I linked the two other important things from today, but I wanted to focus on just football for the notes and quotes

Key talks about Leo Blackburn's injury and future

Click here to watch Brent Key share his thoughts on the Nashville shooting.

Key was unhappy with Monday's practice and said it was rusty. He said that he challenged the coaches to prepare them better because the players perform based on how the coaches prepare them along with effort. He said the effort is good, but it is not always smart effort. He said they had the first fully live segments today of tackling.

The team was in full pads again on Wednesday and Key said the defense was very sloppy with poor tackling and bad fits being a major issue. He said having one person tackle with a solid wrap up was an issue. He said the middle of the defense is brand new with Charlie Thomas and Ayinde Eley gone and the offensive side is more experienced with Zach Pyron and Weston Franklin so the offense has an advantage with communication even with the new scheme. Other than LaMiles Brooks and the guys in the back end that LB piece with new guys has some growing pains. He said that there is a lot of hidden yardage for both sides of the ball they have to find, but the defense is giving that up too much and they've got to practice the right way to fix that.

Offensively he said that sustaining blocks, block on the perimeter and make a person miss was not where he wanted it to be.

He said every game has a chance to come to down to 3rd and 1 or 3rd and 2 situations and someone wins and someone losses and people have to be held accountable for what happens. You have have all the calls and special fronts and blitzes, but if you don't execute, if you don't get lined up wright and get their hands inside of a block and sustain it they won't be able to get that yard. The toughness to be able to run it successfully when everyone knows you are going to run is something they have to build. Same with covering kicks or anything else. He wants to see toughness from his team in every aspect of the game.

Key said the WR position they are not worried about the portal internally at the moment, he is just coaching with the guys they have and he has been pleased with the effort and performance so far and getting more speed at the WR position. He likes the guys they have coming in later like Chase and Zion so he is hoping to see progress.

They are still actively working on multiple WR targets in the portal though including the one they just offered and former UGA WR Dominick Blaylock. GT is considered the leader for Blaylock, but SC is poking around now as well. There will be more WRs who enter the portal in the next window as well that could be in play.

Key said the chemistry within the coaching staff is growing, but that also takes time. He said there are a lot of alpha personalities so you have to balance that and help coaches grow.

Key said that Leo Blackburn is probably out for the entire year, maybe the postseason or really late in the year, but that just depends on the doctors, but they are not counting on him playing, they just expect him to come back faster and stronger.

I asked Key about Kevin Sherrer's comments about every day being a first for Key in year one as a HC and Key shared that he keeps a to-do list every day and at the bottom he has an OH CRAP list that is empty at the start of the day for emergencies that pop up and by the end of every day that is completely full. He said right now he is learning that it is a lot about how he reacts to sudden issues and managing his time so that every minute of his day is accounted for and handled the right way and prioritizing things. He said it tough to pick which fires to put out sometimes and he hates when he can't be efficient and what is worse than that is when the staff isn't efficient. He said he spends a lot of time working on improving his staff's efficiency at things and working on his learning curve as a first-time HC.

Key said the early enrollees are doing a nice job and getting a lot of reps in practice. The speed of the game is so different so that is an adjustment from HS to college and the level of competition so they have to continue adjusting to that as well.

Unlike his predecessor Key is focusing a lot on special teams this spring and he said it is all about finding the best 11 for those units. He talked about how Julio Jones at Alabama was on kickoff coverage or Trent Richardson being a beast on kickoff coverage and that every starter other than the QB is fair game to play on any special teams unit and is expected to compete for those jobs, "our best players are our best players for a reason and they need to go play."

I know that contributions to the Tech Fund are not tax deductible, but I never have had a problem with contributions to A-T until this year. When I requested my annual contribution to A-T be made from my Schwab Donor Fund, Schwab contacted me back and said because I get "priority points" with that contribution, it doesn't qualify as a charitable gift unless I specifically state that I do not want the benefits that come with the contribution.

Has anyone else had any problems with this before?

I don't know how they would put a value on priority points to exclude that value from the gift. I went ahead and agreed to state (in the Schwab letter to A-T) that I would forego the "points".

Wondering how this is being handled at all other NCAA schools that give preference to donors??

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Others include-

2023 Wetumpka K/P Logan Weighall
2024 Luella ATH Chaynce Ingram
2024 Marist DE/LB Luke Harpring

Won’t be able to watch at all due to Emory having a game, but the lineup is out-
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Not sure how to feel about it, honestly. Tweets are from an 8 tweet thread

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Tampa Catholic (Ga.) OG Eddy Pierre-Louis was extremely complimentary of GT and their recruitment at the Rivals Camp in Miami on Sunday.
Login to view embedded media From what I’ve gathered he brought them up on his own, which is a sign that they are currently in the picture in some capacity.

