New in '15: Cottrell brings threatening speed

[takethepoints]

I agree with Buzz. Cotrell is the fastest player we've had at RB since Tony Hollings and he's a step faster then Tony was. The only players we've had since I've been watching Tech football who were as fast were Kelly Campbell and Jeremy Myers. He'll automatically be the fastest RB in the ACC when he steps on Grant Field - and, yes, Virginia, he'll play next year.

But he probably won't start. He'll need time to pick up the blocking. But think ahead: what if he gets as good at blocking as, say, Embry Peeples was? That would mean he would be on the field more often then not. It would also mean a whole lot of long runs.

I also noticed that he's like Dwyer when he runs. He picks a hole, then he turns on the jets. No shilly-shally, no hesitation; he runs as fast as he can directly to where the other side isn't. Boy, do I like that.

 

[Skeptic]

That bolded part is a misnomer. CPJ has always said he doesn't mind throwing the ball...it's just that the rewards of throwing the ball has to outweigh the option of, well, running the option! With what he has in JeT and the "new breed" of ABs who are pretty much as skilled as slot receivers (as @Gtech50 touches on), as well as the usual cadre of WRs we always seem to get in, all signs point to CPJ kinda revamping our personnel (recruiting more multi-purpose RB & WRs to play AB as opposed to pure RBs he has in the past) to pass the ball more. The running game will always be our dominant calling card, but CPJ will put the ball up in the air. We were historically great at running the ball last season because we were also pretty darn good at throwing it. The ability to hurt teams in the air played a big part in our ability to hurt teams on the ground (and vice versa).

CPJ was an OC in the early years of GA Southern, but he also ran the early version of what we know now as "his offense". He had Tracy Ham...look up his numbers. That's what JeT is capable of doing with the help of the guys we have and are bringing in.

Get excited, bro...our offense is setting up to destroy the opposition in ways we only dreamt of when CPJ first got here.

Actually the bolded part was supposed to be facetious. Clearly I flopped. I fully get Johnson's view of the pass, if the pass is needed. There's the rub. Though I don't have a problem. I enjoy his offense, always have, though I picked him up at Navy, not GSU. If I am not as excited as some others perhaps it's because I look at WR, Aback and Bback, and figure we should go slow before declaring problems solved. We're not even in August yet. Then there is the defense -- I am not opening another discussion, really, just enumerating the problems we know about. Before I do handsprings, though, let's start the season.

 

[IronJacket7]

Give him #43 for that 4.3 speed.

 

[RLR]

I agree with Buzz. Cotrell is the fastest player we've had at RB since Tony Hollings and he's a step faster then Tony was. The only players we've had since I've been watching Tech football who were as fast were Kelly Campbell and Jeremy Myers. He'll automatically be the fastest RB in the ACC when he steps on Grant Field - and, yes, Virginia, he'll play next year.

Broderick might have something to say about that, like he did the last time a GT freshman with sub 4.4 speed walked on to the flats. That said, Cottrell is an elite athlete & i'm glad we got him.

 

[RLR]

[QUOTE="Gtech50, post: 156746, member: 2395" For giggles, what would our backfield look like come fall of 2017? Jordan, Campbell? Cottrell, Lands-Davis, Weimerskirch?]Add in Searcy, Lynch, Marshall, and Jarrett[/QUOTE]

• Add the other Marshall, Marcus or TaQuon (unless the latter is coming in at DB?)
• Add JJ Green (2 years of eligibility? 2016 & 17?)
• Add 2017 2nd year player Dedrick Mills to the BBack Mix
• Add 2017 2nd year player Xavier Gnatt to the Aback Mix
• Add Kirvonte Benson to the really, super fast, where do you want me at coach, list.
• And, if that's not enough, take Dorian Walker from the D.
• Oh, and don't for get GT's main man (no matter his future), Jayland.
• Reserve room for the second coming of Godhigh, expected DOA: now - end of time

I mean no offense from this statement & love the upside of every player that was named by the above posts...but, there's a chance you didn't any of the 2017 starters in the backfield...ya, that's how deep GT's backfield is. #ILoveIT

 

[pinglett]

Broderick might have something to say about that, like he did the last time a GT freshman with sub 4.4 speed walked on to the flats. That said, Cottrell is an elite athlete & i'm glad we got him.

I'd love to see another challenge race!

 

[Techster]

JeT - Snoddy - Cottrell race. I'd pay to watch that.

