Inserting a bit of a plug here, but figured it wouldn’t hurt. I’ve received emails from the GT marching band director asking for gift donations to help the Band offset some of the costs of taking the Band to Dublin next season. With having college game day present there, I think it would be beneficial to have the full marching band there (versus the possibility of having a limited size band) to promote the excellence of the school and the support behind the program. If anyone is feeling generous, please consider dropping a few funds their way. I would hope this is being blasted to all alumni and fans, but just in case:

Donation link.
In special purpose field, put “Music - GT Band Trip – Ireland”.

Go Jackets

Buster Faulkner
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Haynes King
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Just checked and GT hosts VT the weekend of the spring game. Just random or do they plan it that way? FSU on purpose avoids having the spring game when baseball is home. It blows me away how dumb that is. Its such a great chance to get more interest in baesball from new fans.

Is Alberts sick of the circus or does A&M just pay that much more?

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Updated D1 Baseball Top 25
6. Duke
7. Wake
10. Clemson
13. NC State (3 at home this weekend)
15. UNC
17. UVA
18. Auburn

Of note, Florida State is undefeated against a pretty weak slate so far.

1 - Surprised there’s not a thread already.
2 - They played Northeastern better than us in game 2 of their 2 game series and played Okie St tight.
3 - How about Ballard!
4 - I assume Busse is injured?

Baye Ndongo said it was extremely difficult playing through his fast. He said he felt like he had no power today.

Miles Kelly said he has not made a decision about next year yet, whether he will come back or pursue going pro or anything else. He said he will discuss it with some trusted people when the time is right. Kelly did say he really likes the duo of Nait George and Baye Ndongo and what coach Stoudamire is building.

I talked to Deebo Coleman as well. He also declined to indicate his intentions. He was pretty upset about the outcome of the game.

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With everything going on I pushed this back until I was in my hotel in DC able to focus on it a little more.

83 FBS teams have at least 1 2025 commit. 13 ACC teams have at least 1 2025 commit. 22 teams have at least 5 commits. On a scale of 1-10, how concerning is it that we have no 2025 commits?

KQ- Not very. If you look at the lower end of the league you'll see some very average commits and guys GT would be able to get if they offered for example. Some schools like to load up early and hang on like Dave Clawson at Wake who has 7 right now. I think Key also decided to let his new staff get in place and let them do evals before they jumped into pushing for commits from too many targets. They just replaced exactly 1/2 of the on-the-field staff and all but one person in the recruiting office.

I wasn't on JOL during the MaChelle Joseph saga. Can you shed some light on what happened there and the result? According to LinkedIn, it looks like she is a realtor now.

KQ- This is always a hot topic for like 2-3 people on here so essentially it boiled down to Joseph being accused of inappropriate behavior toward her players namely abusing them verbally and bullying them. ADTS fired her and then the NCAA hit GT over the whole saga as well during covid.

Here is Ken's story on it, it is not paywalled.


What’s the best College Football Environment and Basketball Environment you ever been at?

KQ- CFB was probably LSU at night for an SEC game of consequence back in the early or mid-2000s. For basketball, I mean it is Duke with Coach K and GT having a decent team. I sat on the court taking pictures for one of those games about 10 feet away from the Duke bench and that was pretty intense. Rupp Arena is pretty impressive for hoops as well.

Through the years we’ve had some really good coaches pass through The Flats. A few duds but more good than not. Some great recruiters, some excellent with development. a few great motivators, and a handful brilliant tacticians. I’m not qualified to judge, but that doesn’t prevent me.

Great recruiter? If a staff had Choice, McWhorter, MCCollum and Giff Smith they’d own the Jmmys and Joes market. Worst recruiter? Steve Spurrier edges out Buddy Geiss. Excellent developer? D’Alasandris (sp?) always impressed me. Motivator? Well he frequently lapsed into being sanctimonious but Bill Curry could get his players, just as importantly, his coaches, to run through a wall. Brilliant tactician? “The Silver Fox” was a gamer but also had a mystique which caused other coaches to choke. And we had a HC who never played the game, an awkward guy from west Carolina, give our opponents fits with his game day tactics.

