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Hi all, and welcome to another edition of Yomanser's Recruiting Roundup. It's been a long time coming, and I'm excited to get back into the swing of things. This edition will include coaching changes, thoughts on the past season, what to expect moving forward, and grades for the staff. The next edition, which will be released Friday, will have in-depth analysis on all of our commits and signees, as well as rankings and thoughts on the signing class. For now, let's dive right in
First of all, let me just say that Todd Stansbury hired the perfect candidate for the Georgia Tech job. Out of a lot of fan favorites (Tony Elliott, Scott Satterfield, and Ken Whisenhunt[/s]), Geoff Collins pushed for the job the most, and it paid off. He understands the Institute, he knows what he needs to do to push Tech to the next level through branding and recruiting, he is a dynamic coach, and most importantly, he wants to be here. I've heard from some that are worried that he will move onto a bigger and better job in a few years if he is successful. That is a legitimate concern. But I will counter with this: he has stated over and over and over again that Georgia Tech is his "dream job". That is not something to take lightly - he means it. I've also heard that he said the same thing when taking the Temple job - that is factually incorrect and not true. He said he was excited for the opportunity and wanted to do good things, but I cannot find a single instance where he said Temple was his dream job. He has been gunning for Georgia Tech all along. I truly believe he is here for the long run
I want to address that this past season was hard. We all expected some better results (Pitt and specifically USF come to mind). We ended on a very poor note. It's a shame. But the future looks bright. I will say I was never a fan of getting rid of Coach Ted Roof - I think his recruiting work is excellent (he and his Georgia connections were a large part of the reason Jamious Griffin initially committed to NC State), and a lot of criticism for him was undeserved at many times. Coach Nate Woody struggled here, and was plagued with a lot of the same problems Coach Ted Roof had. That part I believe is systemic and indicative of what Coach Paul Johnson wanted to see from the defense. Still, I think up until he retired, I figured we would have a very special year here next season. But I am excited to see what the future holds for us now
Moving forward, I expect to see a dip in offensive efficiency (even if we score more points, it will likely be due to number of possessions rather than efficiency), but a steep increase in every defensive category. Coach Geoff Collins and the scheme he runs means we will see a LOT of press coverage, something I have been hoping to see for a long, long time. Coach Dave Patenaude knows his stuff, and he will have a much better time with Georgia Tech's personnel than Temple's, as the personnel fit his spread scheme better (Temple's players were recruited for a more traditional pro style). While I would have liked to see a truly dynamic offensive system designed by a great playcaller (I personally thought Kenny Dillingham would have been excellent here at Tech, but he was unfortunately picked up by Auburn), I think he'll be fine and do a decent job here at Tech. But the staple of the team going forward will truly be the defense
With that all said, here are my grades for the new hires for the Georgia Tech staff:
Head Coach: Geoff Collins
Grade: A+
Analysis: I've said most of it above already, but I want to elaborate in a couple different areas a little more. I am irrationally excited for Coach Collins. He fits the attitude and culture here perfectly. He's a self-proclaimed nerd (loves Star Wars and who quotes Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings when taking Temple co-workers to Waffle House) and at the same time understands young culture better than just about every other head coach, and understands how to connect Tech to the youth in Atlanta. Brand and image have become far more synonymous with recruiting, and he's improving every area that those facets. I can't wait for when his image for how this place should look starts to come together
Pluses: Scheme; Recruiting; Enthusiasm & Passion; Player Connections & Motivation; Area Connections
Offensive Coordinator: Dave Patenaude
Grade: C+
Analysis: Coach Patenaude definitely tries to fits his scheme to his players, but sometimes stalls against finding out the best way to win in a particular game. He overthinks at times and deviates from running what works and tries to change it up, basically just for the sake of changing it up. If he can find what works and then stick to it, he could produce some very good offensive games for Tech, but he'll need to stay out of his own way a little bit. I have faith and confidence that he will end up better here at Tech than he was at Temple, however. His recruiting is subpar, but one thing I will give him is player development. I think he is very good at developing quarterbacks and maximizing their potential. If he plays the right ones, then we could see very good quarterback play here on the Flats
