FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL
QB-
Justin Thomas is obviously number one, Tim Byerly is number two and the goal line QB as well (I don't think you will see the UGA issue again with JT pushing in from there), the number three QB is interest, Chase Martenson is essentially the third QB and CPJ would be okay playing him. Matthew Jordan can be used situational at QB, but he is not the long term answer. Christian Campbell however really made some huge strides in the last scrimmage and his running ability is impressive and he is explosive with the ball in his hands running the option. He got a few reps in the scrimmage and broke two HUGE runs on simple plays. He is swimming learning the offense and his throwing mechanics are terrible and need to be fixed, but he has some wow factor with the ball and is able to do what he did in HS on the college level moving with the ball.
BB-
Marcus Marshall, my wildcard for the B-back race made a nice leap into the driver's seat for the moment. He was all everyone was talking about after the scrimmage. Marshall like his brother is a special runner and is very tough. Patrick Skov is still in the mix as well and it could be a thunder and lightning deal with those two at B-back. Marcus Allen is still hanging around but doesn't do anything special compared to those two. Quaide Weimerskirch comes back in two weeks and they expect to play him as well this fall which will allow CPJ to slide Mikell Lands-Davis to A-back.
AB-
This is a work in progress. Broderick Snoddy isn't an every down back, he can't catch still and his blocking is not where they want it. Qua Searcy is very special with the ball in his hands and has a chance to be a really great A-back once he is seasoned (think Orwin Smith). Clinton Lynch is like a young Deon Hill, nice hands, solid runner, not spectacular but steady and reliable. TaQuon Marshall has had a good camp and appears to be the front runner for a freshmen A-back. Mikell Lands-Davis will give them some beef on the outside sort of like Charles Perkins and he can catch and is used to playing in space. Nate Cottrell is out, Ike Willis hasn't been a huge factor in camp yet and his reps have been limited lately for some reason. KirVonte Benson could arrive in August instead of January, but he won't be healthy to play this season. He wants to do his rehab at GT and start his clock. J.J. Green would be useful right now. He needs to keep his nose in the books and stay out of the doghouse.
WR-
Ricky Jeune is the new number one receiver and is the guy Justin has a bond with. Mike Summers needs to play with some consistency that is the big knock on him right now. He isn't able to go 100% every down and he over thinks when the ball is thrown to him at times. Antonio Messick is a little A.D.D. on the field and he has all the tools to be a NFL receiver but he is still VERY RAW. Brad Stewart is probably the fourth WR right now and he just needs to learn to be more physical with the older corners. He has a really nice skill set and once he learns everything he could fit nicely into the offense. Christian Philpott has been banged up and needs to get tougher. He missed some of summer workouts and that has been hurting him a little. They would love to redshirt him, but it depends on the other WRs. Harland Howell the staff really likes but he is a little too raw right now. He is very smart and talented, just needs to learn how to play within the offense.
OL-
Shaq Mason made them an elite group and they are missing his leadership and talent. The Right Guard spot is a mess. Shamire Devine had no stamina in the scrimmage and was dead after playing 10 snaps. They have tried Andrew Marshall, Eason Fromayan and Gary Brown at RG to no avail, I think they should try Will Bryan there, but the staff has wanted to redshirt him, but are leaning toward playing him now since he is in the top 9. Devine will get better, but they have to have someone who can play 30ish snaps because Devine probably tops out at 50 at most. That will be a big issue in camp going forward to figure out.
DL-
The inside is pretty nasty right now with Gamble, Kallon, Gotsis and JHD. JHD was eating Shamire alive in the scrimmage apparently. Those four are also allowing the defense to make more plays, something that Tyler Marcordes talked about yesterday. The front four are occupying the entire OL freeing the LBs to make plays. KeShun Freeman is having a great camp again and they are pleased with how Rod Rook-Chungong, Kenderius Whitehead and the other DEs are doing. Even true freshmen DE Anree Saint-Amour is coming along nicely, though they should be able to redshirt him. Inside Brentavious Glanton had a big first week and he is trying to push his way into the rotation.
LB-
P.J. Davis is rock solid, Tyler Marcordes and Beau Hankins have some work to do. The staff is really pleased with Brant Mitchell and Victor Alexander and think those two will be players either this year or down the line. The big issue is filling that void left by Quayshawn Nealy and Marcordes has all the tools, he just has not shown the consistency yet.