Which coaches are in the KQ HOF?

KQ- So are you asking me who are the HOF recruiters in GT history? Sorry I got a little confused with the question.

Will Leo be back for the spring or is he still having problems?

KQ- What problems was he having other than his two ACL injuries that were both fluke plays? Leo is back and 100%.

Who should tell Gapare to never venture out to the 3 point line and attempt a three?

KQ- The issue is that is part of the scheme and you'll see Ty Claude or Baye go out there as well, though Baye is shooting like 4-10 from three or 5-12 or something not terrible. That is probably something Damon will have to look at when he works on the offense, however Gapare has and can hit that three, he is short arming them in games for some reason.

What are the names of five players you think well of who you think coukd have a standout spring and claim, for now, a place in the two deep?

KQ- So off the top of my head from guys who didn't play last year a meaningful role, Ben Galloway at guard as he jumped into the two-deep by the final five games of the season and should get a ton of reps at RG with Keylan Rutledge out for at least most of the spring ball. Next would be someone like Taye Seymore who the staff loved and he was sort of stuck because of the three-headed monster at safety last year. I expect he will play more this fall. I would not be surprised to see Anthony Carrie crack the two deep at RB and Isiah Canion at WR either. Jackson Long the R-So who came last year from USF is another one I'm really curious about because they were pretty high on him early on and then he was not dressing after the first few games of the season.

Can you provide any more insight to the DJ Moore move to DB? I recall last year speculation that he could see the field as a freshman at wide receiver. Is our wide receiver room that good or we lacking DB talent and he could be in the two deep there?

KQ- Brent talked about it last season when I asked him about it probably around the final couple of games of the season. Key said that he got hurt and fell behind in the WR room and they liked his ball skills watching him on scout team play some DB and he moves well and is fluid and isn't afraid of contact so they've tried him there and he has taken to the position and is performing better there than he was at WR so he has stayed and they ended up flipping Justin Brown back from safety to WR instead of Moore for camp.

Considering how well Dukes defense did last year, can you compare our front seven with their talent wise? Are they that much better or could we assume an improved defense in the front seven.

KQ- Brother you are giving me way too much credit thinking I watch that much ACC football. I watched two full Duke games last year just watching because they were playing and I was home and it was game on, one was Clemson and the other may have been UNC. GT didn't play them so I wasn't following too closely, but maybe post-spring when I have some quieter time I'll take a look at that.

What are some position battles you'll be looking at for Spring?

KQ- That'll be something I write about during spring break week where GT will be off mid-spring ball, but I think RB#2, the X position at WR and the TEs are the main ones I'm looking at one on offense and defensively, the LB rotation and the nickel spot are two I'm focused on over there.

- Why does Georgia Tech University continue to be a thing?

KQ- GTU forever! So kids couldn't tell you what the mascot of Ohio State is, so you are surprised you'll see a GTU?

Several of the incoming freshman look like they have the talent to compete for playing time this year. How many of the incoming class will have the physical attributes (weight, strength, speed, etc) to realistically compete for playing time this season?

KQ- I mean I look at Carrie at RB, the two young WRs who are in spring ball and Tah'j Butler as being the four guys who have the best shot out of the box. Jordan Floyd looks like a NFL vet out there, but those guys typically take longer to see the field.

What does the media availability look like for spring practice?

KQ- I have no idea, they gave us a one-day schedule so far and that was just Monday. WIth basketball overlapping, they are holding back on doing something on Wednesday and Friday is Pro Day, so we haven't received anything else. The added issue of the Edge Building being torn down complicates everything I'm sure as well.

O/U 1.5 games won in DC this week for basketball?

KQ- My take has been the same for over a week. I think they will either beat Notre Dame and Wake or they will lose to ND and be done. I think that is how they play.