He’s planning to get to Atlanta soon, and as the son of a mother with a business degree, has a significant level of interest in learning more about the program GT offers.

When either KQ or I mention that there are a ton of kids keeping an eye on GT, following their progress, etc. this is exactly what we are talking about.

The wonderful Bryce Koon retweeted a crowded booth tweet claiming he tore his ACL again. This true?

Three-star CB Brandon Nicholson details what stood out during his recent visit to Georgia Tech. Yellow Jackets among six schools he's considering.

https://therefrigeratormover.com/f/starting-from-the-beginning

Good read so far. Looking forward to more posts from him.

https://therefrigeratormover.com/f/my-journey-to-georgia-tech

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California University of Pennsylvania WR JaQuae Jackson. 6-foot-3, just under 200 pounds.

Career stats- 148 catches, 2,120 yards, 23 TD in 29 games.

Jackson had two rushing TD, 13 receiving TD last season, with 77 catches for 1178 yards as well.

Tragic situation and wanted to remind everyone to hug their loved ones. Still shook up about what happened to him and Gowdy.

Thanks to “coach Gantt” for having all the local law enforcement workers out to UGA for Law Enforcement VIP event day. Interesting that “Coach Gantt” has such a heart for local law enforcement. 🙄

New era, new stage!!! With Brent taking over and I know some are very skeptical about him because of his OL play! I firmly believe we will go bowling.

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Discuss…

The Yellow Jackets football program went back to work after a 10-day break on Monday morning. Head coach Brent Key and his staff aimed to knock the rust off the players after spring break. After practice defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker and co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer spoke to the media. This was the first time Thacker spoke to the media since Geoff Collins was fired and it was Sherrer's first media avail at Tech.

Thacker spoke about the changes with the staff on the defensive side of the ball namely the dismissal of Larry Knight and David Turner plus Jason Semore's departure to become the DC at Marshall and the additions of Marco Coleman back this time as the sole DL coach and Sherrer coming in to work with the LBs as well as the addition of Brian Baker as an analyst to work with Coleman on the DL.

"Coach Key made some tough decisions and did a great job of building out the staff," Thacker said.

Thacker said that Sherrer's value is hard to measure right now because he has so much experience at every level including the NFL and brings a lot of knowledge and fire to the room.

He said having Marco Coleman is huge and that Marco grew tremendously as a coach in his one year at Michigan State away from GT, he is really impressed with seeing how he has improved.

Thacker said having Brian Baker on the staff now is a game-changer because he has 20 years of NFL experience and can really help Coleman develop the DL.

Thacker said having guys with those three's level of experience and even NFL experience is really big for him and for Travares Tillman the lone holdover.

Thacker said he feels like he has built a strong level of trust with coach Key and was honored that he was kept on staff and he gave him really clear guidelines for what he wants to see from the defense, but they have the freedom to figure out how to to get there as well. He really is enjoying the freedom that coach Key has given the defensive staff to execute and make decisions to build the team in Key's image.

Thacker said that replacing Keion White is obviously something folks will want to talk a lot about given his likely status as a 1st round pick now, but they have 7 of the 8 DE rotation guys back and they added Etinosa Rueben who was a situational pass rusher at Clemson. He along with Sylvain Yondjouen and Joshua Robinson are the core at the field end spot. They are trying to make Reuben into more of an every down type player.

The LB situation and replacing Charlie Thomas and Ayinde Eley is more difficult and their leadership and what they bring to the table. They like the two transfers Andre White (TAMU) and Braelen Oliver (Minn) and they are both competing well out of the box.

The big question about how Jaylon King, LaMiles Brooks and Clayton Powell-Lee fit together was asked and the answer was what I figure it would be, they can rotate them. King got hurt in the Pitt game and Powell-Lee ended up starting the rest of the season and doing great work in his place and LaMiles ended up playing some NB at times because of injuries when KJ Wallace got hurt so they are aiming to have a rotation with four to five guys for 3 spots, the two safety spots and nickel between King, Brooks, Powell-Lee and Wallace. The other guy in the mix heavily with nickel is Rodney Shelley Jr. as well and he got to play a little as well. He is their slot corner guy behind Wallace when they play teams with a dynamic slot and Shelley is probably their dime guy as well (Thacker didn't say it, but you can piece it together). Thacker is really excited about that group.

I asked Thacker about the lack of production from the rush end spot relative to the rest of the DL where the field ends and DTs were extremely productive last year. He said that is still the same three guys, Noah Collins, Kevin Harris and Kyle Kennard and all three are rolling with the ones and twos. Thacker said that position is the most complex spot in their defense and Coleman is working to develop them so they can finish more plays and make TFLs and get sacks and more pressures, but they have to be able to cover and help in the run game more as well. He expects more from that group this year.

