Some interesting comments on the Tony Elliott era from my old friend Brad.

Work day of course. So anyone know when parking garages will open to us? I usually park at 3rd and spring.

(You can't get a current player's name and number, just put it on there for reference. But that tells me they are working on the NIL part of being able to buy player replica jerseys.)

Both Cruz and Fortson will be on campus tomorrow night.

This is the first one of these since 2018.

Georgia Tech Bowl Projections

Mark Schlabach ESPN: 12/23 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl- Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
Liberty vs. Georgia Tech

Erick Smith USAToday: 12/28 Military Bowl- Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, MD)
Georgia Tech vs East Carolina

Bill Bender Sporting News: 12/23 Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, LA)
Georgia Tech vs Army

ProFootballNetwork: 12/28 Holiday Bowl- Petco Park (San Diego, CA)
Georgia Tech vs Oregon

Kyle Bonagura ESPN: None
Jerry Palm CBS: None
CFB News: None

Nationally coveted CB Tyler Scott from Pebblebrook will be in attendance on Thursday night.

Visited Alabama and Tennessee the last two weekends.

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... do GT freshmen still wear them?

Are their any other unique football gameday experiences/traditions worth revisiting OR new ones worth exploring?

What's the avg student attendance for a game?

We gotta get more of our student body engaged.

While at North Cobb Christian School yesterday, I was able to catch up with the soft-spoken defender who has been committed to Georgia Tech since the summer.
Login to view embedded media Cruz never spoke out or was responsive when Collins was fired, but his reaction was similar to those that did respond when the news first dropped.

"I kind of knew something was coming," he said. "There was a lot of speculation, so I wasn't really surprised. It hasn't changed the way I look at GT at all, or the commitment I have to go there. I'm still 100% with Georgia Tech all the way."

Auburn, Pitt, and Duke are among the new schools to enter the mix. Auburn's DC will actually be at their game on Friday.

He will be on campus tomorrow night, as we first reported here earlier this week.

I'll post the full story with him tonight, as he also previewed Gabe's decision, and how much it would mean to him to have the chance to go to the same school.

...my nephew (ECE, '01) his wife and another couple at nephew's house! FREE admission with food donations accepted! (Last year, over 900 attendees and over 1,200 lbs of food collected/donated to area food pantries!....1 TON goal this year!)

512 Osprey Lane, Woodstock, Georgia 30188

We will be open on the following dates for the 2022 season:
October 21, 22, 28, 29, 30, 31

Hours: 8:00pm - 11:00pm

Scavenged Souls

Their FB page

Review of 2021 version by Haunt Review

THE FLATS – No. 10 Georgia Tech volleyball (13-4, 6-2 ACC) has sold out tickets for its final four home matches of the regular season.



Selling out this weekend’s slate against Boston College (Friday) and Syracuse (Sunday) along with two following contests against No. 2 Louisville (Nov. 11) and Florida State (Nov. 26), the Yellow Jackets have sold out all 13 home matches in O’Keefe Gymnasium this season.



Although general admission tickets have been sold out, 200 tickets remain available for Georgia Tech students with free admission at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. A valid BuzzCard must be displayed in order for students to receive a ticket to the match.



The 13 sellouts mark the most on record in program history. Having built a tradition of playing in front of sold-out crowds with 11 sellouts a season ago, Georgia Tech will have sold out 24 of the last 29 matches on The Flats by the regular season’s end.



On top of the sellout crowds, in the White and Gold’s first match in McCamish Pavilion in program history earlier this season, the Yellow Jackets drew a record crowd of 3,418. The total nearly tripled O’Keefe Gymnasium’s capacity and topped every attendance number on the road this season by almost 1,000 or more.



As a unit, Georgia Tech is currently second in the ACC in both kills per set (13.74) and assists per set (12.67). The Yellow Jackets are also sitting in fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.257).



Individually, senior outside hitter Julia Bergmann continues to lead the ACC in kills per set (5.28) and points per set (5.92) as she’s fourth in the NCAA in both. The decorated attacker also recently climbed deeper into the Tech record books as she moved to fifth all time in career aces (149) and ninth in program history in career kills (1,497).



Tech has won 71 of its last 87 matches dating back to 2019. The Yellow Jackets have also won 42 of their last 48 matches at home in O’Keefe Gymnasium, earning the program’s 300th win inside the raucous arena earlier this season.

