FOOTBALL Photo Gallery: GT spring ball week 2 pics
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JacketsOnline - Photo Gallery: Georgia Tech Spring Football Week 2
ATLANTA- Check out photos from Georgia Tech's spring football practice from week two.
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JOL Mailbag 3/26 Sponsored by Auto-Owners Insurance
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Running behind this week thanks to being at GT from 9am until like 6:30 pm yesterday.
Seems unusual - so any idea why GT currently has 8 QBs on the roster. Understand that are not all on scholarship but how could they actually use that many.
KQ- There are only six actually working with the QBs in practice sometimes seven. Others are at different positions for spring ball. I think Aidan Semo is working with the TEs now as an example. That is pretty normal, guys move around and get placed where they fit in for depth.
Does James Forrest son still plan to play hoops at Ga Tech next season ?
KQ- I don't think so. I'll check on that though. He wasn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard at the JUCO he is at.
What defensive unit do you think will be much improved this fall?
KQ- I think the LBs we will be much better. I think Santucci is a really strong coach and teacher and is very demanding of that group.
Assuming the two power brokers go to mega conferences of 24+ teams, by the time the dominoes fall, do you think getting into Atlanta (or even having an entire Southern pod of teams FSU, Miami, GT, etc) would be of enough value for the BigTen to make the move to re-invite GT? Or is the bigger issue how nationally relevant football and basketball are at the time it happens?
KQ- I've been pretty clear on where I stand on this. I think the SEC will move to protect their turf if they can in that scenario and keep the Big Ten out of the South and GT will have options. I think the Big Ten would love a foothold into the South and GT, Miami, UNC and UVA would give that to them. I think that is the pod. I think the SEC may try to keep Clemson, FSU, GT and maybe Miami out of the Big Ten. I am not really sure what UNC is going to do. That is the biggest question in that scenario. I think culturally GT, Miami, UNC and UVA fit in the Big Ten more than the SEC.
If on Monday Davis does commit to FSU, will Pippen feel no pressure to commit anytime soon and prolong his uncommitted status, adding more and more OVs?
If Pippen will not commit soon does Stoudamire resume searching for a talented PG or ComboG?
KQ- Pippen is nice to have, but Stoudamire is going to add the pieces he thinks will give him the most competitive product on the court next fall and that could mean adding a portal guard. Everything also hinges on who leaves and who stays. We won't know that for several weeks IMO. There is no rush for guys going into the portal.
With all the new titles for the assistant coaches, who would be the acting head coach if Brent key had to miss a day for something?
KQ- So in your scenario, Brent Key has to get his appendix out or something and has to miss a day of practice. My thought is Chris Weinke would lead the offensive side of the ball and Ricky Brumfield would lead the defensive side of the ball and special teams. If it were a game, that is a different question, might be Weinke or might be Donald Hill-Eley who is Key's right-hand guy and a former college head coach.
Assuming no one finds a way out of the GOR and ESPN doesn’t opt out- by the time this contract runs it’s course, Will GT and others be left on the outside looking in as far as the College Athletics picture? Meaning by the time this crazy deal is done will all the shifting of teams be done and our teams really have nowhere to go.
KQ- Not at all, everyone assumes whatever moves happen are permanent and the landscape of college sports forever and that is far from the case. I think if they go small and try to make it pro spots it will implode in a big bad day and there will be a massive reset. I still have a weird feeling we are going to see a massive shift in money and everything else as the reality starts to set in for the Texas/Oklahoma/USC/UCLA's of the world when they start becoming middle-of-the-pack teams and also for some of the elite of the SEC and Big Ten who may get knocked down a peg playing harder schedules. I think congress is going to get sucked into this as well.
Would getting arrested void an NIL deal?
KQ- Depends on the contract and the language in it. None of us have access to that stuff. Those are private contracts with entities that operate outside of the schools and athletic associations.
