Back in Georgia now after a sort of vacation.
Transfer portal: do you think GT can become the “transfer portal U”? Bill Snyder made a living being “JUCO U.” It seems like the “come home” message with recruits who depart for other schools could sustainably resonate.
KQ- Ehh, I think that is a flawed strategy because the miss rate will be higher on transfers just like JUCO kids but in the case of K-State they got a lot of kids who were talented, but just struggled academically and ended up non-qualifiers. If you are going to go out and spend NIL money like free agency then that is a different story. I think the core of what they will do will be taking a few kids who they had prior relationships with to fill spots via the portal (Quick/Tchio/Burkhalter/Myles Sims) and then taking a few chances on guys who produced at maybe a lower level program like Dylan McDuffie or Keion White, but you won't see them take like 18 transfers.
There is also a practical issue with that, basically, only 1st or 2nd-year students or grad transfers can actually get into GT via admissions because of the way credit hours work and the lack of majors compared to a Liberal Arts college.
Conference realignment #1: am I missing something? How does making the acc the sister of the poor benefit Espn? Would it not be in espn’s best interest to renegotiate and try to keep the conference together? Especially since the GOR. Conceding acc to b10 movement is not in the networks best interest. Tolerating this kind of wealth disparity is the seed of 90%+ of every revolution - they have some smart people running that company, I’d be shocked if this isn’t a topic of conversation.
KQ- Well this has been one of my thoughts as well. ESPN has four over-the-air channels broadcasting CFB (ESPN/ESPN2/ACCN/SECN) plus ESPN News and sometimes ESPN Classic getting thrown some games for various reasons like rescheduling or weather. They also have ABC who they feed typically the most marquee game to and have to feed typically two games a weekend. The math doesn't really work out because the reality is no one is clamoring to watch Texas-Vanderbilt or Mizzou-South Carolina on ESPN or ESPN2. Every week you'll have games that won't even draw well regionally if you kill off the ACC and Big XII or even the American. You also need the Pac-12 type conference games because everyone is hammered watching those as they pass out on a Saturday.
Conference realignment #2: is kicking teams out of conferences actually on the table (e.g. Vandy getting the boot from the sec)? Is this an actual path? If so - what is the legal fabric for doing so?
KQ- Absolutely and it has happened in my lifetime with UMass and Temple at the FBS level. Temple got kicked out of the Big East in 2004 after they went like 14-80 in conference play and they went Indy and eventually ended up back in the MAC again or something and then back to the Big East once they got the program turned around under Al Golden. UMass was basically got stuck in the MAC and they were forced out/left because they were football-only and they wanted them either all in or all-out. I think there are quite a few stories about some of the real fringe FBS teams getting kicked out like Idaho maybe or San Jose State, but my memory is foggy on that. Anyway you can be voted out and there are several ways to terminate membership in a conference if the Big Boys want to dump a Vandy or Mizzou or Rutgers.
Conference realignment #3: what is the balance between money and success? A lot of Nebraska fans have been pretty open about saying that they are making more money, but they’ve accomplished very little.
KQ- So this was my principal argument about GT going to the Big Ten and it did not make sense to me back in 2012 or whenever that was or then as a cash grab. I didn't like the way the styles matched up and the way the football would work for GT at that time. Now the Big Ten has opened up some, but I still wonder how that would look even with Tech away from the triple now.
As a Texas fan growing up, I find it hard to fathom how the hell they are going to compete in the SEC when they can't win in a Big XII where they have to get by only two good teams at most every year and often just one. It is the same weird argument about how Miami has fallen off the face of the earth after having a slightly better league competition than they had in the Big East in the ACC.
My favorite example of this is Arkansas. The Razorbacks were in the SWC and won 12 conference championships in football including 8 in their final 30 seasons in the SWC. They've won ZERO in 30 years in the SEC, they've won their division twice outright and split it two other times in 30 years in the SEC and got knocked around in two of the three SECCG they appeared in and even one of those is a bit tainted because in 2002 Alabama was a game ahead of them in the standings, but on probation so they couldn't go to the SECCG.
College football is about regionalism and college pride at the end of the day. UGA fans don't give a shit about going to Columbia, MO or Fayetteville, AR, they would rather play Bama, Auburn, Miss State, Ole Miss on the other side just like GT fans want FSU or Wake or in a lot of people on here takes' Bama and Auburn along with UGA and Clemson.
Conference realignment #4: what is best case scenario for GT and why?
I) Stay in the acc (no acc - pac coalition) - assume that Espn renegotiates a contract that gives them ~50-60% of what the sec receives
II) B10
III) SEC (in the same pod / division as Bama, uga, auburn)
IV) ACC - PAC coalition
KQ- My own personal thought is if the ACC has a seat at the table and everyone stays it is the ACC and you let some things play out with the big boys. I think there will be some fallout for the game overall with all of the things going on and there is a big movement by some people who got left behind with a lot of money to blow the whole thing up and start over with new conferences. I also wonder at what point the government gets involved because some of these schools are the furthest thing from a non-profit and that status should go away from some of these programs if they are going to act like a minor league professional sport.
We have seen a lot of quality basketball recruits getting offers or visiting Tech lately. Who on the list below are we likely to sign? Will 2023 be Pastner's best class?
Offered/Visited
Gai Chol
Jakhi Howard
Airious Bailey
Brandon Rechsteiner
Peyton Marshall
KQ- Well they were not recruiting Gai Chol very much and he committed to Miss State on Saturday. Airious is a 2024 kid so I have no idea on him and really the same with Jahki Howard and Peyton Marshall they should both be at least 9 months from doing anything. I do like what they've done with Rechsteiner and he is a priority guy and really the only one on your list for 2023.
Any chance we could get a MLB Draft preview related to Tech's potential picks closer to draft day? I'd be curious to see a list of round projections for our draft-eligible guys (and incoming recruits) and some opinions on who's likely to go and who might stay if they fall a bit.
RJ- Absolutely. I am planning wall-to-wall coverage of the draft and the fallout throughout that three day stretch.