Who is going to the FSU game? I may take my sons to the game. How do I get tickets through Georgia Tech because I want to sit with the band and the family/fans? Any advice on parking or what to do or what not to do going to the game?
Thanks in advance!

Let’s go! I’ll go until 10:30

Fun times.

Neon Deion - Showboating sideshow as a coach or legit possibility to next level our talent, $'s and results?

KQ- I am not a Deion guy, obviously that has become clear. I think this is an important time for GT football and the risk/reward is too high and ultimately his aspirations are way beyond CFB anyway. He wants to be an NFL HC. GT is not in a place to be a stepping stone either at the moment. They need someone who can win consistently for 3-5 years and fix the damage with the fan base winning 9 games in three years had.

Do you know why kalani norris isn’t with the team anymore?

KQ- Yes, per my sources both at GT and with people who know Norris, Kalani wanted to redshirt, Key did not want to redshirt any of the older players because the team is still in the mix for the ACC Championship. Kalani had made a plan that for reasons I can't even process Collins agreed to allowing him to play the first four games and then redshirt. Then the change happened and he had to make a decision whether he wanted to play and be a part of the team or not. He made his call in his best interest and Key made his.

How are the SA's handling the transition inside the locker room from CGC to CBK? Obviously the product on the field has shown plenty of improvement, but do you get the sense that these kids would love to have CBK convert his interim title to permanent HC? What about the current coaching staff? I know Key selected some of the staff himself, but I'm sure some of the other guys have to be worried for their jobs even if they are performing well.

KQ- I think everyone I know on the staff was pretty frustrated where things ended up with Collins even some guys people would consider his "guys" and there is some fresh air in the building now and Brent Key just wants everyone to do their job and do it to the best of their ability. He isn't a micromanager either so that helps a lot. You can see that coming across on the field of play with some decisions and how they are calling games as well.

For the players, I think they are doing a good job of just trying to focus on the taste at hand. There were a lot of hurt feelings early on, but at the end of the day guys are seeing results and that is increasing the buy-in overall.

Say Key gets to 6 and 6, if they were to remove interim lable, what do you project the contract length?

KQ- I think the contract would be a normal length deal like 5 years, but the buyout and his salary would be GT friendly. I've talked to people close to the situation and Key knows the deal so he would take a deal below market value with a friendly buyout for his chance to prove himself. They can layer the deal with hittable incentives similar to PJ's first contract and it is a low risk strategy for GT in that case.

Sorry if I missed it, have you spoken to CPJ since everything went down, what did he have to say? Have you spoken to Collins or TStan since?

I realize there is an answer that goes like “Why would I?!?” … just curious

KQ- I had ZERO relationship with Todd Stansbury, anything I needed to communicate with him came through intermediaries and anything I got from him came the same way. Collins I've left alone, I like him as a person, but this isn't the time for someone like me talk to him. I've talked to CPJ a few times, he called me when Todd got let go and about some other stuff non-GT related.

Not taking anything away from his accomplishments so far- would you say pump the brakes a little on Key as Coach?

KQ- I think this is an audition and he would tell you that. People are excited so it is okay to be excited. It doesn't mean he will end up with the job, but they are making some steady progress so that is encouraging and the team has stopped (mostly) beating themselves.

1) How much more fun is it in the press room given the winning 2of2 for the staff, the medicine having been taken (where we aren’t waiting for the show to drop on firings), having a coach who is more direct on rosters, injuries and specifics on what we work on and why?

KQ- I mean it is easier because Key is straightforward, if I really need to find something out aside from Mike Daniels' situation where I'm not going to press on him, I can. Collins liked everything to go through specific people and you'd get vague answers, I can just ask Key whatever I'm wondering on the record or pull him aside if need be. So that is nice. It is nice not being on DEFCON 8 anymore either with the AD.

2) How’s the attitude of the men’s hoops team given the super low projections they’re getting (last or 2nd to last behind Pitt - who has won 6 conference games in the last 3 seasons)?

KQ- They think they are going to be good and surprise people. The schedule is very favorable for them as well.

3) What is your favorite game related moment on GT’s Campus and your favorite Non-game related moment on campus?

