So remember what is said in the WAR ROOM stays in the WAR ROOM, it doesn't go on twitter, facebook, DMs, or whatever.
FOOTBALL
Discussions are underway to get the football team back on campus next month. The staff are hopeful and are letting people know that it is a legitimate possibility so be prepared, however there are many people who have to sign off on it so there are a lot of hurdles that have not been cleared yet. Everyone from legal to the president of the school have to be onboard.
ADTS and the brain trust of GT are working on this behind the scenes with aims to play a football season this year if it is safe.
Several SEC programs are planning to come back either June 1 or 15th including UGA so that may help the cause at Tech to make it happen. On my end, I just want everyone to be save and healthy so they hopefully have a good plan to keep the kids that way.
On football scheduling, there is lots of talk right now about fractured schedules since some teams won't be playing including possibly an ACC team like Syracuse or Virginia/Virginia Tech because of concerns about COVID-19. The Pac-12 football programs in California are not on track to play as of now and that will be the case with many other programs especially in areas that become hot spots again with the virus.
Without fans in the stands, it will be easier for scheduling on the fly for teams. It is not like hotels are booked out or planes hard to charter at the moment so hopefully you could see some interesting old rivalries rekindled. That whole idea of fans or no fans is still very much unsettled on every level from talking to sources at both GT and other programs.
On the GT side, most of the non-conference games except Notre Dame are regional opponents so that is a good situation to be in right now.
Team wise, the staff has done a nice job of helping the kids get workouts in and most are doing a good job of staying in shape and trying to keep their S&C gains from the offseason. Many are figuring out unique ways to workout and get some football work in at home with family members helping them. You've probably seen a good bit of this on social media lately.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Things are starting to get interesting at the quarterback position, as other schools are offering and identifying new targets in the last several days.
One of those schools, Louisville, is thought to be the main competition for GT for Chayden Peery. While Peery's senior season could be in jeopardy based on the recent rulings in the state of California, Louisville may be pivoting at the position. An offer on Thursday from the Cardinals went out to Glynn Academy QB Terrance Lewis.
Other schools, such as Georgia Tech are recruiting Lewis as an ATH. In this type of recruitment, GT being the local school could actually hurt them. Louisville could very easily tell him what he wants to hear, sign him and call him a QB, and then day one or two of practice, move him to another position with some type of BS excuse.
GT doesn't have that luxury, and has been honest with him throughout his recruitment about that.
Getting back to Peery, he recently went on a virtual visit to Vanderbilt in addition to the ones he went on to both Louisville and Georgia Tech.
Kansas and Boise State are also heavily in the mix.
I still don’t think that the staff is done evaluating/sending out offers at the position for the class of 2021, but that could change if these signal-callers start pulling the trigger in the weeks to come.
***I can confirm that there was no contact between GT and Aaron McLaughlin following his Auburn decommitment.
Speaking of virtual visits and conversations with Georgia Tech in recent days, LB target Caden Fordham is another that was recently in contact with the staff.
His conversations with the staff this week were important, as it was reported early this week that he was going to be announcing this week, and Georgia Tech was also reportedly out of the mix.
That is no longer the case, per my sources. GT is squarely in the mix, and one source went as far to say that they are one of his top options.
I don’t think BlackStrain will be the only four-star receiver in this class.
In the projected class I am working on, this is what the WR class looks like in terms of CURRENT RR-
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.6
(if there is no RB in the class)
5.7
5.6
Another major topic of conversation recently has been offensive line recruiting, and the lack of commitments at the position.
Georgia Tech remains in a strong position for Westlake OT Jakiah Leftwich, and while he has planned a commitment in July, things could get pushed up.
Another offensive lineman that Key and the staff are in a good spot for is Micah Pettus. Pettus has blown up a bit throughout this shutdown, but has remained in contact with the staff, and has had his questions answered.
I’m working on gather enough for a story on new OL offer Charlie Patterson.
Continuing on the OL, the more people I talk to about Weston Franklin’s recruitment, the closer I get to putting in a FutureCast in for him.
Franklin projects as a guard at the college level, a good one at that.
With a class thought to have five members in it, if possible they will add multiple interior linemen.
In an ideal world, multiple OL from the state of Alabama will be in the class.
the time off the road and at home has given coaches time to evaluate multiple classes, not just for 2021.
While every other school has the same advantages, there’s just something special (in the eyes of an in-state recruit) about having their first offer come from Georgia Tech.
Staying in the trenches, the commitment from Zeek Biggers on Mother’s Day means that of the two DT they hope to sign in the 2021 class, they have one of them committed already. The staff views Biggers like an unmolded piece of clay that is the perfect size for the DT position and they are very excited about his potential hence why they pushed so hard because he is a good fit for the program in all aspects and he has size they cannot teach.
