Tucker Gleason Enters the Transfer Portal

[MusicalBuzz]

As usual Swarm members provide a lot of reasoned context .. albeit at times with rose-colored glasses or airy hope. Sometimes it’s also possible just to roll ones eyes and/or even pass judgement (for even these kids aren’t making decisions in a vacuum).

In this sort of instance there is significant waste of time and resource on both sides, and here the interest is our side.

While one could argue that even the 3rd stringer gets up at 6am.. I’d reply, yes the cost of a free education with no other expectation.

Chasing a dream against all odds is by all measure chasing a fool’s dream. Most come to find that out and pay the price. There is no rational logic that the dream plays out in Toledo.

I suspect most of us here made the better choices, which is why I struggle with this particular instance. And, for what it’s worth, have that much extra regard for Yates who I suspect sees the bigger picture -

 

[augustabuzz]

A silly game that millions of people (including yourself and myself) pay to watch.

He is talented enough to play at a high level. Many times QBs from smaller schools are liked more by NFL scouts because they don’t sit behind the best offensive line and don’t have the most talented skill guys around them. See Wentz, Big Ben, Garappalo, Romo, Flacco...etc.

And a degree is a degree. I know that’s blasphemy around these parts, but it’s true. Especially if he does even sniff some NFL time. If he’s smart, a hard worker and has NFL cred, he will be as successful as he wants to be. Even if he never plays in the NFL, if he’s the starting QB for a well known college, it will be similar.

Don’t get me wrong, having a GT degree is helpful for guys that stay local and/or non big name games. I just don’t think it’s as powerful as you think it is.

He gets one shot to play high level college football. Something he’s worked his whole life to do. It’s obvious he was behind Sims who is in the same class as he is. It makes total sense for him to leave.

So if a kid chasing his dream is a microcosm of today’s society, I’ll take it. I think today’s society is the opposite. A bunch of people sitting around waiting for someone to do something for them. Kudos to the young man. Wish him well.

How do you explain Tech losing a starting ILB in 2 consecutive years to Microsoft? IIRC they started at $105k/year. I can't recall that happening at the factories.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/georgia-institute-technology
We're ranked 38th in the world.

 

[augustabuzz]

For those who have not attended Tech here is a primer that may help: you tube Ga Tech Academics

 

[swarmer]

How do you explain Tech losing a starting ILB in 2 consecutive years to Microsoft? IIRC they started at $105k/year. I can't recall that happening at the factories.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/georgia-institute-technology
We're ranked 38th in the world.

What 2 starting MLBs did we lose to Microsoft? Seems like a large exaggeration on your part.

Also, people that go to schools not named Georgia Tech are successful in life too. There are also plenty of ex GT FB players that graduate and struggle to find fruitful careers

 

[yeti92]

What 2 starting MLBs did we lose to Microsoft? Seems like a large exaggeration on your part.

Also, people that go to schools not named Georgia Tech are successful in life too. There are also plenty of ex GT FB players that graduate and struggle to find fruitful careers

Albert Rocker went to work for Microsoft, I don't know who the other would be.

 

[4shotB]

Also, people that go to schools not named Georgia Tech are successful in life too. There are also plenty of ex GT FB players that graduate and struggle to find fruitful careers

I 100% agree. The decision to go to GT was easy for me. I wanted to study engineering and couldn't afford to go to out of state, so I went to GT by default.

I have no regrets about going there. But have noticed that people that went to obscure small schools or large state universities have done (apparently) about as well as I have in life. In fact, I am usuually the only GT grad in my neighborhood, church, clubs, etc.

I do know if I was hiring again, a young man who could handle the rigors of playing college FB and do well in the classroom would be someone to consider no matter where they attended school. I would look at it the same as getting a degree and working a full time job.

At my age, I more and more understand getting only one shot. I applaud these guys for going all in chasing their dreams (as long as they also academically able and willing to make progress toward a degree). You don't want to be playing the "what if' game later in life. The "normal" work world will always be there for them. Nobody in their childhood dreams of becoming the "VP of Finance" or the "assistant to the regiona manager". That's what you do when you give up on being an astronaut, a cowboy, or pitching in the big leagues.

 

[yeti92]

I do know if I was hiring again, a young man who could handle the rigors of playing college FB and do well in the classroom would be someone to consider no matter where they attended school. I would look at it the same as getting a degree and working a full time job.

That's not a good comparison at all. Yes football players have a significant amount of time committed outside the classroom, but they get massive amounts of "assistance" with their class work that a normal student does not.