DB-
Again a very solid group and the two-deep is pretty solid with guys like Shaun Kagawa at safety and Step Durham coming on. Lamont Simmons was a HUGE pick up and he would be starting at nickel this year if he were eligible, that is how good he is. Simmons and Durham should be the starting corners next year. Staff is still working on nickel, they want Lynn Griffin to take the job and run with it because he has the perfect mix of skills for that job with some safety and some corner ability. Of the freshmen, A.J. Gray is having a nice camp and has shown a knack for picking off the ball as well. David Curry has looked good as well and the young corners are all battling, they probably need to play one of the three (Walker, Wigley or Dotson) this year for class separation and experience purposes.
SPECIAL TEAMS-
CRR has adjusted some stuff with Harrison Butker to hopeful end his short field goal woes. Harrison is having a good camp so far. Ryan Rodwell is punting well and more important his yips holding haven't shown up this fall, so that is a good thing. Sean Tobin is short snapping and long snapping, but the staff are hopeful that Trevor Strobel will be back at some point this year. Casey Wilson is backing up Tobin at both spots, but he is a little light in the britches to do short snapping long term.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Things will calm down a little for a while. The only guy I see committing soon will be ATH Jair Hawkins-Anderson and I think he pops to GT soon, can play CB, S, AB or WR so he is a nice take in a smallish class.
The big focus is OLs. GT sent out three written offers to uncommitted or still looking guys, Scott Lashley got one, Parker Braun got one and Donavaughn Campbell got the other. Campbell spent the weekend on campus again with his brother and he loves it here, but still a long way from him flipping. Parker has been playing basketball and getting settled in Texas, he is about to get into football mode again. Lashley remains the top priority guy and GT is trying to work it along with some help from his buddy Justin Thomas. They may have to look at one or two transfer options IMO if they can't find a few more targets.
GT is still looking for a DT, Michail Carter is a little afraid of the academics, so it will be interesting to see if he bites on his GT offer.
Secondary wise, Baylen Buchanan is visiting again next week, GT still working that one, Louisville remains the big thorn, but if Todd Grantham blows up there like I think he will that would help GT out a lot. Troy Pride is in play for a similar reason because of the Beamer issues. Romeo Finley told me he had a nice talk with CPJ this week and GT remains a top option for him.
The WR recruitment is slow because Jailyn Ingram is focused on school and his team and Steve Dolphus is still waiting to see if any jumps on his brother deal. I doubt the later will happen and I think Ingram commits in the next few months to GT.
There is one more B-back target showing some interest in GT that I will mention later if he visits. Currently committed to another school, but would be a nice pick up for this class...
QB-
Justin Thomas is obviously number one, Tim Byerly is number two and the goal line QB as well (I don't think you will see the UGA issue again with JT pushing in from there), the number three QB is interest, Chase Martenson is essentially the third QB and CPJ would be okay playing him. Matthew Jordan can be used situational at QB, but he is not the long term answer. Christian Campbell however really made some huge strides in the last scrimmage and his running ability is impressive and he is explosive with the ball in his hands running the option. He got a few reps in the scrimmage and broke two HUGE runs on simple plays. He is swimming learning the offense and his throwing mechanics are terrible and need to be fixed, but he has some wow factor with the ball and is able to do what he did in HS on the college level moving with the ball.
BB-
Marcus Marshall, my wildcard for the B-back race made a nice leap into the driver's seat for the moment. He was all everyone was talking about after the scrimmage. Marshall like his brother is a special runner and is very tough. Patrick Skov is still in the mix as well and it could be a thunder and lightning deal with those two at B-back. Marcus Allen is still hanging around but doesn't do anything special compared to those two. Quaide Weimerskirch comes back in two weeks and they expect to play him as well this fall which will allow CPJ to slide Mikell Lands-Davis to A-back.
AB-
This is a work in progress. Broderick Snoddy isn't an every down back, he can't catch still and his blocking is not where they want it. Qua Searcy is very special with the ball in his hands and has a chance to be a really great A-back once he is seasoned (think Orwin Smith). Clinton Lynch is like a young Deon Hill, nice hands, solid runner, not spectacular but steady and reliable. TaQuon Marshall has had a good camp and appears to be the front runner for a freshmen A-back. Mikell Lands-Davis will give them some beef on the outside sort of like Charles Perkins and he can catch and is used to playing in space. Nate Cottrell is out, Ike Willis hasn't been a huge factor in camp yet and his reps have been limited lately for some reason. KirVonte Benson could arrive in August instead of January, but he won't be healthy to play this season. He wants to do his rehab at GT and start his clock. J.J. Green would be useful right now. He needs to keep his nose in the books and stay out of the doghouse.
