Hello.
As always, please do not share this information on social media, in a group message, etc. Be smart, people.
The dead period is set to end in a matter of hours. This means that all recruits will be allowed on college campuses, transfers included. What this also means, is that coaches are able to get back on the road.
For Georgia Tech, these next few weeks are going to be critical. With so many new staff members, things like relationship building, re-offering kids, and talking up high school coaches will be huge.
While as of this moment I do not expect there to be any official visitors this weekend, I do anticipate some underclassmen making their way to Georgia Tech between now and the end of the month.
One of those visitors is quite the familiar name around here.
Javin Simpkins, a former commit from Miami (Fla.) Norland, has been in rather consistent communication with new RB coach Mike Daniels despite the decision to de-commit following Choice's departure.
Simpkins won't be on campus this weekend, but is working to finalize a visit date before things go dead at the end of this month.
"He tells me that I am going to love the things he brings to GT," Simpkins said about his conversations with new RB coach Mike Daniels. GT hasn't changed under new offensive coordinator Chip Long, it just got better."
It was clear during my brief conversation that he is excited about the changes Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins has made offensively, and is excited to meet face-to-face with the RB coach of the program he called his "dream school" several times early in the process.
Sticking with the RB position, Georgia Tech is currently in a good place for Rivals250 Tex. RB AJ Newberry despite not officially extending him an offer thus far.
Newberry and Coach Daniels have been in regular contact, and had an extended call earlier this week. A trip to Atlanta for Newberry and his family is in the works for either later this month, or at some point during spring football.
All of the Texas schools are showing interest and are likely to host him at some point as well, but the fact that he is considering a trip to Atlanta without even having an offer shows his level of interest in the school.
I've also been told by numerous sources that despite not being in his recently released "top schools" list, that Georgia Tech is right back in the mix for Rivals100 RB Cedric Baxter.
He was a top target under the previous RB coach, and that does not seem to have changed under Daniels, who has been talking to Baxter daily and is working to get him on campus for a visit this month. A Zoom call this weekend with the family could elevate them further.
Speaking of the Rivals100, Fla. RB Treyaun Webb of Trinity Christian School in Jacksonville has a busy spring planned. With schools such as Georgia, Oregon, South Carolina, and USC in the mix and set to get visits, Georgia Tech had seemingly fallen out of favor with the talented back. The consistency of area recruiter Marco Coleman combined with new RB coach Mike Daniels have GT set to get at least an unofficial visit this spring.
After having numerous conversations with coaches around the country, the traditional "junior day" appears to be a dying breed in terms of the days with over a hundred visitors receiving limited attention. I do expect Georgia Tech to host a talented group of prospects on January 29th, and including in their itinerary that day will be the basketball game as the men take on Miami.
Shifting gears back into the 2022 class, I am ready to enter a "hypothetical FutureCast" for Georgia Tech to land former Notre Dame and Woodward Academy S Khari Gee.
Gee, if he does in-fact choose GT, will have to register in class and move in quickly, and would arrive on the Flats with four years to play four.
Douglas County CB Myles Oliver is set to officially visit next weekend, but will be at Clemson this weekend. Oliver admitted in a conversation with me earlier this week that an offer from the Tigers would be hard to pass up, but that he is looking at his recruitment from a bigger lens than just which logo looks the best on paper.
My Clemson sources maintain the belief that they expect an offer to be made during his OV this weekend, and also added that they may attempt to get him to shut things down and not make the GT visit.
Time will tell on that one, but it honestly feels like right now Clemson's magic is starting to wear off a bit.
Sticking with the defensive side of the ball, Georgia Tech has an uphill battle in the race for in-state LB target EJ Lightsey.
Lightsey, who officially visited earlier this cycle, has seen interest pick up quite a bit since de-committing last month from the Gators. Official visits are being finalized for both South Carolina and Georgia. While it is too early to eliminate them completely, the in-home visits between Georgia Tech and Lightsey will have a much higher level of importance than any of the others he will have this month.
Unless, they are able to get him on campus for an unofficial visit, of course.
