What would've happened...

[Jacket4Life9]

A) if Josh Nesbitt had never set foot on Georgia Tech's campus. Did his existence factor in on CPJ's hire? I doubt it, but looking back, I believe that without Josh, CPJ would've maybe won 4-6 games in his first season. I think 2008's success was more crucial to his GT career than anyone realizes. Without Josh, that machine likely wouldn't have run. It took a few years for the system to be fully implemented at Tech. It says a great deal about the 2008 teams' athleticism (Josh's especially) to just adapt and rattle off 9 wins. Our defense was better in '08, but our offense did surprisingly well. My point is, Josh Nesbitt being 6'0, 215, on campus with a year of good experience was crucial for CPJ and the program as a whole. Not to knock the kid, but if we had to start Jaybo Shaw as a true freshman in 08, we wouldn't be where we are today.

B) if Demaryius Thomas followed many of his teammates and transferred due to the new offense coming in. DT was an invaluable piece of the team in 08 and especially 09. His presence and contributions literally made the difference in several games. Without the jump balls and deep TD's, which we have not had the luxury of seeing on the Flats since, we would not have had the 2009 season that we did.

C) DJ Donley stayed on campus. This kid was a beast. I understand his decision to leave after CPJ's hiring. It was not as evident at the time that a 6'4 200+ receiver is an absolute perfect fit for the spread option offense (Yes, 6'4 200 works in about all offenses). Picture him playing on the other side of DT. Good luck covering those two.

 

[Blumpkin Souffle]

What if my aunt had balls? Well then she'd be my uncle. We can go on and on with the "What if" game and apparaoch an infinite number of scenarios. Maybe if Nesbitt transfers Jaybo stays and ends up winning the ACC in his Junior year after starting for two years. Maybe Kevin Cone turns into a viable threat. Who knows?

 

[Jacket4Life9]

What if my aunt had balls? Well then she'd be my uncle. We can go on and on with the "What if" game and apparaoch an infinite number of scenarios. Maybe if Nesbitt transfers Jaybo stays and ends up winning the ACC in his Junior year after starting for two years. Maybe Kevin Cone turns into a viable threat. Who knows?

I was mainly highlighting the importance of Josh and Bebe being available to us during CPJ's first years. Without those two, our program under CPJ would be in a much lesser place. I would argue that CPJ might not even be at Tech today. There are not an infinite number of reasonable scenarios (such as Josh not being on our roster prior to CPJ and/or Demaryius deciding to play elsewhere)... Those two particular scenarios could have easily happened. The scenarios that you mention are not very reasonable, and if you replace Josh with Jaybo and DT with Cone, we do not win the ACC. Jaybo/Cone do not even belong in the same conversation as Josh/bebe. Cone being "viable" and Cone giving us what DT gave us are two different things. More than likely that we will not see another DT caliber WR again under CPJ. Not all "what if" scenarios have the same degree of likelihood/reasonableness.

I brought up the last point about DJ Donley because I thought about the kid and how I never heard from him again after he left for Purdue. I believe he would've succeeded and thrived in CPJ's system.

 

[Jacketman1]

D) What if CPJ was hired INSTEAD of Gailey? How good would Reggie have been? Would we have even gotten Reggie? Would we have gotten Calvin?

 

[MikeJackets]

D) What if CPJ was hired INSTEAD of Gailey? How good would Reggie have been? Would we have even gotten Reggie? Would we have gotten Calvin?

What would have happened if Bill Curry or George O'Leary would have stayed at GT?

 

[Sideways]

A) if Josh Nesbitt had never set foot on Georgia Tech's campus. Did his existence factor in on CPJ's hire? I doubt it, but looking back, I believe that without Josh, CPJ would've maybe won 4-6 games in his first season. I think 2008's success was more crucial to his GT career than anyone realizes. Without Josh, that machine likely wouldn't have run. It took a few years for the system to be fully implemented at Tech. It says a great deal about the 2008 teams' athleticism (Josh's especially) to just adapt and rattle off 9 wins. Our defense was better in '08, but our offense did surprisingly well. My point is, Josh Nesbitt being 6'0, 215, on campus with a year of good experience was crucial for CPJ and the program as a whole. Not to knock the kid, but if we had to start Jaybo Shaw as a true freshman in 08, we wouldn't be where we are today.

B) if Demaryius Thomas followed many of his teammates and transferred due to the new offense coming in. DT was an invaluable piece of the team in 08 and especially 09. His presence and contributions literally made the difference in several games. Without the jump balls and deep TD's, which we have not had the luxury of seeing on the Flats since, we would not have had the 2009 season that we did.

