Dropping the sanity bomb on all this recruiting hype

Ok, I get caught up in all the recruiting hype like others. It's fun, and exciting to think "what if...". And we all know that you have to have the horses to go to the dance. But here is an article that drops a sanity check on all the recruiting hype.

Point taken.....................Now Randolph Morris, pleeeeeeaaase sign with Tech

Hey Clemson fans - keep dreaming

Love these type of articles - pandering to wishful thinking Tiger fans. Raise your hopes up....up...Up...UP.....and......splat. You will come crashing down. It will start with Wake Forest this weekend. Watch them take you down.

Non-Sports - Georgia Tech opens Satellite campus

Tech breaks ground on a new Savannah campus. Hey, do they get their own football team?

Old article on Ra'Sean Dickey

Found this March 2003 article on Dickey. Old, and way before Tech was in the mix, but nice comments about his skills. Here is an even older article, from July 2002.

Here is a ranking of YouthPrepSter's top 35 Southeast recruits - 3 of our guys show up on this list (Morris, Dickey, Zam).

Can Anyone Reading This Punt?

I noticed the incredible lack of confidence that Gailey has in our punting squad in his summary posted to his web site after the Maryland win:

"We have to work very hard to get some consistency from whomever is our punter in the next ball game."

Ouch...that must really hurt for Hal Higgins and Andy whateverhisnameis. The funny thing about this is that when the team was misfiring over the last few seasons, we could always count on a good punter/placekicker to bail us out. I hear we have help coming, but I hope that those guys can sack it up next weekend!

Randolph Morris cancels visit to Louisville

Some of the boards are reporting that Morris has cancelled his visit to Louisville this weekend. Either Louisville got a verbal using up their last 'ship from D.Burgess or a Morris announcment for GT or UK is on the horizon. Stay tuned.

Poll - do you want to see UGA win or lose this weekend?

Trying to see where Tech fan's hearts are at. UGAy plays Florida this weekend. What do you want to see happen?

A - UGA wins, because you would like them high in the polls when we kick their rumps in November. It would mean more to beat them as a higher quality oppenent (could help GT rise higher in the rankings).

B - UGA loses, because they are UGA, they suck, and any misery on their part makes us happy.

Please post your opinion in the comments section below this post.

Want to see Ra'Sean Dickey's press conference?

If you actually want to WATCH the Ra'Sean Dickey press conference, just click here. That's right - we've found the video right here. The link is called "Dickey Commits"

Pre-season Top 25 USA Today/ESPN Hoops poll

The pre-season hoops poll is out - can you say OVER-RATED (the Dookies of course). #2 in the country - give me a fricken break.

Side note on Jeremis Smith

Check out this article about Smith's punishment from his high school basketball coach:

Hughes said Jeremis Smith, Jeffrey Muriel, and Marcus Samuels, three Dunbar players who were arrested Oct. 6 on misdemeanor theft charges, are practicing with the team and have been punished with extra conditioning drills.

"Those three guys will be the most well-conditioned athletes in the state of Texas, and probably all could qualify if there were tryouts for the marathon at the next Olympics," Hughes said.

Lastly, Smith has been writing an online journal for the Dallas Star-Telegram. Here was his entry from Monday this week.

It's official - Jeremis Smith chooses Georgia Tech

Wow!! it is official!!!! Jeremis Smith to GT. You need to read this article. What is really fascinating is that it says "Smith said future teammates include post Randolph Morris of Palmetto, Ga. (No. 19), forward RaSean Dickey of Bennettsville, S.C. (No. 53), and guard Zam Frederick of St. Matthews, S.C. (No. 127).".

Now wait a minute - Randolph Morris has NOT committed to Tech yet - so what gives? I suppose a couple of things could have happened:

- R.Morris told Hewitt silently he would commit and the coaches used it as incentive to get Smith here. Of course that means Smith may have accidently let the cat out of the bag.
- Smith actually said he "Morrow" (Anthony Morrow), not "Morris". This is probably the most likely scenario
- What Smith really meant was he would be excited to have Zam & Dickey as teammates and Morris SHOULD he commit.