At CB, Thacker said that Myles Sims has been banged up and they just got him back out there a little today despite being in a red jersey. Sims is one starter and that Kenan Johnson is mainly working behind him and has had some really good practices. Kenyatta Watson II is right now penciled in as the starter replacing Zamari Walton. Shelley is also involved some at CB as well but he has a lot techniques he has to learn to play slot cover.

I asked Thacker about moving away from the Kaleb Edwards-sized nickels to a true slot corner type and that evolution and he said that the way teams play with 11-personnel and really dynamic slots drove some of that because it was better to have KJ Wallace matched up on a dynamic slot in coverage than a bigger guy. He said before they'd get thrown into some weird matchups in the boundary with their nickels and he would rather sub and go 4-3 or even 3-4 when teams are going two tight ends. When they do that Oliver becomes a SAM linebacker and Treniylas Tatum or Tyson Meiguez can replace him as the WLB. He feels like they are better off matching personnel.

Thacker said he has really enjoyed working with Sherrer and having a guy who has gone through his path of coaching at all three major levels, HS, college and the NFL is great. He said that Sherrer is also very honest and he will sometimes ask Thacker if he wants to hear the truth or not and he knows that whatever he asks he will get a straight honest answer and he joked sometimes he skips asking him that when he responds like that. Thacker said that Sherrer has really strong coaching abilities and one of the first things they worked on was fixing the mechanics of a play they got beat on a lot (I assume he is talking about the zone blitz vs the wheel route) and what the players need to do and how they communicate the response to that play call against that look.

My wife and I are looking for our first house. We currently live in Alpharetta but cannot really afford a quality house here 😂 my wife works in Canton and I work in Sandy Springs so we have to be kind of in between. We have looked in Cumming but there’s not a lot available yet. Anyone live in Woodstock and can give me an idea of good areas there?

LHP Camron Hill will get the start against Georgia State, who are throwing Brooks Gorman in their matchup at Coolray.

Gorman enters action with a 7.62 ERA, giving up 14 runs (11 earned) in 13 IP. 13/8 K/BB ratio.

Hill enters action with a 9.00 ERA, giving up 5 runs in 5 IP. 7/5 K/BB ratio.

First pitch 6pm

Andrew Thacker

Kevin Sherrer

I’m still scratching my head trying to understand how in one week or less an interim coach takes the same players, same coaching staff, etc. on the road to Pittsburgh and pulls off an upset. Granted Collins was a clown show and Pittsburg was not the 1985 Chicago Bears. And subsequent games we did not show well, but we all know Collins would not have beaten Pitt on the road. Was it the players did not believe in Collins? Did Key change schematics and approach to game planning and management? I’m very bullish on Coach Key, but it is hard for me to understand what changed in one week to make a difference?

I’d be interested in others insight and opinions.

For anyone wondering, I’ve confirmed that WR signee Zion Taylor did not end up enrolling early. Both he and Bryce Dopson will be in attendance for practice today.

Recruits visiting today-
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https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2024/josiah-davis-277380
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2024/jayce-mitchell-287844
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/jiquavious-marshall-302325?view=pv
https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/harper-holloman-301659?view=pv
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2024/jamie-tremble-291321

2025

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Sure got sick of hearing the SEC & BIG10 was NCAA BBall Elite. 8 teams invited from both conferences and Zip in final 8.

Braves getting another ring this year?

KQ- Maybe, I’m going on a limb and saying it won’t be the Mets.

Will you and/or Russell be going to Dublin in 2024? Since you were there last time, any good stories you can share (or maybe haven't shared) from the experience before? If so, I'm all ears

KQ- I’ll be there, Russell I would doubt will be there as that is not really in his lane. Also, I don't think his family can deal without him for that long.

On cool stuff to do check out the thread announcing the trip. People weighed in including me with stories. It is worth the expense to go.

With football and basketball turned over with what looks to be a 180 degree change in terms of attitude and expectation, what is the vibe on the inside at the AA?
To me it feels like the fanbase wants to be very excited but we’re a bit gunshy as a whole. It won’t take much for excitement to explode though since we’re starving for positivity!

KQ- I think people are always excited about changes and nervous and other things. I can’t speak for a fast organization like the whole of the AA, but most people are really curious/excited to see how this all works out. Key is obviously something that was easy to get behind internally. Firing Pastner and hiring Stoudamire is more of a big question because it wasn’t a hire that was a sure bet. Batt is betting on Stoudamire to an extent, but also limiting GT’s financial exposure at the same time while he tries to fix that area. He made a business decision there straight up, firing Josh was pretty much all about two things his roster management and the dwindling ticket sales. Will Stoudamire move the needle? Can he win quickly? Those are the questions that people taking a step back are asking.

