do you think that by August we will have gotten all the players we want or will still be missing something?
KQ- You never get everything you want even if you are Nick Saban or Kirby Smart or in the hoops world Slick Rick or Coach Cal. There are always going to be holes someone in your roster.
In basketball recruiting, Stoudamire has several perimeter players headed to GT but Doryan is the only big. From ten thousand feet it appears that we must add a serviceable shot blocker/rebounder.,But on every big man who is in the conversation but goes elsewhere there’s a “that’s OK, we didn’t recruit him hard” reaction. Coleman-Jones sounded perfect but chose SD State. Was that about NIL $$? Do you think we should remain optimistic that CDS will land a good quality big man or should we temper expectations?
KQ- Well, first off HMJ you forget about Cole Kirouac and the guy they just redshirted last year Ibrahim Souare so they have three what I would call true big men and Baye Ndongo who often played the five especially when they want to run and play smaller against many teams.
Do I think they want to find an experienced big who fits in, yes. They have been pretty active, but have been either outbid or just not in the final mix for several targets. Damon is being picky with the spot after the Ebe thing last year. I have no clue what will happen, but I know they are still looking, but they can win just as much playing varied lineups especially with the lack of dominant bigs in the ACC next year.
Will we win an ACC Championship in football in @halfmetaljacket's lifetime?
KQ- I hope so for all of our sakes.
If one wanted to learn more about the x's and O's of football, what would you recommend? Any good YouTube channels or books? Or should I just dust off my copy of the Idiots Guide to Football that I bought but never opened for my Dabo Swinney Costume circa 2011?
KQ- To be honest it depends on what you are trying to learn. Do you want to learn the why part or just like the function of plays, assignments, or whatnot? I learned a lot by both playing the Xbox to multiple deaths on NCAA football and Madden back in the day along with playing football in my youth through HS. There are probably people who could point you in a better direction than I can.
Do you still think we will have a top 25 - 30 football recruiting class?
KQ- Probably, the cards are playing out like I thought they would. GT needs to have an okay season for that to happen though.
Does CDS get a big man from the portal this Spring/Summer?
KQ- Probably, it is harder for me to make a call on that because there are so many guys in the portal right now that I lack the time to understand or breakdown who is good or who isn't. A few years ago it was a lot easier because there would be like 3-4 legit guys and then people likes James Banks who were transferring and you'd figure it out based on your ability to make something happen or not. Now it can be money, promised playing time, agents, or hell in some cases guys can't transfer because the credits won't work. Deivon Smith just went through a lot because of that.
If we stay healthy in football this season do we win 7+ games?
KQ- I think the odds are in GT's favor if Santucci puts together just a solid defense. It doesn't need to be great. Just middle of the pack.
How many Georgia Tech football players were expected to enter the transfer portal that did not?
KQ- There were two guys I had penciled in as going. One is very obvious and I think the other it just isn't working out for him at GT, but I think the first one they couldn't really land an upgrade at the position given the depth there and the other they may want to give him more time to develop.
How does the post-spring portal usually go, player quality-wise? I get the sense that if every team is saying goodbye to players (as opposed to the other way around) then we’ll mostly be looking at guys that other coaches didn’t think could be contributors?
KQ- Not at all. There are kids still taking visits, commitments still going down all over the place and it will be a long process over the coming months. There is basically no need to rush into a decision unless you are absolutely sure about where you want to go. Yes some guys in the portal were recruited over and some guys may have been pushed out, but those are not the fish Brent Key is reeling into the boat. Those are the guys that helped get his predecessor fired like AC for example.
What are our chances to actually upgrade or add quality depth to the remaining positions? All that said I am very excited about the post-spring players like Romello Height that we’ve already added.
KQ- Decent, there are still quality guys out there. USF landed a DT over NC State and some others the other day who is pretty good from FAU. You just have to look around, work your sources and trust your evaluation. This is more akin to MLB where you see crazy stuff like Jordan Montgomery or JD Martinez or Blake Snell sign during/after spring training. It is a buyer's markets not a seller's market.
Any idea when we can expect some 2025 football commitments?
KQ- June, GT had 6 commits a year ago at this time but three of them were guys they didn't end up signing after doing deeper evaluations. Key is trying to avoid that by not loading up on questionable kids. The bulk of the class committed over the summer after OVs. That is the normal process now. The early commits stick the least.
What team in football this year other than uga do you think is the worst matchup as far as personal and schemes?
KQ- I guess I will say ND. As I've said a few times I really am not up on everyone's roster right now and I am waiting until all the portal dominoes fall before I start learning personnel at different programs.
Have you heard if they're continuing the "Helluva Block Party" next year? Is there any word on how pleased J Batt was with that one? Personally, I thought it was great decision-making!
KQ- I have not. The next time I see someone from the GTAA HQ I will try to remember to ask. That is just one of those things that never occurs to me.
With Cyril, Coleman-Jones, and Omier committed elsewhere, has there been any new names come into play that CDS is looking at other than Muhammad?
KQ- Things have been pretty tight-lipped after Sean Stewart's people canceled his scheduled visit here. I'm sure they are doing more evals and weighing options. I'll add they never had a shot at Norchad Omier, he entered the portal with a DO NOT CONTACT on his profile which means the deal to Baylor was already worked out before he entered the portal. They didn't want Coleman-Jones for reasons that I haven't pieced together yet. Somto Cyril pretty much just leveraged a GT visit they were not super excited about to get more money from Mike White from what I've heard. Cyril made no sense because he is a worse fit than the other bigs already on the roster because he is a very limited piece basically dunks and blocks shots and they want all-around big guys. Doryan is much more likely to play than Cyril would've been. But because of the OTE relationship, you take the call and visit the kid. I'm still digging on what the plan is moving ahead.
