THE FLATS – Highlighted by second-team safety Jaylon King (La Vergne, Tenn./Ensworth) and third-team running back Jamal Haynes (Loganville, Ga./Grayson H.S.), seven Georgia Tech football student-athletes earned a total of eight 2023 all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors, which were announced on Tuesday.



In addition to King and Haynes, quarterback Haynes King (Longview, Texas/Longview H.S.), wide receiver Eric Singleton, Jr. (Douglasville, Ga./Alexander H.S.), offensive guard Joe Fusile (Richmond Hill, Ga./Richmond Hill H.S.), offensive tackle Jordan Williams (Gainesville, Ga./Gainesville H.S.) and defensive tackle Zeek Biggers (Salisbury, N.C./West Rowan H.S.) all received honorable mention all-conference recognition, as did Haynes as an all-purpose back.



Coming back from a leg injury that cost him the final seven games of the 2022 season, Jaylon King intercepted four passes and recovered two fumbles for the Yellow Jackets in 2023. His four interceptions are tied for third in the ACC and 20th nationally, while his two fumble recoveries are good a tie for second in the conference and 17th in the nation. His six total takeaways are tied for tops in the ACC while his 12 passes defended rank third in the league. He also ranks third on the team at Georgia Tech with 65 tackles and has blocked a kick.



In his first season as a running back after being converted from wide receiver during the offseason, Haynes ranks fifth in the ACC in rushing yards (931), is tied for sixth in the conference with seven rushing touchdowns and his 6.0 yards per carry rank third in the league. He is the first Yellow Jacket with three 100-yard rushing games in a season since current San Francisco 49er Jordan Mason in 2019 and needs just 69 yards in Tech’s upcoming bowl game to become the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher since QB TaQuon Marshall and RB KirVonte Benson in 2017.



With 2,755 passing yards, 648 rushing yards, 26 touchdown passes and nine touchdown runs, Haynes King is one of only two players in the nation with at least 2,700 passing yards, 600 rushing yards, 25 touchdown passes and five touchdown runs this season (joining LSU’s Jayden Daniels), and one of only six ACC players to achieve those numbers in a regular season since 2000 (joining North Carolina’s Drake Maye – 2022, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson – 2016 and 2017, Wake Forest’s John Wolford – 2017, Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans – 2016 and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson – 2015).



Singleton Jr. leads all freshmen (true or redshirt) nationally with 64.2 receiving yards per game and ranks second among true freshmen nationally with six touchdown receptions. His 706 receiving yards and six touchdown catches both rank among the top 10 overall in the ACC, while his six TD receptions are just one shy of the Georgia Tech freshman record of seven, held by Calvin Johnson (2004) and Ahmarean Brown (2019).



Fusile and Williams help anchor a Georgia Tech offensive front that paved the way for the Yellow Jackets to lead the ACC in rushing offense (197.1 ypg – 16th nationally) and rank second in the conference in fewest sacks allowed (1.25 pg – 20th nationally).



The 6-foot-6, 333-pound Biggers stuffed the stat sheet with 35 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack, three pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick from his defensive tackle position.



In addition to being voted third-team all-ACC as a running back, Haynes earned honorable mention as an all-purpose back thanks to ranking fifth in the conference with 1,129 total yards from scrimmage (931 rushing, 151 receiving) and tied for the 15th in the league with eight total touchdowns (seven rushing, one receiving).



Georgia Tech’s eight all-ACC honors are its most in a season since it had 14 all-conference honorees in 2014.

I see Wes is here. Does that guarantee a win?

Tyler Announces The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Semifinalists



TYLER, Texas – This year many talented athletes with ties to the state of Texas have emerged as candidates for The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. Nineteen Semifinalists have been selected by The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Selection Committee.



This year’s candidates include eight running backs, seven quarterbacks, and four wide receivers. Eight different conferences are represented.



