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So I'll go position by position with nuggets learned today
QBs
Jeff Sims remains the guy and he is carrying himself more seriously than he did in the past. He is still usually got a smile on his face, but there is some seriousness to him. Coach Collins said that there were some discussions in the offseason between him, Sims' parents and Jeff about whether or not he would enter the portal, but he decided to stay here and be a part of the solution. Sims said the offseason workouts were great and even with the staff out for the OTAs it was still on him to lead to the team along with the other older players. Sims said he really likes the new offense and the tempo Coach Long wants to run.
Taisun Phommachanh said that GT was just the best overall fit for him and he thinks he fits well into Coach Long's offense. He said he spent his six month break working out and training so he was not as rusty as expected out of the gate. He actually is built very similar to Sims so if he wins the #2 job I could see that being an easy transition if Sims is out of the game for some reason as both run well and have strong arms.
RBs
Talked to Dylan McDuffie for the first time on the record and he said that he really likes the RB room at GT and even the young guys like Antonio Martin and Jamie Felix are good in there. He said he came from a very stacked RB room at Buffalo so he is not afraid of the competition. He is 217 lbs right now and is eager to carve out his role. He is really enjoying being in Atlanta.
Hassan Hall echoed McDuffie and said the RB room is more than the top three McDuffie, Dontae Smith and himself, he likes the young RBs too. Hall said he has been working on his pass pro a lot and that is an area he wants to improve, he is very bullish on the offense.
WRs:
I talked to the massive E.J. Jenkins for the first time on the record as well today. He said he has really enjoyed working with Del Alexander the new WR coach. He said the big thing for him is working on getting out of his breaks better because he feels very difficult to stop if he has any kind of leverage on the DB. Coming from South Carolina as a transfer, he knows all about the Clemson game and is excited to get another chance to play them here.
I spoke with a now healthy Avery Boyd and he was excited to be healthy and he really likes the new offense and the fact that they have a new WR Coach now so everyone is starting at square one. He said that Coach Del is very old-school and has a different way of coaching and breaks everything down into detail. He said the new offense is great for a player like him because they'll take shots down field to bigger WRs where it is a pure 1v1 a lot of the time.
Ryan King shared a lot of the same thoughts as Boyd and he likes that they are in a very open competition. King said that he has really improved in getting separation from DBs and working on using his size more. He said this system is a good fit for that.
Senior Malachi Carter put things in a good perspective on the difference between this offseason and others under Collins, they saw glimpses of what they can do last year, but there had to be the right mindset to be tired of being mediocre and every one has the same goal to win and it was not always the case here in the past. Carter said that coach Alexander is very different than other WRs coaches he has had except maybe Buzz Preston, he is just old school. He said that Jenkins is like Calvin Johnson-sized only bigger and he was amused at how entertained some of you were by that pic I took of them together yesterday. He said you just never see anyone his size with his freakish athletic ability that plays WR so they hope he can be a major factor.
SLTs:
I talked to both Nate McCollum and Malik Rutherford about adjusting to the new offense that is more multiple after being so 11-personnel heavy last year. Both said they know they have to make the most of their opportunities to make plays and coach Alexander has come up with a good plan to use them in the mix in a variety of roles including carrying the ball. McCollum said he really likes how coach Long plans to use the slots and it will be more interesting than the past. Rutherford and I joked about him being Miami skinny and he said that is very much a thing (basically kids there are unusually skinny and fast for their frame) I noted he looked a little taller as well. Rutherford said he is up to 156 now from way less than that when he got here. Rutheford said he switched to 12 because it is closer to 6 his desired number and he hopes to earn that single-digit one day, McDuffie currently has six for offense.
According to sources, Leo Blackburn is still being held back a little longer but should be cleared fairly soon. I will keep an eye on this.
TEs:
I only interviewed Billy Ward and Peje Harris from this group because I am certain I'll talk to both Dylan Leonard and Luke Benson more during the season and camp and we just talked to Leonard at ACC Kickoff two weeks ago.
Billy Ward confirmed he is playing more of the Y position the traditional tight end playing behind Leonard and he is very excited about the offense and what they are doing. He said that everyone is cross-trained to play the Y-TE and the F-H-back spot in their room, but he spends more of his time at the Y-TE. He said the little bit of burn last year helped him a lot as well in his development. He said they run less of the TE seam routes than the F and have more blocking typically assigned than the F.
Peje Harris said he is up to 225 pounds now in his transition to the F-position and he is enjoying the move after being at little unsure at first. He really likes the way that Coach Long uses the TEs in the system and his position in particular. He said that both Leonard and Luke Benson have really helped him make that transition from WR to TE.