So here is the class:

Position
1/2...Zam Frederick
2/3...Anthony Morrow
3/4...Jeremis Smith
4/5...Ra'Sean Dickey

5......Randolph Morris (not committed yet - come on Randolph - see how this all just fits perfectly.)

INSERT SALIVATION HERE:

The Mystery Men of ACC Hoops

Who are the X-factors for each ACC team this year. Here is one man's opinion. I can't argue with the choice of Luke S. for Tech, but there are other candidates as well. Will McHenry finally find his offensive game this year after a few small sparks at the end of last year? Will Ish M. become more than a good defender with a strong move to the hoop? Can he actually hit rim more often this year from outside of 8 feet? Ok, that's a little harsh, but he had some rough looking shots last year. Will Tarver actually develop into a real quality man-in-the-middle? He showed good progress last year and got more minutes. Even Marvin Lewis - can he break his pattern of dropping 25 one game and none the next?

But after all that, Luke is probably still the biggest unkown for this year and gets my vote for Tech's "mystery man".

Stephon Marbury comments on the pressure on Lebron

Marbury offers his comments on going to the NBA early and the pressure on Lebron James.

Who to root for this weekend

Tech may not be playing on the gridiron this weekend, but there is plenty to root for that will impact Tech. Two key match-ups

- Clemson vs Wake Forest: We got crushed by Clemson and soundly beat WF. We need WF to win here, so that there is no tie-breaker at the end of the year with Clemson. By the way, did you know that even though 6 wins is technically "bowl eligible", for Clemson, they actually have to get to 7 wins to qualify for a bowl. Why? NCAA rules allow you to use 1 win every 3 years against a Div I-AA opponent to quality for a bowl. Clemson used their one win already in a previous year. One of their W's this year is again against a Div I-AA opponent and cannot count towards bowl eligibility. Sorry Tigers. On a second note - this game against WF may well determine if Bowden returns for another season. Believe it or not, I've seen a couple of rumors on the net that Steve Spurrier has been to the Clemson campus about 3 times recently. Other rumors are that interviews with a short-list of candidates are being done now. Tommy - you better beat WF.

- Virginia vs NC State: huge game in the ACC race. Tech fans can argue either way who should win. We really need NC St. to win this since we have already beaten them. We play UVA as our last ACC game. But UVA has a tough road ahead (NC ST, MD, GT). However, NC ST has an even tougher road (UVA, FSU, MD). So you could argue either way.

No matter what happens to the other teams, the most important games are Tech's, and as long as we win out we are in best position for the Gator Bowl.

As usual, let's start next week with Duke. Alright team - now don't do what I just did - look ahead. Don't make Roof's 1st game as head coach against Tech one of those "feel good" stories of the year. Kill them!!!

Is Virginia Tech a true upper echelon team

Can we really consider Virginia Tech one of the top programs in the country. Found this interesting page highlighting the fact that they have NEVER beaten a top 5 team (0-32). Check out this website for the complete breakdown of every opportunity. Can they break the string this weekend against Miami? We will find out.

Added a new link to Football History for GT

Found another interesting site that catalogues football histories for college teams (championships, league affiliations, individual records, who our coaches were, records, blow games, etc). This link has been permanently added to the list on the left under "Football Extra's". It is called "GT FB History". Enjoy. If you know of any other links make sure to comment somewhere on one of these posts. I'll put the good ones on the list.

Also added a new link called "College Football Polls 3". Check it out. It combines about 15 published polls (shows each one), then takes a composite average of all of them. Interesting. Of course Tech makes no appearance on the top 25 of any of them (yet).

Dickey article from Prepstars

Found this one at lunch today confirming what we already know. Posted free, but not sure how long that will be so I'll post the text here:

DICKEY PICKS YELLOW JACKETS
By Rob Harrington
robharrington@prepstars.com
October 30, 2003

Ra'Sean Dickey narrowed his choices to Georgia Tech and Auburn, and the 6-9 BF/C committed to Paul Hewitt's Yellow Jackets over the Tigers.

Dickey, a solidly-built and offensively talented forward, gives Georgia Tech a legitimate low-post scoring presence and a guy who can assist the size-starved Yellow Jackets on the boards.

One factor that helped Tech was the presence of Dickey's AAU teammate, guard Zam Frederick, who pledged to Hewitt's club earlier this fall.