Finishing up with the WR position, I am yet to hear officially of any visits lined up for four-star commit Janiran Bonner. Bonner created a mass panic and melt on this very message board back in December when he decided not to sign, but despite the panic of the fanbase, the staff seems to have remained consistent and level-headed through it.
As coaching staffs are finalized elsewhere and 2022 boards come together in the days and week to come, I fully anticipate Bonner receiving new offers from Power Five schools. I also would not be surprised if he used an OV on an HBCU.
As of today, January 13th, I wouldn't change my FutureCast from Georgia Tech in terms of who I am expecting him to sign with.
A new (kinda) name at the WR position Georgia Tech fans need to re-familairize themselves with is Davie (Fla.) Western's Jullian Lewis. Lewis, who was originally the first commitment in the class, had a parting of ways with the Yellow Jackets just about a year ago and was completely removed from the offer list.
As of this evening, Lewis has been added back to the offer list. He will host WR coach Kerry Dixon in his home this weekend, and next weekend will make an official visit to Georgia Tech.
Lewis impressed during his senior season, finishing with 77 catches for 1,260 yards and 14 TD in 12 games. Lewis saw a rise in the most recent Rivals rankings from 82nd in the state of Florida to No. 68 and is also now a 5.7.
Following spring football around the country, there will be another wave of departures and a flood of transfer players entering the portal. Between that group of Players and the ones that are already in there currently and do not intend to enroll in the spring, a lot of guys are sadly going to get Jammed up and have to either withdraw their names or drop down a level in order to find a home.
With that being said, I would be surprised if Georgia Tech didn't add at least two more players in the transfer portal outside of the group enrolled in time to participate in workouts/spring football. One of those, in a perfect world, will be an OT that can step in and start from the moment he gets on campus. Other positions such as WR, LB, TE, etc. could see additions as well.
Finishing up the war room with some personnel updates, I am told that there is a real possibility that Kenyatta Watson ends up joining the off-the-field staff in the weeks to come.
The terms will need to be right, but with his family in the area, and his son on the team, things are trending in the right direction in regards to adding Watson to the recruiting staff.
As always, please do not share this information on social media, in a group message, etc. Be smart, people.
The dead period is set to end in a matter of hours. This means that all recruits will be allowed on college campuses, transfers included. What this also means, is that coaches are able to get back on the road.
For Georgia Tech, these next few weeks are going to be critical. With so many new staff members, things like relationship building, re-offering kids, and talking up high school coaches will be huge.
While as of this moment I do not expect there to be any official visitors this weekend, I do anticipate some underclassmen making their way to Georgia Tech between now and the end of the month.
One of those visitors is quite the familiar name around here.
Javin Simpkins, a former commit from Miami (Fla.) Norland, has been in rather consistent communication with new RB coach Mike Daniels despite the decision to de-commit following Choice's departure.
Simpkins won't be on campus this weekend, but is working to finalize a visit date before things go dead at the end of this month.
"He tells me that I am going to love the things he brings to GT," Simpkins said about his conversations with new RB coach Mike Daniels. GT hasn't changed under new offensive coordinator Chip Long, it just got better."
It was clear during my brief conversation that he is excited about the changes Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins has made offensively, and is excited to meet face-to-face with the RB coach of the program he called his "dream school" several times early in the process.
Sticking with the RB position, Georgia Tech is currently in a good place for Rivals250 Tex. RB AJ Newberry despite not officially extending him an offer thus far.
Newberry and Coach Daniels have been in regular contact, and had an extended call earlier this week. A trip to Atlanta for Newberry and his family is in the works for either later this month, or at some point during spring football.
All of the Texas schools are showing interest and are likely to host him at some point as well, but the fact that he is considering a trip to Atlanta without even having an offer shows his level of interest in the school.
I've also been told by numerous sources that despite not being in his recently released "top schools" list, that Georgia Tech is right back in the mix for Rivals100 RB Cedric Baxter.
He was a top target under the previous RB coach, and that does not seem to have changed under Daniels, who has been talking to Baxter daily and is working to get him on campus for a visit this month. A Zoom call this weekend with the family could elevate them further.