OLs:
Jordan Williams told me that Brent Key had wanted him to be a LT all along but he was forced into the RT spot for several reasons (one he didn't mention was Zach Quinney being more comfortable and not really great at playing RT early in his career and then Devin Cochran coming in specifically to be a LT) so he was not surprised they made that move with him. Williams said he is down to 310 now from 356 at one point during covid. He said he is moving better than ever now because of the weight loss and muscle gain from S&C work. He said other than accidentally calling some things like he would at RT instead of LT he did okay in his first full day as a LT on Friday night. He thinks playing both will really help him in the long run.
Williams said that Corey Robinson II has really stepped in at that backup LT spot and is learning fast right now behind him. He said they've been very pleased with him and with the competition at right tackle with Jakiah Leftwich and Wing Green.
I spoke with guard Paul Tchio and he let me know he has not been given the full green light yet, but it is coming soon as he had surgery in the spring on a pre-existing injury from Clemson that he tried to play through. He said his rehab has gone well and he is moving around much better, but they are being careful with him with contact but he can do everything else right now. He said he has been working more right guard lately and switching off with Pierce Quick and that Quick and Paula Vaipulu are switching off at LG right now in camp.
Quick said he is working both LG and RG in camp and Coach Key is trying to build depth and find the best five OLs. Quick said he is 290 right now and his goal is to play at 295 this upcoming season. He said for this evening's practice he may play more LG again. Quick said they are trying to instill the mentality that he played in at Bama, every game you expect to win regardless of who you are playing and what people expect to happen. He said his goal is to bring that to GT this season.
Vaipulu said he learned a ton last year getting thrown into the fire and he has enjoyed focusing on guard now after moving from tackle in year one to guard last year. Vaipulu is 299 right now and he is focused a lot on playing LG at the moment.
Weston Franklin and several of the other OLs really spoke highly of Brandon Best and how smart Brandon is. Franklin said he has had a lot of fun working with Best and RJ Adams as the two new guys in the room even though he is still a young guy himself. Franklin said he was too heavy last year and that slowed him down some, he lost 10 pounds of fat and went from 315 to 305 while dropping his body fat in the process and getting stronger. He said Coach Long's offense is tough for OLs because of all the moving pieces and eye candy, but they are enjoying the challenge of learning all the calls and they have a very different scheme than the last offense as far as what the OL is doing.
Will Lay also spoke to me for a bit and he said part of the reason he stuck around was to be a part of a winning team after all the struggles the last few years. He wants to be a part of the squad that turned the corner and got GT back into their winning ways. Lay said he is working more at center right now but is comfortable at guard as well if they need him there.
So I'll go position by position with nuggets learned today
QBs
Jeff Sims remains the guy and he is carrying himself more seriously than he did in the past. He is still usually got a smile on his face, but there is some seriousness to him. Coach Collins said that there were some discussions in the offseason between him, Sims' parents and Jeff about whether or not he would enter the portal, but he decided to stay here and be a part of the solution. Sims said the offseason workouts were great and even with the staff out for the OTAs it was still on him to lead to the team along with the other older players. Sims said he really likes the new offense and the tempo Coach Long wants to run.
Taisun Phommachanh said that GT was just the best overall fit for him and he thinks he fits well into Coach Long's offense. He said he spent his six month break working out and training so he was not as rusty as expected out of the gate. He actually is built very similar to Sims so if he wins the #2 job I could see that being an easy transition if Sims is out of the game for some reason as both run well and have strong arms.
RBs
Talked to Dylan McDuffie for the first time on the record and he said that he really likes the RB room at GT and even the young guys like Antonio Martin and Jamie Felix are good in there. He said he came from a very stacked RB room at Buffalo so he is not afraid of the competition. He is 217 lbs right now and is eager to carve out his role. He is really enjoying being in Atlanta.
Hassan Hall echoed McDuffie and said the RB room is more than the top three McDuffie, Dontae Smith and himself, he likes the young RBs too. Hall said he has been working on his pass pro a lot and that is an area he wants to improve, he is very bullish on the offense.
WRs:
I talked to the massive E.J. Jenkins for the first time on the record as well today. He said he has really enjoyed working with Del Alexander the new WR coach. He said the big thing for him is working on getting out of his breaks better because he feels very difficult to stop if he has any kind of leverage on the DB. Coming from South Carolina as a transfer, he knows all about the Clemson game and is excited to get another chance to play them here.
I spoke with a now healthy Avery Boyd and he was excited to be healthy and he really likes the new offense and the fact that they have a new WR Coach now so everyone is starting at square one. He said that Coach Del is very old-school and has a different way of coaching and breaks everything down into detail. He said the new offense is great for a player like him because they'll take shots down field to bigger WRs where it is a pure 1v1 a lot of the time.
Ryan King shared a lot of the same thoughts as Boyd and he likes that they are in a very open competition. King said that he has really improved in getting separation from DBs and working on using his size more. He said this system is a good fit for that.