Dickey at one time was regarded as a likely All-American in the Class of 2004, but he struggled as a rising junior on the summer circuit and his reputation suffered as a result of that inconsistent play.

But he reversed that momentum this past summer, playing much harder on both ends and using good footwork and athleticism to post big numbers at the Peach Jam.

Georgia Tech now has commitments from Dickey, Frederick and NC WG/WF Anthony Morrow, and any day the Jackets are expected by many to get a public commitment from TX BF Jeremis Smith.

#1 Linebacker in GA Josh Johnson considering Tech

Check this out: #1 linebacker in the state of GA - considering GT, Miami, Florida, UGA, Auburn, Tenn. What do we think our shot of getting this kid at Tech are? Linebacker is certainly a position that he could potentially get major playing time next year, considering the loss of our key seniors after this season.

Come on Josh johnson- come down to the REAL "dirty south" in Hotlanta. You will become part of something special. The Jackets are on the rise.

Rundown on hoops recruits

Not to focus here too much on recruiting but here is a great update of the guys we are pursuing and/or signed in hoops. The update comes from "RamblinRed", who continues to "bring it" on the boards. Here is the link to the thread:

When you read through 'Red's post, you will find that the South Carolina Player of the Year (Zam) has signed, the Charlotte NC Player-of-the-Year (and many consider the #2 player in NC) (Morrow) has committed, one of the best forwards in SC (Dickey) has committed, probably #2 player in Texas (Smith) is about to commit, and the #3 center in the nation (Morris) is likely to commit. Hewitt knows how to "bring it" himself.

From RamblinRed:

We have commits from the following players

6'1, 210 CG Zam "Buck" Frederick from St. Matthews, SC. His RSCI composite rating is #80 with highs of 63 from Hoopmasters (Bob Gibbons and Van Coleman) and 80 from HoopScoop and a low of 126 from Rivals. Big time scorer - avg 32 ppg, 8 apg, 8 rpg as a jr and was SC PoY. Father was a legacy player at SC leading the NCAA in scoring in 1981. He chose GT over KY and Stanford.

6'6, 190 SG/SF Anthony Morrow from Charlotte, NC. His RSCI composite on the latest is over 100, previously was 90. His highest ratings come from the Geeks at 45and Hoopmasters at 54. His lowest rating is HoopScoop at 152. Excellent athlete and a strong outside shooter, very team oriented. Averaged 23.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg as a Jr and was all-state and Charlotte PoY. Chose GT over NC ST, TN, and Charlotte.

6'9, 250 PF/C Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville, SC. His RSCI composite rating is #43 with highs of 34 from PrepSpotlights Vince Baldwin and 36 from PrepStars. His lowest rating is 58 by Hoopmasters. Strong, athletic post player who averaged 18 ppg and 11 rpg as a jr and was 1st team all-state in SC. Chose GT over Auburn. Wanted to attend UNC but new staff chose not to recruit him after he was a high priority for the previous staff.

Expectations are that we will officially receive another public verbal probably tomorrow. That will be from

6'6, 230 CF Jeremis Smith from Ft. Worth, TX. His RSCI composite rating is #75 with a high of 30 from The Geeks and 41 from Rivals and a low of 114 from PrepStars. Smith is an strong, explosive athlete that is moving from the post to the wing. Ferocious dunker and rebounder. Was the MVP of the TX state Tournament last Spring and for the season averaged over 22 ppg. Will be choosing GT over AZ.

Of course the big jewel is still out there as well as GT waits for a decision from
6'11, 255 C Randolph Morris of Atlanta, GA. His RSCI composite ranking is #14 with a high of 11 by Dave Telep (Insiders) and a low of 19 by Rivals. Athletic power post player with family ties to GT and staff. Currently GT leads KY and L'ville (visits this weekend) with UCLA, UGA and Clemson trying to stay in the mix.

More props to GT at the midpoint

If you missed this article reviewing the ACC, it was all Tech, all the time. The accolades are nice, but Chan's attitude about this being the midway point of the season is refreshing.

With the exception of Clemson, you have to give the coaching staff credit for not losing focus. Hopefully that trend will continue with a VERY motivated Duke team hosting us next week.

