THE FLATS – Nine Georgia Tech football student-athletes are members of the 2023 all-ACC academic football team, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Wednesday.



Georgia Tech’s nine honorees include: OL Brandon Best (major: public policy), RB Evan Dickens (business administration), LS Henry Freer (Ph.D., chemical and biomolecular engineering), TE Dylan Leonard (M.S., analytics), DL Jason Moore (business administration), DL Josh Robinson (business administration), OL Connor Scaglione (business administration), P David Shanahan (business administration) and PK Gavin Stewart (business administration).



Freer, Leonard, Moore, Shanahan and Stewart all earned the recognition for the second-straight year, while Best, Dickens, Robinson and Scaglione are first time honorees.



To be selected for the all-ACC academic team, a student-athletes must have a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and his academic career, while appearing in at least of half of his team’s games for the season.



Georgia Tech finished 7-6 overall and 5-3 in ACC play in 2023 (good for a tie for fourth place in the 14-team ACC) and won the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl championship with a 30-17 victory over UCF. The Yellow Jackets return 17 starters, including all-ACC honorees DL Zeek Biggers, OL Joe Fusile, RB Jamal Haynes, QB Haynes King, WR Eric Singleton, Jr. and OL Jordan Williams.

March 15th per sources

Between UNC fans and LeBron I’m struggling to get down here.

Sorry, but I had to create a separate thread for this, what a turn out from our student section & crowd. As @Kelly Quinlan has alluded to, this is a sport we need to get back to being great in and invest. Crowd was rocking tonight while we have a losing record.. back CDS and lets bring back GT Basketball

I missed the first part of the game, where’s Ndongo?

How far away from a good defense are we in your opinion? What is the best route for us to get there?

KQ- So I will assume this is a football question. I think it can be done pretty quickly with an improved pass rush and some cleaned-up run fits on the defensive side and better tackling. The bar to being decent is just a few more third-down stops a game and maybe a 20% increase in sacks. The QB pressures were okay at times, but they were not able to get home and finish the sack or got penalized (Kennard) a lot. The penalities on third down defensively were also huge as well. Clean up those things and you are getting into the 60-70 range and then from there you can get some confidence rolling and move up.

There still are thin at some spots and need to develop the LB position though.

Any chance we hang onto Baye and nait after this year to pair with the class coming in next year ? We could be really good .

KQ- I'm totally fascinated that everyone just assumes guys would leave for NIL as if GT is going to offer them 0.0 dollars. Stoudamire took a chance on Nait who was going to Seattle or back to HS for a post-grad year and still has big holes in his game defensively and offensively. His market value is limited still overall. Baye Ndongo is interesting because I think his NIL cap might be tied to his VISA to play ball in the U.S. and how that works. I think he would also be foolish to do anything other than come back for another year and improve his value. Damon can show him a dozen big men including ones who transferred into the ACC or out of it and screwed themselves who were more productive than Baye is right now. Olivier Sarr leaving Wake for UK is top of my mind or Dawson Garcia going to UNC. Garcia had to transfer a third time to fix his career to Minnesota.

I have been to quite a few Men's BB games so far this season and this question is partly due to my lack of knowledge of basketball strategy but what would you say is the style of offense Damon is trying to to run?

KQ- Here is a link that shows what they are trying to do and what it looks like with better talent.

https://halfcourthoops.substack.com/p/boston-celtics-playbook-breakdown

The recent games vs UVA and Pitt have seemed like we are being out game planned. I know both programs have established coaches but UVA in particular had so much hustle to get open from every guy on the court. Half of our possessions we have 3 guys just standing at the 3 point line waiting for a ball to shoot a contested 3... Does it really come down to personnel being lazy for lack of a better word or not bought in?

KQ- The ball is sticking and not moving the way it is supposed to. The ball isn't supposed to stay with the PG or Miles for more than a second or two. It should be moving around and guys should be moving around as well on the perimeter.

Who gets a say in the star rankings for Rivals? Who has the final say in the rankings for Rivals? Why are on-field results seemingly disregarded by the recruiting services?

KQ- Our analysts along with people like Russell or myself have input. The analysts make the final call, RJ or I can send in recommendations and have a little bit of say especially on kids outside the Rivals 250. On-the-field results are factored in to a point, but it is about and has always been about NFL potential.

https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-com-football-team-recruiting-rankings-formula

I asked this previously, but it feels like we turned down some talented TE’s in the ‘24 class and stuck with David Prince. Listen, I hope David Prince becomes a goddamn all-American! But I’ve barely heard anything about him…. What led us to stick with him over some higher ranked guys?

