Rank the top 5 players on the team

vamosjackets

GT Athlete
Featured Member
Messages
2,147
1. Attaochu
2. Jemea
3. Mason
4. Vad/Justin - whichever one is playing
5. Finch

Hard to put many defenders when our defense has been so weak. Nealy and JHD might deserve to be there, but they haven't established the kind of success as the offensive guys like Mason and Finch. Since there's only one QB and I don't know who it's gonna be yet, I've just got to list either-or with Vad and Justin. Otherwise, they both would be in our top 5 players, and Finch would fall to 6.
 

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
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12,734
He played safety because he was the third best DB and needed to be on the field which I specifically remember being a topic of a press conference as he started fall practice trying to take one of the corner spots.. Young is a better corner.

Huh? Thomas beat out Young.

Young was suspended for the VT game...after that Thomas started over Young for the Presbyterian, Miami, MTSU and UVA game. Thomas did not move to S until the Clemson game...They moved Thomas then because Golden was getting exposed too much and they felt more comfortable putting Young in at CB than Golden at S.
 

AE 87

Helluva Engineer
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13,015
Picking a top five is tough because it is sometimes hard to distinguish the players from the scheme. That being said:
5. Jabari Hunt-Days
4. Quayshawn Nealy
3. Jay Finch
2. Jemea Thomas
1. Jerry Attaochu

Players to watch: Dieke and Cummings

Like probably most of you, I've re-watched the Sun-Bowl a gazillion times, and I Jabari's play just jumps-out. There was one play where he was tackling Redd around the torso, and it looked like he also flipped Isaiah Johnson who was trying to tackle the legs. The improvement throughout the year was pretty remarkable.

Quayshawn's key interceptions in addition to his run-stopping all year similarly jump-out. With the combination of Roof and AndyMac coaching him up, I can very easily see him become a 1st team all-acc Sam. While Watts didn't make my top 5, he's a pretty impressive Will. All 3 of our starting linebackers have the quickness to rush the passer as well.

The top 3 have been discussed, but I think Attaochu has the potential to have a dominating season if he stays healthy. imo, he has the potential to play himself into the upper part of the 1st round
 

SoCal_GT_Fan

Jolly Good Fellow
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251
Location
Orange County
My list would be the top performers on the team (which would be different from top talented players likely to make it to the NFL)
1. Sneezy (I expect he will play like he did after CAG's firing, except for a full season.)
2. Robert Godhigh (what can I say, he just makes plays. Catches clutch passes, runs hard, blocks hard. Makes the most out of his touches)
3. Vad Lee (I'm expecting CPJ to open up the play book more with the physical tools you get with Vad)
4. Louis Young (Expecting him to live up to his potential. A fiery coach like CTR should get him going. Plus, he knows he needs to perform well if he has future aspirations to play on Sundays.)
5. Jemea Thomas (Ball hawk. enough said)
 

GTJason

Helluva Engineer
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1,566
Interestingly enough, hate the star system all you want, but many of the players that are high on everyone's lists were either rated 4 star players by at least one service or were high 3 star players. Of course Godhigh will be brought up, and credit to the coaching staff for developing him from a walk-on to a BCS player and even more to him for working so hard. Just an interesting observation. Might make an interesting thread to rate top 5 2 star or lower players (JHD was rated 2 stars by ESPN, 4 by rivals so not sure if he can count.)
 

johncu

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
209
1 - Thomas (by FAR stood out to me as our best playmaker over the past 2 years with his big hits and ballhawking, despite Groh's apparent dislike for him)
2 - Attaochu (fantastic pass-rusher with double digit sacks, but needs to improve all around)
3 - JHD (looked hesitant early on but was a complete beast in the last two, could end up #1)
4 - Mason (Finch may be more important, but Mason is the better player)
5t - Young (He and Sweeting played like crap last year. I expect a turnaround)
5t - Vad (If he doesn't have to split too much time I could see an All-ACC season)
 

JazzyD95

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
727
Location
The ATL
1. Shaq Mason(absolutely love his play style so I may be biased)
2. Jerimiah attauchu
3. Thomas
4. JHD if he plays like he did in the sun bowl this year
5. Whoever starts at QB
 

BainbridgeJacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,210
Huh? Thomas beat out Young.

Young was suspended for the VT game...after that Thomas started over Young for the Presbyterian, Miami, MTSU and UVA game. Thomas did not move to S until the Clemson game...They moved Thomas then because Golden was getting exposed too much and they felt more comfortable putting Young in at CB than Golden at S.

And the pass defense improved after the change. We can argue all day about the why, but it's not worth anything since we both think he's a good player. I should've prefaced the whole discussion with 'If he was at safety this year he's top 2 easily'. Let's revisit this after this season, but I see Lou having about 50 tackles, 2 ints, and 8 pass breakups. Jemea with about 40/4/4 but allowing more big plays in his direction. Both will get drafted in the later rounds, but I see Lou going higher.
 

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
Messages
12,734
And the pass defense improved after the change. We can argue all day about the why, but it's not worth anything since we both think he's a good player. I should've prefaced the whole discussion with 'If he was at safety this year he's top 2 easily'. Let's revisit this after this season, but I see Lou having about 50 tackles, 2 ints, and 8 pass breakups. Jemea with about 40/4/4 but allowing more big plays in his direction. Both will get drafted in the later rounds, but I see Lou going higher.

As a Sophomore and a CB backup Jemea had 50 tackles and 3 picks...Jemea at S last year had 86 tackles (2nd on team) 61 solo (first on team) I am confident he will have more than 40 this year. Also I'm sure Thomas will be the one lining up against the #1 receivers.

I think the Young numbers are realistic.

Would not be surprised to see Young drafted higher due to his ideal size for the NFL.
 

hdgtfan

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
69
Interesting analysis everyone. I appreciate the input.

Would not be surprised to see Gotsis make
a difference this year, we need some good
play by the D line to see any significant
improvement on D in Roof's first year back
 
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