So who leaves? Attrition.

ncjacket79

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He averaged 6 yds per carry against Clemp & mutt combined in 2017. If anyone does that this year, well I’ll come back on here & let all those that think losing KB is no big deal that they were right. I suspect that will be a hard task for whoever inherits the primary ball carrying duties.

I really don’t understand the logic behind dismissing the significance of losing good players. I like our team but GT has never had sufficient depth to just do a shoulder shrug when a star performer unexpectedly departs. We’re not that deep.
I don’t think anyone is dismissing it but if he has decided to leave that’s the way it goes. Players leave when coaches change.
 

stinger 1957

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My thoughts on all of this is that this is not your normal average CFB transition, this is to me is like a tsunami and I can't get upset or worry about who leaves and who stays. It's beyond me to have any idea what current player or players fit in where our new staff is taking us, thank goodness they are the coaches and not me. From a selfish standpoint I just want us to hurry up and make the transition as fast as we can without wrecking the program any more than has to be done. Any big change is tough, it's somewhat painful for many, get the pain over with as soon as possible. To offset the pain for me I will enjoy watching what I perceive to be some outstanding recruiters as work. That's just me, may not be any one else at all.
 

gtwcf

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For the sake of clarity, that was the writer's assumption, NOT Choice's (or CGC's) words.

I think he took the "that's his job" as the RB position as opposed to to be mentally prepared.

“He’d better be mentally prepared,” Choice said. “Because, ultimately, that’s his job. I’ll make sure when he’s in there, he’s locked in and focused to understand what’s going on with the offense. He’s excited and eager to get out on the football field.”

A running back coming off of his at least 2nd (and I think 3rd potentially) ACL tear might not be the same RB we saw in the past. He's a really hard worker, so I'm sure he'll get back close to what he was (if not all the way back). I also really liked what I saw out of Mason during the spring game, and that was with a pretty limited playbook.

Like I said before, I hope KirVonte finds a good fit and we can also be thankful for what he's done in the past. And he'll be a Tech grad, so he'll likely do well no matter what happens.
 

bobongo

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Hypothetical question: If a coach has a good reason for letting a player go but doesn’t say so because he doesn’t want to tarnish that kid’s reputation (grades, team rules, questionable behavior, drugs, attitude), even if the coach himself is slammed for losing players, what should he do? It’s a no-win situation. That’s why they get paid the big bucks.

Not saying this is the case for any specific player, but not saying it isn’t either.

It's a good point, that we can't judge any single situation because it may not be as it seems. Surely that very circumstance has occurred more than once.
 

deeeznutz

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Anyone trying to downplay KirVonte leaving is a fool, it’ll be a big loss. Yes, we have some other good RBs in the stable and some promising athletes coming in the summer, but KB started over the returning backs and has way more game experience than the new kids. I thought he’d be a 1000-1500 yard rusher this year as well as a very solid blocker (hadn’t seen much receiving, which is one area the other guys might have him beat), both areas that he’s clearly ahead of the other RBs. We will be a worse team without him than with him, no way around it. I just hope it’s not that much worse.
 

smokey_wasp

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I don't mean to downplay it, but I guess I am. The more good players the merrier, but the combo of Mason and Howard actually put up slightly better numbers across the board last year than KB did in 2017. Each went over 100 carries and 500 yards apiece last year, so they aren't even that far behind KB, experience-wise. Add to that, Griffin is the most talented back we have had coming in in a long time. I just don't think we are going to skip a beat running the ball whatsoever.
 

forensicbuzz

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Anyone trying to downplay KirVonte leaving is a fool, it’ll be a big loss. Yes, we have some other good RBs in the stable and some promising athletes coming in the summer, but KB started over the returning backs and has way more game experience than the new kids. I thought he’d be a 1000-1500 yard rusher this year as well as a very solid blocker (hadn’t seen much receiving, which is one area the other guys might have him beat), both areas that he’s clearly ahead of the other RBs. We will be a worse team without him than with him, no way around it. I just hope it’s not that much worse.
KB has his sophomore season and 1-1/2 games in his junior season. The two guys coming back have all of last season and one has a year of backing up the previous year. These two guys together had about 1300 yards last year. TO had over 800 yards rushing. TM had over 900 yards rushing.

The previous year, TM had almost 1150 and KB had just over 1050 yards. KB got 1053 yards on 204 carries, Howard/Mason ran for 1223 yards on 215 carries. KB was definitely a work horse in 2017, but the tandem of Howard and Mason were more effective and more productive. Both averaged more yards per carry than KB.