Facts are facts - football players are, on average, dumber than the non-athlete student population, often by a significant margin.

 

[boger2337]

Why do you say that? They have a senior starter who is coming back next year. They also have Carter Bradley who was a higher rated and more highly touted QB coming out of HS that is ready to take over. Gleason could find it hard to see the field at Toledo for years.

Toledo landed a better rated prospect than Gleason on their own? I figured they had to settle for low 3 star guys

 

[Lee]

How do you explain Tech losing a starting ILB in 2 consecutive years to Microsoft? IIRC they started at $105k/year. I can't recall that happening at the factories.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/georgia-institute-technology
We're ranked 38th in the world.

I would say he's the exception, not the rule. I also say he would've been successful regardless of where he went to school. My guess is he was also not on what we used to call the M train while I was at GT.

Guys like Rocker would be successful in life regardless of where they went to school. You also might want to check the starter thing. Looked him up and it looks like he had 9 total tackles over 3 years. He honestly has a lot in common with Tucker actually. Both went after a great opportunity for them.

This isn't directed at you specifically, but my guess is most of the people posting on here didn't play D1 college athletics. A little secret, that's not a secret, most just choose to ignore it at GT for some reason. The majority of high-level athletes coming out of HS to play in one of the big 3 sports have education way down on the list. It's a nice fallback but isn't a priority in making a decision. I think if more people realized and acknowledged this, they wouldn't get so worked up over the thought of someone "throwing away" their GT degree by transferring.

These guys love playing this game. Many know it's their last chance to do so. To them, getting a chance to go somewhere and play outweighs the potential benefit of a GT degree. Many of these guys want to get into coaching after football anyway and the degree doesn't matter nearly as much.

The GT degree is important for guys that want to go the corporate route. Trust me when I say, not all the athletes we bring in are cut out for the corporate route or have a desire to go that route (put me in this category). This doesn't mean they can't be successful. I actually know several guys that went a different route and are doing really well.

Lastly, the GT degree is valuable. I won't deny that. The value is really for the guys that don't play much or don't have a chance to play at the next level. Like it or not, the NFL card trumps the GT degree card when it comes to opening doors. Having the GT degree to back it up helps add credibility, but it's not as valuable. Guys like Bedford took full advantage of the GT degree and coupled that with playing football. But again, he's a guy that most likely would've been successful regardless of where he went.

 

[orientalnc]

I would say he's the exception, not the rule. I also say he would've been successful regardless of where he went to school. My guess is he was also not on what we used to call the M train while I was at GT.

Guys like Rocker would be successful in life regardless of where they went to school. You also might want to check the starter thing. Looked him up and it looks like he had 9 total tackles over 3 years. He honestly has a lot in common with Tucker actually. Both went after a great opportunity for them.

This isn't directed at you specifically, but my guess is most of the people posting on here didn't play D1 college athletics. A little secret, that's not a secret, most just choose to ignore it at GT for some reason. The majority of high-level athletes coming out of HS to play in one of the big 3 sports have education way down on the list. It's a nice fallback but isn't a priority in making a decision. I think if more people realized and acknowledged this, they wouldn't get so worked up over the thought of someone "throwing away" their GT degree by transferring.

These guys love playing this game. Many know it's their last chance to do so. To them, getting a chance to go somewhere and play outweighs the potential benefit of a GT degree. Many of these guys want to get into coaching after football anyway and the degree doesn't matter nearly as much.

The GT degree is important for guys that want to go the corporate route. Trust me when I say, not all the athletes we bring in are cut out for the corporate route or have a desire to go that route (put me in this category). This doesn't mean they can't be successful. I actually know several guys that went a different route and are doing really well.

Lastly, the GT degree is valuable. I won't deny that. The value is really for the guys that don't play much or don't have a chance to play at the next level. Like it or not, the NFL card trumps the GT degree card when it comes to opening doors. Having the GT degree to back it up helps add credibility, but it's not as valuable. Guys like Bedford took full advantage of the GT degree and coupled that with playing football. But again, he's a guy that most likely would've been successful regardless of where he went.

I am not sure what our graduation rate will be during COVID because this is just a crazy time. But, prior to 2020 we were graduating just under 90% of the football team. The average for the NCAA is about 80%, so there are a lot of kids playing football who are definitely thinking about getting a degree. And, not just at Georgia Tech.

 

[ncjacket79]

That's not a good comparison at all. Yes football players have a significant amount of time committed outside the classroom, but they get massive amounts of "assistance" with their class work that a normal student does not.

