This would be 100% me if I hit the billion dollar lotto. I would purchase GT a natty.

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First off, I love Russell, he is like family to me, and hopefully will stay that way for the rest of our lives. This has been a very tough week for me personally and Russell as well and I appreciate all the questions about what I'll do next and all of that. I will answer as best I can. This was totally unexpected for everyone including Russell's own family so I'm trying to figure out the best move(s) for the site and how to best serve you all. I want to thank everyone on here. My plan is to keep building and building this thing up and I'm not stopping, I'm not slowing down and my promise to you is I will do everything in my power to make this the best GT site and best GT coverage you can find anywhere. That was my goal on Day 1 back in 2009 when we had a very small site and we are now the market leaders and that will be the way as long as I do this.

So thanks for helping make the site and helping make this the best place for GT fans on the web,

KQ

Maybe I missed it, but is there a person who will be assisting you with recruiting info from the kids contact side?

KQ- Yes, but as I said above I'm not going to rush into just hiring a random person. Russell did a great job and I want someone who will do a great job on here. I'm also thinking about how it will work and what exactly I'm looking for on the content end.

How many recruits will bail on us now that Russell is chasing family NIL?

KQ- That's funny. I'm wondering how long it will take me to get him to do some unfiltered stuff on the GC3 era on here or Youtube. There are some great stories we haven't told.

Just curious man, any early plans on backfilling Russell? I’m sure having him cover the bulk of day to day recruiting was a nice breath of fresh air

KQ- It was definitely a huge relief to have someone handling that and someone who I had complete confidence in. For those who jumped in later on the site after Geoff was hired, I brought Russell back into the fold during that stretch as the site had grown enough to have a second person in a prominent role and recruiting had picked up. I covered the previous 9 years with different interns, part-time help sometimes and mostly on my own for large stretches. Russell and I worked together and shared sources, but the reality is it is a hard job and a grind and Russell is about the 50th person I know to have that same epiphany and it is the first thing most guys I know do when their sites take off. It is a grind, but I am capable of backfilling in the interim and then once I have someone I'm ready to hire, you all will have a new recruiting guy to follow.

Any hints about upcoming commitments? Any insight on inside linebacker recruiting?

KQ- Isaiah Mizell is expected to commit to Arizona as of now. I think Blake Belin is the guy I'm watching most closely at the moment. That could heat up this coming week as he gets closer to his decision. As far as other upcoming commits, that is it for the moment. They want to solidify the OL and DL class in July thought. There are a bunch of other guys planning to do something in August.

On the LB situation, they are still on TD Daniels hard and AJ Rice and I expect there will be some new targets that emerge once the dead period ends.

What do you think will be the determining factor against FSU?

KQ- My main thing will be how the defense contains FSU. It is going to be a weird game. Every game I've watched played in that stadium has been a strange game as it is a very different atmosphere, a different time of day to be playing and the whole trip can be a lot for kids who often haven't even left the Southeast let alone traveled abroad. So that and how long does it take the GT offense to get back in sync and pick up where they left off? If the run game is there from the jump that will be huge.

So…not wanting to be that guy… with you being on vacation…but do you have a guy to replace RJ?…if not who are the candidates?..,were you blindsided?…who are your top replacements?… & why?

KQ- Very much being that guy, but it is okay, this is a big shakeup. As Russell would tell you and as I would, we were a great team and really killed it. I covered a lot of this up top and I'm working on who I want to hire. The good news is, we will not be lacking in scoop. That is and will be the backbone of the site and I'm as plugged as I've ever been. That hasn't been an issue. It won't be one now.

As far as who I want to hire, I'm working on that right now. I got some good advice from friends and regulars on here about how to go about my process and what I want/need. Luckily I've been building up the Bama site back up and I learned a lot from mistakes and successes as we worked on that front and what I'm looking for in people who work for me.

In the future, what do you see happening next? GT men’s football or men’s basketball national championship. If you’re feeling bold, give the year we win as well

KQ- I think basketball is much more likely just given the recent history of the two sports. You only need three special players and good role players in basketball to win a title along with some luck and clutch shooting. I think football is a tougher road and now with the expanded playoff that will likely test depth and hurt teams that aren't as stocked. We shall see, but that is my answer in July of 2024.

Latest odds..

O/U season win total: 4.5
FSU game: FSU -13.5

Would love your thoughts

KQ- I'd jump on 4.5, there will be a black Sunday/Monday if GT wins under 5 games this season. I think Key would fire your mom. lol.