We have 2 LB coming into Spring with game reps - Tatum & Efforts - are you hearing who may provide depth/competition from the Spring Roster?
Lightsey, Hamilton, Dean - transfers
Meiguez, Cruz, Ashley. - roster
Butler, Pritchett - Frosh

KQ- Tatum and Efford have extensive experience, I expect that EJ Lightsey, Jackson Hamilton and Tah'j Butler will play. The big question is how much can Jacob Cruz or Nacari Ashley help. I don't see Tyson Meiguez playing much of a role, he has been on the team forever. I'm not sure who Pritchett is, the Pritchett that signed is a safety who will be here in the summer time. Caleb Dozier the other LB signee is not in spring camp, he also comes this summer.

I think the staff expect Tatum, Efford, Lightsey and either Hamilton or Butler to make up the core LB depth. Anything else is a bonus at this point, but it is a new staff so it is a clean slate for guys like Cruz or Ashley.

Current chances in your estimation of landing:

- Davis?
- Pippen?
- Onwuchekwa?

KQ- I really don't know, I don't think the staff knows yet either. Some coaching movement may sort it out for GT after this week as guys get fired or get another year.

Tomorrow there will be practice and media with Buster and Haynes King. I will not be there because I couldn’t get my flight changed to the morning (had to hedge on GT winning at least one game in DC) but I’ll break listen to it and give updates.

Friday we get Santucci for the first time and a I think Zeek plus Gt will have Pro Day so I’ll be on the Flats for most of the day.

The team is then off for 10 days for spring break. That’s when I’ll focus on a lot of spring football analysis stuff that folks have been asking about. I knew that break was looming.

Georgia Tech began spring football practice Monday with a two-hour session on the Rose Bowl practice fields. Second-year head football coach Brent Key spoke with the media after practice and detailed his five new assistant coach hires including his all-new defensive staff.

Key said that new defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci was the first person he spoke to about the open defensive coordinator position when he decided to move on from the previous defensive staff and several weeks later he hired him to lead the Jackets defense.

"You go through the process of talking to people for different spots and we were really lucky to hire Tyler for defensive coordinator," Key said. "He was the very first person I talked to and fast forward 4-5-6 weeks later, he ends up being the guy that we were fortunate enough to be able to get."

Santucci is only 35 years old but Key said he coaches like an experienced veteran coach twice his age.

"He is a wise past his years. You forget a lot of the time what his age actually is especially when you see the energy he coaches with but also the detail he coaches with and the toughness he coaches with. He has been around really good coaches in his career and the outstanding thing about him is when you look at what he has been able to do and what he did at the last place he was at (Duke), he had a group of guys that played cohesive and played together," Key said. Yeah, they were good statistically, but that is because of the way they were coached and the expectations demanded of them."

Prior to hiring Santucci, Key brought in Jess Simpson who happened to be Santucci's defensive line coach at Duke. The former Buford HS coach and Atlanta Falcons assistant was a priority hire for Key because of the boxes he checked."Jess is a guy I've known for a long time. He is as respected as anyone there is out there as a defensive line coach. It is just the relationships that he is able to have with those players in the room and when you have those relationships you are able to push them to do a lot of things with them to push them out of their comfort zones. I thought that is what we needed but he is also a very detailed coach and very technique-driven to (make his guys) strong technicians. He has coached at every level and had success at every level," Key said of Simpson.

Working alongside Simpson, Key hired Kyle Pope who was the defensive line GA at Alabama when Key was the offensive line coach under Nick Saban. Pope was most recently at Memphis prior to coming to the Flats. Key said he likes the chemistry between Simpson who coaches the defensive line and Pope who will coach the edge rushers and outside linebackers in subpackages.