Facts are facts - football players are, on average, dumber than the non-athlete student population, often by a significant margin.

So? Even with help graduating, with all of their other commitments and being “dumber” than the average student it says a lot about their willingness to do the work and ability to grind through it.

 

[Lee]

I am not sure what our graduation rate will be during COVID because this is just a crazy time. But, prior to 2020 we were graduating just under 90% of the football team. The average for the NCAA is about 80%, so there are a lot of kids playing football who are definitely thinking about getting a degree. And, not just at Georgia Tech.

I’m not saying they aren’t wanting to get a degree when they get here. I was referring to the impact the value of a degree had on their decision making process.

I had the opportunity to play at the next level for a bit before coming back to finish my degree. I can tell you that my mindset was drastically different when I came back to finish school. Most guys (while they are competing) do what’s necessary to keep them on the field and or other potential incentives. For example, freshman had to have a 3.0 or higher to be able to move off campus when I was there.

To your point though, we have a lot of things in place to make sure our guys are going to class and getting the work done. I commend the AA on that. Seems like it’s gotten even better than when I was there as well.

 

[yeti92]

So? Even with help graduating, with all of their other commitments and being “dumber” than the average student it says a lot about their willingness to do the work and ability to grind through it.

I don't think you understand the kind of help they get. I did several group projects with football players when I was in school, and they were always waaay easier than group projects with non-football players, and not by coincidence. The football player was always "magically" able to do much more than his fair share of the work and have it be very very high quality.

 

[TheJuiceIsLoose]

I don't think you understand the kind of help they get. I did several group projects with football players when I was in school, and they were always waaay easier than group projects with non-football players, and not by coincidence. The football player was always "magically" able to do much more than his fair share of the work and have it be very very high quality.

Oh my!

I hope all the UNC Fans don't go crazy on us like we did them

Were the name of these classes African American Studies?

 

[Gtbowhunter90]

I’m not saying they aren’t wanting to get a degree when they get here. I was referring to the impact the value of a degree had on their decision making process.

I had the opportunity to play at the next level for a bit before coming back to finish my degree. I can tell you that my mindset was drastically different when I came back to finish school. Most guys (while they are competing) do what’s necessary to keep them on the field and or other potential incentives. For example, freshman had to have a 3.0 or higher to be able to move off campus when I was there.

To your point though, we have a lot of things in place to make sure our guys are going to class and getting the work done. I commend the AA on that. Seems like it’s gotten even better than when I was there as well.

If you were a Tech athlete, you should have your checkmark on here!

 

[ncjacket79]

I don't think you understand the kind of help they get. I did several group projects with football players when I was in school, and they were always waaay easier than group projects with non-football players, and not by coincidence. The football player was always "magically" able to do much more than his fair share of the work and have it be very very high quality.

And I’m saying so what? I would have hired many of the athletes I was at Tech with. And I have worked with athletes from other schools who did a good job, handled themselves well and were making a lot of money.

 

[first&ten]

QB transfers were going to happen when your coach decided to go all in with Sims. Extremly risky in my opinion.

 

[THWG]

QB transfers were going to happen when your coach decided to go all in with Sims. Extremly risky in my opinion.

Extremely risky to go with one guy and stick with him? Well damn, just about every coach in the country must be an idiot in your opinion then.

 

[jojatk]

QB transfers were going to happen when your coach decided to go all in with Sims. Extremly risky in my opinion.

It was either go with a sophomore or go with a freshman. Had he gone with a sophomore then likely at least one of the two frosh transfer, if not both. Both frosh were recruited by this staff vs Graham and Yates. Clearly the coaches felt there was way more upside with Sims and were willing to risk losing the other guys vs risking losing Sims and/or Gleason. You pick the risk you think has more upside and I'm sure they probably expected to lose Graham and the other frosh they didn't pick, especially having recruited another QB.

 

[MWBATL]

I am not sure what our graduation rate will be during COVID because this is just a crazy time. But, prior to 2020 we were graduating just under 90% of the football team. The average for the NCAA is about 80%, so there are a lot of kids playing football who are definitely thinking about getting a degree. And, not just at Georgia Tech.

I have to disagree. I am not saying the degree doesn't matter to them, it does. But I have to agree with the OP when he argued that it was secondary to the playing opportunity. I know from having spoken with some GT coaches that in sports like basketball, the players are looking to make a career in...playing basketball. As this is as reasonable a career selection as any, I cannot criticize that choice. Especially nowadays when the NBA is only one of many, many different playing options, all of which offer money and interesting career moves as part of the deal.