how do you think the staff feels today about next years DL situation?
KQ- Confident they will get the pieces and develop enough to do the job. They are not as concerned as the board is.
Any updated developments about the portal targets from your War Room a couple of days ago? Any other guys that have been added to the board?
KQ- We've been doing updates once there is enough info, there should be a few more updates coming soon.
Is there a date set, or approximate date for when the ACC will release all dates on next years in-conference football schedule? I know all the out of conference games have dates, I'm just eager to know since other conferences like the SEC already dropped all their dates
KQ- They have been doing it after the season ends in early January. Last year it was Jan. 24th. They do a TV show and everything. As to why it is so late? I am not sure.
How big a difference between the NIL for Rivers vs what ESJ got from Auburn? Enough to get us 2-3 additional portal contributors?
KQ—I do not know Rivers' number yet. Based on what I heard, you could get him, Patterson, and another player for what Auburn paid Singleton.
General Question: when there is an official “Staying Home” tweet released about one our current SAs, should we assume that’s because there has been a new formal NIL agreement made with that person OR are these just queued up to be dropped periodically for marketing purposes? Since GT doesn’t release one for every player who stays, I assume the announced ones are the ones getting significant deals?
KQ- All the NIL deals have been done for a while and agreed upon. You sort of saw the backlash of that with the Malik Rutherford thing but it got settled as well. Some guys are choosing to do the announcements and others are not into doing it.
We went from laughingstock to middle of the pack to next year being a borderline playoff team (judging from the schedule). What are the next steps to get us over the hump from a coaching, player, fan contribution/support standpoint? We'll never be that school down the road, but with NIL evening the playing field, is there a ceiling and if so, what is it?
KQ- I think behind the scenes they are seeing a strong commitment from some people on the NIL front, but GT always needs grassroots help like the TechWay. As far as a ceiling, there isn't one as far as Brent Key and J Batt are concerned. The thought is if you win, support will get stronger, you build more sidewalk fans and the fan base will start to grow for the first time since probably 2009.
What effect is the portal having on the AQPR numbers? I would figure at some point it has to.
KQ- I think you lost me with the acronym. Can you ask that a different way.
What would the impact be if we could actually sell out and fill the stadium for games?
KQ- It would help with a few top end recruits, but more importantly it would give Batt and Key more financial resources to invest in the program on multiple fronts.
Would the world end if you took a long flight at the same time that Alex walks his dog?
KQ- Brent Key would become the Atlanta Falcons head coach and GT would hire Bill Lewis back as head coach with GC3 as his DC if that happened.
All football:
Do you think within the next few years, there will be a commissioner of college football? Like Rodger Goodell.
KQ- It would be nice, but I don't see that happening unless there is a breakaway from the NCAA system.
Who’s your top 3 guys to get drafted this year? What rounds?
KQ- JJ van den Berg, Keylan Rutledge, Eric Rivers all are day 3 picks. Ahmari Harvey and a few others could jump into this mix. Also I am curious if Haynes King can stay healthy and play his way into the draft.
Who impressed you the most this season?
Chad Alexander when healthy was really dynamic as a change-up at RB. I thought EJ Lightsey looked really good once he got healthy and got some reps under his belt and I'm excited to see what he can do next year. I also see some spark from the freshmen Harrison Moore, Isiah Canion and Luke Harpring that is really encouraging to me.
Who disappointed you the most?
KQ- I think Romello Height's lack of actual sacks, the special teams play in the first half of the season, and the road losses to Syracuse and Louisville that kept the season from being a special one for GT.
What young player are you excited to see get some burn in the bowl game?
KQ- One of the young DEs like Jordan Boyd or Jacob Cruz or Amontrae Bradford.
Seems like Portal Season not only has impacted coaches, but reporters/journalists too, do you feel like your going to need a nap after the holidays?
KQ- We are all exhausted, coaches, media and even some of the players who are in the portal getting hounded by coaches and media.
Do you think a lot of teams (GT included) are signing transfers for Spring "try outs"? Come in, compete and if they aren't in the 2 deep or a physical fit, they'll transfer out in Spring. Jack Barton types
KQ- I think that is not really the case most of the time. That was a unique situation. There will be one or two guys like that every year. They had Ayo Tifase and Jack Barton last year. Those guys will dip if they are not in the two deep when spring ball ends.
Do you think the playoff will expand number of teams in 2 years?
KQ- Yes, this is always about money.
In the past it was mentioned GT mainly went after only Freshman and grad transfers, because it was hard academically to add others and have their credits transfer over. It seems like this year, they are going after a lot of sophomores and juniors. Has something changed on that front?
KQ- They have a little more ability to handle stuff in the portal, but if you look the majority of the kids coming in are either high academic kids or kids close to graduation from their prior stop like Rivers or the snapper they just took who was in his third year and an honor roll guy at his previous school.
Do you think we will go over 85 scholarships in anticipation of Spring attrition?
KQ- I expect them to be around 95 come August of 2025
With our 7th commit, JT Byrne, in house, what other position pick ups do you expect with quantities per position.
DL
LB
OL
RB
KQ- They've since added a DL, but they need 3 more DLs, zero LBs because they added two, probably no more OLs and one more RB. I could see them still looking for another DB.
Dalen Penson mentioned in an interview around ESD that the staff might use him as a two-way player and it was kind of a pitch to him to play at GT. Do you think that will actually happen? And if it does what type of role would you expect him to play on offense?
(I know he’s a crazy track athlete so it would be cool to see him give it a shot)
KQ- It depends on whether he can catch or not. If he can then they will definitely come up with something if he is good enough to break into the two-deep. It is not that hard to teach him a few plays to feature him on offense if that is something that Key wants to do and what they promised him.