Pluses: Player Development & Personnel Coaching
Offensive Line Coach: Brent Key
Grade: A+
Analysis: A lot has been said about Coach Key, but there are two things that should excite every fan about his hire: Nick Saban changed up his staff specifically to get him, and his name is not Mike Sewak. Coach Key is one of the best recruiters in the country, and is one of the best developers of talent in the country as well. As far as offensive line coaches go, the best three in the country are Brent Key, Sam Pittman (Georgia), and Bill Bedenbaugh (Oklahoma). To land one of those three is a coup of the highest magnitude. While he had a very rough go as an offensive coordinator (frankly, he was terrible), he has excelled as an offensive line coach at every stop
Pluses: Recruiting; Player Development & Personnel Coaching; Area Connections; Alum
Running Backs Coach: Tashard Choice
Grade: B+
Analysis: While he's still a little young and unproven, Coach Choice was an excellent decision for running backs coach. He connects extremely well with his players, and gets the best out of them. He has had high success when he played himself, and can attest to what it takes to succeed in that regard. He still has to prove himself a little bit on the recruiting trail, but so far, he has also been the single hardest worker outside of Coach Collins in that regard, and I think he will end up a truly dynamic recruiter, especially learning from the head ball coach. I love the hire, and can't wait to see more from him
Pluses: Player Connections & Motivation; Enthusiasm & Passion; Area Connections; High Success as a Player; Alum
Wide Receivers Coach: Kerry Dixon
Grade: C
Analysis: Mostly a running backs coach for his career, Coach Dixon has only coached wide receivers during his stop at Florida when Coach Collins was the defensive coordinator there. I'm not sure how great of a developer of talent he is when working with receivers, but he can recruit and brings enthusiasm and passion to the coaching staff
Pluses: Enthusiasm & Passion; Recruiting
Tight Ends Coach: Chris Wiesehan
Grade: A
Analysis: Coach Wiesehan is an absolute steal for Georgia Tech. He is an incredible developer of talent, and I'm fully surprised he was not picked up as an offensive line coach for somewhere else. To add him in tandem with Coach Key excites me to no end, and I think our offensive line and our blocking is going to be beautiful
Pluses: Player Development & Personnel Coaching
First of all, let me just say that Todd Stansbury hired the perfect candidate for the Georgia Tech job. Out of a lot of fan favorites (Tony Elliott, Scott Satterfield, and Ken Whisenhunt[/s]), Geoff Collins pushed for the job the most, and it paid off. He understands the Institute, he knows what he needs to do to push Tech to the next level through branding and recruiting, he is a dynamic coach, and most importantly, he wants to be here. I've heard from some that are worried that he will move onto a bigger and better job in a few years if he is successful. That is a legitimate concern. But I will counter with this: he has stated over and over and over again that Georgia Tech is his "dream job". That is not something to take lightly - he means it. I've also heard that he said the same thing when taking the Temple job - that is factually incorrect and not true. He said he was excited for the opportunity and wanted to do good things, but I cannot find a single instance where he said Temple was his dream job. He has been gunning for Georgia Tech all along. I truly believe he is here for the long run
I want to address that this past season was hard. We all expected some better results (Pitt and specifically USF come to mind). We ended on a very poor note. It's a shame. But the future looks bright. I will say I was never a fan of getting rid of Coach Ted Roof - I think his recruiting work is excellent (he and his Georgia connections were a large part of the reason Jamious Griffin initially committed to NC State), and a lot of criticism for him was undeserved at many times. Coach Nate Woody struggled here, and was plagued with a lot of the same problems Coach Ted Roof had. That part I believe is systemic and indicative of what Coach Paul Johnson wanted to see from the defense. Still, I think up until he retired, I figured we would have a very special year here next season. But I am excited to see what the future holds for us now
