Undrafted Player Deals

[forensicbuzz]

All the greatest rebuilding history stuff was very much minimizing successes under the immediate regime. It was PR speak that backfired. Acting like we were MUCH better pre option than we were (which was ironic because its not like the fridge didn't run alot of it.) And then overtly stating that they were going to prepare any different or even run the formations that week just "run our offense and focus on fundamentals". It was definitely belittling the offense and the opponent.

I'm pretty sure William Perry had nothing to do with our offense. I think John Davis actually had a lot to do with our office when Perry was at Clemson, though.

 

[bobongo]

I didn't say that there was not justification for his firing. I wish the guy would already be out of here. All I said is that 6 undrafted free agent deals does not mean we should have had a sure-fire winning season last year. There are plenty of reasons to fire CGC. Perceived underperformance because a couple of dudes got a shot at the NFL is not one of them. Have we underperformed? Yes. Should he be gone? Yes. Does having 6 udfa deals in the NFL mean we should have had a 9-3 record last year? Absolutely not. Our NFL showing this draft season was pathetic. We are borderline non-existant in the NFL with the exception of 3 really good players and a couple of contributors.

We actually have 7 UFA as I count it to go along with our one draft choice, and while it doesn't mean we should have gone 9-3, we certainly shouldn't have gone 3-9, either.
8 guys signing with the League off a 3-9 team speaks to bad coaching.

 

[jgtengineer]

I'm pretty sure William Perry had nothing to do with our offense. I think John Davis actually had a lot to do with our office when Perry was at Clemson, though.

Friedgin was often nicknamed fridge but i had a laugh.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Friedgin was often nicknamed fridge but i had a laugh.

It was all about the article…but it was meant to funny.

 

[D-man44]

I'm as disappointed as anyone re: on-field coaching and results. There is plenty of evidence and reason to be concerned about what we're capable of with the current HC.

That said, pointing to this year's NFL draft and free agent signings/mini-camps as an indictment on X's and O's coaching is not the proof folks should point to. A single draft pick does not prove we had the talent. That is the opposite. Nor do free agent signings and mini-camp invites that happen with every school.

For comparison, here's a sampling of schools that had more NFL draft picks:

• UTSA
• Western Kentucky
• Central Michigan
• Toledo
• Tulsa
• Washington State
• California
• Illinois
• Montana State (FCS)

Here's a few that matched us:

• 21 FCS and Division II schools
• South Alabama
• Kansas
• Indiana

The good news is a lot of our "on paper" roster talent was younger i.e., still marinating.

Some caution is, will we keep those guys and will they develop?

And that guys that could become be NFL prospects (Gibbs and Ivey) transferred out

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

I didn't say that there was not justification for his firing. I wish the guy would already be out of here. All I said is that 6 undrafted free agent deals does not mean we should have had a sure-fire winning season last year. There are plenty of reasons to fire CGC. Perceived underperformance because a couple of dudes got a shot at the NFL is not one of them. Have we underperformed? Yes. Should he be gone? Yes. Does having 6 udfa deals in the NFL mean we should have had a 9-3 record last year? Absolutely not. Our NFL showing this draft season was pathetic. We are borderline non-existant in the NFL with the exception of 3 really good players and a couple of contributors.

Point taken and acknowledged. I don't care that much about the NFL, don't watch it, and have no interest in it. As for Coach Collins, my fear is that if this train is not turned around this year, then we will be staring at a strong possibility of a "lost decade" similar to what both Tennessee and Nebraska have endured.

 

[jacketup]

A few guys who get tryouts with the NFL doesn't have anything to do with whether or not we should have won more games. How many of them are linemen? It takes a team.

You don't win without linemen. Most coaches taking over a program would have had at least a few OL starters recruited by the prior coach. At a minimum, 3 starting OL, and some depth, should be recruits by the prior coach--the 3rd, 4th and 5th year guys should be from the prior coach's recruiting.

We had ONE guy from the prior staff that was a starter--Minihan. And as we saw in the last 2 games, ZERO serviceable second team guys from the prior staff. Collins/Key did a good job piecing together a line from the portal, but when injuries happened we had no depth. No grad transfers were going to come just to provide depth.