C) DJ Donley stayed on campus. This kid was a beast. I understand his decision to leave after CPJ's hiring. It was not as evident at the time that a 6'4 200+ receiver is an absolute perfect fit for the spread option offense (Yes, 6'4 200 works in about all offenses). Picture him playing on the other side of DT. Good luck covering those two.

It is a fool's errand to play "what if...?" But those are interesting scenarios with the first two being of particular importance. I shudder to think of those teams without Nesbitt and Thomas. The leadership, grit, and determination displayed by those two were crucial in the early years of Johnson's era. We just did not have anyone capable of replacing that kind of production on offense and Lord knows we had to move the football to win. It is an unfortunate fact of life at Tech that players of the caliber of Nesbitt, Thomas, and Dwyer occur seldom and almost never in a group like those three. The offensive line was patchwork from the start with a walk ons, former defensive linemen, former tight ends etc. It would have been just about impossible to duplicate the success we had without superlative talent at skill positions. "It is what it is" I guess.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Donley probably had as much potential as anyone outside of maybe Calvin. Nesbit was recruited as a passing QB. You never know. What if Gailey had redshirted Nesbit?

 

[collegeballfan]

I was mainly highlighting the importance of Josh and Bebe being available to us during CPJ's first years. Without those two, our program under CPJ would be in a much lesser place. I would argue that CPJ might not even be at Tech today. There are not an infinite number of reasonable scenarios (such as Josh not being on our roster prior to CPJ and/or Demaryius deciding to play elsewhere)... Those two particular scenarios could have easily happened. The scenarios that you mention are not very reasonable, and if you replace Josh with Jaybo and DT with Cone, we do not win the ACC. Jaybo/Cone do not even belong in the same conversation as Josh/bebe. Cone being "viable" and Cone giving us what DT gave us are two different things. More than likely that we will not see another DT caliber WR again under CPJ. Not all "what if" scenarios have the same degree of likelihood/reasonableness.

I brought up the last point about DJ Donley because I thought about the kid and how I never heard from him again after he left for Purdue. I believe he would've succeeded and thrived in CPJ's system.

DJ Donley was one of best high school LB I ever saw play. I thought that was where he would play.
But being honest, and in complete confession, I would have put Shag Mason at DT.
Probably why I spent 40 years in finance and not in coaching - lack of judgment.

 

[TheTechGuy]

I like Nesbitt a lot and he was great in 2009 and 2010, but his stats left a lot to be desired in 2008.

693 rushing yards at 4 ypc, 7TD
808 yards passing, 44% completion rate, 2TD 5INT

Thomas had 627 yards receiving and 3TD in 2008.

The original argument holds for 2009, but in my opinion, 2008 was more about Dwyer, the ABs, and the Defense.

 

[Jacket4Life9]

I was only attempting to generate a few thoughts. I understand what is done is done and we shouldn't play "what if". However, it doesn't hurt to consider scenarios, especially if they could have very easily happened. It's not like I'm saying "what if we had all of Alabama's recruits" or "what if Urban Meyer had come to the flats." With it being the official off-season for all of football, I was simply reflecting on CPJ's hire and the factors that led to him be successful early on, which I personally believe was crucial to the level of success that we've been able to have. Had we sputtered out of the gate in 2008, went 5-7, lost to UGA, and missed a bowl for the first time in ~15 years, the CPJ era and Tech's program be much different.

 

[Jacket4Life9]

I like Nesbitt a lot and he was great in 2009 and 2010, but his stats left a lot to be desired in 2008.

693 rushing yards at 4 ypc, 7TD
808 yards passing, 44% completion rate, 2TD 5INT

Thomas had 627 yards receiving and 3TD in 2008.

The original argument holds for 2009, but in my opinion, 2008 was more about Dwyer, the ABs, and the Defense.