KQ- @Russell Johnson

What conference will our new defensive back coach come from?

KQ- The Metro

Now with the Defensive staff set ( almost ), is there a chance GT will sign ANY 2024 High School recruit on February 7?

KQ- No

You’ve mentioned how Miles, Baye, and Reeves are more of working off others kind of guys and not the first option shooter type, are we expecting Mustaf, Sutton or potentially Davis to come in and fill that void?

KQ- I think it is more about being able to create your own shot being the issue. Miles isn't beating most guys off the dribble and that isn't Kowacie's game either. They can be first shot guys, but I think both are more comfortable as catch and shoot. Baye isn't going to break someone down with his dribble. Nait is comfortable with a first shot as is Kyle but they are both limited on creating that space to get the first shot opening.

That is something Mustaf does very well especially because of his size advantage in the post.

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Sutton is a big guy like Baye.

This may be an RJ question but how do we see the incoming freshmen (basketball) filling out the depth chart?

If we had another big man who could actually play with Baye or help spell him (let’s say Ebe could actually play basketball or Ty had Ebes size), how much does that change the dynamic of this team? Is it going to be worth it to throw some coin at a transfer big for that role?

KQ- So Sutton is sort of a second version of Baye, big athletic and long. Cole Kirouac is probably a full year of college S&C away from being a regular big man in the rotation. I think they will go portaling to find another center to help fill the void.

CDS seems to be fairly level headed throughout this season. I know many on here heard him say “I’m going to flip this thing in 180 days” and bought into that meaning a NCAA tourney run despite the IMMENSE momentum he had to overcome to even get a team pieces together (and without a proven post player/option) in the always loaded ACC.

Given that the program understood this is a longer process than a season to fix, do you think he regrets some of the bravado he showed in the preseason or is it necessary in today’s recruiting world to bring the sizzle early and often (even when the steak is still cooking?).

KQ- Damon has been pretty clear from the jump, they were BAD DEFENSIVELY and when they shoot well they have a chance to win. He said that after the first secret scrimmage. I think he was trying to sell his vision and I think people confused that for him saying they were going to be good or something. I never heard him say that at all. What he said is he expected to compete and they have really other than the Cincy game and the second half of the VT game, they've been in every game this year.

Bonus question, if Miles can’t sort out his slump I think we all agree that’s problematic for him, but is it also an indictment on the staff or do their collective resumes give us cover from negative recruiting based off having at best misunderstood Miles’ ability to be the alpha scorer we asked him to be and at worst broken his mechanics/elemental strength?

KQ- So Miles is lights out in practice, it is sort of the Zach Gibson comment I made in football. Miles was very consistent most of last season except he had a long slump at one point. In Josh's system, they were good defensively most of the time and they were able to mask a bad night from Miles and were playing slower overall with the pace most of the time as well. Now it is a mess.

I understand if you can’t answer this explicitly but could Miles’ issues this year be more about him not responding to CDS’s style and expectations regarding Miles’ role? In other words, that’s it’s not about a lack of development from the coaches.

KQ- He has to do way more defensively now instead of just playing a zone and spot on D like he did with Josh and he has to do more offensively as well most of the time and I think he is not handling the load well mentally and you can see it and he gets emotional and starts making mental errors as well. They aren't coaching free throws poorly to make him shoot a lower percentage there and his three-point shot selection is entirely on him.

How much say will Texiera have in the next baseball coach?

KQ- I don't know how much money Tex has in for baseball, but it is a lot so I would think his voice will be consulted when the time comes to make a decision. If you pony up real money and a huge percentage of the overall donations for that sport you get a voice at the table in anything in college sports.

Complete 2023-24 schedule | Purchase Single-Game Tickets | Media Notes (PDF)


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GEORGIA TECH (9-11, 2-7 ACC) vs. #3/3 NORTH CAROLINA (17-3, 9-0 ACC)​

Monday, January 29, 2024 | 7 p.m. EST | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion

Television: ESPN (Announcers: Rece Davis, Jay Williams)

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan) | SiriusXM channel 371

Other ways to listen: SiriusXM app | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

Announcers: Andy Demetra, Randy Waters

Live Stats: Statbroadcast.com



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THE FLATS - Looking to snap a three-game slide, Georgia Tech host the Atlantic Coast Conference’s first-place team, No. 3 North Carolina, in a 7 p.m. contest Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion.

The Yellow Jackets (9-11, 2-7 ACC) return home having lost seven of their last eight conference games, five of those by single digits. The Yellow Jackets’ only win in that stretch came at Clemson (93-90 in overtime), and they try to bounce back after a 91-67 loss at Virginia Tech Saturday night.

