fire away

Good morning from the city of Atlanta, home of roaches, humidity, and traffic.

Some more than others.

The final official visit weekend of June is set to conclude today, and from the looks of it, there’s a good chance I will be able to talk with each of the visitors before they leave today.

Something else to note is that today is the final day before the dead period, meaning that there could be some unofficial visitors who stop by at some point today.

After talking with sources close to the recruitment of high three-star OL Favour Edwin, it sounds like his recruitment is kind of at a standstill.

Edwin is yet to play a game, but has impressed at camps and shown a good amount of upside. He is just very raw. NFL-caliber frame and upside, but he is very raw.

GT could get more heavily involved if they choose to, but from my conversations, I expect them to wait it out and see some film (and development) before making a move.

There’s also a chance the OL class could be full between now and then as well.

More to come.

Coach Key has apparently put him on scholarship. One of the recruits mentioned that as Jason was hosting him. I expected this would happen with whatever leftover ship was remaining.

I missed this during the camp season but GT will play Penn State in the Hoopsgiving Event on Dec 17 in State Farm Arena.

GT already has the Diamond Head Classic matchup with the following teams in that tournament: Hawaii, Nevada, ODU, TCU, Temple, UMass, Portland, Dec 21, 22 and 24.

UGA game whenever that is and a game against an SEC team from the bottom half of the league for the ACC/SEC Challenge likely from the following, Arkansas, MIss State, SC, Ole Miss or LSU.

Thanks to our new sponsor Inteleca for helping bring back Q's Take my weekly look at things around GT and college sports from my vantage.




I've had the pleasure to cover more programs that probably a lot of you all realize in various capacities during my time at Rivals from starting with the madhouse to the East and moving South to the Gators and LSU and around the time I started up on the GT site to Cincinnati, South Florida, Wake Forest and Alabama plus connections to hundreds of coaches along the way. There are two traits I've found in the majority of the successful coaches I've covered or worked with over the years and the lack of this trait is often a telltale sign that a program is going to fail under a new coach, a detailed and executable plan of action.

I've seen spectacular failures like GC3 here or Jeff Scott at USF and guys past their prime chasing a retirement fund like Tommy Tuberville or Charlie Strong, but the ones who seem to last have a plan, are detailed and it is one that can be accomplished with the resources available. Collins sort of had a plan, but it was like most things he did, sort of a permeable and ever-changing blob of concepts. Jeff Scott had no plan, no idea what the heck he was doing, and looked like if they pulled a random fan off a sideline and asked him to be a football coach. Jeff is a tremendous person, but he and Scottie Montgomery (ECU) may be the two worst coaching hires of the last decade-plus of CFB. Two guys who were good recruiters to a point and that was about it. I'm still unpacking GC3 to be honest. What he said and did often differed greatly and what he said made sense and what he often did, did not.

Willie Taggart was another guy with no plan. He stumbled into a generational talent who was basically just short of that school's Joe Hamilton in Quinton Flowers and started him after his staff threatened a revolt if he started Steven Bench over Flowers. He rode Flowers into the Oregon job and then to FSU and then FAU and back onto the Harbaugh's coattails in Baltimore with John Harbaugh.

On the flip side, say what you want about Paul Johnson, but he had a plan and knew what he wanted to do and what he was looking for with kids and it mostly worked with some tremendous highs and other than an injury-riddled 2015 season the lows were not horrible. Even that team was more competitive than the first three years under Collins despite massive injuries. CPJ was a master of his offense and he ran a pretty solid ship that took on water after losing key assistants and dodging obstacles from the administration both financially and in the other category like the old drug policy that wiped out almost half of one of his signing classes in later times.

I saw the same thing with Mark Richt down the road, he had a plan mostly copying what Bobby Bowden did at FSU mixed with some Miami stuff, but it was still a plan and it worked. That plan also was helped by being able to attract top talent.

Nick Saban has a plan. Really everyone people hold in high regard minus a few outliers like Lane Kiffin who runs more of a loose program leaning on the portal these days has a pretty detailed oriented plan.

I spent the previous weekend down with the guy I had just behind Brent Key as my top target for GT in their coaching search Alex Golesh. What I saw was a very organized and detailed organization with very clearly set job functions and a relatable staff that had good energy and could recruit. The Bulls landed their first four-star player in several years this weekend in Zavier Hamilton because of Golesh and his staff.

Now you are probably like Kelly I don't give a crap about these people, what are you going on about? The point is for the first time since probably 2016 I see a very clear vision and a detailed plan that is achievable under Key here. I think he has hired a very strong staff and they are getting the right kids to visit and if they get the NIL support they need they have a chance to build something more sustainable I think in the future. Key knows how everything works here and he can positively and negatively recruit almost any school in the country based on his own knowledge and history dealing with everyone GT recruits against.

What Key needs now is proof of concept and financial support via NIL. I think if he gets those two things the ceiling moves up for GT football with him.