The 2023 Semifinalists are:

Nic Anderson, WR, Oklahoma, RS-Freshman – Katy, TX (Katy HS) Big 12

Emani Bailey, RB, TCU, Jr. – Denton, TX (Ryan HS) Big 12

Jonathon Brooks, RB, Texas, Soph. – Hallettsville, TX (Hallettsville HS) Big 12

Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tech, Sr. – Manor, TX (Manor HS) Big 12

Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas, Soph. – Southlake, TX (Carroll HS) Big 12

Ollie Gordon, II, RB, Oklahoma State, Soph. – Fort Worth, TX (Euless Trinity HS) Big 12

Frank Harris, QB, UTSA, RS-Sr. – Schertz, TX (Clemens HS) AAC

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State, Soph. – Jacksonville, FL (Lone Star HS, TX) Mountain West

Haynes King, QB, Georgia Tech, R-Soph. – Longview, TX (Longview HS) ACC

Ismail Mahdi, RB, Texas State, Soph. – Murphy, TX (Plano East HS) Sun Belt

Damien Martinez, RB, Oregon State, Soph. – Lewisville, TX (Lewisville HS) Pac-12

Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama, RS-Soph. – Katy, TX (Tompkins HS) SEC

Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas, Jr. – Missouri City, TX (Cane Ridge HS) Big 12

Ja’Lynn Polk, WR, Washington, Soph. – Lufkin, TX (Lufkin HS) Pac-12

Kaidon Salter, QB, Liberty, Soph. – Cedar Hill, TX (Cedar Hill HS) CUSA

Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado, Jr. – Dallas, TX (Trinity Christian HS) Pac-12

Preston Stone, QB, SMU, Soph. – Dallas, TX (Parish Episcopal) AAC

Cameron Ward, QB, Washington State, Jr. – West Columbia, TX (Columbia HS) Pac-12

Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas, Jr. – Fresno, CA (Central East HS) Big 12



Finalists will be selected from this group and announced on December 12, 2023.



The winner will be announced at an award banquet in Tyler, Texas on January 10, 2024.

*** We start off this edition as we do every war room- do not hint at anything posted below on social media, post online anywhere, or go around sharing this in your group messages. ***

Whether it be local recruits beginning to reassess the situation on The Flats, recruits in the central and south part of the state giving the program a second look, or even those outside of the state lines, everyone is taking notice of what Georgia Tech has been able to accomplish lately.

Given the time between now and the Early Signing Period (which begins on December 20th) a lot of Georgia Tech’s top targets are already “verbally” committed elsewhere. Due to that, things are going to look a little bit different this War Room. I will avoid saying the ole “they are going to wait for the portal” as much as I possibly can. For some positions, though, it seems almost more likely that they add via the portal than via the 2024 class.

Let’s get to it..

Kicking things off, let’s talk about the defensive line and where things stand on that front. After losing EDGE rusher C.J. Jackson last month to LSU, Georgia Tech has spent a considerable amount of time surveying the landscape for a potential replacement.

Mill Creek’s KingJoseph Edwards had emerged earlier in the week as a possible target, and JOL confirmed that there was significant communication between the two sides. Edwards is coming off a visit to Boulder and the University of Colorado, a trip in which many around the industry believe he made a silent commitment to Deion Sanders.

Georgia Tech seems to have caught wind of that, as well as some potential character issues that have stalled his recruitment and prevented him from committing to other schools that were his leader previously in the cycle.

Said one source in the Hoschton area who happens to be an Auburn fan: “Edwards is the football version of Jahki Howard. You don’t really know what you are getting with him, but the upside of the player has some coaches ready to say f it and see what he can do at the next level.”

Another name to know, despite not yet holding an offer, is Eduwa Okundaye from the state of Texas. The Arizona commit could be next up.

A lot closer to Atlanta, Westover’s Ryan Jenkins is another name for Georgia Tech fans to know down the stretch on the EDGE. Jenkins is committed to USF, and earlier in the process held a ton of offers from P5 programs, including GT.

While not a consolation prize by any stretch of the imagination, Jenkins would be a solid flip if they decided to go that route.

Wrapping things up on the EDGE is long-time commit Jordan Boyd, who my sources keep telling me is still in contact with Florida State. Boyd has said all the right things and done all the right things (including a solid senior campaign) but if he does end up taking an official visit to Florida State, DL coach Marco Coleman, head coach Brent Key, and the rest of the staff will have a decision to make.

That’s where the transfer portal is going to make things interesting.

Switching things up to defensive end, and this is where there are the most options remaining on the DL. Uncommitted, that is. While Georgia Tech would love to flip long-time top target Amontrae Bradford, they have their eyes on Lowote Jurkin from Weiss HS in Texas.

Jurkin will be at the Syracuse game next Saturday night, and from there depending on the results of the visit and face-to-face meetings with coaches, an official visit could be up next.

The same thing could be said, regarding an official visit being up next, for Favour Awodoyin of Oak Ridge in Texas. While his recruitment has been quiet in the last few months, his play has been anything but.