On the FSU game, I got no clue. I think almost 14 points is a big number with GT having a returning offense intact and FSU having to rebuild so much on offense. However, FSU has a boatload of talent so I get the love and I think most early week one, two or three games are sucker bets because no one has any clue anymore who is good or bad that early on in the portal age.

If you could interview a past historical person, who would it be and why? Doesn’t have to be related to sports.

KQ- My gut answer and I'm not a particularly religious man would be Jesus Christ. I think that would be fascinating. Hopefully, I'll have that opportunity in the afterlife. More in my wheelhouse, there are a few people that come to mind. The first one is Eddie Van Halen who was an utter genius and I would love to hang in his studio if he was alive and see him play and go through their songs. As much as I love Rush, the genius of Eddie's playing and songwriting is on a different level. The other music person would be Neil Peart the drummer from Rush who is one of my personal heroes RIP. In the sports world, Ted Williams is the first person I think of, Babe Ruth would be very interesting as well.

What would be your last meal and drink request?

KQ- Honestly my Jamaican chef buddies, Jerk Pork with Rice and Peas, Spicy Squash, Cornbread, a beef patty and his special sweet tea. I make a drive to Athens probably 10-12 times a year to eat it. He has been feeding me more meals than my own mom over the last 25 years. lol.

If I was going to have something other than sweet tea, a Mexican Coke would probably be nice.

Kelly, I have been wondering about this for a very long time. Seems over the course of many years there is always a chorus of those that believe there is bias in ACC office around GT football scheduling. Certainly there has been cause for the thought and not so much “homer” issues, but really wondering if there is something to this or just us enjoying the ability to bitch about the schedule each year. Do you have any evidence of bias or where you think it would have originated? Thank you….

KQ- So this is an interesting thing to go back and look at. I'd have to research each time they redid the scheduling model and how GT's strength of schedule looked compared to other ACC teams each time and you could base that off the prior two-year run by the teams they were assigned to play. I wonder if there is a legit bias at play. CPJ thought they definitely were ****ing with GT and everyone kept having bye weeks or buy-games the week before playing GT and had research to back it up and that is why they passed that rule about how teams couldn't have multiple byes all against the same team in conference play. He was always running hot about that particular issue.

Trying to bring back more WAR ROOMs and get back to the roots a little bit of what we do here. Remember the WAR ROOM content stays on JOL.


July should be an active month for Georgia Tech as Brent Key tries to put a bow on an already impressive recruiting haul with a few key targets.

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You can’t make this shit up. GT will play 1/3 of the watchlist this fall.

Recaps his OV and talks about how he wanted Derry Norris Jr. to come to GT

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s annual takeover day on ACC Network is set for Tuesday, July 9.



Many of Tech’s most memorable games from throughout the 2023-24 academic year will be replayed on ACCN during the Yellow Jackets’ takeover day, highlighted by thrilling football wins over No. 17 North Carolina (5 a.m.), UCF in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (10 a.m.) and at No. 17 Miami (7 p.m.).



Georgia Tech takeover programming also includes a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents for both men’s basketball (3 p.m. vs. North Carolina and 10 p.m. vs. Mississippi State) and volleyball (8 a.m. vs. Louisville and 1 p.m. vs. Florida), baseball’s sweep-clinching rout over eventual College World Series participant NC State (12 a.m.), softball’s ACC Tournament victory over Virginia Tech (3 a.m.) and women’s basketball’s overtime triumph over Miami (5 p.m.).



For more on ACC Network, visit getaccn.com.



2024 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS

Season Tickets

2024 Georgia Tech football season tickets are on sale now and include the best seats for the Yellow Jackets’ six-game home slate, which features Atlantic Coast Conference showdowns against Duke, NC State and Miami (Fla.) at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field and Tech’s highly anticipated matchup with Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Season ticket packages begin at just $225. Click HERE to become a season ticket member today.



Three-Game Mini-Plans

Three-game mini-ticket plans to catch the exciting action of Georgia Tech football in 2024 are on sale now. Mini-plans include a ticket to the Yellow Jackets’ highly anticipated showdown versus Notre Dame on Oct. 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Sept. 14 Military Appreciation Day home game versus VMI and the choice of either the Oct. 5 ACC matchup versus Duke or the Nov. 21 primetime ACC battle against NC State. Click HERE to purchase a three-game mini-plan.