All this being said, I really like KB. He's tough to bring down and if he wants to stay and compete for playing time, I'm all for it. With his injury, I think he's a wildcard. I don't think anyone really understands yet what 2019 holds for KB on the field. It's possible with Howard, Mason, Smith, and the new guys (Griffin, Amerson, and Ellison coming in) that KB and the coaches have decided that the unknown is just that, and that if KB wants a more focused opportunity to start, that may be best elsewhere, assuming he graduates. There's also a chance that this is garbage and that KB is going nowhere. Until he decides to leave, I'm rooting for him. Even if he decides to leave, I'm rooting for him as a player.
 

dtm1997

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Not one that dislikes either, but what's your point? It's very likely that people here who have done just what the above says, have said let's wait and see. They are also the people who haven't bought time shares or fallen for pyramid schemes. Actually, a great many on here have hired, fired, and run large corporations/businesses---at least those that are over 40. They also had patience with Curry and Ross and will with Collins.

My point is that the prior poster described other posters a certain way. My point is that, regardless of them having done it or not, they'll come back in and claim to have, just to defend/propagate their narrative.

I'm in agreement with the post I responded to and I'm a CPJ fan that's looking forward to the CGC era.

I'm aware that GT alums & sidewalk fans alike have run large corporations.
 

awbuzz

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KB has his sophomore season and 1-1/2 games in his junior season. The two guys coming back have all of last season and one has a year of backing up the previous year. These two guys together had about 1300 yards last year. TO had over 800 yards rushing. TM had over 900 yards rushing.

The previous year, TM had almost 1150 and KB had just over 1050 yards. KB got 1053 yards on 204 carries, Howard/Mason ran for 1223 yards on 215 carries. KB was definitely a work horse in 2017, but the tandem of Howard and Mason were more effective and more productive. Both averaged more yards per carry than KB.

All this being said, I really like KB. He's tough to bring down and if he wants to stay and compete for playing time, I'm all for it. With his injury, I think he's a wildcard. I don't think anyone really understands yet what 2019 holds for KB on the field. It's possible with Howard, Mason, Smith, and the new guys (Griffin, Amerson, and Ellison coming in) that KB and the coaches have decided that the unknown is just that, and that if KB wants a more focused opportunity to start, that may be best elsewhere, assuming he graduates. There's also a chance that this is garbage and that KB is going nowhere. Until he decides to leave, I'm rooting for him. Even if he decides to leave, I'm rooting for him as a player.
... maybe he didn't get accepted into a GT Masters program... Might be why he's looking to play elsewhere. Just a WAG...
 

Sebastian GT

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This thread has gone from a complete freakout regarding the new coach processing players to a complete freakout regarding a running back leaving a year early who didn't even play last year and is coming off at least his 2nd blown out knee. Nevermind that we have a bunch of good running backs still on the team and two more potential studs coming in this summer. Running back is the last position on the team anyone needs to be concerned with. I highly doubt Benson would've played as much as he did two years ago this year given all the competition at his position. Best of luck to Kirvonte should he decide pursue football at whatever his new school turns to be.
 

ATL1

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KB has his sophomore season and 1-1/2 games in his junior season. The two guys coming back have all of last season and one has a year of backing up the previous year. These two guys together had about 1300 yards last year. TO had over 800 yards rushing. TM had over 900 yards rushing.

The previous year, TM had almost 1150 and KB had just over 1050 yards. KB got 1053 yards on 204 carries, Howard/Mason ran for 1223 yards on 215 carries. KB was definitely a work horse in 2017, but the tandem of Howard and Mason were more effective and more productive. Both averaged more yards per carry than KB.

All this being said, I really like KB. He's tough to bring down and if he wants to stay and compete for playing time, I'm all for it. With his injury, I think he's a wildcard. I don't think anyone really understands yet what 2019 holds for KB on the field. It's possible with Howard, Mason, Smith, and the new guys (Griffin, Amerson, and Ellison coming in) that KB and the coaches have decided that the unknown is just that, and that if KB wants a more focused opportunity to start, that may be best elsewhere, assuming he graduates. There's also a chance that this is garbage and that KB is going nowhere. Until he decides to leave, I'm rooting for him. Even if he decides to leave, I'm rooting for him as a player.

I mean I like Benson and all but these guys are taking some huge leaps. Mason and Howard did fine last season and some would argue are better suited for this offense.
 

Technut1990

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Perspective guys. Benson was a refreshing surprise if I recall. He was the 3rd guy behind Marshall and Perkins, when we lost both of those guys we all worried. Turned out we were deeper than we thought. Benson is a good player no doubt but declaring this a fatal blow is way overreaching. We have so many backs that I’m worried another may leave, it’s going to be hard to get all these backs enough touches to make them all happy and I personally think any of them could start and do just fine.
 

TampaGT

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Doesn’t really matter. If you are a good Bb, then you will be a good rb in any offense. Why does it matter if they were recruited? One could argue that AA was recruited to be a BB since he was a transfer.
 
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