I see your point but I disagree. It always takes a team effort to be successful, but I think that Josh Nesbitt was arguably the single most important piece to 2008's success. Not many QB's can grasp a new system in one year, much less in a triple option attack where the QBs responsibility is unique and nothing like that of a traditional QB role. The fact that we were lucky enough to have a QB tough enough, fast enough, and just plain "good" enough to run CPJs offense well enough to win 9 games and beat UGA in Athens is beyond me. A true freshman Jaybo Shaw would not have been able to do what Josh did, even if he miraculously stayed healthy the whole season. The A-back position is much easier to learn and it quite frankly it is much easier to find a runningback type kid that can be serviceable at A-back than it is to find a QB to give you a chance to beat the Miamis, Clemsons, and UGAs of the world. The defense was decent in 2008 but far from great. You do make a solid point about Thomas, as his stats and contributions may not be as good as I'd remembered in 2008. Nesbitt on the otherhand played much larger than his stats indicate. Not only was the system new to Josh in 2008, he had to play QB in a year in which the system was new to EVERYONE. When we judge a "new" QB now, you can't 100% accurately compare him to Josh in 2008 because 2008 was the only season in which each and every player on the team was playing in CPJ's system for the first time. Now, when a guy comes in and plays QB, the majority of his surrounding cast will have had a year or two or three of experience learning CPJ's system. Granted, Josh had a good supporting cast (i.e. Dwyer, Bebe, Roddy, etc), but again my only point is that had he not been at GT, CPJ's tenure likely would have gone much differently up to this point.

 

[Jacket4Life9]

D) What if CPJ was hired INSTEAD of Gailey? How good would Reggie have been? Would we have even gotten Reggie? Would we have gotten Calvin?

I think Gailey's horrendously boring offense and inability to win more than 7 games with talented players such as Calvin Johnson along with many other very talented young men is the primary reason CPJ is wearing the white and gold today. 7-5, 7-5, 7-5... He was a 7-win machine. And the fashion in which he won 7 games was awful IIRC. (I was pretty young) I just remember one of the bowl games, the ACC champ game in 06, and many other games (UGA in 02) where the team just looked so lethargic and ready to quit. Thus, we hire Paul Johnson.

 

[Jacket4Life9]

What would have happened if Bill Curry or George O'Leary would have stayed at GT?

I would love to see what would've happened if O'Leary would've stayed. I once ran into Joe Burns... actually at the University of Georgia's practice football facility where he was doing work for his RisingSeniors Foundation. He told me that Coach O'Leary was the type of coach that "you would run through a wall for."

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Unless he made u run through a wall lol. All kidding aside we should have brought George back after resume gate. GT academic pride wouldn't allow it though.

 

[AE 87]

We were picked to win 3 games in 2008. Imo, Jaybo would have won at least 7.

 

[Techster]

DJ Donley remains one of the biggest "what ifs" for me. From all reports, he was legendary in practice. I believe one of the famous practice stories was of Donley just gutting Tenuta's defense to the point that Tenuta stopped practice and chewed out the defense for letting one guy.

Donley was actually considered the better WR prospect over Demaryius Thomas at one point. Man, if there was an offense tailor made for DJ it was CPJ's. Big physical WR that could destroy DBs in the run game, and then blow the top off the defense with his speed. Such a shame he let the wrong people get in his ear.

One of my biggest "what ifs" has always been if Gailey was given another year or two. You would have had Sean Renfree at QB, BayBay and Donley at WR, Dwyer at RB. Wasn't WR AJ Jenkins who ended going to Illinois and getting drafted in the 2nd round committed to us at one point? Nesbitt would have been moved to safety or remained as the "wildcat" QB.

 

[TheTechGuy]

I see your point but I disagree. It always takes a team effort to be successful, but I think that Josh Nesbitt was arguably the single most important piece to 2008's success. Not many QB's can grasp a new system in one year, much less in a triple option attack where the QBs responsibility is unique and nothing like that of a traditional QB role. The fact that we were lucky enough to have a QB tough enough, fast enough, and just plain "good" enough to run CPJs offense well enough to win 9 games and beat UGA in Athens is beyond me. A true freshman Jaybo Shaw would not have been able to do what Josh did, even if he miraculously stayed healthy the whole season. The A-back position is much easier to learn and it quite frankly it is much easier to find a runningback type kid that can be serviceable at A-back than it is to find a QB to give you a chance to beat the Miamis, Clemsons, and UGAs of the world. The defense was decent in 2008 but far from great. You do make a solid point about Thomas, as his stats and contributions may not be as good as I'd remembered in 2008. Nesbitt on the otherhand played much larger than his stats indicate. Not only was the system new to Josh in 2008, he had to play QB in a year in which the system was new to EVERYONE. When we judge a "new" QB now, you can't 100% accurately compare him to Josh in 2008 because 2008 was the only season in which each and every player on the team was playing in CPJ's system for the first time. Now, when a guy comes in and plays QB, the majority of his surrounding cast will have had a year or two or three of experience learning CPJ's system. Granted, Josh had a good supporting cast (i.e. Dwyer, Bebe, Roddy, etc), but again my only point is that had he not been at GT, CPJ's tenure likely would have gone much differently up to this point.