This means that of the other names listed on the offer list, only one will (more than likely) be in the class.
Long-time target Cameron Ball remains the most likely candidate, and sources close to his recruitment believe that while Georgia Tech remains in a good place, he is holding firm (as of 5/14) on his wishes to visit campuses before deciding.
Staying in the state of Georgia, a couple of offer list changes that I know if I do not mention, may get missed:
I fully anticipate Miles Campbell committing to Tennessee next week. He will remain on the offer list.
Until I hear more about him, Ola DL Devin Lee will be removed from the offer list.
Look for more changes this weekend on the offer list. Finally, I am still planning to release an updated (still) too early projected class. Look for it early next week, if not before.
BASKETBALL
Romello White is off the board, he never spoke with Josh Pastner and was pretty locked into dealing with people he knew very well already like Stackhouse at Vandy and the Ole Miss assistant who recruited him to Arizona State. Those guys had the strong previous relationships and he apparently shut everyone else out. Pastner never really dealt with him because he was not going to make it into school out of HS and Brian Gregory had already been planning to recruit over him when he was fired.
On the team front, the staff are hopeful if football gets the okay and things go well that will open up the opportunity for the basketball team to return in a similar fashion so they can get to working out. With it being a key season for Pastner and the players with NCAAT hopes they really want to get going as soon as possible. Everyone except for Maxwell is hanging in the Atlanta area including Saba ready to come in when they get the greenlight.
On the recruiting front, they are holding steady leaving open that final scholarship spot for now. There is a chance some more players could become available if teams opt to not play come Oct/Nov (looking at you Pac-12) so they may be able to pick up one final piece that way for 2020-21.
Looking ahead to the 2021 class, they are still looking for a pure point guard, but are going hard after Deebo Coleman as a Devoe-like combo guard who can play both. GT is in good shape with him.
GT leads for SF Alex Fudge right now, the staff have really gone all in on him.
It is still a GT/FSU fight for Matthew Cleveland who is not in a hurry to make his decision right now
GT wants to sign four if possible in 2021, a PG (must-have since they'll be down to one after this year), a SG/combo guard, a wing and a big.
One interesting big man is John Butler from South Carolina. He is a big academic kid, also very skinny but he would be a perfect fit.
FOOTBALL
Discussions are underway to get the football team back on campus next month. The staff are hopeful and are letting people know that it is a legitimate possibility so be prepared, however there are many people who have to sign off on it so there are a lot of hurdles that have not been cleared yet. Everyone from legal to the president of the school have to be onboard.
ADTS and the brain trust of GT are working on this behind the scenes with aims to play a football season this year if it is safe.
Several SEC programs are planning to come back either June 1 or 15th including UGA so that may help the cause at Tech to make it happen. On my end, I just want everyone to be save and healthy so they hopefully have a good plan to keep the kids that way.
On football scheduling, there is lots of talk right now about fractured schedules since some teams won't be playing including possibly an ACC team like Syracuse or Virginia/Virginia Tech because of concerns about COVID-19. The Pac-12 football programs in California are not on track to play as of now and that will be the case with many other programs especially in areas that become hot spots again with the virus.
Without fans in the stands, it will be easier for scheduling on the fly for teams. It is not like hotels are booked out or planes hard to charter at the moment so hopefully you could see some interesting old rivalries rekindled. That whole idea of fans or no fans is still very much unsettled on every level from talking to sources at both GT and other programs.
On the GT side, most of the non-conference games except Notre Dame are regional opponents so that is a good situation to be in right now.
Team wise, the staff has done a nice job of helping the kids get workouts in and most are doing a good job of staying in shape and trying to keep their S&C gains from the offseason. Many are figuring out unique ways to workout and get some football work in at home with family members helping them. You've probably seen a good bit of this on social media lately.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Things are starting to get interesting at the quarterback position, as other schools are offering and identifying new targets in the last several days.
One of those schools, Louisville, is thought to be the main competition for GT for Chayden Peery. While Peery's senior season could be in jeopardy based on the recent rulings in the state of California, Louisville may be pivoting at the position. An offer on Thursday from the Cardinals went out to Glynn Academy QB Terrance Lewis.
Other schools, such as Georgia Tech are recruiting Lewis as an ATH. In this type of recruitment, GT being the local school could actually hurt them. Louisville could very easily tell him what he wants to hear, sign him and call him a QB, and then day one or two of practice, move him to another position with some type of BS excuse.
GT doesn't have that luxury, and has been honest with him throughout his recruitment about that.
