Plus Brent Key’s media avail. Will be a busy afternoon on JOL.

I'll do my full thing later.

He was coy on Malachi Carter and Jeff Sims' injury status, said they are day-to-day. Joe Fusile is back with the team.

He declined to comment on Mike Daniels' situation other than to say he wishes him well. They will make a decision on the 10th coach AFTER the UVA game as this was unexpected.

He said UVA is really good at an obscure stat, 2nd and 3rd and 11 conversions top 4 in the country.

He said he is really excited for the kids to have a fun Thursday night game, said it is the best environment in the country and one of his favorite things about GT and they helped start the legacy of Thursday night football.

ATLANTA- Week two of the Brent Key era continued on Tuesday with a two-plus hour morning practice session and after practice, Key spoke with the assembled media to preview the Duke game and update the status of a few players.

"We have a one-game season coming up again this week and we have seven of them left and we have to play each week like it is its own season," Key said. "Play like there is nothing behind it and nothing in front of it and I think if those guys do that it will help bring it in focus and give them what they need to go out and execute the way they need to execute and prepare the way they need to prepare throughout the week of practice to play successfully on Saturday."

Star Tech free safety Jaylon King's season is at least on hold following a lower leg injury in the Pitt game that led him to leave the field. Key explained that King had surgery and is out this week.

"Jaylon got hurt in the Pitt game and he will be out this week. He has had surgery and he is a good football player and it is an unfortunate incident for Jaylon. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family moving forward," Key said.

When King went out of the game, true freshman Clayton Powell-Lee stepped in and played well at free safety. With more time to prepare this week, the Jackets could look at both Powell-Lee, strong safety Derrik Allen who knows both positions and Notre Dame transfer, Khari Gee, as potential free safety options.

"We have ample people in that position that we know are ready to step up and make plays as they did on Saturday," Key said.





Key's big mantra this week is the guys need to shut out outside noise. The team has not won back-to-back games since Nov. of 2018. Key said success is the enemy of success and there are so many things in kids' heads these days from social media and the outside and their job is to put the truth in front of them and get them to focus for practice and then on Saturdays.

Key said Duke is a good opponent and he is impressed with the job Mike Elko has done there this season and how disciplined they are in all phases of the game. They don't hurt themselves and they do not turn the ball over or commit many penalties. Duke is 4th in the country in turnover margin as well. KR/PR guys are dynamic and can flip the field easily.

Key likes their QB Riley Leonard and he can throw it and run well and they have some designed runs for him that are tough and he has a lot of moxie. He is like their point guard on the field running the offense.

Defensively he said Duke is very sound and he said they have two very good DTs. He said defensively they match your scheme well against formations and they get pressure on the outside receivers.

Key said they had some success stopping the run against Pitt, but Duke runs the ball in a very different way so it is something different they have to get ready for.

Key said they've changed some of the structure of practice now, but it is still just football, they changed the der of things or tweaked a few other things he thinks will be best for the program and the kids.

Key said they have to improve the pass protection for Sims and they had some communication issues in the game up front that led to some mistakes. He said they have to keep working the kids so they can take what they do from the practice field to the game field without short-circuiting. They had guys block the wrong way or slide protections the wrong way in the game and they are working to address that now.

Key said that Charlie Thomas has to keep playing with the fire he does and they are not going to worry about the targeting piece because they do not want to take away his aggressiveness. He is going to be a striker and they view him as a loaded weapon out there and he is working to avoid some of those things that led to targeting calls, but they still want him to be aggressive at the same time.

On Thacker and the defense, he said going into the Pitt game they said the defense group was going to be the fastest group on the field that day and they challenged them to play like that. They swarmed to the ball, created turnovers and they had a great game plan for Pitt. He said Thacker worked with coach Knight, coach Turner, coach Tillman and coach Semore (Boogie) to come up with the plan so the kids could play with clear heads and as fast as possible while still being able to make adjustments as needed. That is the "key to good defensive football is having 11 hateful guys going in the same direction as fast as they possibly can."

