First pitch just minutes away.

I’m about to walk into dinner with my dad, who I haven’t seen in close to two years. I’ll watch when I get back to my hotel, and will give my thoughts from there.

Director of Scouting/ NFL Liason Kenyatta Watson Sr. is no longer employed by Georgia Tech, per source.

Watson Sr. joined the Georgia Tech staff in 2022, making the jump from Florida State during the previous head coach's tenure. He was then retained under new head coach Brent Key.

On Wednesday, sources confirmed to JOL that Watson Sr. is leaving The Flats for what is expected to be a position at Auburn on their recruiting staff.

Thanks to our sponsor Inteleca for helping bring back Q's Take my weekly look at things around GT and college sports from my vantage.




It was interesting watching Damon Stoudamire over the last few weeks during media avails, during games and after games as you could see the frustration of missed opportunities and poor execution at times weighing on him visibly as he tries to build his program in the first year. This was a level up for Stoudamire from his previous head coaching gig and a very different animal than coaching in the NBA where you either perform or they cut you quick.

He put together a roster pulling random pieces together including no-name recruits like Naithan George and Ibrahima Sacko who have both turned into solid role players in very different-sized roles and landing a big fish in Baye Ndongo while cobbling together other odds bits like Kowacie Reeves and a few misses like Amaree Abram to this point as well as raw talents like Tafara Gapare and the three freshmen mentioned above.

They also have played most of the season without Lance Terry and the last few games without Ebenezer Dowuona and Deebo Coleman due to injuries in all three players' cases.

He has done a decent job, there is work to do and you can see the adjustment in the game style and understanding the ACC, the uneven officiating from minute to minute not even half to half or game to game.

The fact the team is still playing hard is a good sign to me despite the plethora of close losses. Stoudamire has to drum up NIL money and add pieces to the puzzle this offseason and he already has an impressive class coming in with the chance to add Scottie Pippen's other son, not Scottie Jr. but Justin Pippen who is exploding during his senior season.

Stoudamire has to keep grinding on his end and work on improving everything he can behind the season whether that is tweaking practices, staff, schemes, or whatever to adapt for the future.

I still feel like this is a limited time window here with Damon and GT before he moves on to something bigger (most likely the NBA), but he can recruit and sell his pitch. He has some interesting ideas on both ends of the court and I feel like the coaching has improved, but the execution still isn't there yet. The older players make some of the same mistakes they made with Pastner or at their previous stops and they may just be who they are at this point. Miles Kelly isn't going to turn into Josh Okogie driving the ball to the hoop or MGH.

They have some nice pieces and when they are on they can play with anyone, but the league is still tough and full of very good coaches who run good stuff like Cuse or Notre Dame. Those programs also lack some key pieces as well and you have a very tight middle part of the league where GT has struggled and had bad luck in games pushing down their record.

Damon is 11-15 and 4-11 in ACC play in year one.

I thought it would be interesting to compare him to everyone else in the league in their first season at the current school and every situation is not the same as well.

BC- Earl Grant 13-20 (6-14) 11th place in the ACC
Clem- Brad Brownell 22-12 (9-7) 4th place, NCAAT
Duke- Jon Scheyer 27-9 (14-6) ACCT champs, NCAAT
FSU- Leonard Hamilton 14-15 (4-12) 9th place in the ACC
UL- Kenny Payne 4-28 (2-18) last place in the ACC
Miami- Jim Larranaga 20-13 (9-7) 4th place in the ACC, NIT
NCST- Kevin Keatts 21-12 (11-7) 3rd place in the ACC, NCAAT best finish by three spots in 7 seasons there
UNC- Hubert Davis 29-10 (15-5) T-2nd place, made the NCAA Championship game improbable run
PITT- Jeff Capel 14-19 (3-15) 14th place
UVA- Tony Bennett 15-16 (5-11) T-9th place
VT- Mike Young 16-16 (7-13) T-9th place
WF- Steve Forbes 6-16 (3-15) 14th place

Newbies this year:
ND- Micah Shrewsberry 9-16 (4-10) beat GT twice by slim margins
CUSE- Adrian Autry 16-10 (7-8) lost to GT

So 7 of the current coaches had big losing records in the ACC and two more Shrewsberry and Autry may end up with losing records along with Stoudamire in their first year. Guys like Brownell or Keatts did well out of the shoot and haven't really bounced back. Other than Duke and UNC, most teams have struggled under a first-year coach.