Speaking of the Rivals100, Fla. RB Treyaun Webb of Trinity Christian School in Jacksonville has a busy spring planned. With schools such as Georgia, Oregon, South Carolina, and USC in the mix and set to get visits, Georgia Tech had seemingly fallen out of favor with the talented back. The consistency of area recruiter Marco Coleman combined with new RB coach Mike Daniels have GT set to get at least an unofficial visit this spring.
After having numerous conversations with coaches around the country, the traditional "junior day" appears to be a dying breed in terms of the days with over a hundred visitors receiving limited attention. I do expect Georgia Tech to host a talented group of prospects on January 29th, and including in their itinerary that day will be the basketball game as the men take on Miami.
Shifting gears back into the 2022 class, I am ready to enter a "hypothetical FutureCast" for Georgia Tech to land former Notre Dame and Woodward Academy S Khari Gee.
Gee, if he does in-fact choose GT, will have to register in class and move in quickly, and would arrive on the Flats with four years to play four.
Douglas County CB Myles Oliver is set to officially visit next weekend, but will be at Clemson this weekend. Oliver admitted in a conversation with me earlier this week that an offer from the Tigers would be hard to pass up, but that he is looking at his recruitment from a bigger lens than just which logo looks the best on paper.
My Clemson sources maintain the belief that they expect an offer to be made during his OV this weekend, and also added that they may attempt to get him to shut things down and not make the GT visit.
Time will tell on that one, but it honestly feels like right now Clemson's magic is starting to wear off a bit.
Sticking with the defensive side of the ball, Georgia Tech has an uphill battle in the race for in-state LB target EJ Lightsey.
Lightsey, who officially visited earlier this cycle, has seen interest pick up quite a bit since de-committing last month from the Gators. Official visits are being finalized for both South Carolina and Georgia. While it is too early to eliminate them completely, the in-home visits between Georgia Tech and Lightsey will have a much higher level of importance than any of the others he will have this month.
Unless, they are able to get him on campus for an unofficial visit, of course.
Finishing up with the WR position, I am yet to hear officially of any visits lined up for four-star commit Janiran Bonner. Bonner created a mass panic and melt on this very message board back in December when he decided not to sign, but despite the panic of the fanbase, the staff seems to have remained consistent and level-headed through it.
As coaching staffs are finalized elsewhere and 2022 boards come together in the days and week to come, I fully anticipate Bonner receiving new offers from Power Five schools. I also would not be surprised if he used an OV on an HBCU.
As of today, January 13th, I wouldn't change my FutureCast from Georgia Tech in terms of who I am expecting him to sign with.
A new (kinda) name at the WR position Georgia Tech fans need to re-familairize themselves with is Davie (Fla.) Western's Jullian Lewis. Lewis, who was originally the first commitment in the class, had a parting of ways with the Yellow Jackets just about a year ago and was completely removed from the offer list.
As of this evening, Lewis has been added back to the offer list. He will host WR coach Kerry Dixon in his home this weekend, and next weekend will make an official visit to Georgia Tech.
Lewis impressed during his senior season, finishing with 77 catches for 1,260 yards and 14 TD in 12 games. Lewis saw a rise in the most recent Rivals rankings from 82nd in the state of Florida to No. 68 and is also now a 5.7.
Following spring football around the country, there will be another wave of departures and a flood of transfer players entering the portal. Between that group of Players and the ones that are already in there currently and do not intend to enroll in the spring, a lot of guys are sadly going to get Jammed up and have to either withdraw their names or drop down a level in order to find a home.
With that being said, I would be surprised if Georgia Tech didn't add at least two more players in the transfer portal outside of the group enrolled in time to participate in workouts/spring football. One of those, in a perfect world, will be an OT that can step in and start from the moment he gets on campus. Other positions such as WR, LB, TE, etc. could see additions as well.
Finishing up the war room with some personnel updates, I am told that there is a real possibility that Kenyatta Watson ends up joining the off-the-field staff in the weeks to come.
The terms will need to be right, but with his family in the area, and his son on the team, things are trending in the right direction in regards to adding Watson to the recruiting staff.
