Greetings from France where it is late morning. I slept for like 12 hours after not sleeping for almost two days so now I have time to do the Mailbag. Alex will be at GT on Tuesday and Wednesday for media early afternoon ETAs on those and I will be in Dublin on Thursday for Tech's media avail.
With Petty's commitment and Tech showing they are playing ball, is there any renewed and/or new interest from recruits that?
KQ- Yes, the Petty commitment has had a lingering impact on recruiting both helping keep kids in the boat and renewed interest from others who were maybe less than enthusiastic before. Kids want to play with other talented players and if you show that you are getting those kids then it can snowball on you. That is part of what happened in the 2007 class btw and in the 2010 classes two of the better ones I've seen GT sign from a pure talent standpoint.
Which QB after King has the highest ceiling?
KQ- There isn't really a way to tell that. I'll say from a raw physical skills standpoint Graham Knowles has NFL measurables but right now he would be like the 5th QB behind everyone including Aaron Philo his fellow freshman. Philo and Zach Pyron both have some it-factors that are really interesting for that position. We don't know much about how Pyron has progressed because he hasn't really had to play meaningful snaps in a non-situational role since his freshman year so that is an unknown, but he is light years better in practice than he was in 2022 or 2023.
Do you think the new NFL kick off rule will make its way to college? Do you think onside kicks will be abolished in college?
KQ- People keep asking me that and I have no clue. I really don't. I haven't even watched a real snap of NFL preseason to see how it is going. I saw a few clips on twitter of some random plays and saw a game in a bar playing in the background and that has been the extent of my NFL exposure.
Noticed that Gary (new bball hire from Mercer) was integral in Purdue's efficient offense under Painter prior to Mercer. What kind of impact do you think he has for our team and what do you think we can expect to see with him having input moving forward?
KQ- Damon Stoudamire brought Greg Gary to help with Xs and Os and to be someone he can lean on with an extensive background coaching the game and who has worked with great coaches. I think Damon knows what he wants to do offensively and that hasn't really been a question. I think he was clear in his media avail that he knew the defense was their primary problem. They got plenty of open looks offensively last year but Miles Kelly primarily or others were hit-and-miss with those. I think they have that sorted out now.
Now that GT no longer has a permanent conference foe, which ACC team will likely become a good rival, where each team wins roughly 50% of the time?
KQ- I've always thought the game with VaTech was a really strong rivalry and very back and forth. You have the "Tech" thing as well and they bring a decent amount of fans to the party.
Is the team taking a red eye over to Ireland? How are they planning to adjust to the time change, or do you think they'll just try to keep their bodies on east coast time? Any idea what FSU's travel plans are. I just took the family to Amsterdam for a week, and we never recovered from the red eye over. Granted I'm not a 20 year old, but still. It's not easy for anyone...
KQ- Everyone is doing the same thing with travel, everyone leaves on Wednesday and arrives on Thursday in Ireland. There is no easy way to do it, but flying overnight and not really sleeping is the easiest way to reset your body. I can attest to this having done this a few times now. You are miserable the first day and then sleep like the dead that night and then are fine. I literally just did this and I was up basically from 9am Saturday morning until 2pm ET on Sunday when I basically just blacked out in my hotel room from exhaustion. Now I feel fine and my body clock is reset.
What’s the question related to this football season we aren’t asking? What’s the answer?
KQ- I think too many people expect the offense to be plugged back in and it will be the same as it was at the end of the year. I think there will still be growing pains and adjustments unless Haynes King has really leveled up his game. That part I don't know the answer to.
Who are the biggest leaders on our football team? Who do the guys look up to?
KQ- There are many guys, Haynes King, Jordan Williams, Weston Franklin, Clayton Powell-Lee, Slyvain Yondjouen, Zeek Biggers, Warren Burrell and LaMiles Brooks pop to mind. There are also different styles of leadership on the team as well.
Flash forward to December. Tech is coming off a 9-3 season. What were the main causes?
KQ- The offense was able to stay the same or get better from an overall performance standpoint and the defense took a giant leap forward in year one under Tyler Santucci.
Instead, we're in the darkest timeline and Tech is coming off a 3 or 4 win season. What were the main causes?
KQ- Dude I might disappear for a while if that happens. That would take a 2015-like string of injuries at key spots and some teams being significantly better than I think they are on the opposing side.
How difficult is it for you guys to source All 22 tape? I’ve noticed a lot of analysts keep their college All 22 behind a paywall, and that’s due to how they acquire it. With how big the scouting and analysis business has become, how long do you think it is before a conference packages and sells All 22 game tape like the NFL? Seems like you could sell that DTC and independently of any other media rights deal.
KQ- I don't have access to All 22 tape very easily. I can get it through some sources if I really needed it, but it is a pain in the ass and I don't have rights to post it anywhere so I don't bother. I feel like the TV networks would freak out if someone tried to sell All 22 stuff though it essentially still is a rights issue even without the commentary part.