On Clayton Powell-Lee stepping up for Jaylon King, he said this isn't the YMCA and they don't just play guys because they are on scholarship. You don't deserve the right to play, you earn the right to play. CP Lee has become a better football player and he has a good understanding of the game and he is learning and growing within the scheme. He said he likes the younger guys to cut their teeth on special teams and often with young guys it is not physicality that leads them to playing a lot but their football intelligence and CP Lee picks it up clearly and easily, but he only has so many reps under his belt.

I asked Key about the fact they haven't won two games in a row since PJ left and he said success is the enemy of success and more people die going down Mount Everest than climbing up Mount Everest. He said when you start looking at what you've done in the past you are going to fall. He said they are focused instead of stacking days and focused on playing the best they can on Saturday.

The team practiced Monday for 1:10 and then did conditioning with Coach Lew, Key said everyone has been on time and working since he took over and they worked on the install for Duke in full pads today.

Key gave high praise to LB/Special Teams Coordinator Jason Semore. Key said when he dies his tombstone should read, "here lies a ball coach." He said that is the highest praise you can give a coach. Key said Semore has clawed his way up the ranks from D-2 to GA to analyst and he kept pushing and pushing. He took Valdosta State to the championship game last year as a DC and he connects with everyone on the team. He said when he approached Semore to be the special teams coordinator he already had 160-clip cutup prepared anticipating Key might ask him to do that. That shows his preparation and hard work. He had worked on it the night before anticipating Key would look to him for that.

Key also got very emotional when I asked him about Joe Fusile and Fusile's dad passing away, he said it is a tragedy and their thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.


OF NOTE:

Key has taken over the head coach office and gone are the peloton and self-help/new-age philosophy books Geoff Collins had on display and instead Key has his child's artwork and pics of his family along with normal work things.

Practice remains closed to the media and outsiders for the rest of the season.

Harsin’s last stand might be underway in Oxford. Ole Miss should be up 35-0 and it’s only 21-0

I think he nailed a way to raise a ton of money.

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech athletics mourns the loss of alumnus, football letterwinner and former assistant and head coach Bill Fulcher, who died on Friday. He was 88.



An Augusta, Ga. native, Fulcher enrolled at Georgia Tech in 1953 after playing football, baseball and running track at Academy of Richmond County, followed by one season of football at Darlington Prep School in Rome, Ga. He walked on to Tech’s football team but went on to earn a scholarship from head coach Bobby Dodd. A linebacker, Fulcher played in two Sugar Bowls and a Cotton Bowl and helped lead Tech to a 26-6-2 record in his three seasons with the Yellow Jackets (1953-55).



After graduating from the Institute in 1956, Fulcher went on to play three seasons for the National Football League’s Washington Redskins (1956-58) before enrolling in the U.S. Army, then beginning his coaching career at the high school level. He served three stints as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech (1963, 1966-67 and 1969) before being named head coach at the University of Tampa in 1971. A year later, he returned to Georgia Tech as head coach. He compiled a 12-10-1 record in two seasons at the helm at his alma mater (1972-73), before retiring from coaching after the 1973 season at the age of 39.



Following his retirement from coaching, Fulcher enjoyed a successful career in commercial real estate in Atlanta and Augusta. He also graduated from Augusta Law School in 1980. He was inducted to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.



Fulcher is survived by his wife, Bequi, five children and 11 grandchildren. The family will receive friends on Monday from 5-7 p.m. at Thomas Poteet & Son in Augusta. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday at the Storey Chapel of First Baptist Church of Augusta.

yeck.

Small slate, I'll try to update the standings while I watch games today.

Miami -7 vs VaTech
Miami- Bronston, Kelly, Russell, Sed
VaTech- Alex

NC State +3.5 vs Syracuse
NCSt- Bronston, Russell
Cuse- Alex, Kelly, Sed

Clemson -3.5 vs FSU
Clem- Bronston, Kelly, Sed
FSU- Alex, Russell

UNC -7 vs Duke
UNC- Kelly, Russell, Sed
Duke- Alex, Bronston

Let’s go!

I’ll do this until 5:15.

Fire Away

Just wondering how big of loss of daniels leaving will impact the team moving forward? In the running back room, their coaching and in recruiting?

Good afternoon. Hope you are all enjoying your Saturday afternoon. Just pulled into a pumpkin patch..

This week’s Q&A will take place TOMORROW at 4pm

You would think the folks who decide these things would look at our football schedule. But nope. Thursday night the end zones will be empty.