I just use these points to illustrate what expectations should be and this team should be in 11/12th place right now instead of 14th, but that is the difference right now to me. They are competitive and have been smoked twice this year in league play and just three times overall despite having a no-name true freshman point guard and no center/mature post body worth playing more than 10 mpg. Ndongo should be playing the 4 spot and isn't big enough to play the 5 right now against most of the league.

Have some patience with Stoudamire and what he is doing. He will make or break his program on recruiting and player development just like most GT coaches, but so far he wasn't exactly dealing with a loaded deck since maybe two guys Ndongo and Kelly COULD potentially start at another ACC school.

Sorry for running a little behind this week due to family obligations and forgetting to post the question link on Thursday.

Music question (subjective)…Hearing about you seeing U2 last week got me thinking about under-appreciated guitarists. The Edge is certainly not a shredder, but his use of reverb to create melodies might be unparalleled. Who would you put on a top 5 list of under-appreciated guitarists whose bands were the most prolific, iconic, or unique in rock history? Here’s my top 5…

The Edge (U2)
John Frusciante (RHCP)
Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
Brian May (Queen)
Mike Rutherford (Genesis)

KQ- You started off with some quality names so I would piggyback a little off that as far as underappreciated guitarists go but I'll give you different answers.

Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and session work wrote "The Boys of Summer" for example for Don Henley maybe my favorite song of all-time)

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Andy Summers (The Police textualist like the Edge)

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Elliot Easton (The Cars so tasteful in pop music with his soloing and tone)

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Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes riffs galore and alternate tunings)

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Steve Lukather (Toto and session work just listen to Thriller he plays all the guitars basically except for the solo on "Beat It")

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Even lesser known and my favorite David Bowie song "Stay", Earl Slick is amazing. The video is cool as he shows "Stay" and "Golden Years"

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In your Stoudamire thread you expected “five to seven will leave”. Is that existing players with eligibility left who will transfer out? Has Miles Kelly given any indication of his thinking?

KQ- No he has given no indication on his thought process one way or another. I believe Damon would like him to stay one more year.

Do you have a way to early prediction on the football record this year?

KQ- Not really, my range is 5-8 wins depending on a lot of factors, but rosters are still far from being set both at GT and elsewhere.

I think a guy who is incredibly underappreciated is Terry Kath, due to the band he was in. Chicago is known for their horns and vocals and sissy love songs but their music before Kath died in the late 70s featured some damned good guitar playing

KQ- Yes, just watch this

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You or someone else on here mentioned, CDS needing to change his messaging in post-game pressers. Saying the way he was answering questions was with a NBA mindset. Throughout the season, how have you seen or noticed CDS change his coaching, approach, or whatever from an NBA coach to more of a college approach. What areas does he still need to change, if any?

KQ- Yes I've seen him coach more in games. The first half of the season he spent a lot of time observing and laying back NBA-style. He is now more engaged possession to possession than early in the season. His expectations are a lot higher as well and you can see him getting frustrated when they don't execute it.

I think some of the issues are purely personnel and I think the unwillingness to run zone or teach it on D early in the year really hurt them. I still think they need some tweaks to the offense as well. It is a little predictable at times when teams play man-to-man.

Is there a different process for players on visas transferring vs US residents or is it generally the same?

KQ- I think it is pretty straightforward and I haven't really heard of specific issues regarding that.

I know you’ve briefly touched on it but how does NIL factor for players on a visa? Outside of Baye and Sacko, are any others playing on a visa-Gapare/Nait?

KQ- Nait is a Canadian citizen. Not sure what the background is on Gapare, those aren't really conversations I have with people at GT asking about someone's visas or if they are US citizens now or what type of visa they are on.

Should we simmer the expectations on the OL, or is this the best that group has looked in a long time?

KQ- If everyone is healthy there is no reason why the OL shouldn't be the best-performing group in many years at GT.

