Question About Tobias Oliver

[Jacketman99]

Tobias’ body makes sense at WR. But his mentality / ball skills are that of a RB / KR. He doesn’t run good routes at WR or catch with his hands particularly well. But he does special things with the ball in his hands. I don’t know where or how he plays, but we need to figure that out.


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Everything you mentioned here can be improved with practice. I think he did well for a guy switching positions mid season. He will now have an entire off-season to dedicate himself to being a full time wr.

 

[LongforDodd]

I've thought about how TO is a WR but with all the talent coming in and returning at the reciver position should CGC start using him like a Taysum Hill?

Yes, except Taysum Hill has much better passing skills.

 

[Lee]

I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes or what TO’s longterm aspirations are. That being said and based on what I’ve seen, I would recommended him to transfer to a school that runs a run heavy option based scheme if I were advising him. He is special in that role. Especially if he improves on his passing.

Selfishly, I’d love for him to hang around. If he does though, I don’t know how you best utilize him save some wildcat type of packages. If he stays, I hope he picks up the nuances of playing WR and can make an impact.

Wish him nothing but the best regardless of what happens.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

He was incredible on kick returns I thought. I think we need to use him there as much as possible. Lowers the risk of regular RBs or WRs getting injured on those plays too. Not sure how he'll fit on the field, but I'm sure the coaches will figure that out. We'll be rotating players, so I'm sure he'll see the field some.

 

[5277hike]

I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes or what TO’s longterm aspirations are. That being said and based on what I’ve seen, I would recommended him to transfer to a school that runs a run heavy option based scheme if I were advising him. He is special in that role. Especially if he improves on his passing.

Selfishly, I’d love for him to hang around. If he does though, I don’t know how you best utilize him save some wildcat type of packages. If he stays, I hope he picks up the nuances of playing WR and can make an impact.

Wish him nothing but the best regardless of what happens.

Not to be disagreeable, but if the Tech degree is more important to him than football, then he is doing exactly the right thing. He gets to enjoy playing P5 football AND get a world class education.

 

[UgaBlows]

I may be wrong but i don’t think he’s going to get much playing time at WR going forward with the talent we've got coming in. I do think he could do great things on a screen pass with a wee bit of blocking.

 

[Lee]

Not to be disagreeable, but if the Tech degree is more important to him than football, then he is doing exactly the right thing. He gets to enjoy playing P5 football AND get a world class education.

Yea, that’s why I started with mentioning No knowing what his longterm aspirations are. I agree the value of a GT degree carries a lot of weight. Less with P5 athletes than most on here want to admit though.

I don't think the bolded will happen much which is why I said I would recommend him going somewhere to play QB. I hope I’m wrong and he balls out next year at WR. If he does, we are in a really good spot because we’ve got some legit talent coming back (Camp, Brown, Carter, and Sanders), adding Ezzard, and bringing in some new talent (hopefully Baker too).

Again, he’s a great kid, leader, and athlete. I wish him nothing but the best.

 

[smokey_wasp]

I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes or what TO’s longterm aspirations are. That being said and based on what I’ve seen, I would recommended him to transfer to a school that runs a run heavy option based scheme if I were advising him. He is special in that role. Especially if he improves on his passing.

Selfishly, I’d love for him to hang around. If he does though, I don’t know how you best utilize him save some wildcat type of packages. If he stays, I hope he picks up the nuances of playing WR and can make an impact.

Wish him nothing but the best regardless of what happens.

Disagree. If he wants to play QB, it's joining the service or going down to FCS. Otherwise, teams would just use him the same as we do, except probably less because they aren't as familiar with his skills. He can stay and be a good all around P5 player at GT. Which ain't bad.

 

[RickStromFan]

Disagree. If he wants to play QB, it's joining the service or going down to FCS. Otherwise, teams would just use him the same as we do, except probably less because they aren't as familiar with his skills. He can stay and be a good all around P5 player at GT. Which ain't bad.

At this point, he'd be foolish to transfer without first getting his GT degree. The chances of post-grad success are higher for him with a GT degree than they are playing football at the next level.

 

[jgtengineer]

At this point, he'd be foolish to transfer without first getting his GT degree. The chances of post-grad success are higher for him with a GT degree than they are playing football at the next level.