Right here:

I had a chance to talk to Pastner exclusively as well as in a group interview format. There are two videos coming from that once I get back to Atlanta as the wifi is dodgy here in the Westin Charlotte. I also spoke with Rodney Howard and Kyle Sturdivant one-on-one as well.

Rodney said they are no longer locked in on a big man coach and all three assistants and Pastner work with each group and they are changing how they practice a good bit as well. He said he has really enjoyed that. They are still using the Princeton system a good bit and he has improved a lot with his part in that, but he said they won't run it through the elbow as much and the team is going to run a lot more and play in transition more. Howard said he feels like he is building on how he ended the season in his offseason work.

Kyle said he has been learning yoga to improve his flexibility and stamina, he said he ran out of gas some last year when he had to play more when Deivon Smith was out with his concussion and he needed to play better and be able to play longer minutes.

Kyle said they really like the new guys Ja'von Franklin and Lance Terry. He said that people are sleeping on Terry a little bit and he will be a nice piece for this team as a guard this year and that Franklin is crazy athletic.

Both players spoke really highly of Jalon Moore and his development. They said he has really leveled up this offseason and they think he will be a major contributor in the near future. Pastner said Jalon has a chance to be as good as Moses Wright.

Pastner has been advocating an expansion of the NCAAT to 128 teams and he thinks that will help amp up interest in college basketball. He made a strong point about how the ACC almost ended up with just 3 teams in the NCAAT last year had VaTech won the auto-bid and another team could've pushed another ACC team off the bubble and then the ACC killed everyone in the NCAAT but because the ACC struggled in December, he said people viewed the league as down instead of having parity.

Pastner said they've opted to hold a scholarship #13 this season. He said it is hard to play that many guys and with the some guys having flex covid years like Terry, Sturdivant and Howard he likes having one to carry over. Franklin is the only guy out of eligibility on the entire roster after this year.

I asked Pastner about Cyril Martynov and he said he may end up playing this year before it is all said and done. He is a guy who will level-up next year because he needs a lot of work in S&C but he thinks he will be a player down the line.

Pastner said he has posters up in the facilities that say "the team is the star", he expects to have balanced scoring every night with some guys flashing here and there, but he does not want the team to play like they did with Mike Devoe and Jordan Usher were guys passed up good shots and opportunities to feed those two guys. He said he is really emphasizing that this year and he wants guys like Deebo Coleman and Miles Kelly to be more aggressive.

Pastner said that Deivon Smith had turned the corner before his concussion and that really set them back late in the year, but he has really been working hard and they are excited about him.

Tristan Maxwell who I get asked about most, Josh said he is doing all the right things and he knows what he has to do to play and stay in the rotation, but he has been handling his business so far.

Jordan Meka has worked hard and he learned a lot from his playing time last year, they are still working on his offensive game, but they feel like he can be a solid piece as a backup big man to Rodney Howard.

Franklin is really blue-collar and grinds hard, they like his game and he should help with rebounding.

Pastner hinted they will get away from the zone some this year and that the zone hurt them with rebounding and instead they'll play more man-to-man and use the zone as a changeup rather than their fastball in baseball terms. He said he wants to push tempo because this team can run so well.

Pastner said all three true freshmen who played last year are really developing well, Deebo, Miles and Jalon and that experience helped them and folks will see major improvement from all three.

Pastner said the offense has been a little ahead of the defense so far so earlier this week they spent 2 hours playing just defense and then a little shooting at the end to set the tone and expectation.

Pastner admitted he likes a 6-7 man rotation max, but they are going to be more like 9 this year because of the way the roster is built. He said they have enough talent to play that many guys and there is not huge separation that would lead to narrowing it down more than that either.

Pastner said that Freds Bagatskis can shoot the lights out of the ball, he just has never picked up a weight Pastner joked. They think he will develop into a good player eventually.

I asked Pastner about calling season ticket holders and he said if his bosses asked him to sweep the gym he would do that too. He is a team player and will do whatever it takes so they had a couple of people on the fence so he was happy to call and talk to them and ask for them to renew their tickets.

There will be more later, but I'm trying to hit the road ahead of rush hour!

… took me two hours, but I made it just as the second quarter got started.