At the end of the 2024 season, does any GT position group lead the ACC this year? My guess would be OL, or WRs.

KQ- You could see QB, RB, OL or specialists. I am a little more pessimistic on the WR thing because I need to see more from guys not named Eric Singleton Jr or Malik Rutherford on a down-to-down basis.

Good morning.

Before taking a look ahead at tonight's matchup with Georgia Southern, I'd first like to take a look back at last weekend's series against Radford, including Busse's adventurous start and Finateri's gem of a start among a few other topics.

SAME OLE SAME OLE... WAIT MAYBE NOT?

While driving down to Atlanta on Opening Day, I thought I left in plenty of time. 4pm first pitch on a Friday, leave Cherokee County around 2:30 and get there no later than 3:30 to be able to get everything set up in the box, pick up my parking pass, and maybe grab a bite to eat.

NOPE. Atlanta traffic wasn't having it. A rather large accident took place on I-75, and the result was an extended amount of time in stop-and-go traffic, though it was certainly more stop than go.

Upon arriving at the ballpark and picking up my parking pass/credential for the season, my phone kept going off and I kept hearing ooh's and ahh's as I was walking toward the concourse.

Upon putting my bag down, I had 45 email notifications from JacketsOnline, 19 text messages, and I looked up and Georgia Tech was down 6-0.

I won't make fans relive that moment too much, as I am sure it is still too soon. Busse just simply didn't have it on Friday, as head coach Danny Hall said in the post-game media appearance.

Leaving the game after 1 IP was a nightmare scenario for both Busse and new pitching coach Matthew Taylor.

Returning assistants and players had to have in the back of their minds the horror story that was the 2023 season on the mound, worrying that it may simply be the same ole, same ole.

In the remaining 26 innings, Taylor's revamped pitching staff gave up just 7 ER, struck out 29, and walked just 16. Those numbers equate to a 2.42 ERA. They allowed just 15 hits.

Among the impressive 2024 debuts were true Freshman Tate McKee, Aeden Finateri, Carson Ballard, Dawson Brown, and two-way OF/P Cam Jones.

The rotation as it was last week (Busse, Finateri, Patel) may need some work, but the performance of the bullpen had to be encouraging for everyone involved.

The first inning had fans of GT baseball with PTSD re-thinking their plans for the season, and ready to bring the pitchforks out for the entire program.

The college baseball season is a long one, and
while there were moments Sunday that were worrisome, the performance as a whole was encouraging.

SAY HELLO TO DREW BURRESS, PAYTON GREEN

There were numerous instances throughout the recruitment of OF Drew Burress where he seemed destined for the MLB Draft.

Burress was one of the first baseball recruits I ever talked to extensively, and I had gotten pretty close with both Drew and those around him.

As the draft got closer, and it became apparent that the likes of Tai Peete and Antonio Anderson were destined for MLB, Burress began trending the other way.

Burress had a tough start, but bounced back in a big way both on Friday night and the rest of the weekend.

The Freshman finished the weekend with the team lead in total bases (18) with 3 HR to go along with it.

Over the next three years, Burress is going to grow a lot. His nearly struggles with plate discipline (tied for team high with 4 K) is not expected to be an issue as he matures.

After losing his job as the starting SS at NC State and being moved to 2B, Payton Green bet on himself by entering the transfer portal.

Georgia Tech was making his long list of options, and the opportunity at SS was clear knowing that Campbell, Peete, and Anderson were all likely to not be in the picture.

Green jumped on the opportunity, and got right to work with the coaching staff at Georgia Tech.

With his bat never really being the issue (his glove was) I’m still not sure anyone could have expected the line Green put up on opening weekend- 7 hits in 11 AB’s, 3 HR, 7 RBI, and 4 BB with 0 K.

Those numbers were good enough for agreed to walk away with ACC Player of the Week. As the season progresses and the competition gets to be more and more talented in the coming months, look for Green to be a lynchpin on the offensive side of the ball. His defense should continue to improve.

W2W4 AS GT HEADS TO STATESBORO

While Georgia Tech is coming off a convincing series sweep over Radford, the Eagles from Georgia Southern are coming off a tough series loss to Maryland.