Senior Malachi Carter put things in a good perspective on the difference between this offseason and others under Collins, they saw glimpses of what they can do last year, but there had to be the right mindset to be tired of being mediocre and every one has the same goal to win and it was not always the case here in the past. Carter said that coach Alexander is very different than other WRs coaches he has had except maybe Buzz Preston, he is just old school. He said that Jenkins is like Calvin Johnson-sized only bigger and he was amused at how entertained some of you were by that pic I took of them together yesterday. He said you just never see anyone his size with his freakish athletic ability that plays WR so they hope he can be a major factor.
SLTs:
I talked to both Nate McCollum and Malik Rutherford about adjusting to the new offense that is more multiple after being so 11-personnel heavy last year. Both said they know they have to make the most of their opportunities to make plays and coach Alexander has come up with a good plan to use them in the mix in a variety of roles including carrying the ball. McCollum said he really likes how coach Long plans to use the slots and it will be more interesting than the past. Rutherford and I joked about him being Miami skinny and he said that is very much a thing (basically kids there are unusually skinny and fast for their frame) I noted he looked a little taller as well. Rutherford said he is up to 156 now from way less than that when he got here. Rutheford said he switched to 12 because it is closer to 6 his desired number and he hopes to earn that single-digit one day, McDuffie currently has six for offense.
According to sources, Leo Blackburn is still being held back a little longer but should be cleared fairly soon. I will keep an eye on this.
TEs:
I only interviewed Billy Ward and Peje Harris from this group because I am certain I'll talk to both Dylan Leonard and Luke Benson more during the season and camp and we just talked to Leonard at ACC Kickoff two weeks ago.
Billy Ward confirmed he is playing more of the Y position the traditional tight end playing behind Leonard and he is very excited about the offense and what they are doing. He said that everyone is cross-trained to play the Y-TE and the F-H-back spot in their room, but he spends more of his time at the Y-TE. He said the little bit of burn last year helped him a lot as well in his development. He said they run less of the TE seam routes than the F and have more blocking typically assigned than the F.
Peje Harris said he is up to 225 pounds now in his transition to the F-position and he is enjoying the move after being at little unsure at first. He really likes the way that Coach Long uses the TEs in the system and his position in particular. He said that both Leonard and Luke Benson have really helped him make that transition from WR to TE.
OLs:
Jordan Williams told me that Brent Key had wanted him to be a LT all along but he was forced into the RT spot for several reasons (one he didn't mention was Zach Quinney being more comfortable and not really great at playing RT early in his career and then Devin Cochran coming in specifically to be a LT) so he was not surprised they made that move with him. Williams said he is down to 310 now from 356 at one point during covid. He said he is moving better than ever now because of the weight loss and muscle gain from S&C work. He said other than accidentally calling some things like he would at RT instead of LT he did okay in his first full day as a LT on Friday night. He thinks playing both will really help him in the long run.
Williams said that Corey Robinson II has really stepped in at that backup LT spot and is learning fast right now behind him. He said they've been very pleased with him and with the competition at right tackle with Jakiah Leftwich and Wing Green.
I spoke with guard Paul Tchio and he let me know he has not been given the full green light yet, but it is coming soon as he had surgery in the spring on a pre-existing injury from Clemson that he tried to play through. He said his rehab has gone well and he is moving around much better, but they are being careful with him with contact but he can do everything else right now. He said he has been working more right guard lately and switching off with Pierce Quick and that Quick and Paula Vaipulu are switching off at LG right now in camp.
Quick said he is working both LG and RG in camp and Coach Key is trying to build depth and find the best five OLs. Quick said he is 290 right now and his goal is to play at 295 this upcoming season. He said for this evening's practice he may play more LG again. Quick said they are trying to instill the mentality that he played in at Bama, every game you expect to win regardless of who you are playing and what people expect to happen. He said his goal is to bring that to GT this season.
Vaipulu said he learned a ton last year getting thrown into the fire and he has enjoyed focusing on guard now after moving from tackle in year one to guard last year. Vaipulu is 299 right now and he is focused a lot on playing LG at the moment.
Weston Franklin and several of the other OLs really spoke highly of Brandon Best and how smart Brandon is. Franklin said he has had a lot of fun working with Best and RJ Adams as the two new guys in the room even though he is still a young guy himself. Franklin said he was too heavy last year and that slowed him down some, he lost 10 pounds of fat and went from 315 to 305 while dropping his body fat in the process and getting stronger. He said Coach Long's offense is tough for OLs because of all the moving pieces and eye candy, but they are enjoying the challenge of learning all the calls and they have a very different scheme than the last offense as far as what the OL is doing.
Will Lay also spoke to me for a bit and he said part of the reason he stuck around was to be a part of a winning team after all the struggles the last few years. He wants to be a part of the squad that turned the corner and got GT back into their winning ways. Lay said he is working more at center right now but is comfortable at guard as well if they need him there.