Go Wake and Wolfpack this weekend!

Props for James Butler

Nice blurb on James "Big Play" Butler:

RISING STAR: Georgia Tech safety James Butler wasn't heralded coming into the season, but he's building an impressive resume. Butler, a 6-3, 210-pound junior, made 12 tackles and intercepted two passes in the Yellow Jackets' 7-3 win over Maryland on Oct. 23.

Nice props for Gailey

Short blurb giving due props to Gailey.

HS Running back considers Tech

Article on Darius Walker, who is considering GT.

Re-cap of Dickey story - more details

Here is the Dave Telep story on Ra'Sean:

Tech Lands 3rd Top 100 Prospect
By Dave Telep National Recruiting Analyst
Date: Oct 29, 2003

Don’t look now but Georgia Tech has three Top 100 commits. The latest comes from the No. 42 player in America, power forward Ra’Sean Dickey.

Paul Hewitt’s Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have secured verbal commitments from three Top 100 players. Zam Frederick and Anthony Morrow were the first to pledge their allegiance to Hewitt and this week, No. 42 Ra’Sean Dickey joined them.
According to Dickey’s AAU coach, Dion Bethea, the second South Carolina Raven – Zam being the first – is headed to Atlanta.

“It really started with Zam first. Kentucky was in the lead with him and then Georgia Tech came around,” Bethea said. “It all started with him first.”

The Jackets kept up with Dickey all summer long and withstood runs by Auburn and Iowa State among others. At first it didn’t look like the pair would wind up playing college ball together but the AAU teammates made it work in the end.

“They were going at them individually but it just worked out in their favor by both of them coming.”

Maybe even more so than Frederick and Morrow, Dickey had to see the opportunity for immediate playing time. With an early NBA departure and a transfer, there are minutes to be had up front for the Jackets.

“He saw it as being an opportunity for him to go in and play right away being that Chris Bosh is not there and Ed Nelson left. He wants to play at the next level. Of course he’s playing in the best conference in the country, the ACC.”

And Paul Hewitt is happy to have him. Next up for the Jackets? It’s no secret that Randolph Morris is the prospect Hewitt covets."

It seems to be official - Ra'Sean Dickey to Georgia Tech

It appears Ra'Sean has made it official. Various recruiting groups are reporting that he has chosen Georgia Tech to play hoops. Mr. Dickey, welcome to Hotlanta and to Tech. You have made a decision you will not regret. The fans look forward to you running the floor with your teammate Zam. We can't wait to get you on the floor to begin a career crushing Dookies and Tar-holes. Let's cut down a few nets while we are at it. Welcome!!!

Chris Bosh's Rookie Diary

Chris Bosh has entered a couple of installments into a "Rookie Diary" at the Raptor's website. Check out the latest installment. Interesting comments about regretting not trying to have more fun while he was at Tech. Here is a link to his first diary entry from earlier in the summer.

Tonight he made his NBA debut against the Nets. The Raptors actually beat the Nets 90-87. Bosh played 24 minutes, had 11 points (5/8 fg, 1/1 ft), 4 rebounds (2 offensive), 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls. Certainly a respectable showing and they got the W.

Bobby Bowden lobbies for Gailey as Coach of the Year

That Bobby Bowden is a piece of work. Here is the AJC piece. I liked Gailey's response - "They don't give out awards in the middle of a season". Of course Bobby, Chan and the fans would love nothing more than to prove you right.

Tech Football commit to appear on TV tonight

Tech commit Travis Chambers will appear in-studio tonight on Fox Sports South's "Countdown to Signing Day". CTSD airs at 6:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net South every Wednesday night. Here is a link.

Also, recruit Cornelius Ingram has Tech in his "final 5".

More on Jeremis Smith

Looking more and more like Georgia Tech is the school for Jeremis Smith:

See this link:

Another blurb I saw below:

Jeremis Smith On Verge
By Jeff Goodman TheInsiders.com
Date: Oct 29, 2003

The Fort Worth Dunbar (Texas) 6-6 senior forward will likely make an official announcement on Friday, but it's basically a done deal where he'll end up.