The average poster on this board is completely clueless about how difficult this transition was going to be--and is--because of the OL situation. Then again, the average fan knows little to nothing about offensive line play. The hardest position for college teams to recruit in the quantity needed is OL, and we are still digging out of the hole that present in 2019.

 

[Billygoat91]

Point taken and acknowledged. I don't care that much about the NFL, don't watch it, and have no interest in it. As for Coach Collins, my fear is that if this train is not turned around this year, then we will be staring at a strong possibility of a "lost decade" similar to what both Tennessee and Nebraska have endured.

I agree entirely with the last part and fear we may already be there. Let's hope not

 

[Tennessee GT Fan]

Did any Georgia Tech players wind up in the USFL? I wonder how many will wind up in the XFL when it starts up again in 2023 owned by The Rock?

 

[iceeater1969]

Thought I would bump this football talk thread

FIRST
The cuts start on 16 Aug - down 5 to 85.
SECOND
Then down to 80 on 23 Aug.
THIRD
Big cut at end of month down to 53 on 30 Aug.

I hope we get a good group to the third cut.

 

[JacketFan137]

Thought I would bump this football talk thread

FIRST
The cuts start on 16 Aug - down 5 to 85.
SECOND
Then down to 80 on 23 Aug.
THIRD
Big cut at end of month down to 53 on 30 Aug.

I hope we get a good group to the third cut.

i have a hard time seeing anyone but tariq and thomas lasting and making the final 53. mason got unlucky to be in such a crowded backfield he may have to play special teams to find a spot. mmcgowan might float around some practice squads just cause he’s fast

 

[GaTech4ever]

mmcgowan might float around some practice squads just cause he’s fast

I like McGowan, but a 4.6 40 as a 5’10” slot WR isn’t really that fast.

 

[g0lftime]

I like McGowan, but a 4.6 40 as a 5’10” slot WR isn’t really that fast.

He ran good routes and could get open. Glad he played at least one year for us.

 

[GaTech4ever]

He ran good routes and could get open. Glad he played at least one year for us.

I agree. Just trying to keep it real:

 

[swampsting]

He ran good routes and could get open. Glad he played at least one year for us.

He's going to have a much harder time getting open against NFL secondaries.

 

[swampsting]

A few guys who get tryouts with the NFL doesn't have anything to do with whether or not we should have won more games. How many of them are linemen? It takes a team.

You don't win without linemen. Most coaches taking over a program would have had at least a few OL starters recruited by the prior coach. At a minimum, 3 starting OL, and some depth, should be recruits by the prior coach--the 3rd, 4th and 5th year guys should be from the prior coach's recruiting.

We had ONE guy from the prior staff that was a starter--Minihan. And as we saw in the last 2 games, ZERO serviceable second team guys from the prior staff. Collins/Key did a good job piecing together a line from the portal, but when injuries happened we had no depth. No grad transfers were going to come just to provide depth.

That was one guy this past year.
Never mind that Quinney - at 6-6 - was a starter the year before prior to hanging it up. Cooper, at 6-3 and 300 plus, would have been a starter too if healthy, which he wasn't under CGC.
CGC moved Lee to the D line before he left, and Hansen, at also over 300, got hurt and left as well, but had the makings of being a really good guard in the old offense.
Not to mention Charlie Clark (6-4, 305), who started a game in place of Jordan Williams in 2020, but also left after the year.
So at some point, the depth was there. But it left. And CGC has had to go to the portal to plug the holes because of some misses in OL recruiting.
Going into that first spring, three of the five starters (and six of the top 10) from the QuickLane Bowl were still on the team. Even Key himself said the fact they've played a bunch of football is significant, even if they weren't what they wanted going forward in OL.
Don't forget CGC let the two OL commits from PJ's 19 class go and did not sign a single OL for that class, either. Those guys would be fourth-year guys going into 2022.
Any failings on OL depth have to be placed on CGC's shoulders as well.