Top OL target Gabe Fortson playing both ways tonight, showing some physicality that I’d been looking for from him.

DE/LB commit Jacob Cruz playing both ways as well. Has made some really good plays, including one that was a huge field position shift.

Cruz is wearing GT gloves. He’s someone that the staff covets, per my sources, and doesn’t want to lose.

S target Taye Seymore has been game-planned around, it seems. He’s finding his way near the ball on almost every play, but is not getting many opportunities. Really hope to see him get some more chances in the second half.

Star of the first half, in either side, is new RB target Keyjuan Brown. Kid is a threat every time he touches the ball. His feet move, quick. Especially for someone 5-foot-9, 205 pounds.

South Atlanta leads at halftime 16-6.

I can’t believe it’s only been 1 month since Me and my wife walked out of Bobby Dodd stadium thinking Ga Tech Football is broken and it’s gonna Be broken for a long time. It seems like an eternity ago now. A lot has changed since then and today I am more optimistic about GT than I have been in a really long time. Go Tech the future is bright!!!!

GEORGIA TECH NAMES J BATT NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
(Atlanta, Georgia, October 14, 2022) Today, Georgia Tech named J Batt as its new director of Athletics.
Batt is departing the role of executive deputy director of Athletics, chief operating officer, and chief
revenue officer at the University of Alabama and will join Georgia Tech on Oct. 24.

“We’re excited to welcome J to Georgia Tech. His leadership experience at one of the most competitive
programs in the nation and his extraordinary track record in fundraising and revenue generation will
bring great value to Georgia Tech,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. “As a former ACC
student-athlete, J has a keen appreciation for what it takes for students to compete at the highest level
while pursuing a degree at a top academic institution. He values and shares our culture of excellence
and integrity and our commitment to student well-being and success. I look forward to working with
him to secure and invest the resources necessary for a successful athletics program.”

As athletic director at Georgia Tech, Batt will report directly to Cabrera and serve as a member of his
cabinet. He will be responsible for planning, developing, administering, and advancing Georgia Tech's
intercollegiate athletic programs, with a focus on building an environment that inspires and empowers
student-athletes to be champions in academics, competition, and life.

“My family and I truly appreciate President Cabrera and his team for this opportunity, and we are
incredibly excited to join the Georgia Tech family,” said Batt. “I look forward to working with our
student-athletes, coaches, staff, supporters, and fans to reach new heights, on and off the field, and to
build on the rich tradition and history of this storied athletics department. We can’t wait to become a
part of the Atlanta community. Go Jackets!”

Batt was named the top candidate by Cabrera following a national search led by Parker Executive
Search. The selection process included interviews with a committee comprised of a coach, senior
athletics administrator, student-athlete, student-athlete alum, and faculty member who recommended
a set of finalists for consideration by the president. The board of trustees of the Georgia Tech Athletic
Association voted unanimously to approve Cabrera’s proposal to appoint Batt.

According to Nick Saban, University of Alabama’s head football coach, “Since arriving at Alabama, J has
positively affected our program through the success of the Crimson Standard Initiative while being a
trusted advisor to our athletic director, Greg Byrne, and an essential part of our administrative team. We
set a vision for the future of Alabama Athletics and Alabama football through the Crimson Standard and
J as well as his team delivered with impressive results.”

University of Alabama President Stuart R. Bell added, “Georgia Tech has made an outstanding hire in J
Batt. He is a rising leader within intercollegiate athletics and has made a great impact during his time at
the University of Alabama. He is a proven administrator and fundraiser and will be a great ambassador
for the Institute and the community.”

Batt joined the University of Alabama Athletics team as senior associate athletic director in 2017. He was
responsible for guiding revenue generating, including charitable giving, ticketing, Tide Pride, and other
revenue sources. He was promoted to COO and senior deputy athletic director in 2021 and to executive
deputy director, COO, and chief revenue officer in 2022. Batt oversaw the successful development,
implementation, and launch of the Crimson Standard, Alabama Athletics' 10-year, $600 million capital
initiative. He also provided day-to-day leadership of the department as a member of the Athletics
executive team and served as the sport administrator for men's basketball.