Jeremis Smith hasn’t made the decision public yet, but from all indications, the Fort Worth Dunbar (Texas) 6-6 senior forward is expected to commit to Georgia Tech by the end of the week.
``He has not made a decision yet,” MLK Mash coach Wayne Lewis said. “But they’ll probably be an announcement on Friday.”

Smith returned from an official visit to Arizona this past weekend, but according to sources, it didn’t go so well and he will give his word to Paul Hewitt and his staff. Smith visited Georgia Tech earlier this month.

``Jeremis is a throwback, old-school player,” Lewis added. “He really has that type of attitude. He’s very tough, is a winner and will ignite a program wherever he goes.”

``I know a lot of people haven’t seen it yet, but I see him as a bonafide three-man in college,” Lewis said. “I’ve seen the transition in his game since March from a guy who played with his back to the basket to someone who can run the floor.”

Correction on Dickey - press conference is TODAY!!!!

Won't have to hold your breath until Thursday.

Meanwhile in other recruiting news

Here's the latest on Andrew Brackman, being recruited by Tech in baseball, but also a top-notch top 100 hoops player. It was down to NCST and GT, but now AZ is in the mix.

Here is the text from the article:

"Two-sport star eyes the Cats
By Brad Allis
Date: Oct 28, 2003

Arizona’s crazy recruiting class could be taking another unexpected turn. The Wildcats really want to add two big men, and don’t necessarily want to wait on Davis Nwankwo and Robert Rothbart to pull the trigger. With those two in a holding pattern, the team is looking to Ohio for a prospect and Andy Lopez may just thank them in the end.

Andrew Brackman, a 6-7 power forward from Cincinnati, is a two-sport star who has failed to garner the attention that he deserves. A top-100 player (Insiders’ No. 78) he is surprisingly lacking offers as a basketball player. Brackman is a great prep pitcher and many teams fear that he will go straight to the minor leagues, bypassing college.
North Carolina State is the only basketball visit Brackman has set up, but that could change.

“Arizona basketball wants to get back involved,” Brackman said. “NC State and Georgia Tech are the two I had it narrowed down to until Arizona got involved.”

The Cats were on Brackman early, but backed off to pursue other players. With Nwankwo and Rothbart possibly waiting until the spring, the Cats are turning their attention to the inside-outside player.

Although Ohio State is involved, the Wolf Pack and Georgia Tech are the two favorites.

“I kind of want to get away,” Brackman confessed.

The Wolf Pack may have the inside edge due to the fact that they will allow him to play both sports. Brackman will travel to Raleigh this weekend and a lot of what happens next will hinge upon how much he likes his visit.

The Wildcats have not offered, but Brackman feels that by the tone of his conversations an offer could come shortly. The Cats could be waiting to see what transpires this weekend before officially offering the scholarship.

Georgia Tech is involved, but as of now there is no basketball scholarship. According to Brackman the basketball coaches told him they do not have a scholarship for him in this class but would invite him to join the team in ’05.

“They said I could just play baseball my freshman year and that they would have a spot for me my sophomore year,” said Brackman.

Despite the team not having a place for him right away, Brackman insists that the Yellow Jackets are still very much involved. Brackman took a baseball visit to Georgia Tech, but did not meet with the basketball staff on that visit. He has had numerous conversations with Paul Hewitt’s staff.

Despite making a late run at the forward, Brackman is very interested in Arizona. He has been in contact with the baseball staff for some time, but had dropped them off his list, desiring to play both sports. Since the basketball team got back involved, Arizona has jumped back up the list.

“They (Arizona basketball) watched me a lot this summer at the Peach Jam but kind of fell off the radar,” Brackman said. “The baseball end of the school was still talking to me, but the basketball team just made contact.”

Other recruiting notes:
*Big man Robert Rothbart may not make a decision until the spring. He has been indicating that a December decision may be what he is leaning towards, but now it looks like it could be later.

*The Cats are indeed making a run at elite wing Malik Hairston. Hairston has all but eliminated Kansas and UCLA and Ohio State is currently in the lead. Both the Wildcats and Michigan State are trying to make a late push and supplant the Buckeyes.

*No word on Jeremis Smith, the Texas forward who visited Tucson this past weekend. Sources indicate that it was an up and down visit. Smith did have his mother buy him an Arizona cap during the Wildcats’ scrimmage on Saturday."

