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

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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



THE PEOPLES FILE

Personal

Hometown: Bishopville, S.C.

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

Alma Mater: South Carolina, 2005



Playing Experience (DB)

2001-02: Georgia Military College

2003-04: South Carolina

2005-07: Philadelphia Eagles (NFL)

2006: Amsterdam Admirals (NFL Europe)

2007-09: Toronto Argonauts (CFL)



Coaching Experience

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

2008: Georgia Military College (graduate assistant)

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

2013: St. Augustine’s (defensive backs)

2014-15: Charleston Southern (defensive backs)

2016: South Carolina State (defensive backs)

2017: Albany State (defensive coordinator)

2018: Georgia Southern (cornerbacks)

2020-21: Georgia State (cornerbacks)

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

2024: Georgia Tech (defensive backs)



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

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

A shit ton of Cuse fans here.

Damon Stoudamire

Miles Kelly and Kyle Sturdivant

Adrian Autry

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I asked him about Tafara Gapare

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

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

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

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

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

Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott shocked his team on Thursday morning, letting them know he was resigning from his position as head coach.

His next move is expected to be to South Carolina as TE coach.

Really fascinating coaching search coming up for them, imo.

This has been a long-time coming, my apologies for the delay as football recruiting has been just a little bit busy..

I spent time last week at Overtime Elite, and got the chance to get a feel for what's happening there, the relationships being built by GT coaches, and the pipeline being built between the two parties.

Below I have my takeaways and quotes on Jaeden Mustaf,, Darrion Sutton, Daquan Davis, and Mikel Brown Jr.

Jaeden Mustaf-

Mustaf impressed in every facet of the game I was in attendance for. He is extremely excited about his Georgia Tech future.

“My whole family is tough,” said Mustaf as he described his mentality in the 4th quarter as his team’s big lead started to shrink. “When things get tough, we don’t back down from anything.”

“I see a lot of progress, I’ve been impressed,” said Mustaf about his thoughts from year one (so far) for Stoudamire at GT. "He’s a great coach. I’ve been there for the wins and the losses, but just seeing the team compete, I’m fired up about getting the chance to play in that atmosphere, in front of those fans. They’ve been showing out.”

On what he has seen from GT this season, and how he believes he can fit in-
"It’s an NBA style offensively, a lot of pick and roll stuff. I know I can bring that defensive intensity to help close out games. Every game has been close this season."

On recruiting Daquan Davis to join him-
That’s my boy. When we on the court we aren’t friends, but that’s my guy. I’ve known him for YEARS. Me and Darrion both been on him.”

On recruiting Bryson Tiller to join him-
"I'm trying to see what I can do 👀"

On what goes through his head matching up defensively with future teammate Darrion Sutton.
“It is fun playing against Darrion Sutton now,” said Mustaf following a matchup against his future teammate. “Knowing that we will be on the same team next year, I still get mad when he scores on me, but next year I want him to keep doing the things he is doing.”

Darrion Sutton-

RWE head coach Corey Frazier on Sutton’s game-
"Swiss army knife, we play him wherever we need him. Right now, we have him playing the backup point, kind of like a point forward. Long defender, really good passer, and has a really high basketball IQ. He can hold his own defensively from the 1-4. Strong rebounder, too."

On who his player comp is/favorite player-
"They had been comparing me to Lamar Odom, so I went and watched a bunch of videos of him. My favorite player is James Harden, though."

On recruiting Daquan-
“He knows where home is. We feed off of each other every game we play together. It is a lot of fun playing with him.

Daquan Davis-

Davis went off on Tuesday night for RWE in a matchup against Blue Checks, finishing with a near triple-double that included 28 points, 7 assists, and 9 rebounds.

“They’ve been on me hard,” said Davis about the push from Georgia Tech. “Jaeden and Darrion say something about GT every single day. Literally every day. I hope to get on an official soon”

On his impression of Stoudamire, and what playing for him would mean to him-
“It would mean a lot to play for him,” said Davis about the idea of playing for GT head coach Damon Stoudamire. “It means a lot in general to me that he even wants me. He was a big time PG in the NBA.”

