So far, so good ??

bobongo

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JacketOff said:
Auburn got 4 top 50 recruits in the state of Georgia to our zero, and 6 of Alabama’s top 50 to our 1.
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Brent's task is to pull this team up by its bootstraps.
Recruiting is near the bottom of the ACC this cycle, but the hope is the Jackets got some undervalued people who fit our needs and with more Ws will come better recruiting days ahead.
The transfer market has been more encouraging. Next season is pivotal.
 
Ibeeballin

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takethepoints said:
I would have said the same thing before 2014. You never know when the lightening will strike.

Like you, I think we have too many issues on O to be a big winner next year. I'd say our ceiling there is about 5 - 7 games. The schedule is more addressable. We'll just have to see. As to recruiting, it's about where it was with Paul. We'll have to see whether we end up with the same kind of performance from Key's recruits that he was able to get. If Key was recruiting for a system, then so much the better.
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As it stands, We return 8-9 starters on both sides of the ball. Any other team, you guys would be salivating like y’all did Pitt
 

augustabuzz

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UgaBlows said:
Try to keep in mind the context of the head-scratchers (UVA and UM) the sh!tshow he got handed and the QB situation

I believe Key can achieve Gailey-esque level (.500 football) immediately and am quite optimistic that given some time will kick our talent-level up and team toughness up to an ACC ***-kicking level.
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When did Gailey drop to .500? I recall that he seemed to win 7 each year.
 

stylee

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bobongo said:
Looks great. One question I have is, who will coach special teams? Norval Mackenzie, our new running backs coach, had great success at Arkansas State with STs:

Norval McKenzie

vucommodores.com vucommodores.com

From the article:
"As the special teams coordinator, McKenzie’s units were some of the best in program history. The Red Wolves set an NCAA record for punt return defense by holding opponents to minus-15 yards for the season, and closed the year ranked sixth nationally in kick return defense." (I believe this was in 2018, his last year at Arky St.)

But Semore is still listed as ST coordinator. J.B. Hall (ST analyst) has had extensive experience coaching with Semore (3 years at Montana), so that's a plus but I was hoping Mackenzie would take over STs.
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This is such an insane statistic.
 
iceeater1969

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Ibeeballin said:
I like what we got of the portal especially Andre White. No did a better job than Semore developing Eley & CT to be All- ACC players. We got Tatum & 2 other productive transfer. I’m more concerned on who will replace KWhite’s impact
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Look forward to your follow up. Maybe group improvement.
Heck, that Moore kid gave a good rush
 
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tmhunter52

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Create a winning program and/or distribute lots of NIL $$$ and you have a better shot at more highly-regarded recruits.
 
jojatk

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For recruiting this year imagine for a moment that you aren’t a GT fan. Now look back at the previous four years of GT football. Now tell me, honestly, leaving your GT fandom at the door, that you can set aside the last four years of results on the field completely and believe in GT with little or no time to really get to know our new staff and even get to know what Key’s teams will be about?

I am very happy with Brent being our head coach. I’m simply saying he needs time to distance himself and this program from the last few years and that’s not going to happen overnight. We need to see more results on the field before more kids will believe that things are truly different. And I think that will happen. The kids we got this year have a vision of what GT can be and I think they will give it everything they have to help they become reality.
 
bobongo

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jojatk said:
For recruiting this year imagine for a moment that you aren’t a GT fan. Now look back at the previous four years of GT football. Now tell me, honestly, leaving your GT fandom at the door, that you can set aside the last four years of results on the field completely and believe in GT with little or no time to really get to know our new staff and even get to know what Key’s teams will be about?

I am very happy with Brent being our head coach. I’m simply saying he needs time to distance himself and this program from the last few years and that’s not going to happen overnight. We need to see more results on the field before more kids will believe that things are truly different. And I think that will happen. The kids we got this year have a vision of what GT can be and I think they will give it everything they have to help they become reality.
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Absolutely - Rome wasn't built in a day. This is a bootstrap operation, and it's going to take some time. Win and they will come - fans, recruits, dollars, all of it.
 
Randy Carson

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I said it before, but it bears repeating:

I want other teams to circle the date of the Tech game on their calendars with a sense of dread because they know they're going to get their tails whipped. Win or lose, they'll know they've gone the full 15 rounds. Like Ali said after his fight with Frazier in Manila,

"It was like death. Closest thing to dyin' that I know."​
​
Strap it on, men. It's game time.
 
SteamWhistle

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Recruiting IWII, with NIL we are going to have to bring the bags or continue to dwindle. The excuse is no longer “doing it the right way” rather we are doing it the cheap way. Staff hires have been really good. With average QB and OL play we can easily win 6 and shoot for 8 wins next season.
 

g0lftime

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bobongo said:
Brent's task is to pull this team up by its bootstraps.
Recruiting is near the bottom of the ACC this cycle, but the hope is the Jackets got some undervalued people who fit our needs and with more Ws will come better recruiting days ahead.
The transfer market has been more encouraging. Next season is pivotal.
Click to expand...
It was inevitable this year. Unknown staff and too many losing seasons to establish solid relationships with some of the better players. This staff has already started recruiting 2 years out with offers. May turn out a lot better at it than our previous coach. We need to be at least sniffing at top 25 ranked classes.
 
Techster

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I like the sum total of the coaches we've brought in on the offensive side even though I'm lukewarm on some individual coaches. I love that we've kept the defensive staff intact (so far) and very interested to see what they can do with an entire offseason of practicing and scheming without someone meddling on how they want to do things. Thacker did a REALLY good job on that side of the ball...credit to Key for seeing Thacker's true value and not what Thacker was under Collins.

I have ZERO doubt Key will be a good coach. It's not impossible to win at GT...well, not as impossible as some make it sound. It's definitely harder to win here than at most places, but a good coach will win 6-8 games regularly here. I've repeated this so many times over the years it's probably getting really old: Since I've been a GT fan since the early 90's, only two coaches have failed to qualify for a bowl game by their third season. We all know who they are. Key almost did it in 8 games when he had to take over for a failed coach, and battled injuries to our top 2 QBs, and basically revamping how we practiced and prepared during the season.

What's difficult at GT is winning 9-11 games, it's even more difficult to win 9-11 games regularly at GT. Will that be the coach Key becomes? I think if Batt and Cabrera (and our donors) give him the tools he's going to be knocking on that door. I think the failure at UCF, and coaching under Saban will be an invaluable experience for Key in the coming years. Key wasn't my first choice, but I said I would have been happy with him under certain circumstances. I REALLY like that Key took a lower HFC salary and deployed the majority of the money into supporting personnel that will go a long way into his success. He WANTS to win here and that's showing he's got skin in the game. Not many coaches are willing to do that.

I think the dividends will pay off sooner than later with Key. He got 8 games to start the foundation of his program, now he has a full spring a fall camp to finish it. I'm certainly more optimistic about our program than I have been in years.
 
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