Who Emerged This Year & What Did They Show You?

[stech81]

Even on a team that has won only three games there are always players that improve...some others not so much. Some of the offensive linemen had to have improved judged by how they were doing at the end of the season compared with the beginning but I am not informed enough on line play to comment on which ones. The aforementioned Mr. Mason is indeed the real deal and took the mandate to improve over the summer seriously. Perhaps Tre Swilling given we went from almost exclusively zone to much more man to man press coverage. Sanders on the receiving corps stepped up and James got noticeably more comfortable at quarterback. All of them will have to improve significantly moving forward because some of those freshmen are coming in to take their spots if they don't.

The question was who emerged this year, IMO no one. Yes Mason is good but I saw that the year before when he avg 6.1 yards per carry. Tre Swilling yes he is good but if you look at his stats this year it looks the same as the year before. Graham not really did not play the year before so all I have was what the coaches said about him. He completed 45 percent of his passes , not great not really avg.
Look guys I'm glad y'all think some got better but I didn't . Not sure why maybe this year they will after playing for the same coaches again. It's hard to judge a player playing in a different offense and defense than they did the year before. They played hard and I take it they had to learn a new offense and defense and this year I would think we see improvement if not we betting find out why. I was one who said we could win 7 games last year based on the year before. So no I was no returning player that looked better this year. I did not think the idea so to pick the best player, if it is then yes I would say Mason. But he was good the year before.

 

[bobongo]

Yes I'm serious he did what I expected of him to be good. Could you not tell last year he was good. If the question was who surprised me I would have picked a walk on Lay ( I think that was his name) . sorry at 3 wins no one played better than I thought they would some not as good but I would not list their names.

Agree about Mason. No surprise there at all. And thank goodness we have him. Can you imaging last year without him?

 

[stech81]

Guys I guess I took the question one way and some took it as which players were good. We have good players but it's hard to judge a player playing in a different scheme the year before.

 

[SteamWhistle]

Brown
Our first player in a long time that’s a Mismatch for almost every team we play.
Mason
Elite RB, doesn’t need the speed to extend a run, can lower the shoulder or make them miss.
Zamari
He’s quietly the best DB we have on the team. Very rarely gets tested, they know better then to try him in the Redzone as well. He doesn’t have the stats but that’s because he never gets thrown at.
Curry
He’s our whipping boy because he could be twice the player he is without the mental mistakes, but he balled out for us this season, I think he took a big step, and will be even better this season.

 

[LargeFO]

Brown
Our first player in a long time that’s a Mismatch for almost every team we play.
Mason
Elite RB, doesn’t need the speed to extend a run, can lower the shoulder or make them miss.
Zamari
He’s quietly the best DB we have on the team. Very rarely gets tested, they know better then to try him in the Redzone as well. He doesn’t have the stats but that’s because he never gets thrown at.
Curry
He’s our whipping boy because he could be twice the player he is without the mental mistakes, but he balled out for us this season, I think he took a big step, and will be even better this season.

Agree with this. Zamari is a little sneaky because he didn't have the pub of a Swilling or Myles Sims, etc... but he's pretty good.

 

[Boaty1]

Really no one this past year. At best they stayed the same or went down from what I thought.

I concur with this. I don’t really see anyone on this team that will be a sure fire pro.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

The question was who emerged this year, IMO no one. Yes Mason is good but I saw that the year before when he avg 6.1 yards per carry. Tre Swilling yes he is good but if you look at his stats this year it looks the same as the year before. Graham not really did not play the year before so all I have was what the coaches said about him. He completed 45 percent of his passes , not great not really avg.
Look guys I'm glad y'all think some got better but I didn't . Not sure why maybe this year they will after playing for the same coaches again. It's hard to judge a player playing in a different offense and defense than they did the year before. They played hard and I take it they had to learn a new offense and defense and this year I would think we see improvement if not we betting find out why. I was one who said we could win 7 games last year based on the year before. So no I was no returning player that looked better this year. I did not think the idea so to pick the best player, if it is then yes I would say Mason. But he was good the year before.