Single-Game Tickets

Single-game tickets for Georgia Tech’s five home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2024 – Aug. 31 vs. Georgia State, Sept. 14 vs. VMI, Oct. 5 vs. Duke, Nov. 9 vs. Miami (Fla.) and Nov. 21 vs. NC State – are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking HERE.



At this time, the only way to guarantee tickets for the Yellow Jackets’ home showdown versus Notre Dame on Oct. 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is through season tickets or a three-game mini-plan.

I did this last year so thought I'd revisit for anyone who has the time and interest to dig into it. Will start with QB and skill pos players and then do Lineman and back-7 defense later this week.

I pulled up the NFL offensive skill guys and where they ranked in 2023 production. Fantasy rankings, of course, for offense!

Did top 20 QB, RB, WR and top 10 TE.

Anyone with a 3-star (sub 5.8 rating from Rivals) is bolded.

OBSERVATIONS FROM 70 PLAYERS LISTED...
(11) 5 stars (6.1) for total % of 15.7%
(23) 4 stars (5.8-6.0) for total % of 32.9%
Remainder of 3 star and below made up 51.4% total of NFL elite
(23) 3 stars (5.5-5.7) for total of 32.9%
(13) 2 stars / UR (5.4 and below) for total% of 18.6%

Ten of the top 20 most productive QBs last year were 3 star or below coming out of HS.
Eleven of the top 20 most productive RBs last year were 3 star or below coming out of HS.
Thirteen of the top 20 most productive WRs last year were 4 star or above coming out of HS.
Eight of the top 10 most productive TEs last year were 3 star or below coming out of HS.

***Who the hell is / was scouting for Iowa State the past 10 or so years? They plucked Montgomery, Purdy and Hall out of the rough.
***If you need a TE just pick whomever is at Iowa. Sweet jeebus.



OFFENSE

QUARTERBACKS

J. Allen (Wyoming) – 2 star (5.4)

D. Prescott (Miss State) – 3 star (5.6)

J. Hurts (Bama / Oklahoma) - 4 star (5.8)

J. Love (Utah State) - 2 star (5.4)

L. Jackson (Louisville) – 4 star (5.8)

B. Purdy (Iowa State) - 3 star (5.5)

J. Goff (Cal) – 4 star (5.9)

P. Mahomes (Texas Tech) – 3 star (5.7)

B. Mayfield (Oklahoma) - UR walk on (5.0)

T. Tagovailoa (Bama) - 4 star (6.0)

C.J. Stroud (tOSU) - 4 star (6.0)

R. Wilson (NCST / Wisconsin) – 2 star (5.3)

T. Lawrence (Clemson) – 5 star (6.1)

S. Howell (UNC) - 4 star (5.9)

D. Carr (Fresno State) – 3 star (5.6)

M. Stafford (UGA) - 5 star (6.1)

J. Herbert (Oregon) – 3 star (5.6)

J. Fields (UGA / Ohio State) – 5 star (6.1)

G. Smith (WV) – 4 star (5.9)

J. Dobbs (Tennessee) - 3 star (5.7)

Avg rating = 5.72

6.5 SEC, 4.5 ACC, 3 Mntn West, 3 Big XII, 2 B1G, 1 PAC 12



WIDE RECEIVERS

C. Lamb (Oklahoma) - 4 star (6.0)

T. Hill (Garden City CC / Okla State / West Alabama) – 4 star (5.9)

A. St. Brown (USC) – 5 star (6.1)

M. Evans (TAM) – 3 star (5.5)

Puka Nacua (Wash / BYU) - 4 star (5.9)

D.J. Moore (MD) - 4 star (5.8)

A.J Brown (Ole Miss) – 4 star (6.0)

K. Allen (Cal) - 5 star (6.1)

D. Samuel (SC) - 3 star (5.7)

S. Diggs (MD) – 5 star (6.1)

N. Collins (Mich) - 4 star (5.9)

D. Adams (Fresno State) – 2 star (5.3)

J. Chase (LSU) – 4 star (6.0)

B. Aiyuk (Arizona State) – 2 star (5.4)

J. Reed (Western Mich / Mich State) - 2 star (5.4)

J. Meyers (NC State) - 2 star (5.4)

C. Ridley (Bama) - 5 star (6.1)

M. Pittman, Jr. (USC) - 4 star (6.0)

J. Addison (Pitt / USC) - 3 star (5.7)

DK Metcalf (Ole Miss) – 4 star (6.0)

