BASKETBALL
So no decision has been made yet on Brian Gregory. I've been told if he wins tonight against San Diego State it will be hard to fire him. That would give BG 22 wins which would be the third most for GT hoops since 1996. GT has only won 20+ games seven times since 1991, let that sink in for a moment, sobering...
If BG stays they may give him a low risk buyout extension with hopes that will improve recruiting for 2017's big time class. Meaning minimal buyout and risk for GT. MBob learned his lesson on the last contract.
If they opt to fire Gregory, which is a strong possibility, they have a list of candidates some of whom are names mentioned on here. MBob has the green light to make the decision one way or another this time. Everyone knows next year will be tough for with the five seniors gone.
Don't be surprised if Corey Heyward hangs up his shoes and Travis Jorgenson transfers out either.
FOOTBALL
Most of the team is out of town at home or on the beach for spring break. I got some good tidbits on everyone so here is what I've heard lately.
QB- Justin Thomas is still working his way back. They will limit his contact again this spring, JT says he is 80-85% according to my sources, so the hope is to get him good work this spring and then fully healed up before camp starts. He has shoulder, ankle and other dings he is dealing with.
Matthew Jordan, Chase Martenson and Brady Swilling will be the other QBs this spring. CPJ is not thrilled with TaQuon Marshall's toughness so they don't want to bother moving him especially with Lucas Johnson or Jay Jones likely to dress this fall at least. On Jordan, right now he is a very solid backup they are comfortable with but he has not shown enough with his arm and dealing the ball to backs to prove he is a long term replacement for JT. Expect a very thorough competition between Jordan, Jones and Johnson in camp in the fall unless Jordan makes strides in spring ball like Tevin or JT did after their early playing experience.
B-BACK- Weird situation here with C.J. Leggett who has been medically cleared but his family wants him to be in yellow (non-contact) this spring since he is less than a year out of surgery.
With Leggett mostly out of the mix, the focus will shift to Marcus Marshall, Marcus Allen, Quaide Weimerskirch, Kirvonte Benson and Dedrick Mills. Leggett's situation also explains why they don't want to move Mills yet. Benson has struggled with some issues as well so you need a good mix there. Marshall looks really good in workouts as did Mills and Benson. Weimerskirch remains a really interesting piece because of his size as well. They have a nice mix of guys to work with.
A-BACK- They have four guys they feel really good about going into camp with Qua Searcy, J.J. Green, Clinton Lynch and Lynn Griffin. Lynn and Lynch looked really good in workouts as did Nathan Cottrell who won't be cleared for spring ball but is expected to be the fifth guy. If there are no injuries look for them to redshirt Mikell Lands-Davis and TaQuon Marshall as well as Xavier Gantt. They will still have Ike Willis and Omarhi Jarrett to mix into the rotation as well who can't redshirt.
WIDE RECEIVER- The big issue with this group now is explosiveness like many have alluded to on the broad. That is why PJ signed Jair Hawkins-Anderson actually, he wanted a guy who could burn down the sideline. Christian Philpott has blown up and is like a TE sized guy now, but he is going to have to work on his speed. Ricky Jeune just isn't very explosive either running, Harland Howell could be the breakout guy (think Smelter and Bay Bay size wise) with Brad Stewart being more of the Darren Waller type, big hands but doesn't blow anyone away. Stewart has had a great offseason building up his body. Antonio Messick will ride the pine unless something clicks for him and they can probably redshirt Steve Dolphus and Hawkins-Anderson, unless PJ wants the latter for go routes.
OFFENSIVE LINE- This is the big mess and unknown. The staff feels great about center and offensive tackle. If they can find another center Andrew Marshall would like to slide out to tackle in the fall, but that is a big if. The guard problem comes down to a few things. Shamire Devine's desire and conditioning remain a problem, Chris Griffin's transition to guard could take time and how ready are either Brad Morgan or Jake Whitley to compete? Will Bryan looks great at OT, a coach told me he is really cut up now and moving well and they like Trey Klock a lot at RT. Freddie Burden is doing much better emotionally and physically after what happened to him in the last year. I think his positive head space will help him a lot.
As an aside, I had a chance to talk to Ron West some at Pro Day and he seems like a great guy, I'll be curious to see how he is integrated into the OL instruction.
