The feeling here is that GT football is on a very slow slide south due to program inertia. Never mind curriculum, SEC mania, "it's always been tough" rationalizations. I'm convinced that without major course redirection we'll soon be a third quartile ACC team. How do you see it and what reasons for optimism can you share?
I mean in terms of spending and butts in the seats GT is a middle of the pack ACC team that overachieves based on spending by every metric there is. Duke for example has lost money on football for eight straight years meaning they are spending more than comes in while GT turns a tidy profit on football. I think the AD is hyper-focused on hoops and probably rightfully so because it is the only way he can put any stamp on any program, FB can't make an changes because the coach has done well enough to earn some breathing room and financially it is not possible and baseball wise people like Danny and I don't think they have been bad enough to make any changes nor would it move the needle. Until MBob wants to focus on football or is forced to do something by PJ playing the media card or the boosters rattling their sabers I think they are in a status quo situation.
Which incoming freshmen QB has the best chance to start next year (meaning they outplay TM and MJ)? Do you expect more growing pains from the skill positions this year?
Lucas Johnson is clearly the guy they expect to compete with MJ and TM right away and rightfully so. He just needs time in the weight room and to see how quickly he picks up the offense. Jay Jones is a wild card because of the athleticism, but I think long term he ends up playing somewhere else based on what I've heard so far.
whats overall emotions of the football coaches when you talk to them in person?.. do they seem like they are excited for this coming season or do you see concern?
Most of the offensive coaches are very matter of fact guys so there is no reading them. The defensive guys are unusually upbeat about the upcoming season especially CMP because he finally has real numbers to work with and CAM because he has a lot of young talent at safety that he likes in particular AJ Gray and Christian Campbell with major upside.
In 2018, what percentage do you put on Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, and Russell to be our official supplier? I wouldn't mind 50% Nike, 50% UA, 0% Adidas and Russell. Adidas has now lost UCLA, ND, Michigan, Wisconsin: do you think they might start getting desperate and offer us big $?
That's really hard to say. I know someone at Nike who is an alum that is pushing hard for that contract and they have plenty of experience dealing with Nike already. I doubt they go Adidas, that is too much of an unknown IMO. UA could be interesting because they don't have a foothold in GA since UGA is a Nike school so maybe that would make sense as well.
Any News on Chris Griffin ?
So he is still having some pain in his knee, but he plans to give it a go in the spring, it is still healing up so the hope is by August he will be relatively pain free and able to play.
How much of the GT brand intellectual property rights does the GTAA retain instead of Russell? I would hope we don't end up in a situation like Michigan's, where they lost the "maize" color after they left Adidas.
No idea, I doubt any, what color could they claim? The maize thing is a such a specific concept and there is nothing really that Russell was involved in that would fall under that and also Russell is getting out of the business versus Adidas who is still in it so it is a different animal.
Given what you know about the various physical ailments troubling JT by the end of last season, do you expect he will be healed up to the point that he is able to play with the speed, explosiveness, and decisiveness he displayed late in 2014?
I mean he showed the wheels in the spring game, he is fine physically now, he just needs to be aggressive like he was in the past and that may just be him needing to get hit a little and also being a senior in non-contact isn't the best way to get ready, but it makes sense not to beat him up.
My impression was that you were pretty underwhelmed by the hire of Ron West. Is your opinion of this hire trending up, down, or neutral based on what has evolved since he joined the staff?
I like Ron, he seems like a nice guy. I have no idea of what he is actually doing in practice because we don't see that part and he is an upgrade in recruiting over Ray or Walkosky, but that isn't a high bar either. I am in wait and see mode. I would have preferred either a recruiter or someone with more OL experience, but I understand why PJ hired him.
Do we have a legitimate candidate to press Rodwell for punting duties this fall? His performance last year was atrocious. I saw several local HS kids in the metro area that performed better.
I doubt it and it is hard to say a HS kid would do any better. When they go live he is the best of the ones that have including kids who walked-on.
Do you expect we will have a BB exceed 1,000 yards rushing this upcoming season? If so, who?
No I still think you will see some committee play with Marshall and Leggett getting the bulk of the work if healthy. They like what they saw of Leggett in the spring in non-contact and Marshall is obviously very talented so that will split those reps and Marcus Allen is best in the passing situations and the best pass protector so that is why he is still around.
What is the early scouting report on BC? Where do we match-up well and where are we going to be at risk?
The new DC was the DC at UVA that GT put 56 on in 2012 and he struggled stopping the triple. They have six starters back on defense, offensively a new QB, two new WRs, new TE and backups and injured guys at RB from last year starting so a ton of unknowns. They were horrendous last year on offense and also had a lot of injuries. They play a lot like GT so that should be helpful for the defense, lots of read-option and power running like a mediocre Ohio State without the downfield passing game. Defensively they are not bad.
Do you know if CPJ has a list of 3 to 5 strategic imperatives that he believes need to get implemented for GT football to take a step up to the next level of performance? If so, has he ever shared these with you and are you willing to share them with us?
I guess you mean in-game stuff and yeah he has shared them. Pass protection is #1, knocking the QB off their spot on D would be #1A and stopping the run and lowering the yardage allowed on first down is a another as well as less busts on blocking assignments which was a huge problem last year. They'd block 2/3 of the play and they would have some guy or two guys turned loose and you could see the home run play if the third guy had just blocked his man. Very frustrating to watch.
Is Antonio Simmons still on track to return in the Fall to the best of your knowledge?