I'm not disagreeing that Nesbitt was good for us, I don't think any GT fan would. But I'll make two points:

1. Paul Johnson has won every where he has been. So you making a statement like "I would argue that CPJ might not even be at Tech today," is pure conjecture not backed by a proven history of winning.

2. CPJ looked at the roster before he took the job. He knew Nesbitt, Dwyer, and Thomas were on the team, which is why he was able to come in so quickly and sale them on staying. If CPJ wasn't aware of talent at a program he would have taken the Duke job when they offered it to him a year before the Tech job. If Tech didn't have talent I think he would have stayed at Navy and waited two more years before going to Vanderbilt. It's not like he took the job and then said, "Oh, I wonder who is on the roster." My point is, the inverse of your query could be true as well. If guys like Nesbitt and Thomas are not on the roster in 2007, Paul Johnson doesn't come to Georgia Tech. Trying to remember the other coaches Tech looked at, it's very possible that if Paul Johnson doesn't come to Tech then Tech doesn't win an ACC and Orange Bowl Title.

Bonus Point: Candeto had better stats his first year transitioning to the offense at Navy; their record was bad but had just come off a winless year and winning 1 game in two years. Point here is, give Paul Johnson credit, the dude finds ways to win.

 

[MikeJackets]

DJ Donley remains one of the biggest "what ifs" for me. From all reports, he was legendary in practice. I believe one of the famous practice stories was of Donley just gutting Tenuta's defense to the point that Tenuta stopped practice and chewed out the defense for letting one guy.

Donley was actually considered the better WR prospect over Demaryius Thomas at one point. Man, if there was an offense tailor made for DJ it was CPJ's. Big physical WR that could destroy DBs in the run game, and then blow the top off the defense with his speed. Such a shame he let the wrong people get in his ear.

One of my biggest "what ifs" has always been if Gailey was given another year or two. You would have had Sean Renfree at QB, BayBay and Donley at WR, Dwyer at RB. Wasn't WR AJ Jenkins who ended going to Illinois and getting drafted in the 2nd round committed to us at one point? Nesbitt would have been moved to safety or remained as the "wildcat" QB.

I think back from time to time and wonder how GT would have done if Bill Curry had still been the head coach from 1987-1991. I think Georgia Tech would have hung around the 7-4 to 8-3 range.

 

[Jacket4Life9]

I'm not disagreeing that Nesbitt was good for us, I don't think any GT fan would. But I'll make two points:

1. Paul Johnson has won every where he has been. So you making a statement like "I would argue that CPJ might not even be at Tech today," is pure conjecture not backed by a proven history of winning.

2. CPJ looked at the roster before he took the job. He knew Nesbitt, Dwyer, and Thomas were on the team, which is why he was able to come in so quickly and sale them on staying. If CPJ wasn't aware of talent at a program he would have taken the Duke job when they offered it to him a year before the Tech job. If Tech didn't have talent I think he would have stayed at Navy and waited two more years before going to Vanderbilt. It's not like he took the job and then said, "Oh, I wonder who is on the roster." My point is, the inverse of your query could be true as well. If guys like Nesbitt and Thomas are not on the roster in 2007, Paul Johnson doesn't come to Georgia Tech. Trying to remember the other coaches Tech looked at, it's very possible that if Paul Johnson doesn't come to Tech then Tech doesn't win an ACC and Orange Bowl Title.

Bonus Point: Candeto had better stats his first year transitioning to the offense at Navy; their record was bad but had just come off a winless year and winning 1 game in two years. Point here is, give Paul Johnson credit, the dude finds ways to win.

I'll give you some credit for points 1 & 2 but what Candeto did as a junior for a 2-10 Navy team in 2002 is not comparable to what Josh did in 2008. Stats often don't tell an accurate story of a QB. Some years Tevin technically had "better" stats than Josh and arguably Justin for some years, but that in no way makes him a better QB. Your second point brings up another point, would CPJ had not come to Tech if Josh Nesbitt was not on the roster? I doubt he made his decision based on 1 kid.

 

[Jacket4Life9]

We were picked to win 3 games in 2008. Imo, Jaybo would have won at least 7.

BC, Clemson, UGA, and FSU would've been tough. I do think 6-7 is more fitting after looking at our schedule. I was at the Gardner Webb game that year with Calvin Booker playing QB... wow