Arizona State has offered already, and nearly every P5 school in Texas is giving Favour a closer look going into the end of the HSFB season.

GT is the leader for Awodoyin, but there’s a lot of dust that needs to settle before any decisions are made on either side.
He has a lot of interest in the schools that are closer to home, and GT has a few targets that they are looking to see what happens with.

One of those targets? Chicago-area DL Mikeshun Beeler, who is looking to lock in a visit date for one of the last two homes games. Remember that name.

Another name to remember? Nathan Jennings from Clemens HS in Ala. He is currently committed to South Alabama, but has started to pick up some significant P5 interest in the last handful of weeks. The main issue with Jennings has nothing to do with his character or his performance on the field. His biggest issue involves pens, pencils, and backpacks.

DE commit Trashun Griffin was vocal earlier in the season about the defense’s shortcomings, and now that things are trending in a different direction, his tune has changed a bit. Rather than watch the UVA game last weekend, Griffin and his family made a trip to Knoxville to see Tennessee take on a fierce UConn squad.

Griffin has also been on Alabama’s campus several times this season for gameday visits as well. He holds offers from neither school, yet at least. Griffin has been the only commit in the 2024 class that I am aware of that has not been active in terms of working to recruit others to join him. I know of multiple key members of the class that would not know who Trashun is without a nametag.

Of the schools that have offered Griffin, Mississippi State is the one that sources in the state of Alabama believe to be the biggest threat. Other offers could come.

Griffin is expected to be at the UGA game, though it would not shock me the way things are trending if he and Georgia Tech were no longer together by that point. Time will tell, especially if he starts scheduling OV's to any of these other schools.

Switching gears to defensive tackle, and in-state targets Lendric Barber (Ola) and Justin Terrell (Rome) have emerged as the top two targets at the position. With Landen Marshall already committed, the staff have been able to be rather picky about what to do with DT recruiting.

While Terrell may now be a top target, earlier in his recruitment when GT was racking up the commits and climbing up the team rankings, my sources tell me that GT was on top for Terrell if they chose to be. They invested their efforts elsewhere, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Terrell committed to NC State, and for the most part has been locked in with the Wolfpack ever since. With his senior season winding down, and the next chapter of his life nearing, has been listening to GT in recent weeks. His relationships with the recruiting staff have been a big factor, and while that will not be a deciding factor in terms of a commitment, if that is what pushes him to take the trip from Rome to GT they have done their jobs and then some.

The recruitment of Lendric Barber is much more unknown at this time, with his offer being as recent as it was. He has shown a ton of upside this season, and has already upgraded once going from being committed to Coastal Carolina (and initially being ranked in Zeek Biggers 5.2-5.3 territory) to flipping to Cincinnati. Time will tell what the GT offer does to his recruitment, though I doubt they would have offered if they didn’t think they had a shot.

Beyond those two, it gets pretty hard to name guys that could really emerge in the next several weeks. Grayson’s Nasir Smith is a true project type, but I’m not sure Georgia Tech would be a place for that project to be put together.

Outside of Smith, it is all about the transfer portal…

To Middle Tennessee's Zaylin Wood, a Georgia HSFB product out of Heard County.

16 tackles, 3 sacks, 4 TFL, 1 FF, 1 FR this season in 10 games this season.

Has 95 tackles, 18 TFL, 10 sacks, 4 FR, and 2 INT in 49 games played. GT was the first to offer.


Grad transfer with 1 year to play 1

CBK has proven he can Coach & Recruit …
But to compete we must support having the funds to close the deals & retain our developed players.
Tech supporters are successful people, challenge to all of us to donate $1K to our NIL Support Fund.
Key will make it worth the investment!!

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key is one of 15 finalists for College Football News’ National Coach of the Year award, CFN announced on Tuesday.



In his first season as the permanent head coach at his alma mater, Key led Georgia Tech to a 6-6 overall record, good for its best record and first bowl berth since 2018. The Yellow Jackets finished 5-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and in a tie for fourth place in the 14-team conference standings after being picked to finish 12th in the league’s preseason poll.



The Jackets’ six wins included two over nationally ranked opponents – 23-20 at No. 17 Miami (Fla.) and 46-42 vs. No. 17 North Carolina – which moved Tech to 4-0 against ranked conference opponents with Key at the helm (the Jackets also defeated No. 24 Pitt and No. 13/11 UNC with Key as interim head coach in 2022).