Plus get degree, play another year as a return specialist and slot receiver, grad transfer somewhere in need is a smart way to give yourself a shot at the next level.

 

[wrmathis]

He was incredible on kick returns I thought. I think we need to use him there as much as possible. Lowers the risk of regular RBs or WRs getting injured on those plays too. Not sure how he'll fit on the field, but I'm sure the coaches will figure that out. We'll be rotating players, so I'm sure he'll see the field some.

He had a couple big returns but he made some bad decisions on kick offs.

 

[jacket_fan]

I still think TO has great potential. Wish he got more touches last season.

 

[swarmer]

Yes, except Taysum Hill has much better passing skills.

And is much bigger, stronger, and faster

 

[Oakland]

I respect the heck out of TO. However, if he wants a chance at playing at the next level, then he needs to consider and start working out as a defensive back or transfer. Personally, I think he can still make it as a quarterback. He's a RS Junior and probably should have been the starting QB during the 2017 season. The current situation and timing are obstacles now. There's a lot of stuff you can do with a player like TO, but I don't see him playing much at receiver. Defensive back and occasional short yardage wild-cat should be his calling.

 

[InsideLB]

Oliver is a great athlete and a hard worker. For just suddenly playing WR mid-season I thought he did a hell of a job. Exceeded what I thought he'd do.

If he is passionate about pursuing pro ball IMO he is in a good place because the program is #1 super open to position flexibility; 2, has multiple ex-pro coaches and knows the dynamics of the League/what pro coaches need (ST aces, roster management nuances); 3, the GT degree is the back up plan that is second to none; and 4, with the program in transition there are opportunities in many positions.

I could see Tobias staying and seeing how his pro potential plays out, while meanwhile finishing his GT degree. Then if it is evident pro-ball ain't happening he could opt to leverage a grad transfet situation for an advanced degree, or decide to just have a fun as hell season running for a billion yards at a place like Kennesaw St. Or hang out for another year of fun competing here.

To me he is sitting in the cat bird's seat. As long as he works hard in the classroom and on the field he has some fantastic options!

 

[InsideLB]

As for his use on the field, I think it will help having a whole offseason, spring, and fall camp to figutr out how to best use his abilities.

Further, while no doubt the new offense is still being taught, it will be easier with the basics being insalled for a year for the staff to find creative roles that play off of the core of what we want to do.

And there will be other players too competing for those roles. Like JP Mason in wildcat, A. Brown on jet sweeps, etc. So competition is king and TO will have to earn those snaps.

 

[BuckeyeJacket]

Roddy Jones even said he was an “SEC caliber athlete” during the Miami game.

Roddy should know better than to feed into the SEC bias with a comparison like that.

 

[jgtengineer]

Roddy should know better than to feed into the SEC bias with a comparison like that.

Roddy knows how to make money. he works for ESPN they have talking points you have to stick to as color commentary.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Tobias is not going to be playing on Sunday's. I would like to see him tried out at a defensive back position. He has tried offense and he is going to be a backup there at best. Defense may be his sweet spot you never know. He is OK as a return man but not a difference maker there. I wish him the best. Earning that degree has the most upside for him and the balance of the team.

Go Jackets!

 

[YJMD]

He can play at receiver, H-back type of dude, wildcat QB, returner. His talent is north-south running while reading a hole quickly. He's got something special there, but it isn't the overall elusiveness or top-end speed of the return specialist/offensive utility guys we see in the NFL. He's tough enough with good vision for inside run, but he isn't a power runner. He needs enough blocking to open that crease to pay dividends. We just didn't have that on our OL last year. I certainly think he has the athletic ability and size to be a starter or regular contributor for us moving forward, but right now he's facing stiff competition, and we don't know yet whether the line and QB development are enough to utilize him much as yet anyway.

Agree that I don't see NFL future on offense/returning kicks/certainly QB. He has the size and athleticism to think he might be able to get there as a safety, but who knows. He'd have a role on this team, and outside of an academy or lower division I don't see QB in his future, and it seems unlikely he'd have a reason for a waiver, so I expect him to stick around unless he's got his degree already.