KQ- At GT, probably the 2015 FSU game, I'll likely never see anything again like that in my life. Non-game is interesting, that goes all the way back to my first time on campus back in 2001. I was covering the game and I was with a friend who was working for the UGA campus TV station and we were filming tailgating scenes over in the Varsity and AMC lots and we started at 8am for 7:45pm kick. I was given many, many, many beers to the point where I was blitzed even through the first half of the game in the press box at the time. Luckily I was working radio at the time so I just had to record the post-game from a mult box. That was a wild environment that night as well for the game. I was like 2-3 weeks from turning 21 as well. lol

ATLANTA- Georgia Tech football held a late morning practice session on Monday with school out on Fall Break this week. After practice, interim head coach Brent Key spoke to the media previewing the Virginia game and he gave some injury updates and staff updates as well after a busy bye week.

Running backs coach Mike Daniels resigned on Friday and Key declined to offer any details on the situation.

"We wish him the best and we are on to UVA," Key said.

Daniels' departure also opens a slot for a 10th assistant again after he elevated Donald Hill-Eley last week to offensive assistant and special teams assistant. Hill-Eley will now fill Daniels' role as running backs coach opening up another spot in the staff.

"We are still looking at the 10th assistant and we will sit down and make some decisions and put some thought into after Thursday's game, but right now we don't want anything distracting or taking away from what our ultimate goal is."

Many fans expected Key to have a prior relationship with J Batt the new athletic director at Tech, but Key said his time at Alabama with Batt was spent in the Nick Saban bubble and there was not really a prior relationship.

"I think President Cabrera made a really good hire and we trust him and his decisions. We were at Alabama at the same time, I thought it was a year, but somebody said it was two years, but you have to understand at a place like that you have very little contact with anybody outside of your hallway which is about five people," Key said. "Then you go into the staff room each day and you have contact with about 30 (people) that are all football staff. There are very few times as a coach you have any interactions with other people and it really is a bubble regardless of whether it is here or there. The interactions are not as much you might think they are."

Key as of his media avail at 12:30 pm had not even had a chance to meet Batt again post-hire because his team was on the practice field already when Batt arrived at Tech Monday morning from Tuscaloosa.

"He just got here today and he just started today. I'm sure at some point he will meet with all the head coaches, but right now I wanted to come to see y'all," Key joked.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Key said they've had a pretty non-traditional bye week due to the Thursday night game. The team had some time off last week amping up practice on Sunday. Friday was their normal Sunday practice and Monday they had a Tuesday practice so today was the normal Wednesday practice. Key joked even he is confused by that.

They did a lot of 3rd down and red zone offense and defense today.

Key said he liked that both teams are in the same boat so he thinks whoever handled the bye week best will have a slight advantage.

Key said they started practice late to give the kids some extra sleep. He said even 18-20-30 minutes is golden at Georgia Tech of extra sleep and they had a very physical practice out there today and that is what he wanted to see and what he was looking for. He still wants to develop the toughness level of the team.

Key said that UVA has a young OL, but Brennan Armstrong is still really dynamic and they have elite receivers on the outside that are tall and create mismatches with their extended reach and catch radius.

Key said UVA is weirdly in the top 4 in the country on 2nd and 3rd and 11+ yardage and that is a concern because getting them off schedule doesn't seem to matter. Key said he doesn't think Armstrong is having a down year.

Key joked that he has not noticed anything different on campus, but there is excitement in the locker room. He said once he leaves he drives down Techwood and gets on I-75. He said the kids on the team are excited.

Key talked about UVA LB Nick Jackson and said he is a point of emphasis for protections and a guy they are reading. He said UVA is different because they are not a vertical penetration type defense, they like to make a flat wall and play their sides and keep everything in front of them so they can free flow the LBs to make plays.

Key said he is excited to get Malachi Carter back, barring a natural disaster, but he is day-today. He said that folks will see with Jeff Sims as he is also day-to-day and he doesn't want to give away his game plan to UVA.

Joe Fusile is also back with the team and Key is really happy for him.

Key said he is excited for the team to play the first Thursday night game at home this season and he talked about how special those games were to him as a player and how amazing the atmosphere always is for those games. He said GT is one of the places that started that tradition and he gets chill bumps thinking about his experiences on Thursday night and seeing the skyline at night and the crowd.

