How is Jaylend Ratliffe's full recovery going? If he was running track in the spring, It really sounds like he wants to participate in athletics. That is a really great story how he bounced back so quick.
Jaylend is doing well, the real interesting thing will be if GT’s medical staff will allow him to play. Keep in mind the issues with former DE Antonio Wilson and him suing the school over not letting him play with a neck injury a few years ago. The GT medical staff is very cautious with any spinal, head or neck injury…
Are they going to try Christian Campbell, Taquon Marshall, Ratliffe (in 2016), AND AJ Gray at QB/on offense in general? I think AJ Gray might be too explosive not to play on offense.
A.J. Gray is playing safety, Campbell and TaQuon will get looks at QB, both should cross train at WR and AB respectively.
Will Chris Griffin and CJ Leggett get medical redshirts? Whether now or in 2018...
Depends on if they contribute in the future or not, they would get them easily, but if they are not starters or key contributors, CPJ doesn’t have to ask for one.
Two years ago Sewak wasn't bringing in any recruits and the Oline disappointed. BOR called for his head twice weekly. (BTW, did BOR really cease to support GT football in 2014?) Last year CMS landed two or three recruits (fuzzy recall, but think that's right) and our Olne blew away Top 10 teams our final four games. What happened?
The OL clicked and they found the right mix of guys like by Shaq Mason and Freddie Burden up front. They got some tougher kids in there and that has made a huge difference with the OL.
I think our recruiting "process" (from IDing prospects to building relationships with HS coaches to being in "early" to closing the sale) has improved noticeably these past two years. The recruiting support unit presumably has helped and we have more high energy/strong selling coaches. Still, if we "stand still, we fall behind" so upgrading our current recruiting process is a given if we want a consistent Top 25 program. You are close to it and know how our competitors do it. Upgrade how, by doing what??
I still think GT is light years behind other schools with social media and the type and ways they produce information for recruits. You have some of the smartest people in the world on campus that can intern and they haven’t figured out how to take advantage of it.
- With MBob calling out the offensive side of the basketball team as an issue, he seemed to hint that it's not just necessarily a talent issue, but a coaching/focus issue. Is there anything, to your knowledge, being done to address this (like a coaching consultant or something similar)?
Ummm, I’m pretty sure BG would quit if MBob brought in some coach to work over his shoulder like George Karl or (insert unemployed basketball coach name). It is as much a skill issue as a coaching issue.
- Someone might have asked this before, but with all of the recent WR draft success and guys in the NFL (5 guys in 7 years) why hasn't Buzz Preston gotten more publicity? Has he been offered to coach elsewhere?
Buzz was in the mix for the Hawaii head coaching job and talked to when Georgia State was last open, but the only way he would leave is for a head coaching job or a great job on the west coast or Hawaii. I think this may be Buzz’s last stop. He has been coaching for almost 35 years now.
Hoping that our Oline success with larger kids can continue even after Chamberlin, Braun and Joe move on. Have heard a lot about Klock. And a little about Marshall and Brown. But very little about Preddy, Stickler and Whitley. As a class, how is that young group of six now seen?. Which seem destined to start and which are challenged to be meaningful contributors?
It is hard to say much about the young bucks yet, remember they are R-Frosh so it is a little early to make any major calls on their futures. Errin Joe looked terrible and then last year he got healthy and became one of the best OTs under CPJ, weird things happen and you have to give time for guys to develop.
Where did David Walkosky, Todd Spencer, and Giff Smith end up these days?
Walkosky is living in Ohio unemployed, Spencer is the OL coach at Army for Jeff Monken and Giff Smith is the defensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans.
Further on the thought about kids recruited two years ago or more who don't seem to be in the conversation for two-deep. Like Stargell. Who comes to your mind as SAs of ours who are candidates either for a position change (like Stargell; could he shift to DT?) or just fade away a la Chaz Cheeks?
Stargel missed the entire spring with an injury and was in the two-deep much of last year. I think he is a bad example to bring up. I think he plays SDE more this year instead of RDE like last year. I think they have moved everyone who can be moved to this point. You have to give kids time to develop.
Any other fball players stuggling with grades?
Not that I’ve heard about yet. I usually only hear when it is really going bad, so that is a good sign.
When would you expect to hear about any further fball attrition?
Stay tuned, I’ll have some news on that soon. Waiting to confirm a couple of things I’ve heard.
Now that JHD has Tweeted that he is eligible, is that really the case? What about the 3.0 in two courses in summer school?
He is eligible if they played a game today, don’t get confused by a facebook post. He still needs that 3.0 GPA to be eligible, he has to continue taking classes to keep his clocking moving and get the required amount of academic progress for the NCAA, so he has to pass two classes in summer session.
Sunrise or sunset?
I like sunsets especially in places like Hawaii.
To me, videos of Brashear look better than videos of Gantt and Martin. Yet, Brashear is a 2* and the other 2 are 3*. Any insight as to why Brashear is just 2*?
