Looking at the roster...

[gville_jacket]

Who is our RB that gets the good tough yardage inside like Mason, is it one of the incoming FR?

I hope Antonio Martin will fill that role. He's an incoming freshman but he's a bigger back. I could also see us dip back into the portal this summer and grab another veteran RB.

 

[BainbridgeJacket]

QB - Sims has missed enough games in his two years that I'm not happy at the prospect of having a true freshman being the only real backup. Hopefully we don't end up pulling a Maryland and having a LB (knight) playing QB for us
RB - we lost our NFL back, can't act like that isn't a step backwards. We've got some serviceable options.
WR - we lose what, imo, was our best receiver. The good thing is Long's scheme doesn't utilize the slot as the primary weapon. I don't see anything from this group that screams P5 quality.
TE - the transfer is a step up here and will be "serviceable"
OL - losing 3 starters, not gonna sugar coat it, this position group is going to be rough.

DE - just depressing to think about
DT - we're basically reliant on true freshmen contributing heavily.
LB - at least we've still got Eley. He graded out really poorly last year, but isn't atrocious.
DB - transfers probably get some run time, that's essentially our best hope.

In all, we look like a roster built of players that other teams passed on for one reason or another and I lack the faith in our coaching staff to bring out the best qualities in the players we have.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

QB - Sims has missed enough games in his two years that I'm not happy at the prospect of having a true freshman being the only real backup. Hopefully we don't end up pulling a Maryland and having a LB (knight) playing QB for us
RB - we lost our NFL back, can't act like that isn't a step backwards. We've got some serviceable options.
WR - we lose what, imo, was our best receiver. The good thing is Long's scheme doesn't utilize the slot as the primary weapon. I don't see anything from this group that screams P5 quality.
TE - the transfer is a step up here and will be "serviceable"
OL - losing 3 starters, not gonna sugar coat it, this position group is going to be rough.

DE - just depressing to think about
DT - we're basically reliant on true freshmen contributing heavily.
LB - at least we've still got Eley. He graded out really poorly last year, but isn't atrocious.
DB - transfers probably get some run time, that's essentially our best hope.

In all, we look like a roster built of players that other teams passed on for one reason or another and I lack the faith in our coaching staff to bring out the best qualities in the players we have.

Well this is a buzz kill.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Well this is a buzz kill.

Yes, but it is a pretty realistic take.

 

[gville_jacket]

Well this is a buzz kill.

Agreed. I thought the DT comments were especially biased. We’ve got TK, Biggers, and Scott all who have played. Carroll was a big last off-season before redshirting. No idea why we’d have to rely on true freshman unless they earn the spot.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

This post maybe a little long winded but I was looking at the updated roster on ramblinwreck.com and here are some conclusions I came too and I want to see what you all think. As I look IMO my biggest concern is our depth at LB and DE.

QB: We know what is there and we all hope to see Sims produce in his 3rd year.

RB: This room looks vastly different but certainly serviceable. D. Smith will surprise us I think.

WR: Plenty of depth and names that could and should step up. Blackburn could be big.

OL: Definitely some questions but I think these group will hold up okay.

DE: I am concerned with the depth here. Someone help me I see K. White, K. Kennard, K. Harris, J. Robinson, N. Collins and Yondjouen. Definitely need someone here to step up.

DT: not as concerned with depth here especially with freshmen addition. Need playmakers to emerge.

LB: Very concerned with depth. I see Eley, Tatum, Thomas, Meiguez, Franks and
Efford. Maybe I am over thinking bodies needed.

CB: Plenty of bodies here but this group has to have some continuity and skill rise to the top.

S: I hope to see better performances from this group with the changing of the guard. I hope Edwards and the transfers play a big role

The biggest concern I have is the offensive and defensive lines. We lost our three best offensive linemen from last year. There is little to no depth. Coach Key has his work cut out for him.

 

[GCdaJuiceMan]

Offensive Line
Defensive Line
Linebackers
Defensive Backs
In that order.

I like you list in the below order.