I believe so, it is up to GT academic's arm when he can return, not a PJ decision. His issue was school related not team or team rules related. But they think he will be back last I checked.
I mean in terms of spending and butts in the seats GT is a middle of the pack ACC team that overachieves based on spending by every metric there is. Duke for example has lost money on football for eight straight years meaning they are spending more than comes in while GT turns a tidy profit on football. I think the AD is hyper-focused on hoops and probably rightfully so because it is the only way he can put any stamp on any program, FB can't make an changes because the coach has done well enough to earn some breathing room and financially it is not possible and baseball wise people like Danny and I don't think they have been bad enough to make any changes nor would it move the needle. Until MBob wants to focus on football or is forced to do something by PJ playing the media card or the boosters rattling their sabers I think they are in a status quo situation.
Which incoming freshmen QB has the best chance to start next year (meaning they outplay TM and MJ)? Do you expect more growing pains from the skill positions this year?
Lucas Johnson is clearly the guy they expect to compete with MJ and TM right away and rightfully so. He just needs time in the weight room and to see how quickly he picks up the offense. Jay Jones is a wild card because of the athleticism, but I think long term he ends up playing somewhere else based on what I've heard so far.
whats overall emotions of the football coaches when you talk to them in person?.. do they seem like they are excited for this coming season or do you see concern?
Most of the offensive coaches are very matter of fact guys so there is no reading them. The defensive guys are unusually upbeat about the upcoming season especially CMP because he finally has real numbers to work with and CAM because he has a lot of young talent at safety that he likes in particular AJ Gray and Christian Campbell with major upside.
In 2018, what percentage do you put on Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, and Russell to be our official supplier? I wouldn't mind 50% Nike, 50% UA, 0% Adidas and Russell. Adidas has now lost UCLA, ND, Michigan, Wisconsin: do you think they might start getting desperate and offer us big $?
That's really hard to say. I know someone at Nike who is an alum that is pushing hard for that contract and they have plenty of experience dealing with Nike already. I doubt they go Adidas, that is too much of an unknown IMO. UA could be interesting because they don't have a foothold in GA since UGA is a Nike school so maybe that would make sense as well.
Any News on Chris Griffin ?
So he is still having some pain in his knee, but he plans to give it a go in the spring, it is still healing up so the hope is by August he will be relatively pain free and able to play.
How much of the GT brand intellectual property rights does the GTAA retain instead of Russell? I would hope we don't end up in a situation like Michigan's, where they lost the "maize" color after they left Adidas.
No idea, I doubt any, what color could they claim? The maize thing is a such a specific concept and there is nothing really that Russell was involved in that would fall under that and also Russell is getting out of the business versus Adidas who is still in it so it is a different animal.
Given what you know about the various physical ailments troubling JT by the end of last season, do you expect he will be healed up to the point that he is able to play with the speed, explosiveness, and decisiveness he displayed late in 2014?
I mean he showed the wheels in the spring game, he is fine physically now, he just needs to be aggressive like he was in the past and that may just be him needing to get hit a little and also being a senior in non-contact isn't the best way to get ready, but it makes sense not to beat him up.
My impression was that you were pretty underwhelmed by the hire of Ron West. Is your opinion of this hire trending up, down, or neutral based on what has evolved since he joined the staff?
I like Ron, he seems like a nice guy. I have no idea of what he is actually doing in practice because we don't see that part and he is an upgrade in recruiting over Ray or Walkosky, but that isn't a high bar either. I am in wait and see mode. I would have preferred either a recruiter or someone with more OL experience, but I understand why PJ hired him.
Do we have a legitimate candidate to press Rodwell for punting duties this fall? His performance last year was atrocious. I saw several local HS kids in the metro area that performed better.
I doubt it and it is hard to say a HS kid would do any better. When they go live he is the best of the ones that have including kids who walked-on.
Do you expect we will have a BB exceed 1,000 yards rushing this upcoming season? If so, who?
No I still think you will see some committee play with Marshall and Leggett getting the bulk of the work if healthy. They like what they saw of Leggett in the spring in non-contact and Marshall is obviously very talented so that will split those reps and Marcus Allen is best in the passing situations and the best pass protector so that is why he is still around.
What is the early scouting report on BC? Where do we match-up well and where are we going to be at risk?
The new DC was the DC at UVA that GT put 56 on in 2012 and he struggled stopping the triple. They have six starters back on defense, offensively a new QB, two new WRs, new TE and backups and injured guys at RB from last year starting so a ton of unknowns. They were horrendous last year on offense and also had a lot of injuries. They play a lot like GT so that should be helpful for the defense, lots of read-option and power running like a mediocre Ohio State without the downfield passing game. Defensively they are not bad.
Do you know if CPJ has a list of 3 to 5 strategic imperatives that he believes need to get implemented for GT football to take a step up to the next level of performance? If so, has he ever shared these with you and are you willing to share them with us?
I guess you mean in-game stuff and yeah he has shared them. Pass protection is #1, knocking the QB off their spot on D would be #1A and stopping the run and lowering the yardage allowed on first down is a another as well as less busts on blocking assignments which was a huge problem last year. They'd block 2/3 of the play and they would have some guy or two guys turned loose and you could see the home run play if the third guy had just blocked his man. Very frustrating to watch.
Is Antonio Simmons still on track to return in the Fall to the best of your knowledge?
I believe so, it is up to GT academic's arm when he can return, not a PJ decision. His issue was school related not team or team rules related. But they think he will be back last I checked.
