Michelle Collier

Afedo Manyang aka Smiley

LINCOLN, NEB. – No. 5 seed Georgia Tech volleyball (24-7, 13-4 ACC) saw its season come to a close, dropping a three-set match to No. 1 Nebraska (31-1, 19-1 Big Ten) 25-11, 25-16, 25-21, inside Bob Devaney Sports Center. Junior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino recorded her 1,000th career dig in the match as the Jackets finished tied for the second farthest NCAA Tournament run in program history.



QUICK HITS

• The Jackets are now to 16-13 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches and 7-4 in the Michelle Collier era, the highest winning percentage of any Georgia Tech coach.
• Tech ends its tournament run in the Regional semifinals, tied with 2004 for the second farthest NCAA Tournament run in program history.
• In the past three seasons, Michelle Collier has matched the program records for the best (Regional Finals in 2003) and 2nd best (Regional Semifinals in 2004) NCAA Tournament results.
• Bertolino recorded her 1,000th career dig in the match. She becomes just the 7th Jacket in program history to achieve 1,000 career kills and digs.
• Senior outside hitter Tamara Otene surpassed 400 kills for the season. Georgia Tech has had at least one 400 kill hitter in each of the previous eight full seasons (excluding the shortened 2020-21 season), joining USC, Purdue and Stanford as the only programs to have done so.
• Senior Paola Pimentel delivered 11 digs today. She made at least 10 digs in all three of her NCAA Tournament matches this year.
• Pimentel finished the season with 473 digs, the most by any Jacket since 2016 (Ackermann – 570). Her 473 digs is the 11th most in a single season in program history and the fifth most in the modern scoring era.
• Freshman setter Heloise Soares made two service aces today. Two of her three multi-ace matches have come in this NCAA Tournament – set a season-best with three aces in the 1st Round vs. South Alabama.

Set By Set



Set 1 (NEB, 25-11): The opening set was one to forget as the Jackets struggled to establish themselves offensively. The Cornhuskers jumped in front, 8-2, and never looked back, riding the momentum from their home crowd to a 14-point victory.



Set 2 (NEB, 25-16): Another slow start allowed the Huskers to take a 6-1 lead, but this time, Tech responded, winning four of the next six points to cut the deficit to just three, 8-5. Tech kept the set within three to four points, until a late 3-0 Nebraska run ballooned the lead to 21-14, a mountain too difficult to climb.



Set 3 (NEB, 25-21): Tech showed its mettle in the third, forcing seven different lead changes and 15 ties in a back and forth battle. Neither side led by more than two points until another late Nebraska run turned a 18-19 Tech lead into a 23-19 deficit. The Jackets fought off two match points before succumbing to the No. 1 overall seed by four. The Jackets switched to a 5-1 rotation in the third as Soares set throughout play. Tech had an emphasis on the middle in the third as Soares set up DeAndra Pierce and Anna Boezi for five combined kills on .444 hitting. Bertolino and Pimentel shouldered the defensive load, as each tallied six digs in the third set, more than any individual Husker in the final frame.

Any truth concerning the Orange Bowl being cancelled?

Florida State Boycott Rumors Swirling After Orange Bowl Cancels Press Conference​

By Matt Audilet, 11 hrs ago

Athlon Sports

Moving forward, each time myself or Kelly put in a FutureCast that is either a current or former target, we’ll also post it inside this thread.

I have updated the FutureCast link in my signature, so that it will link you to this thread moving forward.

Some noteworthy FutureCasts I currently have in-

DT Cameron Ball to Georgia Tech

WR Skyler Bell to Iowa
DB Aubrey Burks to USF
OL Geno VanDemark to Rutgers

Georgia Tech continued bowl practice on Wednesday in Bobby Dodd Stadium. Per sources, due to recruiting a lot of the staff was on the road doing in-home visits so it was a fundamental day with the GAs stepping up. That is very typical of this time of year especially if you have a pre-Christmas bowl. Today was the second practice, they went yesterday as well.

JAYLON KING

It is exciting and rewarding to see all my hard work paying off through challenges both injuries and playing behind people. I waited it out and it is a rewarding feeling.