The 2023 Yellow Jackets feature one of the nation’s most-improved offenses, as Tech ranks third nationally in year-over-year points scored (+14.0 ppg), fourth in year-over-year sacks allowed (-2.0 pg) and fifth in year-over-year yards per game (+103.9). The Jackets lead the ACC and rank 16th nationally in rushing offense (197.1 ypg). Defensively, Tech’s 23 takeaways rank 10th nationally.



Including his eight-game stint as interim head coach in 2022, Georgia Tech has 10 wins in one-plus season under Key after totaling nine victories in the previous three seasons combined (2019-21).



CFN will name its National Coach of the Year from its list of 15 finalists following the conclusion of the 2023 season.



Key and the Yellow Jackets are awaiting the announcement of its bowl destination and opponent, which be made on Sunday. For full information on bowl tickets and to sign up for priority access to tickets when they become available, visit ramblinwreck.com/bowl.

Just arriving. Bad traffic

I had not seen this posted yet, but sorry if it has. Looks like the beginning stages of the plan to make North Ave. the entrance. http://news.gatech.edu/news/2023/11/21/campus-comprehensive-plan-unveiled

I am so proud to be a yellow jacket and bleed white and gold tonight. What a helluva effort. I’m going to tread lightly on some topics but I think we all see what’s about to happen on one side of ball.

Good:
effort and fight until end
Run game and Buster play calling had uga d on heals.
Atmosphere
The showing we made on national tv and to recruits in stands

Bad:
Thought the officials missed some blatant calls on uga like Kirby being on field, face mask in 4th and late hit in 4th

Ugly:
Greco- seriously announced de-commitment today.
Run D and pretty much other than turnovers, we were turnstiles on D
I expect multiple defensive staff changes
Kickoffs and coverage

Let’s all go bowling. We made a great showing for bowl reps tonight. Let’s do what we can to hang on to some key players and Buster. Hit the portal hard for defensive help.

Damon Stoudamire

Kowacie Reeves

Damon Stoudamire


Chris Jans

Georgia Tech went into their matchup with No. 1 UGA on Saturday night as underdogs by more than three touchdowns.

The main vibe around the sidelines in the 90+ minutes leading up to kickoff from recruits, their parents, etc. was more about could Georgia Tech keep things close, and not about could they actually win the game.

Georgia fans who coach high school football had essentially received free tickets, and in conversations with several of them, they expected the game to get ugly.

"Man I just hope they keep the game close," said one recruit who will remain anonymous. "I've got a ton of friends who are UGA fans, and they've been running their mouths all week."

The expectation was for Georgia Tech to score on the first drive, just like everyone else had on UGA's defense all season.

The expectation was for GT to struggle in the trenches, on both sides, and to look as if they were overmatched in all three facets of the game.

The expectation was for UGA to dominate the stadium, and that despite the game being played in Atlanta that it would end up a home game for Smart and the No. 1 Bulldogs.

Expectations and Georgia Tech don't typically go hand-in-hand, at least in my time around the program the last 5 years.

That didn't change on Saturday.

Georgia Tech put together what is currently tied for the best offensive performance of the season against Georgia's defense, piling up 363 yards of offense including 205 yards rushing.

The offensive line dominated Georgia's front, leading to many more 2nd and mediums instead of the 2nd and 10+ that was expected.

The crowd, at worst, was 55-45. The Georgia Tech fanbase was as loud, and more importantly, as present, as I have seen them in the last five years.

At the skills positions, GT looked far from out of place, as Eric Singleton was the best WR on the field today for either side.

With the Bulldogs resting Brock Bowers, It would be hard to tell Dylan Leonard, Oscar Delp, and Brett Seither apart if you were watching blindly.

The two facets of the game that Georgia Tech looked the most out of place, was special teams and run defense.

Commits, recruits, and parents left Grant Field on Saturday night encouraged, excited, and eager. Eager to see what bowl the team will play in, excited to think about what this program could look like next year, and encouraged by the increased level of support.

A loss is never "good" for recruiting, but not meeting the expectation there was going into Saturday night certainly was.

As Brent Key and his coaching staff begin to put their plan in place for how they'd like to attack the rest of the 2024 class, they do so with some positive buzz around the program.

The dead period begins on Monday and goes til December 1st, and that's when things really heat up. Coaches will be on the road, official visits will take place, and the transfer portal will be alive and well.