Defensive line > it all starts here on defense. If we can't fill running lanes(fall off blocks) or generate pressure none of our other position groups are going to succeed.
Offensive Line > I think they are second on the list because my subdued optimism thinks Long can do a slightly better job than CDP did scheming towards weak/strong parts of the line.
Defensive Backs > While the defense starts with the DL, this area is where we have to make the biggest improvement. Collins needs to prove his worth here next year.
Linebackers > I think brining back leader(s) like Elay and Thomas will help push the young-ins to make a big impact in this group. The talent is there.

 

[UgaBlows]

The biggest concern I have is the offensive and defensive lines. We lost our three best offensive linemen from last year. There is little to no depth. Coach Key has his work cut out for him.

I know this isn’t ideal but I think we may see Tyler Gibson and maybe even the other freshman OL- (Best) get major playing time this season, Gibson looks like our most talented young OL to step on the flats in a while imo.

 

[iceeater1969]

I know this isn’t ideal but I think we may see Tyler Gibson and maybe even the other freshman OL- (Best) get major playing time this season, Gibson looks like our most talented young OL to step on the flats in a while imo.

I am judging this team by how strong they finish the season. Ol must get better by end
Gibson getting pt and doing well would be another positive.

Also the QB WR must somewhat look like they are getting in same page

By end of year we also need a wr that is at least somewhat deserving of double coverage.

 

[bobongo]

QB - Sims has missed enough games in his two years that I'm not happy at the prospect of having a true freshman being the only real backup. Hopefully we don't end up pulling a Maryland and having a LB (knight) playing QB for us
RB - we lost our NFL back, can't act like that isn't a step backwards. We've got some serviceable options.
WR - we lose what, imo, was our best receiver. The good thing is Long's scheme doesn't utilize the slot as the primary weapon. I don't see anything from this group that screams P5 quality.
TE - the transfer is a step up here and will be "serviceable"
OL - losing 3 starters, not gonna sugar coat it, this position group is going to be rough.

DE - just depressing to think about
DT - we're basically reliant on true freshmen contributing heavily.
LB - at least we've still got Eley. He graded out really poorly last year, but isn't atrocious.
DB - transfers probably get some run time, that's essentially our best hope.

In all, we look like a roster built of players that other teams passed on for one reason or another and I lack the faith in our coaching staff to bring out the best qualities in the players we have.

The new coaches will be an upgrade, IMO, but after looking at our situation position by position, I don't know how we're going to get to the 5 wins I predicted in the on-the-record thread.

 

[JacketFan137]

QB - Sims has missed enough games in his two years that I'm not happy at the prospect of having a true freshman being the only real backup. Hopefully we don't end up pulling a Maryland and having a LB (knight) playing QB for us
RB - we lost our NFL back, can't act like that isn't a step backwards. We've got some serviceable options.
WR - we lose what, imo, was our best receiver. The good thing is Long's scheme doesn't utilize the slot as the primary weapon. I don't see anything from this group that screams P5 quality.
TE - the transfer is a step up here and will be "serviceable"
OL - losing 3 starters, not gonna sugar coat it, this position group is going to be rough.

DE - just depressing to think about
DT - we're basically reliant on true freshmen contributing heavily.
LB - at least we've still got Eley. He graded out really poorly last year, but isn't atrocious.
DB - transfers probably get some run time, that's essentially our best hope.

In all, we look like a roster built of players that other teams passed on for one reason or another and I lack the faith in our coaching staff to bring out the best qualities in the players we have.

at QB last year we had no one close to serviceable at backup and i think that’s why gibson was brought in. he has like zero upside and i don’t think he has the tools to compete for a job but he will at least come in and run the offense i bet, which is a welcome change from last year.

blackburn at camp last year was by far the best WR on campus. i’m hoping he can ascend to be the alpha WR cause last year we just had a bunch of JAGs there and honestly i’m not sure there was a lot of p5 quality there anyway.