On the bowl game, consistent warm weather and Florida typically has nice weather and being able to practice when it is warm is what I’m looking most forward to.

On the rehab to get back, "It was tough mentally and physically. I had a similar injury going into my freshman year. So I kind of knew the rehab process, but since I actually broke my right leg rehab process was a little bit longer and then I'll say is hardest mentally, just because of how long I waited. To be able to earn that starting job and they'll be taken away like that. So there was doubt they're pretty much crept into that. What I was doing wasn't enough. So I'd say that was the hardest part for me."

On approach for practice, the rewards and accolades didn’t change anything for me. I'm the same guy I am every day.

On the trajectory of the program, "the very minimum is a bowl game. I expect to be competing for ACC championship each year, winning no less than nine games each year and pretty much playing in a NY6 Bowl. The program is moving in the right direction. I feel like I feel like everyone in the program has actually had the ability to win now. And I feel like we've brought that too with this program with this coaching staff and just pretty much what (Key) believes I feel like years past we were going out there playing not to lose. Not actually going out there thinking we were going to win the game or we had a chance to win the game. So I felt like the success that we had this year people actually are gonna believe and buy into. We can win. I mean, the games that we lost, we lost in the fourth quarter. We were always competitive for the most part. So once we walk into the small details and fix those, I feel like this would be a 9-10 win team each year at the minimum."

ON UCF and the approach to bowl practice, "we are doing a little bit of both (fundamentals and UCF prep). We are working on a lot of fundamentals, getting back into the groove of things, but then also starting to take a look at UCF. They have a couple of familiar faces. And I mean, just watching the interview has so many late games they're getting to be on before I started seeing them a couple of times before we played

On the post-bowl, I’m going to train and pursue my NFL dreams, I have not chosen who I’m going to train with.


JAMAL HAYNES

On getting recognized, I’ve been blessed to show my talent on the field, the recognition is not a big deal, I’m a team player and I feel like if you do your job the recognition will come.

On progress as A RB, I’ve improved on self-scouting and improved in the film room on taking on that position change and the second part has been taking on those challenges. Getting used to the fast pace of football and getting used to my first snaps, but that improved as we progressed.

Most proud of, persistent, we kept fighting and kept going and that is where we see a leap forward and we’ve kept up that fight.

On preparing for the bowl game while being excited as well, we want everyone to be excited that it is the first bowl game since 2018 and we are going to try to win the game and be prepared to win the next game.

On UCF, I know a few kids Kobe Hudson and Javon Baker, they have really good players, and we get 13-15 extra practices for our young guys

On expectations rising, we are expecting to go to a bowl game every year from here on out, just going into this bowl game. This is not our top goal, we want the ACC Championship and to be in the playoffs.

On the change of pace with Dontae Smith in the RB rotation, I think that starts with a great relationship with Dontae and we have a great 1-2 punch with Tae and even the other RBs in that room and we are going to encourage each other.


EDDIE KELLY

On playing UCF again, I know a lot of those kids and the goal is to go into Tampa and take over Tampa.

On full circle moment playing in RayJay, I’ll say yes the bowl game is in Tampa and it is too cold for me and I’m excited to go make plays in the Bucs stadium again.

On playing a full season, expectations being met here, coming in here, my expectations my mom told me to shoot for the stars, it is a 12-game playoffs, if we win games we will be there. Those are our expectations as a team, I wish you all could see how the team is, this is a great program.

On how important for the season to end with win over UCF, it is very important to go into the offseason with a win and you’ve got a tough opponent and it will make our offseason even better.

On working with Coach Coleman, I love Coach Coleman, he is phenomenal, he makes me get better every day and he is a great man outside of football and I’ve hung out with Coach Coleman and he gets me ready.

On having the extra practices, guys like Jay King we are going to send out right, this gives us time to work on our fundamentals and work on all the things coach Coleman has taught and work on our tools and fundamentals.

To former Pitt DL Samuel Okunlola. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because GT was involved during his HS recruitment as well.
Login to view embedded media Season stats are eye-opening- 18 tackles, 6 TFL, and 5 sacks with 1 FF and 1 FR in 11 games.

USC, Washington, Ole Miss, FSU all involved here as well, among others.