Mikel Brown Jr.-

Mikel Brown Jr. was in the second game of the double-header I attended earlier this month, and whenever he was on the floor, the game just felt like it was at a different level.

Brown Jr. is one of the top recruits in the country regardless of class, and is currently a five-star in the 2025 class. With an official visit to Alabama in the books, Brown Jr. was at Georgia Tech over the weekend, and had the chance to really spend some time with the members of the Georgia Tech coaching staff.

He quickly shot down any talk of reclassification during our time together, but did say that things have been picking up recently between he and Georgia Tech leading up to the visit over the weekend. I have reached out since, but am yet to hear back.

Brown Jr. has a great relationship with Damon Stoudamire and coach Karl Hobbs, and he admitted he has seen communication with them pick up in recent weeks.

Georgia Tech is involved in this one regardless of what class he ends up in, but from what I have gathered things really could pick up with them if he does reclassify.

Regardless of what happens with that, though, it is very likely Brown Jr. takes an OV sooner than later.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference’s annual winter meetings concluded on Wednesday, February 14, following three days of business. The meetings were held in Charlotte, North Carolina, home of the conference headquarters.



The meetings began Monday afternoon with the league’s Athletic Directors (ADs), Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs), and Senior Woman Administrators (SWAs) participating in individual and joint sessions. After the joint session ended Tuesday afternoon, the ACC Board of Directors, comprised of the conference’s Presidents and Chancellors, met with the ADs before beginning their meetings that ended on Wednesday.



“The leadership at our current and future membership is tremendous and the successes we are able to celebrate are simply amazing,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “It is always beneficial to meet in person and the dialog surrounding the myriad of national topics as well as how to continue to elevate the conference were significant and extremely valuable.”



ACC student-athletes Piper Hampsch (Duke field hockey) and Michael Redding III (Miami football) joined the meetings and spoke with the ADs, FARs and SWAs. Hampsch is the Chair of the 2023-24 ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Executive Board, while Redding III serves as SAAC’s Chair for the Mental Health Subcommittee. They reported on recent SAAC meetings and presented draft recommendations to increase student-athlete engagement in conference governance and enhance the mental health support available to ACC student-athletes.



Individual and joint sessions attended by the ADs, FARs and SWAs, included updates and presentations from ESPN and ACC Network, ACC CORE (Champions of Racial Equity) and ACC SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee). Additional discussion topics included the selection of the 2024 ACC Postgraduate Scholar-Athletes, conference revenues, the College Football Playoff, the use of helmet technology in football, future men’s and women’s basketball scheduling and the postseason, recommendations from the Olympic Sport Committees and discussions around Olympic Sport policies and procedures.



In the sports of men’s and women’s basketball specifically, the membership determined that for the 2024-25 season, the top 15 teams would compete in the 2025 ACC Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tournaments. In addition to the decision on ACC Tournament play, the men’s basketball regular season will continue with a 20-game conference slate while the women will continue to play an 18-game campaign.



The membership also approved the implementation of two new technology initiatives beginning with the 2024 football season, pending final approval later this month from the NCAA Football Rules Committee. Unanimously supported by ACC head football coaches, for the upcoming 2024 season ACC football teams will be provided with access to in-game video which will enhance their ability to make in-game adjustments. Additionally, ACC teams will be provided with access to coach-to-player communication devices that will allow for one-way communication between the sideline and player(s) on the field.



Both programs will be administered via the Conference office to ensure competitive equity with the implementation of the new initiatives and the ACC is working collaboratively with the NCAA Football Rules Committee to fully develop the final rule and associated policies. The use of either piece of technology will be permissive and at each institution’s discretion.



The ACC Board of Directors announced that Wake Forest University President Dr. Susan R. Wente will serve as the Vice-Chair of the league’s Board of Directors through the remainder of the 2023-24 academic year and throughout 2024-25. Wente becomes the Vice-Chair following the departure of University of North Carolina Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz. University of Virginia President James E. Ryan continues his service as Chair of the Board of Directors, a position he will serve in through the 2024-25 academic year.