DEFENSIVE END- The guy everyone was talking to me about was a surprise name, Tyler Merriweather. Apparently he had the best offseason of all the DEs and is very hungry after sitting on the bench. I haven't seen Antonio Simmons or KeShun Freeman in person yet, but I saw Rod Rook-Chungong, Anree Saint-Amour and Desmond Branch at Pro Day and they are much better looking than what GT played with in 2014 or 2015 right now from a physical standpoint. Kenderius Whitehead is still on the team but he was a major bust.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE- I talked about this in detail in the spring position battles, but I will say that Francis Kallon has had a tremendous offseason and is in great shape and looks beastly. Hopefully he can play like Tarzan. Kyle Cerge-Henderson has reshaped his body some and looks like this big wide NT type, which is a good thing.
LINEBACKER- Brant Mitchell has had a great offseason and Terrell Lewis has as well, they are excited to see if the light bulb has come on for Lewis now. P.J. Davis is PJ and is healed up so he should be good to go. Emmanuel Bridges looked decent to me when I saw him especially for a kid who should be in HS. Vic Alexander is one I keep hearing is really looking slow and stiff. I was told he is just a few notches above Tre Jackson and both are behind Chase Alford right now.
CORNERBACK- Lamont Simmons looks good but he has some work to do in the classroom to keep himself out of trouble, that could become a bigger issue if he isn't careful. Step Durham looks solid at corner along with Lance Austin. The big thing this spring will be developing Meiko Dotson and Dorian Walker to be rotation guys. The staff are excited about both of them. Lawrence Austin is solid at the nickel and they have a few different guys with some reps to back him up.
SAFETY- This is my biggest concern other than OG. A.J. Gray is very solid at one spot, but they need to find someone to step up out of the mix of Corey Griffin, Jalen Johnson, John Marvin, David Curry and Shaun Kagawa this spring. Marvin was actually someone they liked before he got stuck in the doghouse last year and suspended early in the season. Kagawa can hit, Griffin is one of Roof's favorites and Johnson physically looks the part. Hopefully they can find someone out of that mix.
SPECIAL TEAMS- Not much drama at kicker, punter or snapper, Harrison Butker, Ryan Rodwell and Casey Wilson and Trevor Stroebel all have roles. The big thing will be punt return and kick return and how the staff divides those jobs now without a special teams coach. That won't be known for a few weeks.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Kind of quiet at the moment. They will have an interesting visitor in a few weeks, 3-star OL Billy Ross from Huntington (WV) he is very interested and has been told he will get an offer when he comes down. Good looking kid.
So no decision has been made yet on Brian Gregory. I've been told if he wins tonight against San Diego State it will be hard to fire him. That would give BG 22 wins which would be the third most for GT hoops since 1996. GT has only won 20+ games seven times since 1991, let that sink in for a moment, sobering...
If BG stays they may give him a low risk buyout extension with hopes that will improve recruiting for 2017's big time class. Meaning minimal buyout and risk for GT. MBob learned his lesson on the last contract.
If they opt to fire Gregory, which is a strong possibility, they have a list of candidates some of whom are names mentioned on here. MBob has the green light to make the decision one way or another this time. Everyone knows next year will be tough for with the five seniors gone.
Don't be surprised if Corey Heyward hangs up his shoes and Travis Jorgenson transfers out either.
FOOTBALL
Most of the team is out of town at home or on the beach for spring break. I got some good tidbits on everyone so here is what I've heard lately.
QB- Justin Thomas is still working his way back. They will limit his contact again this spring, JT says he is 80-85% according to my sources, so the hope is to get him good work this spring and then fully healed up before camp starts. He has shoulder, ankle and other dings he is dealing with.
Matthew Jordan, Chase Martenson and Brady Swilling will be the other QBs this spring. CPJ is not thrilled with TaQuon Marshall's toughness so they don't want to bother moving him especially with Lucas Johnson or Jay Jones likely to dress this fall at least. On Jordan, right now he is a very solid backup they are comfortable with but he has not shown enough with his arm and dealing the ball to backs to prove he is a long term replacement for JT. Expect a very thorough competition between Jordan, Jones and Johnson in camp in the fall unless Jordan makes strides in spring ball like Tevin or JT did after their early playing experience.
B-BACK- Weird situation here with C.J. Leggett who has been medically cleared but his family wants him to be in yellow (non-contact) this spring since he is less than a year out of surgery.
With Leggett mostly out of the mix, the focus will shift to Marcus Marshall, Marcus Allen, Quaide Weimerskirch, Kirvonte Benson and Dedrick Mills. Leggett's situation also explains why they don't want to move Mills yet. Benson has struggled with some issues as well so you need a good mix there. Marshall looks really good in workouts as did Mills and Benson. Weimerskirch remains a really interesting piece because of his size as well. They have a nice mix of guys to work with.