The Terps lost a ton from their team last season, including their head coach who is now in Tuscaloosa.

The Eagles struggled at the plate, going just 17-92 at the plate, numbers good enough for a… .185 batting average.

They also scored just 12 runs in the 27 innings, an output not many would have expected going into the season for a team projected by some to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament later this spring.

The one hitter that GT will need to make sure does not beat them both on Tuesday and when they match up again later in the season is Sam Blancato.

Blancato’s advanced approach at the plate led to 5 walks in 13 plate appearances over the weekend.

Other names to watch closely will be the likes of Luke Odden and Josh Tate.

The start on Tuesday night for P Logan McGuire could be a bit of a debut for a bigger role as the season progresses.

Showing that he’s fully healthy, can throw strikes, and command the zone would go a long way in being considered for upcoming weekend rotation opportunities.

Both he and Cam Hill are two I am watching closely to see what they can show between now and the start of conference play. Especially with the depth of the bullpen and guys like Tate McKee, Mason Patel, and Carson Ballard all capable of starting in a mid-week matchup.

First pitch on Tuesday is at 6pm, and the game can be seen exclusively on ESPN+.

For you golfers out there (and non-golfers, too), I'm planning a charity event at noon on Sunday, March 10th. The benefactor is a friend of mine that is a Tech grad who has a degenerative disease and started a foundation to find a cure. Each bay will play against each other (standard TopGolf tournament play) and we have a $10,000 hole in one contest. You can buy a full bay, half bay or individual.

Come out for some food/drink and fun for a good cause. Signups just opened:

https://givebutter.com/c/2024VCPTopGolf

(Thanks for letting me post this Kelly)

I totally spaced on Thursday and never opened the mailbag.


I’ll keep this open until tomorrow night.

Starting lineup-
CF Drew Burress
C Matthew Ellis
SS Payton Green
1B Cam Jones
3B John Giesler
DH Bobby Zmarzlak
LF Trey Yunger
2B Mike Becchetti
RF Parker Brosius

SP— Terry Busse

Will share some thoughts when I’m not driving

As I woke up on Sunday morning, I knew the task ahead of me- leave no later than 6:30am, kiss each of the girls on the forehead before I leave, and pace myself for what was going to be a wild day.

Going through the list of expected visitors at the Under Armour camp at Carrollton, there were over 70 prospects who were expected to be in attendance that I had targeted to interview.

This is the beginning of a new weekly column, Russell's Ramblings. Every week, I'm going to pull the curtain and give JOL subscribers an inside look. This week's topic- QB Comparisons, Under Armour Camp Notes, and a moment in the Johnson household I won't soon forget.

Starting with the quarterback position, originally there was a bit of a worried tone from those at Carrollton HS on Sunday morning, as just six QB's had shown up for the portion of the camp where the position was needed to throw passes for RBvLB 1v1's.

Sons of Georgia/Georgia Tech OC's Mike Bobo and Buster Faulkner were among the group of six.

At the time, there was no Julian Lewis. No Shane Throgmartin. No Antwann Hill Jr., either. Lewis was the biggest surprise due to the fact that the event was taking place at his school.

The media left the building for awards and interviews with the OL/DL group, and from there when we returned, the quarterback position had a lot more than six working out.

Hill, Throgmartin, and Lewis, among several others, had arrived.

Georgia Tech fans have become enamored quickly with Antwann Hill Jr., with the hype around each tweet, post, IG story growing each time he shares.

On Sunday, despite not hearing from a member of the staff at GT since visiting in January, Hill wore a GT towel that caught the attention of several.

That was the biggest news that came out of Carrollton HS at the QB position for Georgia Tech.

As Hill begins to narrow things down further, take visits, and commit, Georgia Tech seems to have moved on.

(this is the definition of a recruit recruiting a school more than the school is recruiting him)

As for the reality of Hill’s recruitment, there are currently four main contenders- Duke, Florida, Texas A&M, and Florida State.

Speaking of the Seminoles, from a mentality standpoint and as a passer, Hill Jr. reminds me a lot of former FSU commit Jeff Sims. When Hill has everything clicking and moving in the right direction (mechanics, timing, footwork, etc.) he looks a lot like the good Jeff Sims that some GT fans may remember fondly. When one part is off, or even slightly disrupted, things can get ugly in a hurry.