"Kyle was a graduate assistant in Tuscaloosa with us and just the energy he had at a young age then as a coach and a recruiter was impressive. He goes about it the same way every day and the recruiting part is huge as well all know. He has proven to be a very successful recruiter working at a couple of different places and has improved upon what he was doing as a GA six or seven years ago and he developed that and has become an even better coach. I'm really excited about having him working with edges and outside backers if we go into a 3-4 mode. Kyle and Jess working together is a really good pairing and they feed off each other and I really expect big things out of those two guys."

New secondary coach Cory Peoples came to Tech from Georgia State to round out the new on-the-field hires on the defensive side of the ball.

"Corey was right down the road and he was one of the first people I talked to at that position and the relationships he had with people in the area were big. When you talk to people whether it be local high school coaches or former players that he coached, everything was super positive. Cory was able to do a lot with the guys he brought into his last place and his relationships with coaches in the area were very important," Key said of the Peoples hire.

Key also added to the plate of special teams coordinator Ricky Brumfield putting him in charge of the cornerback positions."Ricky who has been here for a year already coaching special teams, adding corners with him allows him to affect things in a different way with another position group and allows him to use his recruiting skill even more than we were able to last year," Key said.

On the offensive side, the only change was the hiring of Trent McKnight as receivers coach. McKnight joined the staff late last month after the sudden departure of McKnight's former boss Shawn Elliott from Georgia State started a ripple effect with Dell McGee getting hired to be the head coach of the Panthers from UGA and UGA hiring Josh Crawford away from the Jackets to replace him as the running backs coach flipping him from being a long-time receivers coach.

"Trent we hired two weeks ago I believe, you are able to see him out there for the first time with the guys and I'm excited to able to watch him," Key said. "I'm looking for him to coach receivers and be able to recruit his area and his position at a high level as well."

Key said he contacted former players, high school coaches, and fellow college coaches to vet all of his new hires.

Seeing as FOS has over 250,000 followers on Instagram.

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Miles Kelly is a full go. However Baye Ndongo is in the middle of Ramadan and will not eat or consume any water during the game or ahead of the game so that’s interesting. Sacko and Souare also doing it.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – North Carolina senior guard RJ Davis has been voted the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Player of the Year, while the Tar Heels’ Hubert Davis earned ACC Coach of the Year honors, highlighting the 2023-24 All-ACC Men’s Basketball Team and award winners.



The 2023-24 All-ACC Team was determined by a 75-member panel consisting of the league’s 15 head coaches and 60 members of the media.



Virginia’s Reece Beekman notched ACC Defensive Player of the Year laurels for the second straight season, while Notre Dame’s Markus Burton earned ACC Rookie of Year honors. Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin claimed the ACC’s Most Improved Player, while Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett was picked as the Sixth Man of the Year.



RJ Davis was the overwhelming pick from the voting panel as Player of the Year, earning the nod on 68 of 75 ballots. Davis is averaging a league-leading 21.1 points per game this season as well as 3.6 assists per game, which is 11th in the league. The native of White Plains, New York, is a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, presented to the nation’s most outstanding player. He also is a finalist for the Jerry West Award for the top shooting guard in the country. Davis has scored at least 20 points 19 times this season, which is the most 20-point games in a season by a Tar Heel since Justin Jackson also had 19 in 40 games in 2016-17, which also marked UNC’s last ACC Player of the Year honoree. He is on pace to become the first Tar Heel to lead the ACC in scoring since Tyler Hansbrough in 2007-08 and record UNC’s highest scoring average since Hansbrough averaged 22.6 that same season.



In his third season at the helm of his alma mater, Hubert Davis led the Tar Heels to their first outright ACC regular-season title since the 2016-17 campaign. He is UNC’s first ACC Coach of the Year honoree since Roy Williams in 2011. The Tar Heels have racked up a 25-6 record, including a 17-3 mark in league play, and hold the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament this week. UNC’s 17 ACC wins tied the ACC record for regular-season wins (Virginia was 17-1 in 2018-19).