GT scratched the top 25 today in the Rivals Recruiting Rankings mostly due to the sheer size of the class at the moment, but the quality pieces are in place and if Key can keep them, I think the future is very bright for GT football especially if people open up their wallets and support what he is doing.

Will update as more names trickle in.. rivals rating listed beside each name rather than profile cards to save your bandwidth:

Tucker (Ga.) DE Christopher Jackson - 5.8
Bay City (Tex.) DL Carlon Jones - 5.7
Thompson (Ala.) S Kaleb Harris - 5.7
Theodore (Ala.) LB Bobby Pruitt - 5.7
Mill Creek (Ga.) DB Trajen Greco - 5.6
Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips S Jashad Presley - 5.6
Aiken (S.C.) Silver Bluff DE Jordan Boyd - 5.6
Bibb County (Ala.) DE Trashun Griffin - 5.5

Hearing there is a strong possibility of an LB committed elsewhere making a trip to Atlanta this weekend as well, but I am not in a place to reveal any other info at this time.

Lamprecht is currently playing in the British Amateur Championship. After several rounds of stroke play and 5 match play wins, he is currently playing a 36 hole match in the finals. He leads 2 up after 18 holes.

2 GT Golfers have won this championship - Bobby Jones and Charlie Yates.

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Personally, I feel like this is what the installation of culture that is currently going on at Tech is reflecting, along with GOL principles that were simply talked about by the previous coach but were never taken seriously. What say you?

Skip to 39:02 for Saban in bama vid

Things seem to be a little more quiet this week compared to last week. Let’s kick this thing off.


We have 3 commits (Maddox, big DE, and Butler).

We also have a couple of guys with FCs in Knowles, Matthews, and Harpring.

Add in some interesting guys from MS and another New Orleans guy.

Could be a sneaky good weekend

Watching this on my lunch break.

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I have some LB and TE questions.

At LB we have:

1. Tah’j Butler (commit)
2. Demontrae Gatson (commit)

GTYH - Who do you think fills the 3rd spot? Maybe the new David Bucey offer. Anyone else heating up?

Is GT intentionally loading up on smaller LBs (Charlie Thomas size)? Or do they expect all these guys to put on good weight and get up to Tatum’s size?

At TE we have:

1. David Prince (commit)

Who else do you think will commit?

• Luke Harpring (future cast)
• Benjamin Blackburn?
• Kylan Fox?
• Anyone else that is heating up?

KQ- Obviously the TE situation is much clearer at the moment with Kylan Fox being the remaining biggest target for the final spot there and being a good fit since he is more of a flex guy. Russell, I'm sure will have more thoughts.

On the LB thing, they are aiming to replace multiple guys at the MONEY (WLB) spot so that is why you have more athletic commits so far in Butler and Gatson as you lose Oliver and Moala after this season and other guys creeping toward graduating and may want to go somewhere else if they are not in the two-deep. They want guys who can turn and run and cover at the WLB and even when they go 4-3 with a SAM.

They have two guys who are B-list guys right now in MJ Spurlin and Lance Taylor who they are keeping warm but the D'Angelo Barber, Jordan Burns or Samarian Robinson types are the bigger MIKE types.

Of the top 100 fb players in Georgia, how many on average can get in to Tech academically?

KQ- Probably most of them, getting in is less of a problem, but the bigger question and the one Key has to wrestle with is who can survive at GT as well. That is very hard for me to gauge.

1. What are you most looking forward to seeing this year both in football/basketball?

KQ- Competent offenses in both. I think that has been an ongoing struggle for both in recent years.

2. How good is Malik Rutherford?

KQ- He is more talented than Nate McCollum, great speed and better hands, but is very slight of build. He is really good, I think the biggest concern is just can he hold up physically to playing 12+ games.

3. Thoughts on J Batt so far?

KQ- He has been great for me on my end. I think he has a plan like what I said about Key, he knows what he wants to do and is trying to accomplish it. He isn't shying away from the core issues either and he is working to creatively fix them and make GT competitive in the national landscape. How that works long term will determine how he is viewed historically.

4. We are seeing some of the former athlete's kids being recruited. Are there more in the pipeline we are unaware of?

KQ- Yeah, I see them all the time at lettermen stuff or whatnot. Genetics can help jumpstart a strong college athletics career.

5. If your kid is a 4/5 star stud athlete, what is the best piece of advice you give them?

KQ- Use a condom

6. For KQ and RJ, what is the funniest question a recruit asked you?

KQ- "Coach, can you help me get an offer?"

7. If Coach Key comes up to you and asks you what he could do differently, what would you suggest?

KQ- I think he needs to probably open up fall camp a bit for the media. I think that would help generate more interest ahead of the first game. I get why he had it closed in the spring and it is honestly good for me with my sources, but I think they need to be a little more open to contrast what is going on elsewhere in the state and generate more excitement.

8. What does the future of recruiting look like?

KQ- I'm waiting to see what coach (my money is on Lane Kiffin) starts using AI to offer players.

9. Do you think GT should work more on international recruiting? (Perhaps Sylvain and his success this year can help here.)