It is unclear what type of ability Hill really has with his legs, and given the aspirations and goals of his Houston County team this coming season, I would be shocked to see them use him in that way.

Throgmartin showed flashes, but the more I watch him, the more I wonder if he has what it takes to truly make an impact at the Power Four level. Is he close enough to that caliber as things stand to play at that level? Yes. Can he be a part of an ACC-winning offense? I’m not so sure.

In the era of NIL, both at the collegiate and HS level, sometimes things can get to be a bit much. While it is unclear if a major network already has ownership of the video, everywhere Julian Lewis went on Sunday, a camera crew followed. Tying his shoe? Camera crew. Talking to a WR about a route? Camera crew. It was a sight to behold. His talent speaks for itself, though. No cameras or security guards needed.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

When you have three kids, sometimes you can’t help but compare one to the other. That is especially true when the oldest is 10, the middle is almost 4, and the youngest just turned 1.

I remember the first time my oldest, Emory, was waiting for me at the door when I got home from work. I was working at a fast food restaurant, but she didn’t know any better. All she knew was that he daddy had not been home for several hours, and then she heard loud noises and was hopeful that it was me coming home.

Rowan (middle child) was born during COVID, so I didn’t leave her much, if at all, the first year or so. The first time I remember her waiting for me, she wasn’t waiting by the door. She had opened the door and was in the garage, and ran up to the car door as I was parking. She still does this almost every time I leave, whether it be for work, church, or just to run errands. Middle child syndrome includes skipping the door and risking it ALL to be the first thing you see when you pull into the garage.

On Sunday, the youngest broke the drought. We have a gate at our house blocking off the living room from the kitchen, and after the onslaught that was Emory and Rowan as I pulled in, there baby girl was, standing up on the gate and not taking her eyes off her daddy. Her hands were raised as I walked near, and her blank stare had quickly turned into a smile.

Sure, these are moments that every parent goes through. When this happened on Sunday, though, I was reminded of why I do what I do. Why I work what sometimes ends up being 14-16 hour days between Rivals and my day job, and why I am exhausted to the point that sometimes the Live Q&A would become the delayed Q&A, because I was just that tired.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

I'll add that Quentin Murphy is telling everyone who will listen that Georgia Tech leads and that he hopes to commit next month if he can.

At this time, I do not expect that to happen, as he is not someone I would consider a Tier One target.

Did we have a chance to get him last year? This dude has USF playing some ball. First place in the American and beating FAU by double digits as we approach half. Looks like he’s done a one year turn around down there.

How did he escape us?

THE FLATS – Shortstop Payton Green was named the ACC Player of the Week after helping Georgia Tech baseball go 3-0 on Opening Weekend against Radford, the conference announced on Monday.



Green led the way for the Yellow Jackets in a weekend that saw multiple hot bats, hitting .636 for seven hits and three home runs to drive in a whopping seven RBI in his first three games for the White and Gold. In addition to slugging 1.455, he also drew four walks and failed to strike out, recording a .733 on-base percentage.



The Cary, N.C. native cemented himself as the conference player of the week when he capitalized on a 2-0 pitch over the plate for a go-ahead grand slam in the third inning against Radford, putting Tech up 4-3 and powering it to a 6-3 win and series sweep to start the season.



Green and the Yellow Jackets return on Tuesday when they head out on the road for their annual trip to Georgia Southern on Tuesday, Feb. 20. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.



Tech will then host five-straight games at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium, playing Cornell, Georgia State, and the Friday night return of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate on March 1.Tickets are still available with more information available atramblinwreck.com/tickets or by clicking HERE!

will be Logan McGuire, per source.

More to come tonight, in an update both looking back and looking ahead at the matchup in Statesboro tomorrow night.

*

Although GT is 2nd to last in the current ACC standings,

They have the 2nd most wins of any ACC team against ranked teams in either poll (only UNC has more).

They have the highest win percentage of any ACC team against ranked teams. (GT 3-1 (75%) against ranked teams in both polls while UNC is 5-2 (71.4%) against AP ranked teams and 4-2 (66.7%) against USA Today ranked teams.) Everyone else in the ACC is 50% or lower against ranked teams.