Getting back to Peery, he recently went on a virtual visit to Vanderbilt in addition to the ones he went on to both Louisville and Georgia Tech.
Kansas and Boise State are also heavily in the mix.
I still don’t think that the staff is done evaluating/sending out offers at the position for the class of 2021, but that could change if these signal-callers start pulling the trigger in the weeks to come.
***I can confirm that there was no contact between GT and Aaron McLaughlin following his Auburn decommitment.
Speaking of virtual visits and conversations with Georgia Tech in recent days, LB target Caden Fordham is another that was recently in contact with the staff.
His conversations with the staff this week were important, as it was reported early this week that he was going to be announcing this week, and Georgia Tech was also reportedly out of the mix.
That is no longer the case, per my sources. GT is squarely in the mix, and one source went as far to say that they are one of his top options.
I don’t think BlackStrain will be the only four-star receiver in this class.
In the projected class I am working on, this is what the WR class looks like in terms of CURRENT RR-
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.6
(if there is no RB in the class)
5.7
5.6
Another major topic of conversation recently has been offensive line recruiting, and the lack of commitments at the position.
Georgia Tech remains in a strong position for Westlake OT Jakiah Leftwich, and while he has planned a commitment in July, things could get pushed up.
Another offensive lineman that Key and the staff are in a good spot for is Micah Pettus. Pettus has blown up a bit throughout this shutdown, but has remained in contact with the staff, and has had his questions answered.
I’m working on gather enough for a story on new OL offer Charlie Patterson.
Continuing on the OL, the more people I talk to about Weston Franklin’s recruitment, the closer I get to putting in a FutureCast in for him.
Franklin projects as a guard at the college level, a good one at that.
With a class thought to have five members in it, if possible they will add multiple interior linemen.
In an ideal world, multiple OL from the state of Alabama will be in the class.
the time off the road and at home has given coaches time to evaluate multiple classes, not just for 2021.
While every other school has the same advantages, there’s just something special (in the eyes of an in-state recruit) about having their first offer come from Georgia Tech.
Staying in the trenches, the commitment from Zeek Biggers on Mother’s Day means that of the two DT they hope to sign in the 2021 class, they have one of them committed already. The staff views Biggers like an unmolded piece of clay that is the perfect size for the DT position and they are very excited about his potential hence why they pushed so hard because he is a good fit for the program in all aspects and he has size they cannot teach.
This means that of the other names listed on the offer list, only one will (more than likely) be in the class.
Long-time target Cameron Ball remains the most likely candidate, and sources close to his recruitment believe that while Georgia Tech remains in a good place, he is holding firm (as of 5/14) on his wishes to visit campuses before deciding.
Staying in the state of Georgia, a couple of offer list changes that I know if I do not mention, may get missed:
I fully anticipate Miles Campbell committing to Tennessee next week. He will remain on the offer list.
Until I hear more about him, Ola DL Devin Lee will be removed from the offer list.
Look for more changes this weekend on the offer list. Finally, I am still planning to release an updated (still) too early projected class. Look for it early next week, if not before.
BASKETBALL
Romello White is off the board, he never spoke with Josh Pastner and was pretty locked into dealing with people he knew very well already like Stackhouse at Vandy and the Ole Miss assistant who recruited him to Arizona State. Those guys had the strong previous relationships and he apparently shut everyone else out. Pastner never really dealt with him because he was not going to make it into school out of HS and Brian Gregory had already been planning to recruit over him when he was fired.
On the team front, the staff are hopeful if football gets the okay and things go well that will open up the opportunity for the basketball team to return in a similar fashion so they can get to working out. With it being a key season for Pastner and the players with NCAAT hopes they really want to get going as soon as possible. Everyone except for Maxwell is hanging in the Atlanta area including Saba ready to come in when they get the greenlight.
On the recruiting front, they are holding steady leaving open that final scholarship spot for now. There is a chance some more players could become available if teams opt to not play come Oct/Nov (looking at you Pac-12) so they may be able to pick up one final piece that way for 2020-21.
Looking ahead to the 2021 class, they are still looking for a pure point guard, but are going hard after Deebo Coleman as a Devoe-like combo guard who can play both. GT is in good shape with him.
GT leads for SF Alex Fudge right now, the staff have really gone all in on him.
It is still a GT/FSU fight for Matthew Cleveland who is not in a hurry to make his decision right now
GT wants to sign four if possible in 2021, a PG (must-have since they'll be down to one after this year), a SG/combo guard, a wing and a big.
One interesting big man is John Butler from South Carolina. He is a big academic kid, also very skinny but he would be a perfect fit.
