I pushed this back a day just because of the flood of content and commits coming off the weekend.
Camp will be right around the corner before we know it. Are you to the ‘excited for the season’ portion of the off-season yet?
KQ- I'm ready for a little bit of home time right now just because I've been at so many camps and been writing so many updates and commitment stories and whatnot I'd like to focus on some other things I want to write and I also am ready for a little bit of hoops stuff. I am ready to see some football though. I do miss it. I am not excited about Fall Camp 2024 though. I think I need some recharge before that happens.
When do you start making and booking travel plans?
KQ- I booked all my hotels the night the schedule was released and then I'll book my flights based on sales for the most part. I try to fly Delta whenever possible, but they can price me out at times so I'll keep an eye on a Southwest sale or American or United. Once I have my flights I'll book rental cars. That is starting to happen and hence why I launched the GoFundMe thing because that really does relieve some of the burden of travel expenses for the site and allows me to be more flexible as well so I'm able to book when it is cheapest.
Why do the trolls on this site have to hijack nearly every thread? I go read about a new commit and I get pages of dumb, off-topic posts.
KQ- It is a conversational style and some like to interject or offer their color to it. If you find you are disliking someone, click on their profile and there is an ignore button. I wish I could use it sometimes.
I know it has been almost all camps and recruiting for the coaches for the past few weeks, but is anybody on the staff (support guys?) actually doing any game planning for our individual opponents during these summer months? Stuff like looking at spring game film, looking at rosters/strengths/weaknesses/tendancies?
KQ- Yes they are working on that stuff all the time. I spoke with a staff member who was telling me about the difficulties in some of the scouting for Louisville for example because you have new coordinators and they have a crap ton of transfers so they have to pull film of the players from previous stops and try to match that with schemes that Brohm used at Purdue. Of course, Louisville has to do the same thing with quite a bit of GT's roster as well and the new OC.
Worst case and best case scenario for GT football this season
KQ- So the example I'll always use is the 2015 GT football season when everything that could go wrong did with injuries at key spots and the team also lost a ton of close games and ended up with a 3-win season that was way off the norm for that coach. I've seen it happen at other places with seasoned coaches as well. So that is your baseline worst-case scenario. My ceiling for this team if I put on gold-colored glasses would be like 8 regular season wins. That would win Brent ACC COY more than likely. The schedule is still hard and there are a ton of questions and guys who will be getting better as the season rolls along who haven't started here or in some cases played a ton.
Why has Key's plan to recruit mainly out of GA failed? (it seems to look that way from the outside)
Are in-state kids not buying it yet with GT? I expected the class to be 75%+ in state due to the emphasis given earlier in the year.
KQ- I think Key's approach is getting the best players he can into the program whether they are from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas or the Moon. Would he likes to be more locally focused? I'm sure he would and it would be much easier on the staff but they have a lot of cleaning up to do with GT's image in Georgia after the last four years. GT isn't UGA or Bama or even Auburn or Clemson who would get the benefit of the doubt from local kids. That has never been how this has worked in my many years covering GT or even growing up around people recruited heavily going back to the early 90s.
- How many hours per week do coaches spend talking (call, text, social, etc.) to recruits that don't commit and sign to their school?
- We've heard how big a deal recruiting in GA was going to be, yet 10 of the 16 commits are out of state with that number likely to get bigger by weekend's end. Will the final class have 50% from GA, and is that number even relevant at this point?
KQ- @Russell Johnson can answer this
What coaches on the staff will be hard to retain next year especially if we have great year?
KQ- Most of them want to be in this area and that is part of why Brent put the staff together that he did. They are from here or want to raise their kids here. I am not as concerned about that and that like worrying about some young Braves player turning into a stud and then worrying about paying him while he is still on his rookie contract. I'd worry about that when the wins pile up. If they do, Key will have the resources to keep them IMO.
arginally OT - do you have any insight into the PxP situation? For example:
Does Andy D see himself here long-term?
Now that Brandon G is back in Atlanta for Braves games, is there a scenario where he returns as football PxP?
Is Wiley Ballard the "dark horse" or maybe long-term aim for the AA?
KQ- I think Andy has no desire to leave GT anytime soon. He very much enjoys his job. Brandon is doing a job that does not allow him to have the time to ever be a college team's play by play guy. It was possible with guys like Wes Durham or Gene Deckerhoff because they call NFL and CFB not the MLB season that rolls through the first month and a half of the CFB season. I think the Braves are on the road for like three of the first four weekends of GT football. The last Braves regular season game is Oct 1st!
I like Wiley a lot, I think he could end up in that gig one day if it opens up. Andy has always been very nice to me as well to be clear and I am at the games are rarely listening to the broadcast so I can't even give you a real opinion on the subject if I wanted to share it. I've listened to I think three complete broadcasts over the last five years just because I am working and can't listen and work. It doesn't work for me.
What comes first a 5 star commit for GT basketball or GT football? And why?
KQ- Probably basketball. I think Damon could swing that if he got some NIL mojo working for him. GT men's basketball signed 4 Rivals 5-star players, Crit, Thaddeus, Bosh and Favors and zero in football in 23 years and counting though Calvin Johnson should've been a 5-star and people who worked in the industry back then will tell you they screwed that one up. I was still in college then, but I've always heard that.
Out of the new hires for the GT football staff who has impressed you the most so far?
KQ- Ironically it is someone that Key retained but put in a totally different role, Donald Hill-Eley, Ace's dad. He is one of the people who just gets stuff done and I got to see him work a lot during the camps and he is a fixer type when there is an issue or someone needs to step up and lead to handle a situation if Key isn't around. Key brought in a ton of quality people though.
Most important game got GT football this season and why?
KQ- It is probably that Wake Forest game because if they win that I think they will go bowling.
It seems this staff is willing to offer/accept “lower recruits” than the previous staff. Do you think this staff cares less about rankings? Do they feel more confident with their own scouting? Opinion?
KQ- There is confidence in their scouting but they are also taking those guys now so if you miss you have time to part ways and move on to another target. I thought sometimes the previous staff got into star-chasing mode and missed some kids because of that. Really other than the kid from Arizona, it makes sense where they are getting their lower-ranked kids as well, kids from Alabama at smaller schools with less exposure or guys who played both ways in HS so they are less polished at a spot.