Dylan Leonard spoke after Key and he said the last two weeks he is finally closer to 100 percent and he feels much better on the field right now. He said that Coach Long is still trying to get the TEs more involved in the offense and with him getting back healthy that has helped. He wants to get more involved and help create some mismatches.

Leonard said that Long has figured out more of what they are able to execute at a high-level and what they still struggle with and eliminate those plays or focus on what they do well. That is sort of the natural evolution during the season for an offense anyway. They have some packages the offense are pretty confident in.

Leonard said it has been nice to see the students excited about the football team again as he walks through campus.

Leonard said the biggest difference between Geoff Collins and Key is that Key does not care about anything other than winning. He said if it doesn't impact winning he isn't interested so they ditched the suits pre-game for example and Key doesn't want any outside distractions either. He said Key has made some tweaks to the schedule and practice, but nothing crazy, but Key's mentality has really impacted the locker room as a whole. He said that Key helped recruit him out of Milton so he is a big Key fan.

LaMiles Brooks said he is very satisfied finally getting to play and having some success after missing all of the spring with shoulder surgery recovery and he really missed playing with his teammates while he was out so that made it sweeter now to play well and be on the field a lot.

Brooks said that Clayton Powell-Lee doesn't play like a freshman and he carries himself like a veteran player.

Brooks said that he has enjoyed the students being excited about the team again and he said people will come up and say great game or whatever.

Brooks said the communication piece has been much better on defense and it goes across the board and he takes some pride in that and them all being on the same page even if the call is wrong they can still go out and execute at a high-level.

Brooks said everyone is really engaged in meetings and on the same page and that is showing up on the field

ATLANTA- Georgia Tech school president Ángel Cabrera introduced new athletic director J Batt on Monday during an afternoon press conference in the Homer Rice Center for Sports Performance. Both fielded questions from the media about how Batt ended up at Tech from Alabama where he was the deputy AD for Greg Byrne and why Cabrera selected Batt.

“The last time we were together I was clear that I am committed to making sure that Georgia Tech has a successful athletics program on par with our very proud standing in research and as an academic institution. This is one step in that direction,” Cabrera said introducing Batt. “We moved quickly to place J because we knew he was absolutely the right person for the job.”

Batt said his goal is a clear one and his message to alumni and supporters is also clear.

“We are going to operate in a compliant way that will make every Georgia Tech alum proud and we will be good stewards of the resources you might send our way,” Batt said. “At the end of the day, we will elevate our success across all sports to be one of the very best in the ACC and in the country. The opportunity here is incredible and I can’t wait to get started and I’m surely humbled and honored to join this incredible Atlanta community.”

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CABRERA QUOTES AND NOTES

One step in the journey to get GT where they need to go.
Moved quickly to get J Batt because we knew he was the right man for the job. I’m grateful for our committee that reviewed the finalized and we had alumni, students, admins, donors and it was clear that J was our choice and the input of the committee I presented J’s name to the GTAA Board who unanimously approved J last Friday.

The search was a national search with Parker Executive’s help.

His leadership and extraordinary experience raising money will be huge for GT. They liked his extraordinary track record as a fundraiser and his experience working at winning programs.

He knows what it is like to be at an academic institution and J will report directly to Cabrera and will be a member of his cabinet. He will start Oct. 24th.

Expects a fast and excellent transition.

On the FB coach, that will be an important item on J Batt’s agenda, no update on the FB search, what brought him here and the right attributes he has to move GT forward.

David Rowland the retired CEO and chairman of Accenture and former MLB star Mark Teixeira spent untold hours with Frank Neville and offered invaluable advice. Special thanks to Neville for his work and he was in ACC meetings today and unable to attend the presser.

Cabrera said they brought Batt in so he could be the leader of the GTAA and manage long term goals as well as short term ones and he will leverage whatever additional resources he can to be as competitive as GT wants to be. He said Batt brings in a lot of experience getting those resources and Cabrera thinks he can handle the ever-changing landscape in college sports with NIL and the transfer portal but also handle it with integrity and Tech values.

ON HOW THEY FOUND BATT

He quickly made the list of impressive candidates that had interest and they had a ton of really qualified candidates to chose from. He was quickly on the top of the list as they vetted people. Frank Neville helped there and he wanted to get things done quickly and they thought the search might take longer, but when they found J, he made the decision easy and fast for them.