Moving forward, I expect to see a dip in offensive efficiency (even if we score more points, it will likely be due to number of possessions rather than efficiency), but a steep increase in every defensive category. Coach Geoff Collins and the scheme he runs means we will see a LOT of press coverage, something I have been hoping to see for a long, long time. Coach Dave Patenaude knows his stuff, and he will have a much better time with Georgia Tech's personnel than Temple's, as the personnel fit his spread scheme better (Temple's players were recruited for a more traditional pro style). While I would have liked to see a truly dynamic offensive system designed by a great playcaller (I personally thought Kenny Dillingham would have been excellent here at Tech, but he was unfortunately picked up by Auburn), I think he'll be fine and do a decent job here at Tech. But the staple of the team going forward will truly be the defense
With that all said, here are my grades for the new hires for the Georgia Tech staff:
Head Coach: Geoff Collins
Grade: A+
Analysis: I've said most of it above already, but I want to elaborate in a couple different areas a little more. I am irrationally excited for Coach Collins. He fits the attitude and culture here perfectly. He's a self-proclaimed nerd (loves Star Wars and who quotes Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings when taking Temple co-workers to Waffle House) and at the same time understands young culture better than just about every other head coach, and understands how to connect Tech to the youth in Atlanta. Brand and image have become far more synonymous with recruiting, and he's improving every area that those facets. I can't wait for when his image for how this place should look starts to come together
Pluses: Scheme; Recruiting; Enthusiasm & Passion; Player Connections & Motivation; Area Connections
Offensive Coordinator: Dave Patenaude
Grade: C+
Analysis: Coach Patenaude definitely tries to fits his scheme to his players, but sometimes stalls against finding out the best way to win in a particular game. He overthinks at times and deviates from running what works and tries to change it up, basically just for the sake of changing it up. If he can find what works and then stick to it, he could produce some very good offensive games for Tech, but he'll need to stay out of his own way a little bit. I have faith and confidence that he will end up better here at Tech than he was at Temple, however. His recruiting is subpar, but one thing I will give him is player development. I think he is very good at developing quarterbacks and maximizing their potential. If he plays the right ones, then we could see very good quarterback play here on the Flats
Pluses: Player Development & Personnel Coaching
Offensive Line Coach: Brent Key
Grade: A+
Analysis: A lot has been said about Coach Key, but there are two things that should excite every fan about his hire: Nick Saban changed up his staff specifically to get him, and his name is not Mike Sewak. Coach Key is one of the best recruiters in the country, and is one of the best developers of talent in the country as well. As far as offensive line coaches go, the best three in the country are Brent Key, Sam Pittman (Georgia), and Bill Bedenbaugh (Oklahoma). To land one of those three is a coup of the highest magnitude. While he had a very rough go as an offensive coordinator (frankly, he was terrible), he has excelled as an offensive line coach at every stop
Pluses: Recruiting; Player Development & Personnel Coaching; Area Connections; Alum
Running Backs Coach: Tashard Choice
Grade: B+
Analysis: While he's still a little young and unproven, Coach Choice was an excellent decision for running backs coach. He connects extremely well with his players, and gets the best out of them. He has had high success when he played himself, and can attest to what it takes to succeed in that regard. He still has to prove himself a little bit on the recruiting trail, but so far, he has also been the single hardest worker outside of Coach Collins in that regard, and I think he will end up a truly dynamic recruiter, especially learning from the head ball coach. I love the hire, and can't wait to see more from him
Pluses: Player Connections & Motivation; Enthusiasm & Passion; Area Connections; High Success as a Player; Alum
Wide Receivers Coach: Kerry Dixon
Grade: C
Analysis: Mostly a running backs coach for his career, Coach Dixon has only coached wide receivers during his stop at Florida when Coach Collins was the defensive coordinator there. I'm not sure how great of a developer of talent he is when working with receivers, but he can recruit and brings enthusiasm and passion to the coaching staff
Pluses: Enthusiasm & Passion; Recruiting
Tight Ends Coach: Chris Wiesehan
Grade: A
Analysis: Coach Wiesehan is an absolute steal for Georgia Tech. He is an incredible developer of talent, and I'm fully surprised he was not picked up as an offensive line coach for somewhere else. To add him in tandem with Coach Key excites me to no end, and I think our offensive line and our blocking is going to be beautiful
Pluses: Player Development & Personnel Coaching