Avg rating = 5.82

7 SEC, 6.5 B1G, 2.5 ACC, 1 PAC 12, 1 Big XII, 1 Mntn West, 0.5 MAC, 0.5 DII



RUNNING BACKS

C. McCaffrey (Stanford) – 4 star (5.9)

R. Mostert (Purdue) - 3 star (5.6)

T. Etienne, Jr. (Clemson) - 3 star (5.7)

B. Hall (Iowa State) - 3 star (5.7)

K. Williams (ND) - 3 star (5.7)

D. Henry (Bama) – 4 star (6.0)

J. Mixon (Oklahoma) – 5 star (6.1)

R. White (Nebraska-Kearney / Mt. San Antonio / AZ State) - 3 star (5.7)

J. Gibbs (GT / Bama) - 4 star (5.9)

B. Robinson (Texas) - 5 star (6.1)

J. Cook (UGA) - 5 star (6.1)

D. Montgomery (Iowa State) - 2 star (5.4)

S. Barkley (Penn State) - 4 star (5.9)

T. Pollard (Memphis) – 2 star (5.4)

I. Pacheco (Rutgers) - 3 star (5.6)

J. Conner (Pitt) – 3 star (5.7)

A. Kamara (Bama / Hutchinson CC / Tennessee) – 4 star (6.0)

J. Ford (Bama / Cincy) - 3 star (5.6)

K. Walker III (WF / Mich State) – 2 star (5.4)

N. Harris (Bama) – 5 star (6.1)

Avg rating = 5.78

7 SEC, 4 ACC, 3.5 B1G, 2 Big XII, 2 AAC, 1 Independent, 0.5 PAC-12



TIGHT ENDS

S. LaPorta (Iowa) - 3 star (5.5)

E. Engram (Ole Miss) – 3 star (5.6)

T. Kelce (Cincy) – 2 star (5.2)

T.J. Hockenson (Iowa) – 3 star (5.5)

G. Kittle (Iowa) – 3 star (5.5)

D. Njoku (Miami) - 3 star (5.6)

C. Kmet (ND) – 4 star (5.9)

J. Ferguson (Wisc) - 3 star (5.7)

T. McBride (Colorado St.) - 2 star (5.4)

D. Schultz (Stanford) – 4 star (5.9)

Avg rating = 5.58

4 B1G, 2 ACC, 1 SEC, 1 AAC, 1 Mntn West, 1 Independent

This came across my YouTube feed. I know it was posted before but it I like this guy. I think our season depends on his ability to change the D.

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Jose being Jose…he scored 29 to keep them perfect! I loved seeing him shimmy again. It brought back some great memories!

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The young man couldn’t special out university I guess.

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From the 4th. Unfortunate situation all around.

Figured I’d post this for those like me who live outside of GA with a young family and can’t justify season tickets. Now through the weekend, tickets to Ga State, VMI, and Duke are $20 each. I’ll definitely be taking the family to the Duke game.

Football Ticket Flash Sale

Yikes. If you don't have ESPN+, I'll give you the gist of the ACC Breakdown:

I understand part of this prediction is because we have the 15th hardest schedule according to his predictions, but hoo buddy...

-Ranked 11th out of 17 ACC teams
-2024 Projections: SP+ -0.6 (63rd ranked), Offense 32.5 (32nd), Defense 33.2 (99th), Avg Wins 4.2, Conf Wins 2.3.
-2023 Final Rankings: SP+ 0.3 (65th), Offense 29.4 (50th), Defense 29.1 (86th), Wins 7, Conf Wins 5.

So we are expected to be better on offense but worse on defense with an expected 4 wins. As said before, we are ranked 11th of 17 by SP+, but check out these odds we are given also:

Odds to win ACC: 0.6% (12th)
Odds to win 11+ games: 0.0% (T12)
Odds to win 6+ games: 16.4% (16th)
Returning offensive production: 82.5% (8th nationally)

Eleven teams in the conference have over 65% chance of winning 6+ games, and we have 16.4% chance according to him. Look at these 11:

FSU 99.5%
Clemson 99.7%
Miami 98.6%
SMU 99.4% 😂
Louisville 92.8%
NCST 98.3%
Va Tech 97.3%
UNC 87.4% 😂
Cal 64.9% 😂
Syracuse 67.5% 😂
Duke 78.3% 😂

UNC ranks 99th in total returning production. They only have 44.4% of their returning offensive production, and now have scooter running the defense. Billy's numbers also apparently think SMU is magically now the 3rd-4th best team in the conference.

