ATLANTA- Georgia Tech continued preparations for the annual spring game on Wednesday with a two-hour practice session and after practice receivers coach Trent McKnight met with the media for the first time since arriving on the Flats and a trio of his receivers, Eric Singleton Jr., Chase Lane and Malik Rutherford spoke as well.
"It has been a really good camp and it has been fun to work with this group of coaches and players. It is fun seeing guys get better and we've got a great receivers room that is hungry to go out there and get better," McKnight said. "It has been fun and I've been learning a lot with this offense."
McKnight was the offensive coordinator at Georgia State until Shawn Elliott quit in the middle of spring camp several weeks ago. That created a ripple effect that sent Dell McGee from Georgia to Georgia State and then Tech receivers coach Josh Crawford to UGA to replace McGee. McKnight was picked to replace Crawford on the Flats giving the new Tech coach a rare win for an assistant coach. He didn't have to move his family or anything to take another job. He simply had to pack up his office and move up the road to Tech.
"Well, it worked out great for me. I'm thrilled to do death to be over here," McKnight said when asked about the unusual timing of the move to Tech. "The thing I love most about being here is the people, from Coach (Brent) Key to the offensive staff to the receivers room and the entire team. It was a whirlwind of what happened over there, but the good Lord took care of us and got us over here. I've been lucky this is going on year eight living in Atlanta and we love living here. I was blessed with my kids, nothing has changed for them. Same schools, same baseball teams, same friends, and you are not always going to go through a transition like that. They just have to learn a bunch of new players here."
The small world of coaching helped McKnight land at Tech because he had connections to Buster Faulkner through the coaching world and knew Key a little from the road.
"I've known the staff from being right down the street from camps or whatnot and Buster and I have coached with some of the same people so that was part of the relationships and with Coach Key, I would see him on the road and get a chance to interact with him, but I think this always comes down to relationships and I think some of the success we had with receivers over there," McKnight said. "We've been at camps and other things where I've got to know them a little bit better, but it is a lot of fun to be where and work with this group on a daily basis."
McKnight said there was a good learning curve for him picking up the offense and the NFL terminology and high volume of stuff. He said he told the WRs when he got hired they would know the offense better than him being in their second years in the system. He said that DeAndre Smelter has done a great job of helping him in that room and going through stuff with him and the players. He has been in the same place for seven years and the same offense for five years at Ga State so it is cool for him to be uncomfortable for the first time in a while and learn and grow as a coach.
McKnight said he wanted to give every receiver a clean slate so he didn't really study their film and he will do more of that in the summer to look at what they need to work one, but he had relationships with a few players who he recruited out of HS already.
McKnight said that he wants constant improvement in little areas like releases, route running and staying on top of blocks and those are things you can always get better at. Lots of details and techniques and all his evals are done based off this spring spring. He thinks a lot of times WRs are under coached and underdeveloped and that is something he tries to fix and they watch a lot of NFL tape as well with guys who are very good at specific techniques.
I asked about Leo Blackburn and Chase Lane coming off their injuries and he said both were making plays today and they are getting their confidence back and that is big coming off an injury. Leo is a big target and there are not many WRs in the country with his size that can make plays. On Chase, he said that he was the leading receiver before he got hurt last year and he is growing his overall game.
McKnight said that Zion Taylor is having a good spring and he is pushing him and he keeps making plays. He came in the night before the first scrimmage to get extra work. You can tell Zion is hungry and he wants to do well.
McKnight said that Malik Rutherford has done a great job loves the game and getting better every day. Bailey Stockton has done really well in his role and there is a lot of competition in the WR room.
The staff have continued to work Avery Boyd as a flex playing some TE/WR/SLT and working with the TEs at times and WRs at other times and McKnight said that he is really fun to have around and he recruited him out of HS in Tally and he has a great personality and is doing a great job in the role they are trying to create for him.
McKnight said that Abdul Janneh is having a strong camp and he sits in the front in meetings and is very attentive to details and taking notes. They've worked him inside and outside and he does a really good job blocking on the perimeter with an edge to him. He has been the best blocker out there and continues to get better at his route running and playing with speed downfield.
Chase Lane spoke and said it was very frustrating last year starting out great and then getting injured and it was his first significant injury of his career. He said God had different plans for him and he is back and his mindset since January has been to attack everything because this is his last go around and his last chance to put up some good film and try to get to the next level. He feels healthy and like himself again and that has been a big confidence booster for him.
Lane said that everyone now in the receiver room has the chemistry he came in with Haynes King and that having so many receivers and skill guys back will push the offense to another level. Fans should get a glimpse of it on Saturday.
Lane said that McKnight has done a good job of putting guys in different positions throughout the spring like playing Janneh inside and him outside and that creates more competition and brings everyone closer as a unit.