OL and secondary was so bad last year losing starters may not even be an issue and could end up being addition by subtraction

 

[JacketFan137]

It’s absolutely the incoming freshman. Dude is a tank. Long is also smart enough to put the QB under center and will utilize a big ole blocker at fullback. Long will not stick to something not working. 3rd and 1 will be a lot different with Long than PNode.

we really are the last team that needs to be running from under center on short yardage situations. thats a great idea if you have uga/bamas line or you’re playing in the 80s but efficiency stats are starting to show that shotgun runs are more successful in general and this opens up other options for plays like RPOs and read options.

if anything we may be in the shotgun more with long than with patenaude

 

[tsrich]

This is why I think the coaching changes were made too late. This is a decent staff now (minus D coord and HC), but I don't see how they can turn things around in a single offseason with the talent we have. If we'd made these changes 2 yrs ago, we might be in good shape now

 

[TromboneJacket]

This is why I think the coaching changes were made too late. This is a decent staff now (minus D coord and HC), but I don't see how they can turn things around in a single offseason with the talent we have. If we'd made these changes 2 yrs ago, we might be in good shape now

The problem is we couldn’t have made some of these changes 2 years ago. Chip Long would’ve taken a lot of convincing to come to Tech straight from Notre Dame, and we would have had a heck of a time trying to convince Turner to leave UF for Tech. And I believe Weinke was at Tennessee at that time. It is what it is. With the amount of money getting involved in college football, we were probably going to turn into a feeder system for the big money programs even if we were wildly successful on the field.

 

[bobongo]

The problem is we couldn’t have made some of these changes 2 years ago. Chip Long would’ve taken a lot of convincing to come to Tech straight from Notre Dame, and we would have had a heck of a time trying to convince Turner to leave UF for Tech. And I believe Weinke was at Tennessee at that time. It is what it is. With the amount of money getting involved in college football, we were probably going to turn into a feeder system for the big money programs even if we were wildly successful on the field.

Not those exact guys of course, but changes should have been made before last season at the latest.

 

[JacketFan137]

Not those exact guys of course, but changes should have been made before last season at the latest.

we knew by like week 5 of season 1 patenaude was bad. idk how he kept a job through 2020

 

[WreckinGT]

The problem is we couldn’t have made some of these changes 2 years ago. Chip Long would’ve taken a lot of convincing to come to Tech straight from Notre Dame, and we would have had a heck of a time trying to convince Turner to leave UF for Tech. And I believe Weinke was at Tennessee at that time. It is what it is. With the amount of money getting involved in college football, we were probably going to turn into a feeder system for the big money programs even if we were wildly successful on the field.

Chip Long was fired from Notre Dame two years ago. He went on to work as an analyst for Tennessee. If we couldn't convince a guy who just got fired from another job to take the OC job at GT instead of becoming an analyst for Tennessee then we have much bigger problems.

 

[LongforDodd]

Chip Long is going to be facing a huge problem - how to move the ball with a weak offensive line.

Patenude had the exact same problem...but let's look forward...sorry, my bad.

 

[iceeater1969]

we knew by like week 5 of season 1 patenaude was bad. idk how he kept a job through 2020

Fine point.
When were we first thinking Pat was not going to be the guy to make us. "" very ""good -= week 5 season 1. It was clear this guy was not going to grow into a top 25 oc.
Was a passive search started?
I doubt it.
Tstan was not ready when cpj left.

We need to be constantly upgrading staff .
If we are going to be very good , tstan should be beating the drums for more donations for staff pay raises or upgrades.
It's up or out time at gt.
Ps if we aim at being middle of the pack we will likely be well below.

CGC needs to be furious when we loose to FSU Mia so we will beat the vt types

 

[LongforDodd]

QB - Sims has missed enough games in his two years that I'm not happy at the prospect of having a true freshman being the only real backup. Hopefully we don't end up pulling a Maryland and having a LB (knight) playing QB for us
...

There is a dude named Chris Landry who runs his mouth on the radio and likes to lick dwag nads . His resume contains some time with pro teams. I heard him say a month ago that we may be presently surprised with the kid from Akron, especially his arm.

For what it's worth.