Significant discussions and updates about the future of college athletics, legislation and legal topics, Project Division I concept were common themes throughout both the individual and joint meetings. In addition, updates and dialog with Disney, ESPN and ACC Network took place along with reports related to business, finance and revenue generation and the College Football Playoff.

I'll update this leading up to tomorrow.

Upshaw will visit on Sunday, per source.

Included Georgia Tech. More with Garrett here-

FRI- Terry Busse vs. RHP Scott Rouse
SAT- Aeden Finateri vs. RHP Dylan Howard
SUN- Mason Patel vs. LHP Jordan Irizarry

Damon Stoudamire

Kowacie Reeves

4 SEC teams
4 Big teams
FSU
Utah
ND
Boise

Quickly heading to the big 2 conferences controlling the playoff. Here’s to GT having a place at the table when the ACC implodes.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Kara Dunn scored 15 points in the final quarter, lifting Georgia Tech to a 64-63 victory at Clemson on Thursday evening in Littlejohn Coliseum. A trio of Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures to push Tech back to winning ways.

A 13-2 run from the Yellow Jackets (15-11, 6-8 ACC) in the second quarter pushed Tech out in the lead by double-digits. After a back-and-forth battle in the first quarter, the Jackets kept the Tigers (11-14, 4-9 ACC) off the scoreboard for nearly six minutes to extend its lead to 31-20. Rusne Augustinaite paced Tech with 12 points in the first half as Tech shot 50.0 percent from the field as a team. Clemson was limited to 27.6 percent shooting.

Clemson came out and won the third quarter, 27-12, to lead 49-43 entering the final period, but the Yellow Jackets rallied in the final 10 minutes to capture the road win. Dunn scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, going 4-for-6 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line to lift Tech to victory. After a pair of free throws from Dunn at 3:37, Tech led 58-56, but Ruby Whitehorn sank a three-pointer to return the advantage to Clemson in the next possession. Trailing by two, Augustinaite hit a jumper to knot the game at 60-60 with 2:14 to play before Dunn connected on a layup and hit two free throws to extend Tech’s lead to 64-60 with 2.5 ticks on the clock. Clemson closed the game with a triple from Dayshanette Harris for the final score.

After shooting just 19.0 percent in the third period, the Jackets rebounded shooting 58.3 percent in the fourth quarter. For the game, Tech shot 41.0 percent and went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. In the second half, the Jackets committed only three turnovers and hit all 11 of their free throws. Dunn logged a dominating 22 points in the final two quarters to lead all scorers in the final 20 minutes.

Inés Noguero recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Augustinaite finished with 14 points in the win. Noguero and Sydney Johnson both dished out five assists to lead the Jackets.

Harris led the way for Clemson with 24 points, followed by Amari Robinson with 20 points. The Tigers shot 50.0 percent to take the lead in the third quarter, but were limited to just four field goals in the final 10 minutes for a 26.7 percent shooting efficiency. Overall, Clemson shot 33.9 percent from the field. The teams tied in rebounding with 40-apiece.

Georgia Tech closes out this two-game road swing on Sunday, traveling to No. 6/7 NC State. Tip is slated for 12 p.m. on the CW inside Reynolds Coliseum.

Let's do this! Ask away on recruiting, football, basketball, baseball, etc.

Greetings from a very empty Purcell Pavilion

Freshman QB Aaron Philo, the state of Georgia’s all-time leading passer, received his Mr. Georgia award from the Atlanta Touchdown Club this morning.

Become a member of The Tech Way today and join the stars of the Georgia Tech Football team Saturday at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex! Get autographs and photos from 4 pm-5:30 pm, prior to the Georgia Tech basketball game tipoff. Become a member at Thetechway.com/memberships to get on the RSVP list or sign up at the door.
DISCOUNTED TICKETS TO MBB vs SYRACUSE AVAILABLE!
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