Beekman became just the third player to earn back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors since the award was instituted in 2005, joining Duke’s Shelden Williams (2005-06) and North Carolina’s John Henson (2011-12). He is the sixth Cavalier to win the award in the last 10 seasons. A senior from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Beekman ranks second in the ACC in steals (66 total, 2.13 per game) while leading the ACC’s top-ranked scoring defense at 59.1 points per game. Also named a Second-Team All-ACC honoree, he averaged 14.3 points per game (14th in ACC) and a league-leading 6.0 assists per game.



The first member of the Fighting Irish to earn ACC Rookie of the Year, Burton has scored a Notre Dame freshman record 535 points this season, averaging 17.3 points per game, which is sixth overall in the ACC and third nationally among all freshmen. He also is averaging 4.3 assists per game, which ranks sixth in the ACC, and 2.0 assists per game, which is fourth in the ACC. The Mishawaka, Indiana, native Burton could potentially become the first player in program history to finish a season averaging at least 17.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game and currently is the only freshman in the nation to boast those averages.



Schieffelin has been a key part of Clemson’s strong season, averaging 9.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. The junior from Loganville, Georgia, currently ranks third in the ACC in rebounding. He has more than doubled his rebounding totals from a year ago, when averaged 4.1 boards per game and has raised his scoring from 5.5 points per game as a sophomore. He also has become one of the Tigers’ top threats from 3-point range, shooting 19-of-36 (52.8%). He hit on 33.3 percent of his attempts last season.



Leggett is the second straight Panther to earn the nod as ACC Sixth Man of the Year, joining Nike Sibande in 2023. The junior from Prince George's County, Maryland, has averaged 11.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season. He leads the Panthers in rebounding and steals (36), while ranking third in scoring and assists. He has scored in double figures 22 times, including 11 of the past 14 games off the bench.



The All-ACC first, second and third teams showed incredible balance, with 12 schools representing the 15 players selected. North Carolina (3) and Duke (2) were the only schools to have multiple players on the teams.



2023-24 ALL-ACC TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Name, School, Points

RJ Davis, North Carolina, 373

PJ Hall, Clemson, 363

Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 346

Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 292

Blake Hinson, Pitt, 280



SECOND TEAM

Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 271

Reece Beekman, Virginia, 263

Judah Mintz, Syracuse, 219

Norchad Omier, Miami, 172

Quinten Post, Boston College, 135



THIRD TEAM

DJ Horne, NC State, 109

Harrison Ingram, North Carolina, 91

Jeremy Roach, Duke, 85

Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 69

Sean Pedulla, Virginia Tech, 62



HONORABLE MENTION

Joseph Girard III, Clemson, 54

Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 47

Jared McCain, Duke, 29

Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 24

Miles Kelly, Georgia Tech, 16

Carlton Carrington, Pitt, 12

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Louisville, 10

Ryan Dunn, Virginia, 10



Note: All-ACC Team points are determined on a 5-3-1 system (five points for first team, three points for second team, one point for third team).