 

[Skeptic]

[QUOTE="Gtech50, post: 156746, member: 2395" For giggles, what would our backfield look like come fall of 2017? Jordan, Campbell? Cottrell, Lands-Davis, Weimerskirch?]Add in Searcy, Lynch, Marshall, and Jarrett

• Add the other Marshall, Marcus or TaQuon (unless the latter is coming in at DB?)
• Add JJ Green (2 years of eligibility? 2016 & 17?)
• Add 2017 2nd year player Dedrick Mills to the BBack Mix
• Add 2017 2nd year player Xavier Gnatt to the Aback Mix
• Add Kirvonte Benson to the really, super fast, where do you want me at coach, list.
• And, if that's not enough, take Dorian Walker from the D.
• Oh, and don't for get GT's main man (no matter his future), Jayland.
• Reserve room for the second coming of Godhigh, expected DOA: now - end of time

I mean no offense from this statement & love the upside of every player that was named by the above posts...but, there's a chance you didn't any of the 2017 starters in the backfield...ya, that's how deep GT's backfield is. #ILoveIT[/QUOTE]
You of course know that Johnson is paying no attention to you at all, right? Love the enthusiasm, but none of these guys have walked across the boundary, and none have had to block D backs, LBs or safeties in an open field, and almost all of them will be 21-22 year-old grown men and probably with 2-3 years varsity experience. Moreover, they may have been hotshots in HS, and good on them, but now almost every opponent they line up with, all over the field, was a hotshot in HS. They are not scholarship athletes for nothing. History shows, I expect, that maybe half the players you name will make the two-deep when all is said and done. They were recruited for potential, and every college bench is filled with potential that never sees the field save the scout team.The backfield is not deep until it is deep. August will be just the end of the beginning for those guys.

 

[Gtech50]

JeT - Snoddy - Cottrell race. I'd pay to watch that.

Snoddy would win easily. They all 3 ran track and Snoddy's 100 times are way faster than the other two. He's 3rd team all-acc in track and the fastest runner at the school.

 

[OldJacketFan]

Snoddy would win easily. They all 3 ran track and Snoddy's 100 times are way faster than the other two. He's 3rd team all-acc in track and the fastest runner at the school.

Snoddy also more physically mature than the other two.

 

[Techster]

Snoddy would win easily. They all 3 ran track and Snoddy's 100 times are way faster than the other two. He's 3rd team all-acc in track and the fastest runner at the school.

I don't believe you...I want video proof.

 

[tech_wreck47]

Just imagine having Snoddy, Thomas, and Corttrell in the back field all at once. Teams would have their hands full with three guys faster than anyone on their D. Then if you put a guy like marshall or lands Davis back their as well.......SCARY.

 

[OldJacketFan]

2016 Jet, Cottrell, Marshall and MLD. Sounds damn good to me! Add JJ Green and Kirvonte Benson in the mix? Speed kills!!!!!!

 

[OldJacketFan]

Just imagine having Snoddy, Thomas, and Corttrell in the back field all at once. Teams would have their hands full with three guys faster than anyone on their D. Then if you put a guy like marshall or lands Davis back their as well.......SCARY.

No need to imagine it, we'll see it this year!

 

[RLR]

You of course know that Johnson is paying no attention to you at all, right? Love the enthusiasm, but none of these guys have walked across the boundary, and none have had to block D backs, LBs or safeties in an open field, and almost all of them will be 21-22 year-old grown men and probably with 2-3 years varsity experience. Moreover, they may have been hotshots in HS, and good on them, but now almost every opponent they line up with, all over the field, was a hotshot in HS. They are not scholarship athletes for nothing. History shows, I expect, that maybe half the players you name will make the two-deep when all is said and done. They were recruited for potential, and every college bench is filled with potential that never sees the field save the scout team.The backfield is not deep until it is deep. August will be just the end of the beginning for those guys.

I know that CPJ's GT football team was 9th in the ACC in attendance in 2014 (down 1% from 2013, no doubt due to awful home schedule). I think that without Mike Bobinski's leadership and marketing, CPJ may not have out lasted the calls to fire him. I know that 9 players from the 2013 recruiting class remain on the team. I know that Ted Roof has helped the momentum of this program a lot. And I know that in the past 3 years, applications to GT have nearly doubled & the acceptance rate has dropped to 33%. GT is quietly entering the elite status of U.S. universities. Atlanta is quietly developing into one of the key economic centers in the U.S. All of this is to say, yes I know that CPJ doesn't care what I'm saying or even knows that I am saying it. And I'm glad. He knows a lot more about his offense than anyone in the world. But, that's where I'll stop the praise - he's an elite offensive coach. He better hope that these player's potential match my enthusiasm, b/c otherwise he's of no value to GT.