Buckle up.

I like to read the dwag vent to laugh at some of the dumb comments. There’s a whole thread about how they couldn’t get to their seats and “the stadium is impossible to navigate” yada yada yada. This comment really made me laugh “you mean to tell me my suggested gate of entry would have made it easier to get to my seat?!? What a shit hole” 🤣🤣🤣 Just when you get mad, you’re reminded, they really are comically stupid people. The best comment is from someone claiming the stadium sucks because they couldn’t find their way to their seats when they were extremely drunk.

Our presser opened with some uncut thoughts on the ABC broadcast by Damon Stoudamire that echoed a lot of the comments on here. He was not pleased with how the broadcast team talked about Georgia Tech football.

On to hoops, Stoudamire said that they are getting back to work after the Cincinnati and he is extremely excited about the Miss State game that is in the top 25 and they have some great opportunities.

Stoudamire said this is still a process and they are always teaching and the players are still learning different styles of coaching and different methods than they are used to and each day he wants to see them get better. He is seeing the team pick things up and he thinks their best basketball is ahead of them this year. He explained to the team and to the media today he had a lot of games like the Cincy game in the pros when he was on good teams. He lost to the Indiana Paces by 63 and the Cleveland Cavilers by 59 on very good Portland TrailBlazers teams and whether it is a one-point loss or a 30-point loss it is still a loss. It counts one time as a loss. You move forward and put it behind you. He said instilling that psyche with the team is an important part of the process. He said right now he is trying to set up the effort and energy piece of things and that is the rallying cry for the program. You can teach other things, but energy and effort are things the players control. He said they have to be very physical against Miss State when the shot goes up and know where the shooters are on the court and not let bad plays turn into hangovers on the other end of the court. He thinks those hangover plays have been the Achilles' heel for the team so far.

I asked him how he thought Baye Ndongo did in his first game and Damon said because it was a hand injury he pushed him into the lineup more quickly with very little practice because his stamina and legs were good and he expected some turnovers and mistakes, but he thought he played well. He said that he is very excited about Baye and that he can do some things on the court you don't see and that is big. He right now is trying to slow him down a little on the court because he is being a little impatient and not letting the game come to him yet. He looks forward to seeing his growth.

He said Baye plays with a lot of energy and does a lot of great things on the floor and he doesn't want to put a ton of pressure on him, but he thinks he looked like the best player on the floor at times in his first game and his ceiling is very high. He plays with energy and that is contagious for the team.

Stoudamire said he does not have an update on Lance Terry's status. He said Lance really wants to be out there and hopefully he will be back soon, but he doesn't have a timetable yet. He said he doesn't want a nic-nac injury to turn into a season long thing.

Stoudamire said that Tafara Gapare was cleared today to practice and he is back after an undisclosed injury and he is excited to have him back tomorrow.

Stoudamire said this stretch of games is definitely one guys' circle on their calendar, but they haven't talked about it collectively other than the Miss State game. He said that State teams take on Chris Jans' identity and are very scrappy and very tough mentally. He said that he has followed Jans' career from a distance and is very impressed with how he coaches.

Stoudamire said they need to share the ball more and that will improve the shooting, they went from 20 assists to 17 to 11 to like 6 or 7 in the Cincinnati game and they won't win doing that. He said the positive was they hit FTs in the Cincy game but they they've got to share the ball to win.

Kowacie Reeves was the player we got today and he has played Miss State before when he was at Florida and he said they are very physical and always connected on the floor. He said it will be a good challenge for GT to play against them.

Reeves on the takeaways from the loss to Cincy, "you want to kind of flush it but you also wanted to pick pieces and learn from it. I think that we can get better in certain areas that we noticed on film."

Reeves said they need to take care of the ball better than they have been doing so far this year and that will help jumpstart the offense. They have too many live ball turnovers and that is limiting their possession and causing them to have fewer shot opportunities.

Reeves said they need to do a better job at the start of games of matching the opposing team's intensity.

Reeves said the coaches have been focusing on being more physical and limiting turnovers in practice and they started well against Cincy and then didn't keep it up for 40 minutes

Reeves said guys are starting to settle into their roles on the team and the big thing is guys need to do what their role is not and try to do too much.

Greetings with the flood of activity today I pushed this back so you would have something to enjoy this morning.

In your assessment, what percentage of our defensive woes are X and O’s related vs Jimmy and Joe’s related? Obviously, it’s not 100% one way or the other, just trying to get a sense of where the issue truly lies, in your mind.