“J has been such a strong leader as part of our executive team at Alabama. He has incredible vision and
has done an outstanding job overseeing many areas of the department, beginning with development
when he arrived in 2017,” said Byrne. “He has done a masterful job with the operations of the
department. J has been involved in all of our major decisions and has provided constructive insight and
feedback to make us better. His experience working directly with our student-athletes, our coaches and
Athletics staff, university leadership, and fan base has prepared him well for this moment. We are
thrilled for J, his wife, Leah, and boys, Fitz and Graham. Georgia Tech made a home-run hire with J.”

Nate Oats, Alabama’s head basketball coach, said, “I am extremely happy for J, Leah, and their boys for
this opportunity. His work ethic, character, wisdom, and vision for the University of Alabama have been
great assets to our men’s basketball program, and we are thankful for everything he has done to help
our team and staff. I think he is a perfect fit at Georgia Tech, and I’m excited to see what the future
holds under his leadership.”

Previously, Batt was senior associate athletic director at East Carolina University and executive director
of the Pirate Club, a position he held from 2013 to 2017. As a member of the ECU athletics executive
leadership team, Batt oversaw a development operation that increased total fundraising in 2016 by
more than 60% over ECU's previous best year. He also served as an associate AD and executive director
of the Terrapin Club for the University of Maryland from 2011 to 2013. He joined the Terrapin Club staff
in 2009 and served as executive director beginning in September 2011. Before his tenure at Maryland,
Batt worked in athletics fundraising at James Madison University, the College of William & Mary, and his
alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A member of the Tar Heels' 2001 NCAA champion men's soccer team, Batt graduated from UNC with a
bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communications and a master's degree in sports
administration.

Just checking in to see what people are doing with the off Saturday. I just got back from Europe so a few of the boys club soccer games and probably roll up to a sports bar to catch some afternoon/evening games?

LEARN MORE ABOUT MYPERFRECTFRANCHISE.NET


I woke up to what I expected to be a quiet bye week Friday with date night plans with the wife to a flurry of texts about J Batt becoming the new AD at Georgia Tech. I'm a night owl as everyone knows so Russell was able to handle things well and I was sort of dead tired after a crazy first three months of the 2022 season. I came on posted some stuff and then I had to run some family errands (drug store, buy a sleeping bag for my oldest for a camp out he is doing this weekend, etc.) and my phone is on fire the whole time. Then I get a call from Russell about Mike Daniels. Neither of us saw the press release which Brett McMurphy passes off as his scoop which drives me nuts, if GT or any other school puts out a press release credit the freaking school. That is bush league.

J BATT HIRE

So I'll start with what I spent much of my morning making calls about, J Batt. I was told a few things from people high up on what to expect and I nailed one of the guys who fit that criteria and who GT spoke with, Zac Selmon from Oklahoma. I did not see J Batt or anticipate him because frankly, I don't spend a lot of time researching or thinking about ADs at other schools. I knew there were one or two names I was missing in the search and was pretty clear about that on here. I had some private conversations about that topic with some board insiders as well even as late as last night. Cabrera wanted someone on the younger side with fundraising experience and the ability to execute a long-term vision to make Georgia Tech competitive in the modern landscape (part of where Todd Stansbury fell down IMO). Batt and Selmon share a lot of overlap, but Batt actually has ACC experience of more than one year, played soccer at UNC worked at Maryland when they were still in the ACC and then helped raise money at ECU which is no small feat.

At Alabama Batt has raised nearly $600 million for something they call the Crimson Standard a 10-year fundraising project in Tuscaloosa.

The one thing that stood out to me reading up on Batt that would make some sense at Georgia Tech is what he did at ECU. At ECU he helped run their financial arm of athletics called the Pirate Club and he opened satellite offices and worked to develop the donor base beyond just doing everything out of the central office in their case Greenville, NC. He also helped renovate several key buildings including the football stadium which is actually pretty nice with the exception of the visiting media area which is the worst I've ever seen. It is a crawlspace under the stands outside the locker room. I was there last year.

I spoke to some sources who were involved in some degree to what was going on with the AD Search but had to keep me in the dark about things. One said that Batt is a great hire and fits exactly what Cabrera was targeting. He won't be biased one way or the other toward Brent Key either. He is apparently very data-driven and is a business person and apparently he is determined to get Georgia Tech a seat at the table in whatever happens in the NCAA landscape with CFB in the future.