North Carolina (17-3, 9-0 ACC) is off to its best start in ACC play since the 2000-01 season. Since back-to-back losses to top-5 teams Connecticut and Kentucky in mid-December, the Tar Heels have ripped off 10 straight victories, including a 75-68 decision at Florida State Saturday.

Tuesday’s game will be televised live on ESPN with a live stream available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM). The Tech broadcast is also available on SiriusXM channel 371 and the SiriusXM app.

THE TIP-OFF

• At No. 3, North Carolina is the highest-ranked team Georgia Tech has faced since meeting No. 2 Duke on Jan. 4, 2022. The Tar Heels are the highest-ranked team to visit McCamish Pavilion since the No. 2 Blue Devils on Jan. 8, 2020.

• Only two of Georgia Tech’s seven ACC losses have come by double digits. In those five losses, the Jackets had leads of 16 points against Boston College, seven vs. Notre Dame, 10 at Duke, 11 vs. Virginia, six vs. Pittsburgh.

• Tech is 4-8 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams this season, with Quad 1 wins over Duke and Clemson and Quad 2 wins over Mississippi State and Massachusetts. The Jackets have five Quad 1 and three Quad 2 opponents remaining on its schedule (North Carolina is a Quad 1 opportunity). Tech was 3-14 last season against Quad 1/2 foes.

• Tech has defeated Duke and North Carolina in the same regular season eight times in its 44-year ACC history, most recently in 2020-21. Every one of those Yellow Jacket teams played in the NCAA Tournament, and each of Tech’s four ACC Championship teams accomplished the feat.

• Tech has lost four straight home games. The Yellow Jackets last dropped four consecutive home games last season, but have not lost five in a row at home since the 2011-12 season, when McCamish Pavilion was under construction and the Jackets split their home schedule between Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga., and State Farm Arena. Tech has not lost five or more in a row in its on-campus home since the 1980-81 season. the Jackets’ second year in the ACC.

• Tech has averaged 74.1 points per game and has connected on 45.4 percent of its field goal tries in ACC play, which ranks No. 6 and No. 2, respectively, in those categories. Tech leads in three-point field goal per game on conference play (9.56) and is fifth in percentage (.364).

• Tech has the ACC’s sixth-most efficient offense in conference games (108.4 points per 100 possessions according to KenPom.com) and ranks No. 3 in effective field goal percentage (53.5) in conference games.

• Four Tech players are averaging double figures in ACC play - Baye Ndongo (15.6), Miles Kelly (13.6), Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (12.1) and Naithan George (10.1). Those four players have combined to hit 47.4 percent of their shots from the floor (175-369) and 38.3 percent from three-point range (59-of-154).

• Tech has started two freshmen - Baye Ndongo and point guard Naithan George - in its last 16 games. The Jackets have not had two freshmen in its regular starting lineup since the 2018-19 season (Michael Devoe, Khalid Moore), and have not had a freshman regularly start at point guard since Jose Alvarado in 2017-18.

• Either Ndongo or George has led Tech in scoring in eight of Tech’s last 10 games, and in seven of nine ACC games. They have accounted for 37.9 percent of Tech’s points over its last 10 games, 34.6 percent in ACC games.

• Miles Kelly, Tech’s leading scorer in 2022-23 at 14.4 points per game, is Tech’s leading scorer again this season at 14.2 points per game. The junior guard leads three Jackets averaging in double figures with freshman forward Baye Ndongo (13.3 ppg) and junior guard Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (11.8 ppg). Five other Jackets average between 4.2 and 9.2 points per game.

• Kelly and Tyzhaun Claude each need six points to reach 900 for their careers.

• Freshman forward Baye Ndongo has won the ACC’s Rookie of the Week honor three times this season (Dec. 2, Dec. 18, Dec. 26), most for a Yellow Jacket since current NBA star Josh Okogie did so during the 2016-17 season.

• Tech’s point guard tandem of Naithan George and Kyle Sturdivant has averaged 7.3 assists per game combined, 9.7 in ACC games. Their assist/turnover ratio is 2.56-to-1 combined overall, 3.78-to-1 in conference games. Both players rank among the nation’s top 50 players in assist rate (assists divided by the field goals made by the player’s teammates while he is on the court) according to KenPom.com.

SERIES VS. NORTH CAROLINA

• North Carolina has a 72-27 lead in the all-time series between the two teams, and a 58-25 advantage since Tech joined the ACC (one Tech win in 2016-17 vacated by NCAA Committee on Infractions).