Ra'Sean Dickey to announce decision at press conference Wednesday

Well, hold your breath, keep the fingers crossed and say your prayers. Hoopsmasters is reporting that Ra'Sean Dickey has called a press conference for this afternoon to announce where he will attend college and play hoops. All "sources" indicate GaTech is the likely decision. We will see.

It also appears that Jeremis Smith will make HIS decision known on Friday and it appears that there might be a GT lean here as well. So this will be a huge week for Georgia Tech and our future.

As mentioned before, if both these guys sign, that leaves ZERO scholarships to sign Randolph Morris, who appears to be the real #1 target of the coaching staff. After perusing the discussion groups and asking a few questions, here is what I found out about our ability to sign 5 players with 4 scholarships:

- Some of those "in the know" believe that the coaching staff will NOT jeopardize their chances to sign Morris. He remains the top priority
- This means if both Smith and Dickey commit, the coaching staff PROBABLY knows a way to sign a class of 5 guys with 4 'ships.
- This could be done either with knowledge on their part about a certain player that may transfer before the start of next year (like Nelson this year), opening up a 'ship.
- Or it could mean a player leaving early again (like Bosh). Certainly BJ Elder could be a possibility for that to happen.
- Lastly, there is a possibility that they could take away one of the existing kid's 'ship. They recently awarded Mario West a 'ship for his hard work, but he will not likely see much PT this year. So I speculate he could be the guy. Certainly would not be a popular option but an option none-the-less.

The signing of 5 players I am guessing was really being reserved for the remote possibility that Dwight Howard wanted to play a year at Tech. Who knows if the staff actually believed they would be in the final running for so many top-flight players. No matter how this plays out, we have to give kudos and major props to Hewitt and his staff. They have proven an ability to recruit with the best. They have put themselves in position to land some major talent and have gotten on the short list of MANY top prospects this year. That is all we can really ask from a recruiting standpoint.

The only problem is that he is building up very lofty expectations about the future of this program, so we all want to see more "W"s, but there could be worse problems for a coach.

Tenuta gets props in analysis of UNC problems

Jon Tenuta again gets props in looking at what has gone wrong with UNC. Sure hope all the attention doesn't draw this guy away to another job.

One writer's vote for Gailey as ACC Coach of the Year

One guy's blurb giving Gailey the nod.

Nice story about Nick Ferguson & the Broncos

Nice story on Nick.

What happened to the ACC

Short article about the unexpected football season.

Talk about Gailey being excited for our team

Check out this video link. On the lower left you will see a link for video clip. You will have to be patient - it is the 2nd segment, but listen to Gailey's enthusiasm for the team's character after the important Maryland win.

Latest Bowl projections

Not that any of us really should speculate on bowls but here are what some "experts" think:

ESPN matrix. - 4 experts, 4 different picks - one in Peach Bowl, one in Continental Tire bowl, one in Las Vegas Bowl, and one in Tangerine Bowl

CollegeFootballNews - Tangerine (vs Missouri).

Can you say - nobody has a clue?

Let's just win our games one at a time - Duke here we come - Ted Roof - nice human interest story, but our job is to crush you - sorry.

More detailed article about Jeremis Smith

Here is a more detailed article about Smith and his upcoming decision. Reading between the lines it sounds like he may not have been impressed by his visit to AZ (atmosphere, low interaction with players, town-size, etc). Who knows. Stay tuned.

Also, here is a write-up about the kid (quite enthusiastic I must say).

Is the SEC weaker this year

This article questions the SEC strength compared to weaker teams and targets their non-conference winning %. Specifically pointed out as "bad" losses are Auburn to GT. However, it is looking like Auburn was not quite what they were cracked up to be and GT is much more than they were cracked up to be. Watch out SEC - the ACC is coming. Hold on tight.

Key players on each ACC Team

Hard to argue that Elder is our most critical player. I would certainly want him to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line. He's done it before and he'll do it again this year.

More rumors trickling in on Jeremis Smith

"GOAZCATS.com has learned that Jeremis Smith (6-7, 230 SF, Ft. Worth, Tex.) will likely choose to attend Georgia Tech sometime in the next day or two¦"

Link here.