In some ways this is similar to hiring Dan Radakovich out of LSU only Batt is about 7 years younger (I think he is 40 or 41) than D-Rad was when GT plucked him. HIring someone from a successful organization who is data-driven and has a lot of experience fundraising and is also considered an up and comer.

I think it is a smart hire, obviously, we will see what happens when he gets to the keys to the building.

MIKE DANIELS RESIGNATION

This certainly caught all of us off-guard. Russell has known Mike for years and I had a ton of mutual friends so we had a close working relationship since he came to Tech. He is a really nice guy, I hope there is nothing bad going on. I've talked to Mike but not about what led to him resigning. I wanted to give it a minute to breath and I wanted to hear from some other sources what the GT side of the situation is. I like to try to have things covered on both sides before I share things with the board.

Daniels came into a situation with huge shoes to fill with Tashard Choice leaving for USC then Texas. He has been a solid recruiter, though not on Choice's level IMO and the players worked hard for him. My initial conversations with some people at Tech indicated this was a surprise move. I think if Brent Key wanted to make a change there he would've done it on Monday and not waited until the end of the week just before the team starts preparations for UVA as this creates a distraction.

I've received a ton of calls and texts from people who know Mike from other places wondering what happened as well, so clearly, this was a surprising development.

Login to view embedded media
Not sure if this was mentioned

So this week I've been told Georgia Tech is in the interview phase after moving on from former Auburn AD Allen Greene. Sources indicate that Mike Buddie is among those in serious discussions/interview phase with Tech now.

I had to dig a little deeper into Buddie since I was a little dismissive of him at first. He is well-liked by several coaches I know and respect who worked with him and both Army and Wake Forest. Apparently, he is a tremendous fundraiser and was able to leverage a small group of boosters at Furman for major dollars as well as what he has raised at Wake and is now at Army. He did not hire Jeff Monken at Army and has apparently had no issues working with him so if Brent Key ends up the guy he already has experience dealing with not picking his football coach. I believe GT has interviewed Buddie at this point.

I think Charlie Cobb is still in the mix and I think Zac Selmon remains sort of a wild-card candidate. A buddy of mine who covers a lot of these type of searches nationally said he is certain GT will likely talk to a few of the Parker favorites (guys they typically push for these types of jobs) as well. He thought that is how Greene came onto the GT radar as well.

Every single booster and source I talk to has a different opinion on what should be done so that is also sort of interesting as well.

There remains a strong push to keep Brent Key if he can keep the team competitive and finish the season well. One source told me financially and really for the fan base Key doing well and taking the job for a while would be the best thing for GT because no one cares more about Georgia Tech than Key and he lacks Geoff Collins' ego when it comes to doing whatever is best for the program.

Key has his staff out on the road today for the first time since the change. The reception has been warm from HS coaches I've spoken to and according to my sources. There is a ton of support for Key and for this staff to do well in the HS ranks.

I had one of the strangest calls of my life yesterday from a colleague at Rivals telling me a recruit's dad said that Dell McGee told him he has made a deal to be the next head coach at Georgia Tech. This is the ultimate in Fake News, but it just goes to show how much bad info is out there right now. Georgia Tech has no football coach search going as of right now. No one has been offered anything nor will anyone be offered anything until an AD is hired and that process begins. I just am sharing this because this is the type of stuff I am dealing with and the fires I put out every day right now.

I get asked a lot about Josh Pastner's status as well, like I've said if they want to do something there, they'll need a major investment there and they would need to lay that groundwork now with NIL in particular if they want to lure someone perceived as an upgrade. There is little desire at the moment to do anything with Pastner, but he knows he needs to get them back into the mix for some type of postseason this year and schedule that way. I think if they have a bad year then the heat is coming, but I actually think he team will finish in the 8-11 spot in the ACC this year.

Also, Kalani Norris is no longer on the football team and has been removed from the RR roster online. He has not dressed the last two games because "he was not on the travel roster." He wants to preserve his redshirt and will transfer. Not sure when he will actually hit the portal.

Keep this here, don't put my stuff out as your own as that is stealing and if I catch you will end up handing out with Zed, Maynard, and the Gimp.