Do you think this upcoming football season is very important for GT in terms of the potential (and likely) conference realignment? Or do you think it’s going to be strictly about money and brand? Because we may be too far gone in later case.. don’t know if one good season can save us if the ACC does implode.
KQ- I think you are focused on the wrong things in realignment if you think it GT suddenly making the playoffs or winning the ACC changes how they are viewed by the SEC or the Big Ten. That works if you are trying to join the Big 12 or something and you are UCF and you were able to become somewhat nationally relevant and they desperately needed teams not knowing the Pac-12 was going to implode 24 months later.
It is about brand, location, market and intangibles. USC is a national brand so they had value to the Big Ten, they had to add three other teams to make the logistics make sense and in UCLA's case the legalities made sense so eventually UCLA, Washington and Oregon joined as wlel. If the Big Ten wants to add southern teams then I think GT is in the mix there regardless of how football is performing. Hoops, don't move the meter in this scenario at all.
The other domino is what the SEC wants to do, because they have to expand a lot to catch up with the Big Ten.
This is my gut feeling on all of this.
The Big Ten jumps to 24 from 18 adding a Southern pod and ND stays independent. If that scenario the Big Ten needs six teams what makes sense is for them to add UNC, Miami, GT, UVA, Kansas and one other team and maybe ND takes the plunge or they add Duke.
I think the SEC would go to 24 as well and add Clemson, FSU, NC State, VT, WV, Ok State, Pitt and maybe Duke/Louisville/Wake (they will want some dogs to beat up on in football).
That's the 48-team scenario.
If you look at the back end of what the SEC would be stuck with, you come to the same realization that I have that the SEC will try like hell to proactively get UNC, Miami, GT and UVA along with Clemson and FSU and probably NC State so they aren't left with the crumbs of the ACC. That would allow the Big Ten to expand more with the Colorado, Kansas, Iowa State, Arizona, ASU types. That makes more sense to me for the long term health of CFB.
Not sure if it’s been long enough now, but do we have numbers of players we’ve gotten to transfer to Tech that we “missed” signing as high school recruits? Curious how effective we are being in building those kind of relationships to get second opportunities with kids.
KQ- It has been more of a thing in hoops so far than football in the last few cycles. It is harder with both because of the coaching changes to really point out. In football, Makius Scott and EJ Lightsey are the only ones. It will probably be a bigger deal as Key gets more established as a head coach. Most of the prior relationship guys that Collins brought in where hit-and-miss like Kenyatta Watson II (miss), Antonneous Clayton (whiff), KJ Wallace (hit) or Myles Sims (hit). Obviously they've had some success with former UGA guys that Buster Faulkner knew at UGA, but that is a little different too from what you are asking.
Is CBK concerned at having no commits at this stage of the spring? I ask about him to separate that from the fans on here who mention their "concern."
KQ- No, he could have multiple commits right now if he wanted to settle, but they are trying to focus on landing their top targets right now and you also just had half the coaching staff turnover so they are reevaluating things and the entire recruiting staff just about turned over too. They are doing some resets on some targets.
What are the football players required to do during the summer? Remain on campus? Take classes? Daily workouts? Do they have flexibility until preseason camp starts?
KQ- Some have internships, but the ones who don't take summer classes and there are summer workouts and summer walk-throughs (think football practice without a ball with the coaches) and then they have a good bit of time off in July before fall camp starts. That is when coaches go on vacation.
We all know McCamish’s nickname is the tit. If we sign Pippen and his mom attends games will we all have to use the nickname in plural form?
KQ-
Any word on CDS staff changes?
No, it is very early for that type of stuff. That happens during the Final Four or shortly after.
Also curious if we will see more zone next season as it seemed to help us late this year.
KQ- I think that was an unfortunate lesson that Stoudamire had to learn the hard way early in the season. He wanted to play NBA man-to-man ball and he didn't put in the zone until he saw how much they struggled playing man-to-man for 40 minutes a night. I expect that is something he will focus on a lot in the offseason. It was weird seeing GT be so bad at times defensively after that being the only calling card for many years under BG and Josh.