Lane said that McKnight has been fun to get to know and his drill work translates more to the game and he can see it personally and McKnight pulls him to the side after every route and is in his ear with little tips and things to remember. He has been really impressed with McKnight and how he is building relationships so quickly after getting hired late in the process and he has been really intentional with trying to build up those relationships.
Lane said there are a lot of bad tastes in the offenses mouths after last year games like Louisville, BC and Bowling Green and this is year two and they have the whole group back who are more comfortable with Coach Faulkner's offense and they want to dominate each and every game.
Eric Singleton said he wants to do everything better than he did last year and needs better stats and wants to hit 1,000 yards receiving this season.
Singleton said he really likes McKnight and how he is so big on technique and he has really improved his technique and he has been impressed with how quickly McKnight picked up on everything and the playbook despite only being here at short time.
Singleton said he is a Jr. aka Eric Singleton Jr. so why not rock #2 so that is why he changed his number.
Singleton said playing last year and in camp now the game has slowed down a lot for him and he didn't realize at the time how fast everything was moving until this spring.
Singleton said he feels like everyone in the room is getting so much better and it is really good to have Leo Blackburn back.
Singleton said he is working to improve his route running and he has the speed, he wants the route part down pat.
I asked him about running track and he said it was a great experience and he loved having new teammates but isn't sure if he will do it again. Track shape and football shape are two different things, but he had fun out there.
I asked Singleton if he heard the noise of teams wanting him to transfer and he said that staying at Tech was an easy decision, "it was a no-brainer for me. I wasn't really caught up in all the pressure and all of that. I just come every day ready to play football and ready to work and go to class."
Malik Rutherford said that Coach McKnight has fit in well and they were comfortable right away with him and they love him and he is a great receivers coach teaching them everything they need to know.
Rutherford said the spring has been pretty comfortable with the offense and timing and his connection with Haynes King. He said that King knows all his receivers now, the routes and how fast guys are on them so they'll have a good connection.
Rutherford said he is five pounds away from his goal weight of 170. That has been an ongoing fight to put weight on for him since he arrived to GT.
Rutherford said he is happy to have Leo back and they came in together but Leohad his injuries and it is big getting him and Chase Lane back.
Georgia Tech hosted the annual coaches clinic and the sidelines were packed with HS coaches including former Yellow Jacket Embry Peeples. Peeples is now an assistant coach at Harvester Christian Academy in Douglasville. It was great catching up with him after not seeing him for many years.
"It has been a really good camp and it has been fun to work with this group of coaches and players. It is fun seeing guys get better and we've got a great receivers room that is hungry to go out there and get better," McKnight said. "It has been fun and I've been learning a lot with this offense."
McKnight was the offensive coordinator at Georgia State until Shawn Elliott quit in the middle of spring camp several weeks ago. That created a ripple effect that sent Dell McGee from Georgia to Georgia State and then Tech receivers coach Josh Crawford to UGA to replace McGee. McKnight was picked to replace Crawford on the Flats giving the new Tech coach a rare win for an assistant coach. He didn't have to move his family or anything to take another job. He simply had to pack up his office and move up the road to Tech.
"Well, it worked out great for me. I'm thrilled to do death to be over here," McKnight said when asked about the unusual timing of the move to Tech. "The thing I love most about being here is the people, from Coach (Brent) Key to the offensive staff to the receivers room and the entire team. It was a whirlwind of what happened over there, but the good Lord took care of us and got us over here. I've been lucky this is going on year eight living in Atlanta and we love living here. I was blessed with my kids, nothing has changed for them. Same schools, same baseball teams, same friends, and you are not always going to go through a transition like that. They just have to learn a bunch of new players here."
The small world of coaching helped McKnight land at Tech because he had connections to Buster Faulkner through the coaching world and knew Key a little from the road.
"I've known the staff from being right down the street from camps or whatnot and Buster and I have coached with some of the same people so that was part of the relationships and with Coach Key, I would see him on the road and get a chance to interact with him, but I think this always comes down to relationships and I think some of the success we had with receivers over there," McKnight said. "We've been at camps and other things where I've got to know them a little bit better, but it is a lot of fun to be where and work with this group on a daily basis."
McKnight said there was a good learning curve for him picking up the offense and the NFL terminology and high volume of stuff. He said he told the WRs when he got hired they would know the offense better than him being in their second years in the system. He said that DeAndre Smelter has done a great job of helping him in that room and going through stuff with him and the players. He has been in the same place for seven years and the same offense for five years at Ga State so it is cool for him to be uncomfortable for the first time in a while and learn and grow as a coach.