KQ- That is a tough question because not having the right surrounding cast or scheme for the personnel can be a problem as well. They've figured out how to use Moala, Efford and Tatum effectively but that wasn't necessarily the grouping they expected from the jump. The two other transfer LBs were not healthy or productive enough to play more than they have at times and then none of the younger guys are ready to play. That all goes back to Jimmies and Joes and a lack of recruiting and development in the LB room. The former HC tried to move the best LB they had organically on the roster Charlie Thomas to safety and nickel multiple times...

So that is one piece. Losing the only physical pass rusher they had in Slyvain Yondjouen was the other piece that isn't talked about enough.

I thought the DB tackling was bad and then it has been fine. They lack a hammer at safety and that kills them when they need to get someone in there with a hat to make plays and erase things. That is a personnel issue and you aren't going to magically turn LaMiles Brooks who is a space and cover safety into Ronnie Lott. Again that goes back to the prior staff and then some guys not developing as expected as well who could fill that void, but are not capable of playing well enough to get on the field regularly.

I think it is Jimmies and Joes are the primary issue why you are not better and it the lack of guys at some really specific spots. Hell they played most of the season with four DTs and one playing end because of injuries and that killed the pass rush.

How huge was this for recruiting to show a strong showing against UGA?

KQ- I think it is further proof of concept. They lost to a now-ranked Louisville team, lost to a top 15 Ole Miss team and lost to #1 UGA while beating a then-ranked Miami and then-ranked UNC team both riding high at the time (UNC a little less given what happened the week before GT). There is good proof of concept for Key and his staff to sell. Now they have to close.

Who do you think Key will target for DC?

KQ- I think he casts a wide net. I've said from the jump there was a chance that Kevin Sherrer could either be the full-time DC or stay on staff. I think that remains a possibility as well depending on who Brent hires. He interviewed a ton of OCs and DCs the last offseason so he has some ideas and they should have a little more flexibility with money now a little further away from having to blow up so much of the last staff and starting over.

We’re on our way to being a really good program again aren’t we?

KQ- I've said from the jump if Key can keep a good staff together and get some decent NIL money I think his approach will work. We are starting to see just pieces of it come together. He is very tireless in how he approaches building the program and he took notes from the start of his career on what he would do when he was putting together a program and he knows how GT works which is a learning curve for almost every head coach here except for GOL in recent times.

We can see the gap shrinking in the rivalry game and I know in the portal era everything is unpredictable but we have to be able to start splitting this series or least going 4-6 each decade right? I just don’t see us being that far off from them on the field anymore.

KQ- UGA is in their tail end of the first wave of success sort of like when Nick Saban started winning big at Bama. Kirby's assistants are getting peeled off for jobs and his guys are going to the league and the portal makes it harder to stockpile and hide guys for 2-3 years of development at a place like that because those kids get antsy. I think they may hit a little bit of a lull relative to the last 3 or 4 years next year and maybe the year after that and they are gettable. The idea though is Key can get the program to the point where they can compete more consistently regardless of how good or bad UGA is. That should be the goal.

What was up with the kickoffs? Do we not have a guy who can get it into the endzone anymore?

KQ- Gavin Stewart got hurt in the UNC game I believe and has not been right since then. Aidan Birr is not as good at kickoffs as Stewart and thus you end up with some issues there. They've not been great on covering kickoffs most of the time so they got exposed a little.

What kind of pool does Key get his DC from ? He clearly needs to make a splash hire.

KQ- Who gives a shit about a splash hire. I want him to hire a very good DC who will be successful. When Paul Johnson fired Al Groh and opted to not promote Charles Kelly after the Sun Bowl in 2012 I told him about a guy named Mike Elko who was at that time the DC at Bowling Green. He was putting up amazing numbers with not the greatest talent there under Dave Clawson and CPJ basically said no, I've got a plan and he hired a name guy, Ted Roof after hiring another name guy Al Groh.

My point is to find the next Mike Elko, find the next Dan Lanning or whoever it is and build your defense that way. You don't want Manny Diaz, you don't want Ted Roof, you want a guy who is innovative and hungry because it is hard as hell to coach D in this era of football.

If Paul Johnson hired Mike Elko in December of 2012, GT would have two more ACC Championship trophies IMO right now.