 

[GaTech4ever]

I would put $ on Jordan Mason being, at worst, the Niners 3rd sting RB Week 1 barring any unfortunate injury.

 

[jacketup]

We actually have 7 UFA as I count it to go along with our one draft choice, and while it doesn't mean we should have gone 9-3, we certainly shouldn't have gone 3-9, either.
8 guys signing with the League off a 3-9 team speaks to bad coaching.

We were 3-3 until injuries set in. What that speaks to is bad depth, not bad coaching. The lack of depth left by the last staff was due to bad recruiting, which is part of coaching. I will agree with you on that.

 

[bobongo]

We were 3-3 until injuries set in. What that speaks to is bad depth, not bad coaching. The lack of depth left by the last staff was due to bad recruiting, which is part of coaching. I will agree with you on that.

You're blaming Paul for a lack of depth in year three of Geoff Collins.

 

[jacketup]

That was one guy this past year.
Never mind that Quinney - at 6-6 - was a starter the year before prior to hanging it up. Cooper, at 6-3 and 300 plus, would have been a starter too if healthy, which he wasn't under CGC.
CGC moved Lee to the D line before he left, and Hansen, at also over 300, got hurt and left as well, but had the makings of being a really good guard in the old offense.
Not to mention Charlie Clark (6-4, 305), who started a game in place of Jordan Williams in 2020, but also left after the year.
So at some point, the depth was there. But it left. And CGC has had to go to the portal to plug the holes because of some misses in OL recruiting.
Going into that first spring, three of the five starters (and six of the top 10) from the QuickLane Bowl were still on the team. Even Key himself said the fact they've played a bunch of football is significant, even if they weren't what they wanted going forward in OL.
Don't forget CGC let the two OL commits from PJ's 19 class go and did not sign a single OL for that class, either. Those guys would be fourth-year guys going into 2022.
Any failings on OL depth have to be placed on CGC's shoulders as well.

But Cooper wasn't healthy. So where was the depth? Charlie Clark wasn't highly recruited and wasn't a P5 player. Williams was forced to start as a freshman because we had no options--he wasn't ready to play then. That's all the proof you need that the last staff did not leave adequate numbers of quality OL behind. William Lay, a walk on, has gotten significant playing time because of no depth.

There were Johnson OL recruits on the team the last 3 years that could never break into the line up, even as reserves, and even with our lack of depth. The two guys that Johnson had commitments from in 2019 weren't P5 Players and therefore weren't signed by Collins. Contrary to your statement, the depth has not been there--particularly at OT--and still isn't. You are correct that Collins had to go into the portal, but he was getting one year grads (he got 2 years out of Hoss) but that wasn't helping depth--that was plugging holes.

The biggest difference between college teams is OL, and it's not easy to go out and get 5 quality linemen in a year. You can't build depth in 2 recruiting years on the OL starting from little more than scratch--and that's where we were last year. Again, look at who played against UGA--and even where they played--Hoss was at tackle, and he is not a P5 tackle. Franklin at center, a true Fr who had played very little. Lay at guard.

The last staff could get by with FCS type players running that option offense, but 280 pound tackles can't pass block. Go back and look at the 2018 depth chart and look at the size of those guys. Friedgen didn't want an OL that was less than 6'4" and he knows a bit about OL. Johnson's teams (after Gailey's recruits left) were never good at passing--and that's one big reason.

Attrition and injuries happen on the OL. OL aren't ready to play as freshmen with very few exceptions. Every all ACC player last year down to third team--15 guys-- was at least a third year player. Except for grad transfers, Minihan (hurt at Miami) and Lay (a walk on) we didn't have any third year OL, and that's completely on the last staff that signed lots of A backs but never enough linemen. But again, the option will allow FCS quality players. Of course, the option presents other issues, which is why no P5 teams use it.

My coaching criticism is that Key worked them too hard in practice after the season began, resulting in injuries. A guy who isn't hurt--even if he is inexperced-- is generally better than the same guy who is hurt. Friedgen backed off after the season began because we never had great depth then either. This isn't Alabama Brent.