I’ll ask Woody to chime in on this later today. He is on a redeye flight back to Atlanta tonight so he may be out of pocket for part of Monday.
Jaylend is doing well, the real interesting thing will be if GT’s medical staff will allow him to play. Keep in mind the issues with former DE Antonio Wilson and him suing the school over not letting him play with a neck injury a few years ago. The GT medical staff is very cautious with any spinal, head or neck injury…
Are they going to try Christian Campbell, Taquon Marshall, Ratliffe (in 2016), AND AJ Gray at QB/on offense in general? I think AJ Gray might be too explosive not to play on offense.
A.J. Gray is playing safety, Campbell and TaQuon will get looks at QB, both should cross train at WR and AB respectively.
Will Chris Griffin and CJ Leggett get medical redshirts? Whether now or in 2018...
Depends on if they contribute in the future or not, they would get them easily, but if they are not starters or key contributors, CPJ doesn’t have to ask for one.
Two years ago Sewak wasn't bringing in any recruits and the Oline disappointed. BOR called for his head twice weekly. (BTW, did BOR really cease to support GT football in 2014?) Last year CMS landed two or three recruits (fuzzy recall, but think that's right) and our Olne blew away Top 10 teams our final four games. What happened?
The OL clicked and they found the right mix of guys like by Shaq Mason and Freddie Burden up front. They got some tougher kids in there and that has made a huge difference with the OL.
I think our recruiting "process" (from IDing prospects to building relationships with HS coaches to being in "early" to closing the sale) has improved noticeably these past two years. The recruiting support unit presumably has helped and we have more high energy/strong selling coaches. Still, if we "stand still, we fall behind" so upgrading our current recruiting process is a given if we want a consistent Top 25 program. You are close to it and know how our competitors do it. Upgrade how, by doing what??
I still think GT is light years behind other schools with social media and the type and ways they produce information for recruits. You have some of the smartest people in the world on campus that can intern and they haven’t figured out how to take advantage of it.
- With MBob calling out the offensive side of the basketball team as an issue, he seemed to hint that it's not just necessarily a talent issue, but a coaching/focus issue. Is there anything, to your knowledge, being done to address this (like a coaching consultant or something similar)?
Ummm, I’m pretty sure BG would quit if MBob brought in some coach to work over his shoulder like George Karl or (insert unemployed basketball coach name). It is as much a skill issue as a coaching issue.
- Someone might have asked this before, but with all of the recent WR draft success and guys in the NFL (5 guys in 7 years) why hasn't Buzz Preston gotten more publicity? Has he been offered to coach elsewhere?
Buzz was in the mix for the Hawaii head coaching job and talked to when Georgia State was last open, but the only way he would leave is for a head coaching job or a great job on the west coast or Hawaii. I think this may be Buzz’s last stop. He has been coaching for almost 35 years now.
Hoping that our Oline success with larger kids can continue even after Chamberlin, Braun and Joe move on. Have heard a lot about Klock. And a little about Marshall and Brown. But very little about Preddy, Stickler and Whitley. As a class, how is that young group of six now seen?. Which seem destined to start and which are challenged to be meaningful contributors?
It is hard to say much about the young bucks yet, remember they are R-Frosh so it is a little early to make any major calls on their futures. Errin Joe looked terrible and then last year he got healthy and became one of the best OTs under CPJ, weird things happen and you have to give time for guys to develop.
Where did David Walkosky, Todd Spencer, and Giff Smith end up these days?
Walkosky is living in Ohio unemployed, Spencer is the OL coach at Army for Jeff Monken and Giff Smith is the defensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans.
Further on the thought about kids recruited two years ago or more who don't seem to be in the conversation for two-deep. Like Stargell. Who comes to your mind as SAs of ours who are candidates either for a position change (like Stargell; could he shift to DT?) or just fade away a la Chaz Cheeks?
Stargel missed the entire spring with an injury and was in the two-deep much of last year. I think he is a bad example to bring up. I think he plays SDE more this year instead of RDE like last year. I think they have moved everyone who can be moved to this point. You have to give kids time to develop.
Any other fball players stuggling with grades?
Not that I’ve heard about yet. I usually only hear when it is really going bad, so that is a good sign.
When would you expect to hear about any further fball attrition?
Stay tuned, I’ll have some news on that soon. Waiting to confirm a couple of things I’ve heard.
Now that JHD has Tweeted that he is eligible, is that really the case? What about the 3.0 in two courses in summer school?
He is eligible if they played a game today, don’t get confused by a facebook post. He still needs that 3.0 GPA to be eligible, he has to continue taking classes to keep his clocking moving and get the required amount of academic progress for the NCAA, so he has to pass two classes in summer session.
Sunrise or sunset?
I like sunsets especially in places like Hawaii.
To me, videos of Brashear look better than videos of Gantt and Martin. Yet, Brashear is a 2* and the other 2 are 3*. Any insight as to why Brashear is just 2*?
I’ll ask Woody to chime in on this later today. He is on a redeye flight back to Atlanta tonight so he may be out of pocket for part of Monday.