Curious what everybody is having. My wife is running in the Peachtree so I have to pick her up and can’t do anything elaborate as I’m leaving town on Friday for a mini-vacation. Maybe just some bbq chicken and sides.

fire away

This thread is to give us somewhere to react to the locked posts from OVs, 7 on 7 tournament, and other events.

• LIVE UPDATES: Georgia Tech looking to close as first OV weekend winds down​

• LIVE UPDATES: Corky Kell 7v7 Day 2​

• LIVE UPDATES: Camp 2​

• OV Preview - Week 2​

• LIVE UPDATES: Key, Georgia Tech wrapping up second big OV weekend​

From our national team-

We have a lot more than 32 ready to go for ps5. Welcome, all ye rejects. We stand absolute.

Summer fun

Fenway Park playing fellow EA sports A academic squad Rice.

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga./Houston County) was named D1Baseball’s National Freshman of the Year, as well as a first-team freshman all-American, it was announced Friday.



Having earned the nation’s top freshman honor from Perfect Game and NCBWA (top hitter), Burress becomes the third Yellow Jacket to be lauded by a major publication as national freshman of the year, joining Mark Teixeira in 1999 (Collegiate Baseball) and Derek Dietrich in 2008 (Rivals.com).



Burress, a native of Houston County, led Georgia Tech in a myriad of categories, including average (.381), home runs (25) and RBI (67), becoming the 12th Yellow Jacket to win Tech’s triple crown. Burress is the first to accomplish the feat since Matt Gonzalez in 2016. His 25 home runs set the Tech freshman record and fell one shy of tying the single-season record (Kevin Parada, 2022).



In addition to his team-leading average, the NCBWA Freshman Hitter of the Year finished with 15 doubles and three triples and drew more walks (58) than strikeouts (37) for a .512 on-base percentage and an OPS of 1.333. He also finished 8-for-10 in stolen bases and set the Georgia Tech record for most assists by an outfielder, gunning down 10 base-runners from center field this season.



Burress led all Division I freshmen in six statistical categories to finish the regular season (home runs, home runs per game, slugging, total bases, walks and walks per game), while ranking Top 3 nationally in 11 categories. He also led ACC freshmen in eight categories to wrap up the year (runs and on-base percentage), while also ranking second in RBI, RBI/game and batting average to earn first-team all-conference honors.



In just his first year on The Flats, Burress has racked up a plethora of accolades. In addition to all-conference and ACC Freshman of the Year honors, Burress was also named Perfect Game Third-Team All-American, Perfect Game Freshman First-Team All-American, a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.

THE FLATS – Duncan Powell, a 6-8 forward who played last season at Sacramento State, has signed a grant-in-aid to join the Georgia Tech men’s basketball program, head coach Damon Stoudamireannounced. He will have two seasons of eligibility with the Yellow Jackets.

Formerly a top-100 high school prospect, Powell was the Hornets’ top scorer (12.1 points per game) and rebounder (7.0 per game) last season. His rebound total ranked sixth in the Big Sky Conference, and he connected on 49 percent of his shots from the floor. He scored in double figures 21 times and reached double digits in rebounds 10 times, with five double-doubles. Among those performances was the second triple-double in the Hornets’ Division I era, 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Bethesda.

“Duncan is versatile player who will help with our overall depth,” said Stoudamire. “We look forward to having him part of our family.”

Powell was rated the No. 84 prospect in the nation by ESPN in the class of 2021 out of DeSoto High School, where he averaged 21.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists as a junior before missing his senior year with an injury. He enrolled at North Carolina A&T, becoming the highest-rated prospect ever signed by the school. After red-shirting in the 2021-22 season, Powell played 30 games for the Aggies in 2022-23, averaging 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game.

Powell is the fourth transfer to commit to the Yellow Jackets, joining 6-2 guard Javian McCollum from Oklahoma, 7-2 center Ryan Mutombo from Georgetown and 6-8 wing Luke O’Brien from Colorado. Tech also has put together a recruiting class that has been rated the 14th-best in the nation with high school prospects Cole Kirouac, a 6-11 center from Cumming, Ga., who attended Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., his senior year, Jaeden Mustaf of Bowie, Md., a 6-4 guard who also attended Overtime Elite, Doryan Onwuchekwa, a 6-11 center from DeSoto, Texas who attended Faith Family Academy of Oak Cliff, andDarrion Sutton, a 6-8 forward from St. Louis, Mo., who attends Overtime Elite in Atlanta.