McKnight said he wanted to give every receiver a clean slate so he didn't really study their film and he will do more of that in the summer to look at what they need to work one, but he had relationships with a few players who he recruited out of HS already.
McKnight said that he wants constant improvement in little areas like releases, route running and staying on top of blocks and those are things you can always get better at. Lots of details and techniques and all his evals are done based off this spring spring. He thinks a lot of times WRs are under coached and underdeveloped and that is something he tries to fix and they watch a lot of NFL tape as well with guys who are very good at specific techniques.
I asked about Leo Blackburn and Chase Lane coming off their injuries and he said both were making plays today and they are getting their confidence back and that is big coming off an injury. Leo is a big target and there are not many WRs in the country with his size that can make plays. On Chase, he said that he was the leading receiver before he got hurt last year and he is growing his overall game.
McKnight said that Zion Taylor is having a good spring and he is pushing him and he keeps making plays. He came in the night before the first scrimmage to get extra work. You can tell Zion is hungry and he wants to do well.
McKnight said that Malik Rutherford has done a great job loves the game and getting better every day. Bailey Stockton has done really well in his role and there is a lot of competition in the WR room.
The staff have continued to work Avery Boyd as a flex playing some TE/WR/SLT and working with the TEs at times and WRs at other times and McKnight said that he is really fun to have around and he recruited him out of HS in Tally and he has a great personality and is doing a great job in the role they are trying to create for him.
McKnight said that Abdul Janneh is having a strong camp and he sits in the front in meetings and is very attentive to details and taking notes. They've worked him inside and outside and he does a really good job blocking on the perimeter with an edge to him. He has been the best blocker out there and continues to get better at his route running and playing with speed downfield.
Chase Lane spoke and said it was very frustrating last year starting out great and then getting injured and it was his first significant injury of his career. He said God had different plans for him and he is back and his mindset since January has been to attack everything because this is his last go around and his last chance to put up some good film and try to get to the next level. He feels healthy and like himself again and that has been a big confidence booster for him.
Lane said that everyone now in the receiver room has the chemistry he came in with Haynes King and that having so many receivers and skill guys back will push the offense to another level. Fans should get a glimpse of it on Saturday.
Lane said that McKnight has done a good job of putting guys in different positions throughout the spring like playing Janneh inside and him outside and that creates more competition and brings everyone closer as a unit.
Lane said that McKnight has been fun to get to know and his drill work translates more to the game and he can see it personally and McKnight pulls him to the side after every route and is in his ear with little tips and things to remember. He has been really impressed with McKnight and how he is building relationships so quickly after getting hired late in the process and he has been really intentional with trying to build up those relationships.
Lane said there are a lot of bad tastes in the offenses mouths after last year games like Louisville, BC and Bowling Green and this is year two and they have the whole group back who are more comfortable with Coach Faulkner's offense and they want to dominate each and every game.
Eric Singleton said he wants to do everything better than he did last year and needs better stats and wants to hit 1,000 yards receiving this season.
Singleton said he really likes McKnight and how he is so big on technique and he has really improved his technique and he has been impressed with how quickly McKnight picked up on everything and the playbook despite only being here at short time.
Singleton said he is a Jr. aka Eric Singleton Jr. so why not rock #2 so that is why he changed his number.
Singleton said playing last year and in camp now the game has slowed down a lot for him and he didn't realize at the time how fast everything was moving until this spring.
Singleton said he feels like everyone in the room is getting so much better and it is really good to have Leo Blackburn back.
Singleton said he is working to improve his route running and he has the speed, he wants the route part down pat.
I asked him about running track and he said it was a great experience and he loved having new teammates but isn't sure if he will do it again. Track shape and football shape are two different things, but he had fun out there.
I asked Singleton if he heard the noise of teams wanting him to transfer and he said that staying at Tech was an easy decision, "it was a no-brainer for me. I wasn't really caught up in all the pressure and all of that. I just come every day ready to play football and ready to work and go to class."
Malik Rutherford said that Coach McKnight has fit in well and they were comfortable right away with him and they love him and he is a great receivers coach teaching them everything they need to know.
Rutherford said the spring has been pretty comfortable with the offense and timing and his connection with Haynes King. He said that King knows all his receivers now, the routes and how fast guys are on them so they'll have a good connection.
Rutherford said he is five pounds away from his goal weight of 170. That has been an ongoing fight to put weight on for him since he arrived to GT.
Rutherford said he is happy to have Leo back and they came in together but Leohad his injuries and it is big getting him and Chase Lane back.
Georgia Tech hosted the annual coaches clinic and the sidelines were packed with HS coaches including former Yellow Jacket Embry Peeples. Peeples is now an assistant coach at Harvester Christian Academy in Douglasville. It was great catching up with him after not seeing him for many years.
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