WR-
Ricky Jeune is the new number one receiver and is the guy Justin has a bond with. Mike Summers needs to play with some consistency that is the big knock on him right now. He isn't able to go 100% every down and he over thinks when the ball is thrown to him at times. Antonio Messick is a little A.D.D. on the field and he has all the tools to be a NFL receiver but he is still VERY RAW. Brad Stewart is probably the fourth WR right now and he just needs to learn to be more physical with the older corners. He has a really nice skill set and once he learns everything he could fit nicely into the offense. Christian Philpott has been banged up and needs to get tougher. He missed some of summer workouts and that has been hurting him a little. They would love to redshirt him, but it depends on the other WRs. Harland Howell the staff really likes but he is a little too raw right now. He is very smart and talented, just needs to learn how to play within the offense.
OL-
Shaq Mason made them an elite group and they are missing his leadership and talent. The Right Guard spot is a mess. Shamire Devine had no stamina in the scrimmage and was dead after playing 10 snaps. They have tried Andrew Marshall, Eason Fromayan and Gary Brown at RG to no avail, I think they should try Will Bryan there, but the staff has wanted to redshirt him, but are leaning toward playing him now since he is in the top 9. Devine will get better, but they have to have someone who can play 30ish snaps because Devine probably tops out at 50 at most. That will be a big issue in camp going forward to figure out.
DL-
The inside is pretty nasty right now with Gamble, Kallon, Gotsis and JHD. JHD was eating Shamire alive in the scrimmage apparently. Those four are also allowing the defense to make more plays, something that Tyler Marcordes talked about yesterday. The front four are occupying the entire OL freeing the LBs to make plays. KeShun Freeman is having a great camp again and they are pleased with how Rod Rook-Chungong, Kenderius Whitehead and the other DEs are doing. Even true freshmen DE Anree Saint-Amour is coming along nicely, though they should be able to redshirt him. Inside Brentavious Glanton had a big first week and he is trying to push his way into the rotation.
LB-
P.J. Davis is rock solid, Tyler Marcordes and Beau Hankins have some work to do. The staff is really pleased with Brant Mitchell and Victor Alexander and think those two will be players either this year or down the line. The big issue is filling that void left by Quayshawn Nealy and Marcordes has all the tools, he just has not shown the consistency yet.
DB-
Again a very solid group and the two-deep is pretty solid with guys like Shaun Kagawa at safety and Step Durham coming on. Lamont Simmons was a HUGE pick up and he would be starting at nickel this year if he were eligible, that is how good he is. Simmons and Durham should be the starting corners next year. Staff is still working on nickel, they want Lynn Griffin to take the job and run with it because he has the perfect mix of skills for that job with some safety and some corner ability. Of the freshmen, A.J. Gray is having a nice camp and has shown a knack for picking off the ball as well. David Curry has looked good as well and the young corners are all battling, they probably need to play one of the three (Walker, Wigley or Dotson) this year for class separation and experience purposes.
SPECIAL TEAMS-
CRR has adjusted some stuff with Harrison Butker to hopeful end his short field goal woes. Harrison is having a good camp so far. Ryan Rodwell is punting well and more important his yips holding haven't shown up this fall, so that is a good thing. Sean Tobin is short snapping and long snapping, but the staff are hopeful that Trevor Strobel will be back at some point this year. Casey Wilson is backing up Tobin at both spots, but he is a little light in the britches to do short snapping long term.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Things will calm down a little for a while. The only guy I see committing soon will be ATH Jair Hawkins-Anderson and I think he pops to GT soon, can play CB, S, AB or WR so he is a nice take in a smallish class.
The big focus is OLs. GT sent out three written offers to uncommitted or still looking guys, Scott Lashley got one, Parker Braun got one and Donavaughn Campbell got the other. Campbell spent the weekend on campus again with his brother and he loves it here, but still a long way from him flipping. Parker has been playing basketball and getting settled in Texas, he is about to get into football mode again. Lashley remains the top priority guy and GT is trying to work it along with some help from his buddy Justin Thomas. They may have to look at one or two transfer options IMO if they can't find a few more targets.
GT is still looking for a DT, Michail Carter is a little afraid of the academics, so it will be interesting to see if he bites on his GT offer.
Secondary wise, Baylen Buchanan is visiting again next week, GT still working that one, Louisville remains the big thorn, but if Todd Grantham blows up there like I think he will that would help GT out a lot. Troy Pride is in play for a similar reason because of the Beamer issues. Romeo Finley told me he had a nice talk with CPJ this week and GT remains a top option for him.
The WR recruitment is slow because Jailyn Ingram is focused on school and his team and Steve Dolphus is still waiting to see if any jumps on his brother deal. I doubt the later will happen and I think Ingram commits in the next few months to GT.
There is one more B-back target showing some interest in GT that I will mention later if he visits. Currently committed to another school, but would be a nice pick up for this class...