ON IF THEY PLAN TO ADD SOCCER SINCE BATT PLAYED THAT AT UNC

Cabrera was very much in favor of adding soccer.

ON GT’s COMMITMENT TO PROPERLY FUND ATHLETICS

“We are fully committed to it and maximizing the value potential for Georgia Tech athletics” He said they need to pinpoint the areas to invest in and they are going to work together with the Institute Administration and the GT Foundation as well as donors so they can invest and use the funds where they are best needed and also secure sources for those funds together.

J BATT QUOTES AND NOTES

Batt thanked multiple people including Byrne, his family and his kids and the GTAA Board and his many mentors along the way.

Wants GT athletics to match GT academics in terms of being a national powerhouse. He spoke about how most of the national awards in CFB are named after former Tech coaches and admins and that needs to be the goal moving forward and not just looking back in the past.

He said he was already reaching out to donors and supporters over the weekend to move ahead. He is looking forward to being a part of the Atlanta community.

All of the sports are important, and success broadly is important once he gets here. He said success can be measured differently depending on the institution and he wants to spend some time learning and listening and watching to figure out what exactly that looks like at Georgia Tech

ON WHAT HE IS LOOKING FOR IN A FOOTBALL COACH

He said he has worked at several programs and coming from Alabama he has broad experience and a network of people to work with to find the right person for the job.

ON FOOTBALL EXPECTATIONS

Will figure out what it looks like when he hits the ground, but it is something they are working towards every day.

ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BAMA AND GT FOOTBALL WISE



ON WORKING WITH GREG BYRNE AT ALABAMA AND BUILDING UP NON-REV SPORTS

He is a great leader and AD and I got to learn from him the last 5 years, the comprehensive results across the programs is something I want to achieve here.

Batt said his time as an SA at UNC and his high level academics and is something that really allows him to step into this role.

ON THE STATE OF THE ACC
The ACC is among the very best in the country and I’m proud to join the ACC and I’m proud to be a part of that.

ON FUNDRAISING AFTER SEEING TOUGH TIMES AT MARYLAND

Relationships with donors and relationships with the community and across the institution allow to handle challenging times

PITCH TO BOOSTERS
Georgia Tech is the perfect model of what college athletics should be and people should invest in that and there is incredible vision and leadership for this institution.

ON AD AND FOOTBALL COACHING LEVEL AND POLARIZING ATMOSPHERE, HOW DO THEY UNITE THE FAN BASE
Cabrera said the recent history is reasonably stable compared to the atmosphere of college athletics, overall we’ve had a steady leadership, if the last 4-5 days are any sign, the overwhelming majority of calls and social media and alumni reaction couldn’t be any more optimistic about the future.

ON KEY AND IF THEY’LL ADD SOCCER
Batt: I’m still looking for the .
Cabrear: I am a huge soccer fan, we will see these are very difficult decisions that need to be made.

Warning might trigger some GT fans


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THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s basketball’s Cameron Swartz was one of 20 shooting guards named to the 2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced the candidates on Tuesday after a national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the initial watch list of 20 shooting guards.

The reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Most Improved Player, Swartz transferred to Georgia Tech for her fifth year of eligibility after leading Boston College in scoring last season, averaging 16.1 points per game. The Marietta, Ga., native ranked sixth overall in the league in scoring, earning an all-ACC first team nod. She led BC in three-pointers (60) and three-point field goal percentage (35.5), and shot 83.6 percent from the free throw line. She finished the season scoring 20-plus points in 13 games, including dropping a season-high 39 points at Clemson.

Named after the first player, male or female, selected to an All-America Team in four straight college seasons, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is in its sixth year recognizing the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. The watch list of 20 players will be narrowed to 10 in late January and then in late February to five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.

College fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting Friday, Oct. 21.

Previous winners of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award include Christyn Williams (UConn – 2022), Ashley Owusu (Maryland – 2021), Aari McDonald (Arizona – 2020), Asia Durr (Louisville – 2019) and Victoria Vivians (Mississippi State – 2018).

For more information on the 2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, visit www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MeyersAward on Twitter and Instagram.

2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates*





*Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2022-23 season

.

Brent Key

Dylan Leonard

LaMiles Brooks