A-BACK- They have four guys they feel really good about going into camp with Qua Searcy, J.J. Green, Clinton Lynch and Lynn Griffin. Lynn and Lynch looked really good in workouts as did Nathan Cottrell who won't be cleared for spring ball but is expected to be the fifth guy. If there are no injuries look for them to redshirt Mikell Lands-Davis and TaQuon Marshall as well as Xavier Gantt. They will still have Ike Willis and Omarhi Jarrett to mix into the rotation as well who can't redshirt.
WIDE RECEIVER- The big issue with this group now is explosiveness like many have alluded to on the broad. That is why PJ signed Jair Hawkins-Anderson actually, he wanted a guy who could burn down the sideline. Christian Philpott has blown up and is like a TE sized guy now, but he is going to have to work on his speed. Ricky Jeune just isn't very explosive either running, Harland Howell could be the breakout guy (think Smelter and Bay Bay size wise) with Brad Stewart being more of the Darren Waller type, big hands but doesn't blow anyone away. Stewart has had a great offseason building up his body. Antonio Messick will ride the pine unless something clicks for him and they can probably redshirt Steve Dolphus and Hawkins-Anderson, unless PJ wants the latter for go routes.
OFFENSIVE LINE- This is the big mess and unknown. The staff feels great about center and offensive tackle. If they can find another center Andrew Marshall would like to slide out to tackle in the fall, but that is a big if. The guard problem comes down to a few things. Shamire Devine's desire and conditioning remain a problem, Chris Griffin's transition to guard could take time and how ready are either Brad Morgan or Jake Whitley to compete? Will Bryan looks great at OT, a coach told me he is really cut up now and moving well and they like Trey Klock a lot at RT. Freddie Burden is doing much better emotionally and physically after what happened to him in the last year. I think his positive head space will help him a lot.
As an aside, I had a chance to talk to Ron West some at Pro Day and he seems like a great guy, I'll be curious to see how he is integrated into the OL instruction.
DEFENSIVE END- The guy everyone was talking to me about was a surprise name, Tyler Merriweather. Apparently he had the best offseason of all the DEs and is very hungry after sitting on the bench. I haven't seen Antonio Simmons or KeShun Freeman in person yet, but I saw Rod Rook-Chungong, Anree Saint-Amour and Desmond Branch at Pro Day and they are much better looking than what GT played with in 2014 or 2015 right now from a physical standpoint. Kenderius Whitehead is still on the team but he was a major bust.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE- I talked about this in detail in the spring position battles, but I will say that Francis Kallon has had a tremendous offseason and is in great shape and looks beastly. Hopefully he can play like Tarzan. Kyle Cerge-Henderson has reshaped his body some and looks like this big wide NT type, which is a good thing.
LINEBACKER- Brant Mitchell has had a great offseason and Terrell Lewis has as well, they are excited to see if the light bulb has come on for Lewis now. P.J. Davis is PJ and is healed up so he should be good to go. Emmanuel Bridges looked decent to me when I saw him especially for a kid who should be in HS. Vic Alexander is one I keep hearing is really looking slow and stiff. I was told he is just a few notches above Tre Jackson and both are behind Chase Alford right now.
CORNERBACK- Lamont Simmons looks good but he has some work to do in the classroom to keep himself out of trouble, that could become a bigger issue if he isn't careful. Step Durham looks solid at corner along with Lance Austin. The big thing this spring will be developing Meiko Dotson and Dorian Walker to be rotation guys. The staff are excited about both of them. Lawrence Austin is solid at the nickel and they have a few different guys with some reps to back him up.
SAFETY- This is my biggest concern other than OG. A.J. Gray is very solid at one spot, but they need to find someone to step up out of the mix of Corey Griffin, Jalen Johnson, John Marvin, David Curry and Shaun Kagawa this spring. Marvin was actually someone they liked before he got stuck in the doghouse last year and suspended early in the season. Kagawa can hit, Griffin is one of Roof's favorites and Johnson physically looks the part. Hopefully they can find someone out of that mix.
SPECIAL TEAMS- Not much drama at kicker, punter or snapper, Harrison Butker, Ryan Rodwell and Casey Wilson and Trevor Stroebel all have roles. The big thing will be punt return and kick return and how the staff divides those jobs now without a special teams coach. That won't be known for a few weeks.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Kind of quiet at the moment. They will have an interesting visitor in a few weeks, 3-star OL Billy Ross from Huntington (WV) he is very interested and has been told he will get an offer when he comes down. Good looking kid.