Player of the Year

RJ Davis, North Carolina, 68 votes

Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 3

PJ Hall, Clemson, 2

Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 1

Quinten Post, Boston College, 1



Defensive Player of the Year

Reece Beekman, Virginia, 43 votes

Ryan Dunn, Virginia, 19

Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 4

Maliq Brown, Syracuse, 4

Quinten Post, Boston College, 2

Jaeden Zackery, Boston College, 1

Jack Clark, Clemson, 1

Quadir Copeland, Syracuse, 1



Rookie of the Year

Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 46 votes

Jared McCain, Duke, 20

Carlton Carrington, Pitt, 5

Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 2

Caleb Foster, Duke, 1

Kyshawn George, Miami, 1



Most Improved Player

Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 30 votes

Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 18

Lynn Kidd, Virginia Tech, 12

Harrison Ingram, North Carolina, 5

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Louisville, 3

Maliq Brown, Syracuse, 3

Devin McGlockton, Boston College, 3

Isaac McKneely, Virginia, 1



Sixth Man Of the Year

Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 33 votes

Quadir Copeland, Syracuse, 20

Seth Trimble, North Carolina, 6

Kyle Sturdivant, Georgia Tech, 5

Mason Madsen, Boston College, 4

Primo Spears, Florida State, 4

Caleb Foster, Duke, 3



Coach of the Year

Hubert Davis, North Carolina, 49 votes

Jeff Capel, Pitt, 12

Adrian Autry, Syracuse, 6

Micah Shrewsberry, Notre Dame, 3

Jon Scheyer, Duke, 2

Brad Brownell, Clemson, 1

Damon Stoudamire, Georgia Tech, 1

Tony Bennett, Virginia, 1



All-Defensive Team

Reece Beekman, Virginia, 73 votes

Ryan Dunn, Virginia, 65

Maliq Brown, Syracuse, 48

Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 26

Quinten Post, Boston College, 21



All-Rookie Team

Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 73 votes

Jared McCain, Duke, 73

Carlton Carrington, Pitt, 65

Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 60

Elliot Cadeau, North Carolina, 39

GT updated the roster so here are the new #s

0- Christian Leary was 6
2- Eric Singleton was 13
2- E.J. Lightsey transfer from UGA
3- Trey Cooley was 0
3- Ahmari Harvey was 18
4- Abdul Janneh was 18
4- Warren Burrell transfer from Tenn
6- Rodney Shelley was 17
6- Anthony Carrie FROSH
7- Taye Seymore was 25
10- Eddie Kelly was 97
12- Aaron Philo FROSH
13- Isiah Canion FROSH
14- Graham Knowles FROSH
15- Tah'j Butler FROSH
16- Syeed Gibbs transfer from Rhode Island
17- Jackson Hamilton transfer from Louisville
18- Zion Taylor was 83
25- Cedric Franklin FROSH
28- Trelain Maddox FROSH
40- Trenilyas Tatum moved back to his old # after going in the portal
50- Tana Alo-Tupuola FROSH
50- Ayo Tifase transfer from FSU
52- Harrison Moore FROSH
70- Jameson Riggs FROSH
77- Keylan Rutledge transfer from MTSU
79- Jordan Floyd FROSH
81- Trey Horne FROSH
83- Justin Brown SWITCH FROM DB to WR, I expected this for a while now
85- Jackson Hawes transfer from Yale
86- Ryland Goede transfer from UGA
90- Jordan Boyd FROSH
93- Jack Barton transfer from Furman

Kicker Aidan Birr also switched permanently to 33 from 93, he made that switch in the bowl game.

Everyone is accounted for matching with my scholarship sticky thread as well.

for Filipowski for tripping the UNC player or for throwing stuff at their players? Kidding. I kid.

Fire away

As I alluded to in my Ramblings column and in another thread, Monday was a big day for Georgia Tech as they look to put together a 2025 class that is strong locally and beyond.

Visitors from today include two noteworthy from Texas that I linked over the weekend, and a handful of local targets as well.

Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Augusta Christian OL Evan Scott was in attendance as well.

For those who don't remember he was in a car accident in Atlanta back in December and he injured his foot at the time and had to have surgery. It is not a big deal, he is week to week per Key but may not be available until the summer.

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.




Last year was a learning year for Brent Key and Georgia Tech football as the first-year head coach was experiencing a list of firsts running a program. The 2024 spring will have some new wrinkles as well and a lot of teaching on one side of the ball.

For the first time since the spring of 2018 and maybe even 2016, the Georgia Tech offense has the majority of the pieces back and a competent offense led by Buster Faulkner and the offensive staff where there was limited turnover with just the change at WR coach. The leading passer, rusher, receiver and four of the five starting offensive linemen are back. The major questions facing this group mainly revolve this spring about finding consistency at the WR spot opposite Eric Singleton Jr. and what the TE room looks like with only Brett Seither back from the trio last year led by Dylan Leonard. Seither was a good receiving weapon, but a back injury limited his overall snap count benefitting Luke Benson last year. They will need someone to replace the quality reps and work Leonard gave them. The WR position has been beset with numerous injuries over the last few years headlined by Leo Blackburn's two ACL injuries.

