Carolina was undefeated coming into that game with wins over #6 UGA, North Carolina and a nail biter the week before the Tech game with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. They ran out of gas and it was the end of the line for the Gamecocks.
We drove up to Chapel Hill for the UNC game. Spent the night in a girls dorm - had an epically great time. Game - not so much. We had a FB who fumbled at the end of the game. We then got pulled over for speeding on the way back. Crazy road trip.
 

forensicbuzz

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Game was at BDS... Todd Rampley's only good game that year. That game literally came out of nowhere.
That's right. The trip was to Clemson maybe? I remember the bus driver got a speeding ticket and everyone chipped in to cover the cost. I was severely inebriated at the time. Maybe it was Clemson 1987. I can't remember. Most of those games blur together because I drank heavily.
 

Northeast Stinger

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My recollection is that it was at Grant Field. South Carolina was in the top ten and Tech was terrible. I was living in North Carolina and it was the only game I saw that year. I will double check and see but Todd Rampley had a career game and South Carolina just did not have that week. It happens.
For more years than I care to admit what I have loved about Tech was the periodic upset of a top ranked team even when Tech had bad seasons, like this South Carolina game, or Pepper Rodgers and Notre Dame or Bill Curry and Alabama. It always told me that Tech was well coached and the players gave it their all.
 

bobongo

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For more years than I care to admit what I have loved about Tech was the periodic upset of a top ranked team even when Tech had bad seasons, like this South Carolina game, or Pepper Rodgers and Notre Dame or Bill Curry and Alabama. It always told me that Tech was well coached and the players gave it their all.
Same here. I always had the feeling the Jackets could beat anybody...or lose to anybody. But always dangerous. Add to that list the win over FSU in 2015.
 
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