Tonight was GT youth sports night at the basketball game. They were going to have activities for the kids. Got email today saying GT compliance nixed the whole thing last minute. It’s unreal how inept GTAA is.

THE FLATS – Cory Peoples, a veteran coach with deep ties to the state of Georgia, has been hired as defensive backs coach at Georgia Tech, head coach Brent Key announced on Friday.



Peoples comes to Tech from nearby Georgia State, where he spent four seasons, first as the Panthers’ cornerbacks coach for two seasons (2020-21) before being elevated to secondary coach and defensive passing game coordinator for his final two campaigns (2022-23).



In Peoples’ four seasons at Georgia State, the Panthers intercepted 47 passes and ranked among the top 55 nationally in INTs all four seasons, including as high as 17th in 2020 (12) and 30th in 2022 (13). GSU earned three bowl berths in Peoples’ four seasons on the staff, including a 45-22 romp over Utah State in the 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, where the Panthers limited USU to just 188 passing yards.



Prior to his four seasons at Georgia State, Peoples spent one season as the cornerbacks coach at Georgia Southern (2018), a season as defensive coordinator at Albany State (2017), a season as defensive backs coach at South Carolina State (2016), two seasons as defensive backs coach at Charleston Southern (2014-15), a season as defensive backs coach at St. Augustine’s (2013) and four seasons coaching defensive backs, special teams and serving as recruiting coordinator at Clark Atlanta (2009-12). Highlights included coaching all-conference honorees at every stop, helping lead Georgia Southern to a victory in the 2018 Camellia Bowl and winning the Big South Championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs at Charleston Southern in 2015.



He began his coaching career with a season as an assistant at W.J. Keenan H.S. in Columbia, S.C. (2007), followed by a season as a graduate assistant at Georgia Military College (2008).



Peoples’ resume also includes three National Football League Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowships with the Philadelphia Eagles (2012) and Kansas City Chiefs (2015 and 2016), all under three-time Super Bowl champion head coach Andy Reid.



A top-notch recruiter, Peoples has spent 11 of his 15 seasons as a college coach in the state of Georgia.



As a player, Peoples helped Georgia Military College win the 2001 National Junior College Athletic Association national championship in 2001 before transferring to South Carolina in 2003, where he earned two letters as a defensive back. He signed with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and spent parts of three seasons with the team. He also played professionally in NFL Europe (Amsterdam Admirals – 2006) and the Canadian Football League (Toronto Argonauts – 2007-09).



A Bishopville, S.C. native, Peoples graduated from South Carolina in 2005 (B.S. retail management). He and his wife, Keilah, have three children – sons, C.J. and Lucas, and daughter, Isabella.



THE PEOPLES FILE

Personal

Hometown: Bishopville, S.C.

Family: Wife – Keilah; Children – C.J., Lucas and Isabella

Alma Mater: South Carolina, 2005



Playing Experience (DB)

2001-02: Georgia Military College

2003-04: South Carolina

2005-07: Philadelphia Eagles (NFL)

2006: Amsterdam Admirals (NFL Europe)

2007-09: Toronto Argonauts (CFL)



Coaching Experience

2007: W.J. Keenan (S.C.) H.S. (assistant coach)

2008: Georgia Military College (graduate assistant)

2009-12: Clark Atlanta (defensive backs/special teams coordinator/recruiting coordinator)

2013: St. Augustine’s (defensive backs)

2014-15: Charleston Southern (defensive backs)

2016: South Carolina State (defensive backs)

2017: Albany State (defensive coordinator)

2018: Georgia Southern (cornerbacks)

2020-21: Georgia State (cornerbacks)

2022-23: Georgia State (secondary/defensive pass game coordinator)

2024: Georgia Tech (defensive backs)



In addition to the hire of Peoples, Key announced that quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator Chris Weinke has been promoted to assistant head coach. Additionally, Ricky Brumfield has added the title of associate head coach for special teams and will also coach cornerbacks.

Deebo warming up early like he is playing and is dressed.

A shit ton of Cuse fans here.