Looks like this might be happening. Would love to see him dominate Miami in Duke coaching gear.

THE FLATS – For the third-straight year, Georgia Tech athletics set a new all-time record by posting a 92% NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the latest data released by the NCAA on Wednesday.



The Yellow Jackets’ 92% GSR tops its previous all-time high of 91%, set just last year. Prior to 2021, Georgia Tech had never achieved a GSR above 90% and prior to 2016, Tech had never achieved a GSR above 85%.



Georgia Tech’s 92% GSR is also higher than the national average of 90%.



In addition to reaching an all-time high as a department, 10 of Tech’s 13 teams* – women’s basketball, men’s cross country/track and field, women’s cross country/track and field, football, golf, softball, men’s swimming and diving, women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, volleyball – have individual team GSRs that are at or above than the national average in their respective sports. Leading the way are women’s basketball, golf, softball, men’s tennis and volleyball, which all have perfect 100% GSRs.



“We’re very proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff for setting another new standard for the ultimate measure of our academic success – earning a Georgia Tech degree,” Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt said. “Congratulations to everyone on our campus that made this achievement possible.”



GSR measures the success of an athletics department in graduating its student-athletes within a six-year period. Unlike Federal Graduation Rate, which assesses only first-time, full-time freshmen, GSR also includes transfer students and mid-year enrollees in the sample. Student-athletes who leave an institution while in good academic standing before exhausting athletics eligibility are removed from the cohort of their initial institution (essentially passed to another squad’s GSR cohort if they transfer and removed altogether in the case of early departures for professional careers). The GSR provides a more complete and accurate look at actual student-athlete success by taking into account the full variety of participants in Division I athletics and tracking their academic outcomes.



The latest GSR cohort includes student-athletes that enrolled at Georgia Tech from 2013-16.



GEORGIA TECH NCAA GRADUATION SUCCESS RATES (since the NCAA began publishing GSR in 2004-05)

2004-05: 67%

2005-06: 69%

2006-07: 69%

2007-08: 70%

2008-09: 71%

2009-10: 75%

2010-11: 78%

2011-12: 76%

2012-13: 79%

2013-14: 81%

2014-15: 84%

2015-16: 87%

2016-17: 88%

2017-18: 89%

2018-19: 88%

2019-20: 89%

2020-21: 90%

2021-22: 91%

2022-23: 92%



GEORGIA TECH NCAA GRADUATION SUCCESS RATES BY SPORT (2022-23)

Sport GSR National Average

Women’s Basketball...................................... 100%.............. 93%

Golf................................................................ 100%.............. 92%

Softball.......................................................... 100%.............. 94%

Men’s Tennis................................................. 100%.............. 93%

Volleyball....................................................... 100%.............. 95%

Women’s Swimming & Diving....................... 97%................ 97%

Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field......... 94%................ 92%

Men’s Swimming & Diving............................ 94%................ 91%

Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field.............. 93%................ 84%

Football.......................................................... 88%................ 82%

Women’s Tennis............................................ 88%................ 97%

Baseball......................................................... 85%................ 89%

Men’s Basketball........................................... 70%................ 85%



* cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field are compiled as one sport for Graduation Success Rate purposes

Is this a thing? Could our collective essentially sign our entire roster to a NIL that pays out based on performance? Every TD a player scores, they get 5K. Every sack a player gets 3K, etc.

Obviously players could have individual NILs but could be a creative way to add more $s to players.

Georgia Tech has entered the fray for the in-state cornerback:

by College Football Network

Man that Q&A last night had me like:


But then Russell was like:




In all seriousness, I do think we will probably need a thread once the questions are answered this morning for reactions. Two and a half weeks till signing day!

Jamal Haynes

Eddie Kelly

Jaylon King

These people need to get fired.

Out of all of our commits, how does Canion not make it? IDIOTS!!

Greetings from the repaired ceiling ancient wonder the Stegosaurus

This probably needs it own thread...

Youngstown State’s Alex Howard.

Howard has tallied 142 tackles, 15.5 TFLs, five sacks and one INT in 38 career games.

This year alone he had 76 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, and 1 INT.

Has two years to play one.