KQ- Yes, the issue is the gatekeeper for a lot of those kids is all about putting them at the biggest name school possible because that helps his business grow. That is not a slight on Brandon Collier, just the honest truth about his deal. So you have to be careful how you invest your time in those kids. I'd love to see a chart of how his kids are doing as well. That part I don't know, but GT should have a few international kids. I know Brandon is now working his way into Africa as well.

10. For both Football/Basketball, which current or recently graduated player do you believe would make a great coach?

KQ- That is a funny question because the guys I'd expect the least to become college coaches are the ones who have become coaches like Corey Dennis, David Sims, or Kyle Cerge-Henderson. The guy I think will get into coaching is probably Haynes King. Whether he would be good or not, I have no idea. I don't know him at all.

On the hoops side, I think Kyle Sturdivant could coach and he has a great personality that would do well on the recruiting trail.

With their being Co coordinators on both sides of the ball, do you expect one to be in the box and one on the field?

KQ- So to be clear, Buster is calling the offensive plays and Thacker the defensive plays. I would expect one of the COs to be in the box. I'd think that Buster and Sherrer will be in the box just my gut feeling because I think Thacker likes being on the field to call it and I think Weinke probably wants to be hands-on with his young QBs, but that is just a wild guess.

What does moving Fox to Wr on the board mean for us?

KQ- That is their recruiting pitch to him. They are selling him on being the next EJ Jenkins/Leo Blackburn and that is a tangible selling tactic. It would also mean to me if he commits they won't take a third HS tight end.

You mentioned something about Pj losing half a signing class due to drug policy, Can you touch more on that? Don’t remember that.

KQ- So GT started up this very aggressive drug testing policy during the MBob-era that was something that CPJ and everyone else around the program thought was crazy that was very aggressive. At a lot of geographically close schools, they test "randomly" but generally kids get a heads up a day before and/or they test the same person over and over. Will Bryan's dad used to joke his older son who played baseball at UGA got tested every week because he was one of the few non-potheads on the baseball team there at the time.

Without relitigating the past, GT or GT compliance or whatever put in this policy, and honestly the details of it I don't remember at this time, but it was one of the first things that ADTS nuked when he took over that basically kept testing guys over and over after a failed test. The 2013 class had five guys including all three DL signees bounced from this archaic policy. That is part of what bit them in the ass in 2015 and moving ahead. That class also had Travis Custis who had no business being in a college and was a complete inditement of the school system he came from. They signed 14 kids in that class and 7 of them were gone within a two-year window all basically outside of the control of the staff at the time. It was also one of the things that really bothered CPJ and put another chip on his long collection of chips on his shoulder.

Has committed to LSU.
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Becchetti finished the 2023 season with 13 HR, 54 RBI, and a .329/.438/.586 slash line.

Is known in baseball circles as a very strong defensive 2B.

Will have one year of eligibility.

THE FLATS – Ten Georgia Tech football student-athletes made a visit to spend time with young friends at Children’s Scottish Rite Hospital on Thursday. The visit came in conjunction with the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, which Tech will participate in its 2023 season opener on Sept. 1.



The Yellow Jackets that made the trip to Children’s Scottish Rite included defensive back LaMiles Brooks, running back Trevion Cooley, offensive lineman Weston Franklin, quarterback Haynes King, defensive back Jaylon King, tight end Dylan Leonard, quarterback Zach Pyron, wide receiver Malik Rutherford, running back Dontae Smith and defensive lineman Sylvain Yondjouen. They were joined by the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl’s official mascot, Huddles.



At Scottish Rite, the Yellow Jackets joined young patients in the hospital’s game zone where they did arts and crafts and played card games, basketball, foosball, air hockey, table tennis and golf. The Jackets also posed for photos and presented their friends with autographed footballs.



“It’s a really cool experience for us,” Leonard said. “These kids are going through these hard times and they keep such a happy attitude and a smile on their faces. It really puts things into perspective for our lives and when we go through hard times. It’s really awesome.”

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Mascot Dance, Drone Racing, Sustainable Solutions, Quiz Bowl, SAE Aero Advanced….**** yeah, to hell with Georgia

Former NC State IF Payton Green announced his commitment to Georgia Tech today.

Green started 54 games for NC State this season, batting .274 with 10 HR, 45 RBI, and 9 SB.

Started every game for NC State as a freshman as well.

Let’s do this.

I’ll go for an hour or so. Ask away

unfortunately, I do not think he is #1 on their board at the moment, he really enjoyed his private workout with Coleman. Looked good, but a little undersized compared to some other targets.

It is mostly for evals for 2026 and 2027 kids anyway. I got food poisoning from CFA of all places and have been sick as a dog since late last night.

Jones finished this season at the plate with 37 SB, a .336/.458/.431 slash line, and a 39/28 BB/K ratio.

On the mound, Jones pitched 17.2 innings, and finished with a 2.04 ERA, with a 19/5 K/BB ratio.

This is a really big get for GT.
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