• The Tar Heels have won 12 of the last 15 games in the series and each of the last three, sweeping the 2021-22 regular season series and the teams’ only meeting in 2022-23. Tech won the two meetings before that, a 72-67 win at McCamish Pavilion in the teams’ only 2020-21 meeting and a 96-83 victory at the Dean Smith Center in the teams’ only meeting of the 2019-20 season.

• Tech is 13-16 against North Carolina dating back to the 2001-02 season.

• The teams have played 42 times in the city of Atlanta, including seven at McCamish Pavilion, where Tech is 2-5 (on court) against the Tar Heels. The teams met 23 times at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, where the Tar Heels won 12 of 23. Tech won six of the last seven meetings in the Thrillerdome, however, and won six of eight against UNC in the Coliseum under Paul Hewitt.

• Between 1982 and 1996, the Yellow Jackets played eight of their home games with the Tar Heels at the old Omni arena in downtown Atlanta (2-6 record). Counting ACC and SIC Tournament games played in the city, Tech is 15-25 vs. North Carolina in Atlanta.

• Tech is 8-6 in games played away from Chapel Hill since 2000-01, including three ACC Tournament wins.

• In ACC Tournament play, the Yellow Jackets have won five of nine meetings, and Tech has won the last three encounters (2004, 2005, 2010). Two of Tech’s five tournament wins occurred in championship games, the 1985 final in Atlanta and the 1993 final in Charlotte.

• Tech’s greatest success in its series with North Carolina occurred during the middle 1990s when the Jackets won five of seven meetings, including three straight wins over No. 1-ranked Tar Heel teams during the 1993 and 1994 campaigns.

Damon Stoudamire

Kyle Sturdivant and Nait George

Hubert Davis

Dropped his final three tonight after his game. Georgia Tech made the cut, along with Rutgers and Xavier.
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Kyan Brumfield, son of CB's coach / Special Teams Coordinator Ricky Brumfield, has been hired as a grad assistant working with the running backs.

Brumfield spent last season as the DB's grad assistant at BYU. His playing career included stops at Nebraska, Colgate, Texas Tech, and FIU, and ended following the 2022 season.

I will say some names on here have been in contact and some have not. I'll share more when I can. This is my take on some names to watch.

My dear friend and occasional basketball recruiting writer on here has passed away. I’m devastated. If you follow some hoop heads on social media you will see it going around.

Just quoted by Jim Nance … “this game has the Top 2 kickers in NFL history”. How about that? Butker!!

Gibbs is arguably the most talented player on the field … in the nfc championship game … as a rookie.

Wtf were these idiots doing? That is gross incompetence

Gauging interest in baseball coverage going into the season. Please like this message if baseball coverage is something you are interested in.

If you have anything specific you are looking for content wise, please reply with that below as well. I will not be able to make it to every home game, but am planning on being there much more often than I was last season.

Fire away

story from Hunter

Raheem should contact Giff Smith.

Beau did a good job here. Wish him well.

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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.




Instead of a normal Q's Take, I thought today I would update you all on some stuff going on both in front of and behind the scenes at the moment for GT football. As I said earlier in the week, Brent Key has been interviewing DB coaches and those interviews include both what I would calls safety/nickel coaches and a few guys who would coach the overall secondary. Ricky Brumfield as of now is the CB coach and special teams coach. That cat is out of the bag because he was being introduced to kids at the JR Day that way. Again I tend to shy away from putting stuff like that out there, but kids have been sharing it in their post-visit interviews so there we are. Brumfield can coach just about any position in on either side of the ball except OL/DL and QB so he will do whatever Key needs him to do in addition to coordinating special teams.

Movement with jobs is still going on and some guys are getting paid not to coach this year and are waiting to see how the dominoes fall with other jobs so for Key who is being extremely picky about his final staff hire, that is probably not super helpful right now. He interviewed about 10 guys last week per my sources and will interview more this week with an eye toward the safety position. Some of the people interviewed per my sources were not fit at GT for various reasons. There are some wild stories about things coaches find out once they start digging in on guys. I've covered some very strange ones in my career, especially at other schools including a coach who was accused of sleeping with prospects' moms on home visits, so you have to be really careful when you dip outside your normal area of hiring and Key seems to be casting a very wide net.

The most obvious person to hire would be Lyle Hemphill but he was named the DC at James Madison last month. Hemphill both coached Santucci and served as his first boss when Santucci was a GA and later a position coach under Hemphill. They were co-DCs at Duke last year and were on the Wake Forest staff together as well, but he has a DC job. Hemphill is also in an area he is comfortable with.