It sounds like many programs are realizing that the NIL game is a literal arms race and are developing unheard of war chests. Where do you think GT’s total NIL spend for 2024 will land? Top 25? Top 35? Top 50?

KQ- Not top 15, but they are doing okay. The truth is most schools don't have anywhere near the amount of money people believe. Some are spending big like FSU or TAMU or others but most are trying to keep what they have and backfill where they can and a lot of it is cheating money that is now over the table as well. Those who were cheating are just doing it on a larger scale and publicly now.

The portal will be a shitshow until the NCAA gets dragged more by Congress or their non-profit status gets toyed with and they feel obligated to do something. This whole thing right now is intentional ineptitude by the NCAA because they are pissed off kids are getting paid.

When do you think we'll know our bowl destination? And can team maintain the same intensity in pre-bowl practices that we saw last night and carry it into the bowl game? Or will it be more about destination/opponent?

KQ- Highly unlikely before Saturday late night because it depends on the outcome of the ACC Championship Game to some extent. The bowl process is way different than when they had very specific slots and you couldn't reach back more than a spot.

Separately, it "feels" like Key has turned around the program culture/character. Do recruits and portal guys see this the same way?

KQ- That is the feedback we are getting, they are seeing the changes.

Unfortunately I could only watch quarters 1-3 of COFH. Few questions.

From your perspective, what was the ratio of Tech fans to UGAg fans?

KQ- It was as close to 50/50 as it has been in a while and there may have been more GT fans.

Do you think Kirby stepped off the gas in the 4th? Or did we really almost mount a comeback?

KQ- Bro, they were throwing a touchdown pass to go up three scores with all their starters in when KJ Wallace picked off Carson Beck in the end zone. There was no stepping off the gas until UGA recovered the onside kick up 8 with 3:40 something left and Kirby just ran the clock out like Brent did against Cuse.

You should watch the whole game.

(Unrelated to COFH) - out of the players you know are transferring, are most of them due to NIL? Buried on the depth chart? Not believing in the coach? Processing?

KQ- It can be any of those things. I guess you are asking specifically about GT and it is mostly about not playing or not having a role right now. There will always be a guy here or there that get lured by money as well that surprise people like the one who left post spring ball suddenly to be a backup DL at a SEC school.

1) I feel like Brent Key will always have a solid game plan drawn up, but the one after thanksgiving will more often than not be his best. He really wants that thing turned the right way.

KQ- Sure, more of a statement than a question

2) Seems like fans are starting to buy in in larger numbers now. Is that your impression?

KQ- I think that the UGA game was an eye-opener for some folks on the fence for sure. There are a lot of pissed off people who got turned off at the end of Collins or were burned out by CPJ's last couple of frustrating seasons. You've got to get them back in the stadium and then work on the sidewalk fan base build up.

3) With the portal opening before the bowls, I assume coaching changes will be made ASAP, is that true?

KQ- 100 percent false. Brent explained in his pressure how this is going to work and you saw it last year. They are going to close the signing class and play the bowl game and then in January you will see moves just like you did last year. If some guys leave for other jobs they have enough support staff guys like Brian Baker or Nate Brock that can backfill as well.

4) I think it’s time to buy stock in Tech football. Do recruits feel similarly? Are they excited to get on this train and dominate for Coach Key?

KQ- See above

Just wanted to go back and take a look at the progress we've made over the last few years, dating back to the last 2 years of CPJ until now. Here are differentials between UGAg/GT in our game each year since the last time we won in 2016. You can see there in the end days of CPJ it wasn't very close. When you look at the data like this, along with the fact that the dwags are in probably the best 3 year run in the history of CFB, it's amazing the gap CBK has closed in 2 years. Get defense on the right track and we'll be dangerous for anybody.

And it is to soon to be former Penn DT Joey Slackman.

Slackman has 50 tackles, 12 TFL, and 4 sacks this season.

He also has blown up, with other offers from the likes of Miami, UNC, Louisville, and Wisconsin thus far.

Do we not march anymore at the half? Did a whole T Swift concert without moving 1 step in a formation no one could decipher

Dancers and color guard did all of the work while yall just stood there. All of the UGAg folks I had to sit near were equally confused by our marching band’s lack of marching

EDIT FOR FUTURE READERS:
They sounded great, this was the first game I was able to make it to this year, and yes I know they work hard. Also, I always run to grab a drink and hit the bathroom with a few minutes left in the 2Q JUST so I can watch the marching band.

Any names that we think are possibilities?