Damon Stoudamire

Miles Kelly and Kyle Sturdivant

Adrian Autry

We talked to Kowacie Reeves and Damon Stoudamire today, practice went 45 minutes longer than expected.

Kowacie said they are in desperation mode now and they can't dwell on all these close losses but need to start winning games.

Kowacie said he needs to do a better job of helping his guys as a leader when they are breaking down some mentally during games and guys including himself need to take shots with confidence when they are out there.

Kowacie said that Damon is the type of coach he prayed to play for and it has been a rollercoaster this year but success won't happen overnight and they are building up something special here.

I asked Damon how he approaches these final games to keep his guys motivated and playing hard and he said he comes in positive and upbeat every day and he knew it wouldn't be easy and the early wins over some good teams built up expectations in the locker room and now they are trying to manage than and get them to understand the margin of error and the importance of playing hard. He said that is part of the teaching and coaching part for him, he isn't going to quit pushing the guys and teaching them. He wants to teach them how to be successful players and in the game of life.

On Cuse and their big men, he said that they've had success against the best big men in the league in some of their wins and they just need to do the same things they did against them and fight through screens and limit offensive rebounds.

On Sacko, Damon said that things haven't always happened for him in games, but he has worked hard all along and built days of equity for himself and the staff are trusting him and that is translating on the court now. He should've played him more against Wake, but he thought they needed more scoring, but he even did a great job in that game.

Deebo Coleman is still out, he was doing non-contact work today.

On finding a go-to guy in the clutch, he said that they are 24 games in and guys have to make the right play, but they are a team not just one guy who has to go get the shot.

On Cuse, they have good guards and don't have a lot of depth. Good in transition and probably have the best guard scoring combo in the ACC right now. They are playing more zone now probably due to the lack of depth and GT has to really limit turnovers and keep them out of transition to have a chance to win as well as limiting offensive rebounds.

On the zone D, Stoudamire said they've been sprinkling it in to mix things up to help win games.

I asked Damon what he expects and is looking to see in these final games as he makes decisions on his roster moving ahead.

" It's all about seeing improvement. It's all about who's still bought in and you know who's playing hard and playing the right way. And those are things for me, you know, I get discouraged but when I look back on and I'm, I'm, I'm positive at the same time to like I say with the exception of a couple games we've been in every game we play we just haven't finished. We got to learn how to finish that's an issue for sure. But at the same time, too, we've competed and with the exception, I would say wait for his game. You know, we've done that from start to finish and I've been satisfied with the effort. We just gotta have more, you know, I mean, at this juncture, the game, you know, it gets redundant to talk about the same things but you know, we can't give up offensive rebounds and that killed his last game. We got to know scouting reports you know, we are closing out on the Davis on the Davis kid from Notre Dame and he's a nice shooter. So you know, there's that, to me, is the attention to detail and we just have to continue we have to keep doing that because we'll be in position we'll be in position to win the game against Syracuse. We just got to go do it."

I asked him about Tafara Gapare

"I think that too far is given, you know, big time effort. I think that he has to figure some things out as a player. That's and that's more you know, the little things, you know, we can help him with the big things, you know, obviously, but, you know, the little things he has to he has to you know, he has to help himself with at times, you know, but you know, he's done. He's done a good job and we just got to keep encouraging him we got to keep we got to keep being in his ear by playing hard. That's the biggest thing with me for him just just continue to play hard."

Had a checkered career. Great coach, bruised by the Bias thing, etc. Got the chance to meet him while at Tech. He used to do color commentary for Raycom and was doing our game one night. Was walking on campus to exercise that day and I saw him as I got off the Stinger. Ran in the fraternity house threw down my backpack and chased him down. Asked if I could walk with him to chat. “Absolutely young man.” Walked with him about a mile and had the best conversation. True gentleman.

to Justin Pippen, son of former NBA player Scottie Pippen.

Pippen and head coach Damon Stoudamire were teammates in the NBA, as Pippen spent his entire tenure in Portland with Damon as a teammate.

Justin has really started to gain some momentum on the recruiting trail as of late, as the 6-foot-3 guard has new interest from Tennessee, LSU, Georgia Tech, and Georgia among others.
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