As for the depth aspect, you have a fair point. But I'd argue that the (quality of recruits) x (fit with our offense) x (number of quality players who fit our offense) >>> anything we've seen at Tech. Dedrick Mills is the best BB prospect I've seen (ignoring Dwyer). To your point, the same could have been said about Custis at that time. The same goes for Xavier Gnatt (w/ comparison to Autry to support your side). I think you have to give me J.J. Green though. He's undeniably a weapon at A-Back from play 1 in 2016.

Blocking in space isn't as learned & physical a trait as you might think. It's not impossible to fathom a 18 - 19 year old athlete picking it up by say, game 3. It's hard for a DB to juke the blocker b/c the blocker knows the angle. Even if he get's blown up, it could be an effective block. And for smaller guys with exceptional athletic skills? Well, not much you can do as a defensive player when a helmet hits your outside knee. This is just my opinion based on limited experience. We'll leave it for the 2015 season to answer that debate. My overall counterargument is that doubting GT's backfield future potential is like doubting Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South America's future economic power. Yeah, maybe the world ends before then or something of epidemic proportions changes the trajectory, but the expected value is high enough to justify a reasonable belief in its future value. At this very moment, the future potential is definitely trending up. That's more the essence of my post, which was a reply to our future backfield in 2017.

 

[Gtech50]

Just imagine having Snoddy, Thomas, and Corttrell in the back field all at once. Teams would have their hands full with three guys faster than anyone on their D. Then if you put a guy like marshall or lands Davis back their as well.......SCARY.

Put Philpott on the field as well...he ran an 11.0 100m in HS which is just as fast as Cottrell

 

[Skeptic]

... I think you have to give me J.J. Green though. He's undeniably a weapon at A-Back from play 1 in 2016.

Blocking in space isn't as learned & physical a trait as you might think. It's not impossible to fathom a 18 - 19 year old athlete picking it up by say, game 3. It's hard for a DB to juke the blocker b/c the blocker knows the angle. Even if he get's blown up, it could be an effective block. And for smaller guys with exceptional athletic skills? Well, not much you can do as a defensive player when a helmet hits your outside knee. This is just my opinion based on limited experience. We'll leave it for the 2015 season to answer that debate. My overall counterargument is that doubting GT's backfield future potential is like doubting Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South America's future economic power. Yeah, maybe the world ends before then or something of epidemic proportions changes the trajectory, but the expected value is high enough to justify a reasonable belief in its future value. At this very moment, the future potential is definitely trending up. That's more the essence of my post, which was a reply to our future backfield in 2017.

As for blocking in space, well. My efforts, all pathetic, were three years HS and two years small college. It is hard to overstate the difficulty of pulling it off, or for me anyway, and why looking at some of the FSU and MSU film is even more impressive. Our Abacks flatly leveled their guy. At the same time, to see some of the difficulty, note all the missed blocks in both games -- it goes with the territory -- and for one in particular, watch a guy acknowledged as a good blocker, Laskey, whiff one completely on the play against Georgia that Thomas wound up fumbling it away late. He allowed a linebacker to immediately get into his Thomas's grill.

We don't disagree on "potential", which is the point I abjectly tried to make. And the team obviously is trending up, and the hows and whys of that and the effect it is having on players and fans is really worth a separate thread. So we don't disagree on that much. My sense is you have a certitude that "potential" will become "player" that may exceed the track record for such. I am more, well, skeptical. One of my first bosses told me something that somebody told him back down the road: hope for the best. Plan for the worst. I am hoping for sure.

 

[awbuzz]

A healthy Benson is no slouch either. Remember he comes in January '16. Won't be surprised if he's pushing for PT if he's healthy.

 

[OldJacketFan]

A healthy Benson is no slouch either. Remember he comes in January '16. Won't be surprised if he's pushing for PT if he's healthy.

see comment#33

 

[33jacket]

Calvin could rip off a 4.35....
steagall before injury would run in the 4.4 maybe high 4.30 range

we have had some fast guys...

Just imagine having Snoddy, Thomas, and Corttrell in the back field all at once. Teams would have their hands full with three guys faster than anyone on their D. Then if you put a guy like marshall or lands Davis back their as well.......SCARY.

Why do u have to imagine. You will see it this year.