Not even one? I think the idea was to pick players who may have improved from what they were previously. I will admit that on a team that won only 3 games it is tempting to say no one but I did not see it that way especially compared to what they looked like at the beginning of the year.

 

[croberts]

I concur with this. I don’t really see anyone on this team that will be a sure fire pro.

I didn’t realize we were talking about sure fired pros. I’ve only seen around a dozen of those since 1960. Certainly a freshman receiver that makes All American and matches Calvin Johnson (one of those sure fired pros ) in touchdown receptions might just meet the mark. Maybe not?

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

I concur with this. I don’t really see anyone on this team that will be a sure fire pro.

That is probably true but the idea was to pick who improved from what they were. For some of them, that is a pretty low bar and you are probably right it is doubtful that any of them will be a "sure fire pro". A few might get looks as free agents and what not.

 

[Oakland]

William Lay III

I don't know if there will be an available scholarship for this kid, but dang he held his own this last season.

 

[gtcrew]

Knight played both ways in high school and played ILB. Pretty good there too.

He's the kind of player I fear Tech'll lose in future as the staff goes "star hunting". Knight showed up at an open camp for Paul. Apparently, he was measured then offered right after his 40 was timed. You just don't find guys that big who run legit low 4.5 40s. Before that, of course, to say he was "below the radar" was to exaggerate. He was buried so far under that nobody at any level was paying him much mind. (Well … he did have an offer from Tennessee Tech!) He would have been good competition for Yates under the old regime. But now he'll probably contend for starting position at ILB.

Query: Will we be as attuned to talent like his (or, say, Kelly Campbell, who was also unrated and unnoticed) in future, with every fan out there gloating about "another four star!"? I hope so, but I doubt it.

Incorrect for several reasons. One, CGC and crew are clearly going to be very accessible and in tune to the coaches in this state and I dont think anyone will sneak under their radar. Second, as hard as they work, I expect our camp programs to be plentiful and very well attended and that if someone hit a PJ camp they would definitely hit our camps now. Third, CGC has the team set up to maximize reps in practice and walk-ons are encouraged and treated very well. It wont be a secret that anyone who thinks they are an elite P5 player, but are being overlooked out of high school, will have a fair opportunity earn one at GT if they actually are P5 material.

 

[ibeattetris]

The only reason I wouldn't say Jordan Mason "emerged" is because he was great last year.

As for who "emerged" most for me, it would have to be Ahmarean Brown.

 

[danny daniel]

7 young D players impressed me with future potential: Z Walton, Q Griffin, Knight, Chimedza, Domineck, C Bennett, and Yondjouen. Honorable mention to J King.

 

[lv20gt]

Admarean Brown is the one who comes to mind. Only about 400 yards total, but nearly 19 a pop and to me he also seemed the only one who would get open somewhat consistently. Not always wide open, but open enough where the play would be there with a good OL and QB.

Hard to say Mason emerged when he had a good year last year and this year, while not his fault, he didn't put up numbers that would make anyone who didn't pay attention to our games think he was a big threat. I think he certainly would have been the emergent player for us this year if we had a decent OL because he was making some great runs even and was rarely getting easy runs.

 

[alagold]

Charlie friggin Thomas

I like Charlie.
I have a question--wasn't he ACC DEf player of Week in one game? Also, did he NOT start the next game? Anybody?

 

[Yaller Jacket]

Not much new here. Graham, Mason, Brown for sure. Seems like I heard Dominick's name called a lot late in the season. I say heard because, using a line stolen from another poster, I saw a lot of the games on the radio this year, thanks to the Dish/Fox feud.

 

[stinger 1957]

I think this staff will continue to find 2 or 3 hidden gems each year for a while. I think that is who they are, really good evaluators. Some of the best can come from the hidden gems.

 

[stinger 1957]

Other than a brown and maybe carter, i just did not see our wrs getting separation very often.

 

[1979jacket]

Trey Swilling real deal award honorable mention Mason and Thomas

 

[Buzztheirazz]

I saw a lot of the games on the radio this year, thanks to the Dish/Fox feud.

Wow! You must have some really strong drugs!