Developing more depth at various positions and finding a replacement for Dontae Smith who was the yin to Jamal Haynes' yang at RB will also be a priority though I would put my money on Anthony Carrie taking that role.

The bigger questions come on the other side of the ball. That was the more stable side coming into Key's first full year, but after a very disappointing 2023 on that side of the ball, Key cleaned house replacing every single coach and even some support staff on that side of the ball. Enter Tyler Santucci the new DC, Jess Simpson the DL coach, Kyle Pope coaching OLB/rush, Cory Peoples coaching DBs and special teams coordinator Ricky Brumfield also coaching corners now.

Key made changes on that side of the ball the priority in the offseason and that area is the biggest concern and question going into spring ball. The defensive line has decent experience back, but the production fell off considerable under the coach duo of Marco Coleman and Brian Baker compared to David Turner and Larry Knight the previous year. Key jettisoned Coleman and Baker in the offseason despite being very close with Coleman and the duo of Simpson and Pope will aim to bring back the mojo to the DL that should produce more sacks, TFLs and pressures than they did.

Santucci will handle the linebacker position overall and he has his work cut out for him with two of the more productive linebackers, Paul Moala and Braelen Oliver out of eligibility, one strong returning starter in Kyle Efford who improved dramatically as his playing time increased and the inconsistent Tren Tatum as the lone other returning player from a four-man rotation at those two spots last season. Tech added E.J. Lightsey from UGA and Jackson Hamilton from Louisville, but neither of them have extensive game experience playing major snaps at linebacker. They need to find two LBs to rotation with Efford and Tatum especially given Tatum's hold and cold streaks as a player.

In the secondary, things look better with a lot of options at cornerback with Ahmari Harvey and Rodney Shelley both back. Those two played a lot of snaps in the back half of the season and Harvey was Tech's best CB overall last season coverage-wise down the stretch. Syeed Gibbs and Warren Burrell were brought in to compete and push in the secondary.

The safety spots should be LaMiles Brooks who had a really difficult junior season due to injuries starting in the season opener and Clayton Powell-Lee who was inconsistent in his sophomore season. The nickel spot will be interesting as Santucci could do something different there. Omar Daniels looked good in his limited snaps behind K.J. Wallace who transferred to UCLA. Taye Seymore seems like a guy GT needs to get on the field at one of these three spots and Khari Gee a year removed from a pretty serious health scare could hopefully push as well for playing time entering his final season.

All three kicking specialists are back and the Jackets added some new blood via the portal to the snapping game with Ronnie Thomas from Kennesaw State to push returning starter Henry Freer and walk-ons Joseph Soever and converted OL Will Scissum at that spot.

Overall, Tech has a very solid core back on offense and Faulkner should be able to add wrinkles and complexity to his system in year two with Haynes King at the helm. I'm excited to see the QB room and how the true freshmen come along and if they can continue to develop the run package with Zach Pyron now that they have more depth at the QB position and King has more confidence in his role. King needs to improve his reads and progressions and stop forcing the ball with predetermined throws that led to about half of his 16 interceptions. If he can just improve in that area, the Tech offense should be humming come the fall.

Defensively, there is a lot of work to do, but a lot to like about some of the pieces. I think it will come down to pass rush and tackling once again for the Jackets. When they've been able to get pressure in games and tackle well, they play better. The defense just was very inconsistent under the previous regimes in both categories and that puts too much pressure on the back seven and then things unravel.

That is what Key is paying Santucci to fix and that will be a big storyline in spring ball.

Thought this was an interesting bit of info.

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Portal Season opens one week from today.

Anything you can do to help the GT hoops warchest counts hugely right now.

Why I'm doing the job of @thetechway to promote this, I'm not sure, but someone has to do it.

Has won 15 in a row, is 6-0 in the conference for the first time in awhile, and now ranked in at least one poll.

At UGA this week.
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