Which team practice is The Minister of Mayhem visiting next week?

KQ- I would doubt it is Alabama, I have a really good idea of what Nick Saban things of him.

Which GT basketball players do you think will be entering the transfer portal?


KQ- I got asked this last week, it is really disrespectful to the players on the team to be like I think player X, Y and Z is leaving or A, B and C are staying. Please try to respect that part of this, I have to deal with these young people, their families and the GT staff so I’m not interested in being a jerk.


Do you think Stoudamire will be a better recruiter than Pastner?

KQ- I think it all depends on Damon and on paper Josh was the better recruiter, that is how he made his bones as a coach and until he got to GT he routinely was landing top talent and in the mix for Rivals top 50 players at Memphis. The restrictions place on him when he was hired and him adhering to those lead to some rough seasons, but also the ACC Tournament Championship and some other bright spots with the get old model. Stoudamire had some success as a recruiter and has a lot to sell, but he also hasn’t had the restrictions that come with the GT job either.



You have probably already answered this question awhile back but I can’t remember! Is Franks ok? Still with the team? He’s on the roster but haven’t heard to much about him.

KQ- Khatavian Franks is recovering from an injury. He has spent almost his entire GT career either injured or on a leave of absence from the team at this point so if you get anything out of him that is a bonus.

Are you hearing of any changes Battman has made in the org chart in the GTAA offices relative to marketing, promotions, sales, etc.? The new Georgia's Own announcement is, obviously, a new & good move, & appears to be a small step in the right direction. Hopefully, it is symbolic of what is to come. Any light to be shed (yet) or should we be patient & sit back & watch JBatt & the "new" GTAA operate?

KQ- They have parted ways with some people and he has changed some roles. I’m sure it is an ongoing process as he evaluates everyone in the org. Some people have seen their roles change for sure though. I know that revenue streams is a key piece of things and Batt will aim to keep putting money through the funnel.

How do you get in contact with kids like the Yale kid in the portal? What is that process?

KQ- Trade secrets. We have databases with numbers, the ability to get numbers from other people and other ways to get in contact with players. It really depends on the kid. There could be handlers, a parent or the kid himself or a coach. It is very random in men’s basketball.

Idk if you can get a read on it this early into Spring practice but how much of Brent Key's gameplan feels unique to him. Things like the roles he has hired so far being firsts for GT or re-introducing them, the vibe of practice, team meetings or what have you. How many of the decisions so far seem to come directly from already successful programs like Bama, UGA or somewhere else? Just trying to get an idea of how much he is trying brand new things he has thought up from his past experience. Or anything so far that has made you stop and be like "Oh wow, I never thought of doing it like that"

KQ- We haven’t seen enough of anything yet to have a take on how he does things. GT practice looked like a normal college practice that I saw CPJ or Mark Richt or others run. He has taken pieces of GOL and pieces of Saban though for sure. He will admit that freely. I don’t think he has any intention of reinventing the wheel. We just saw for 3.5 years what happens if you do that without a track record of actual success doing that.

Why can’t we just let the Collins mess go? I understand his lack of Coaching skills or being upset over the buyout but he keeps living because GT as a group keeps talking about him.

KQ- Man people were still stuck on GOL during the CPJ era and stuck on Bill Lewis and other shit. It is a message board, it is what people do. Eventually it will quiet down, but I remember how pissed and how long it lasted after Paul Hewitt got fired with the evergreen deal. GT people hate wasting money and hate incompetence and Geoff checked both boxes along with the former AD so they will be dragged for a long time IMO.

Full Release



GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior outfielder Jake DeLeo (Norwalk, Conn./Avon Old Farms School) earned Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week honors for his terrific series against Clemson, the league announced Monday.



DeLeo helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a series win over the Tigers, hitting .500 on the weekend with six hits, three doubles and two home runs for three RBI. He slugged 1.250 with a .600 on-base percentage versus the Tigers and struck out just once on the weekend while drawing three walks.



For the week, the Norwalk, Conn. native hit .444 with three home runs and seven total extra-base hits.



DeLeo is having a sensational junior campaign that includes a team-best .436 batting average that ranks third in the ACC and top-25 nationally. He also leads the conference in hits (44) and total bases (79), ranks second in doubles (11), fifth in slugging percentage (.782) and sixth in home runs (8).



DeLeo and Georgia Tech head out for another four-game road swing, beginning on Tuesday, March 28 against Georgia State. The game will be played at Coolray Field, home of the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett Stripers, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.

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Looks like GC3 has effectively brainwashed Pate. Starts around 3:45. Didn't Collins post some shit about going into his studio or something?