People will ask me about Jason Semore as well, the same thing as Hemphill, guy has a DC job now, I'm not sure it is a step up to come back as a position coach. Semore is a guy I could see coming back to GT in a few years when he has some seasoning as a DC under his belt if the job is open at that time.

My sources have told me Key is being very picky with his staff this year after learning more about being a head coach and seeing people work under him and grasping how people function under him and how hard some are willing to work compared to others in all aspects of the job. It is not just a job that you punch a time card for. They live in each other's pockets for six months out of the year so personalities and effort in recruiting weighed heavily in the changes he made along with coaching and other factors.

On the support staff side, I expect some movement soon with some interesting hires to round out that side of the ball as Key wants to have a strong analyst group and he is still working on some very cool names in that regard.

It is grind time for the new GT staff. Key will fill out the final spot when he finds someone he really likes. So far he has not been able to find the right person for the job. He is not in the mode to settle so you have to appreciate that he is willing to keep grinding. The JR Days are going very well and they have a lot of talented kids coming in and the proof of concept of the first season plus 8 games is selling well.

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There wasn't much to be excited about in the #GaTech loss at Virginia Tech on Saturday night. But it was good to see Carter Murphy back in action.

Jeff Hullinger posts lots of interesting Atlanta-related vignettes on his Facebook page, including frequent stories about Tech. Here's his latest on Billy Shaw.

As Georgia Tech football shows signs of October life under Brent Key, one of the Yellow Jackets greatest players taking note from Toccoa, Georgia, Stephens County, “He (Coach Key) is doing a great job, they are on the right track.”

Billy Shaw is 84 years old now, he played both ways for Bobby Dodd between 1958-1960, and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1999) after a brilliant career in Buffalo as an offensive lineman. He played in 119 games for Bills from 1961 to 1969, was selected to the All-AFL team five times, and appeared in eight All-AFL All Star Games.

As is said reverentially in pro football—“a very bad man.”

“I am the only member of the HOF to have never played a down in the NFL, my career was in the AFL,” noted the famous pulling guard who sounds about half his age.”
Billy was drafted by Dallas (1961) in the NFL, there was a plan to use him as a linebacker, he opted instead for Buffalo, the AFL, and the offensive line.

Smart decision.

The 1960’s Bills were a powerful marvel, Cookie Gilchrist, Wray Carlton ran, Daryle Lamonica and Jack Kemp threw the ball, the Buffalo Offensive Line was one of the best in football. A crushing unit of continuity and violent choreography.

“Jack Kemp our QB (US Congressman, US Housing Secretary, 1996 GOP VP Candidate) was the smartest man I’ve ever met. He was something else,” Mr. Shaw wistfully noting after a pause, “Jack would have been a great president.”

Secretary Kemp, the influential politician/athlete, died from cancer in 2009.

Mr. Shaw says he will always be grateful to a pair of immortal football men, Otto Graham who moved him from DT (sitting behind Bob Lilly) to OG at the College All Star Game and Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd.

“He (Coach Dodd) was always honest, good or bad. The most forthright person ever.”

Those former GT Bobby Dodd players have a special bond never to be broken, they still gather once a year during the Summer.

“We have a group of about 15 to 30 guys, we call ourselves Cherokee Rose, don’t ask why,“ said Mr. Shaw, “we once gathered in Destin, now as we’ve aged, it’s the Georgia Mountains.”

Billy is grateful for the GT influence, Coach Dodd, the institute, and his roommate, future Rams, Eagles, Washington Pro Bowler, the great Maxie Baughan.

“So many have been instrumental in my life, we (Baughan) roomed junior, senior years at GT, close friends, such a special player, a person that helped me.”

Today life remains full for the Shaw family.

Billy and wife Patsy celebrated their 64th year of marriage this year, “we met in Toccoa at church, after my family moved from Mississippi to Georgia, she was mighty pretty, still is.”

Two adult children live a few doors away, Grandson Jake Thornton (Stephens County HS) is the offensive line coach at Auburn, the family is ready for the Iron Bowl battle with Alabama.

As for the toughest player he ever faced while wearing a Buffalo uniform, Mr. Shaw responded quickly, “The Patriots Houston Antwine, 6 feet, 280lbs. He had my number.”

Billy Shaw is handling other numbers with more dexterity, he recently lost 130lbs, down to 206lbs.

And the most important number, 84.

After stepping away from his bustling concrete business years ago, Billy not slowing down at all, still out front leading everyone.

RAHEEM MORRIS