OK - for the truly HILARIOUS!!!!!

Please, please, please, check out this thread by the Florida fans. Some absolutely hilarious pictures with Richt. Notice that there are 6 pages of the stuff, so make sure to clink the link at the bottom to pages 2-6. Some funny crap (Richt as the lord of the dance, as a streaker, as one of the 3 stoodges, as Forrest Gump, etc, etc).

Craig James on Yahoo Sports has Tech ranked #22

Check it out. Last week he had Tech #25, so he has been a "published" believer for a few weeks prior to other "official" rankings.

Could be a critical week for hoops recruiting

It looks like a possibility that BOTH Ra'Sean Dickey and Jeremis Smith could make their college choices known by the end of this week. Nothing is for certain, but stay tuned. Dickey is down to Auburn and GT. Smith is down to AZ and GT. Now, if BOTH these guys commit to GT (probably a long shot), what on earth does Hewitt do with R.Morris, probably our real #1 target? Can only one of these guys commit and a 2nd commit would be conditional on Morris's choice. I don't know personally, but hopefully the fog will clear soon.

Stay tuned!!

Former Jackets named to GA sports hall-of-fame

Way to go Pat Swilling, "Pepper" Rodgers and Wade Mitchell. They will be inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall-of-Fame

Great update on Donnie Davis

Donnie Davis was a guest at a recent "lunch bunch" event. If you want to see a re-cap of his talk, click here. Nice re-cap and some interesting stories you probably never heard. Did you know that Davis is a personal mentor for K-Fox and Reggie Ball? Seems to be a class guy.

By the way, did you know that Donnie's cousin is Chris Leak, the freshman QB at Florida (who was the #1 recruit last year out of high school).

YellowJackets dominate defensive ACC awards

Georgia Tech continues to rack up the weekly awards. This week K.Fox won ACC defensive lineman of the week while James "Big Play" Butler was named defensive back of the week.

Fox had 15 tackles, 2 for a loss, and a forced fumble (that led to our only score).
Butler had 2 interceptions and 12 tackles

Butler leads the ACC and is 9th in the nation in INT's.

GO JACKETS!!!!!

Ball Interview on Fox Sports South

Caught the interview mentioned below with Reggie Ball. Pretty nice piece on how he is a winner and a leader even from his early days in high school. Liked his comments about "..having to try his hardest at everything he does, because he likes winning". Gailey was also interviewed and mentioned that Reggie has commented to him that the game is slowing down, which means he is growing in his ability to read defenses. He is catching up to the speed of the college game.

Also intereviewed his father, who originally didn't think Reggie was ready to start at the college level. He said Reggie argued with him and said "Dad, you always told me to be the lead dog....you can't change now". Discussed how Reggie watched some movie early on about sled--dog racing and how the lead-dog never ran in the back of the pack. Other than repeated references to "dogs" it was a great interview.

Overall a nice story and some nice exposure for our frosh.

Pure media drizzle

This guy needs to get a new job. I just love it - check out this quote:

"......And then ESPN sentences college football fans to four hours of hard visual labor by airing Maryland-Georgia Tech on Friday night -- a game that set back offense 50 years. The game was 0-0 at halftime -- and it had nothing to do with good defense. Tech wound up with a 7-3 victory, but don't expect the game ball to wind up in the school's trophy case. ACC football was generally mediocre. Now it's just bad. The basketball used to be exceptional. Now, with Miami and Virginia Tech set to join the league, it's about to take a serious nose dive in quality."

Funny how teams can only be good if they score a lot of points. He says that game had nothing to do with defense. That's the biggest crock of crap I have heard. It had EVERYTHING to do with defense. This is typical of the media-elite who think that good football is defined by high-scoring games. Low-scoring means bad football. We know this guy does not enjoy hockey or soccer. Tech and Maryland are both some of the top defensive teams in the nation. It showed during the game.

As far as the quality of conference football, it will be BETTER with VaTech and Miami. As far as basketball, that will improve as well. VaTech has already gotten a committment for a top VA player who they would not have gotten otherwise (because he wanted to play in the ACC).

Good or bad, the ACC "is what it is". Sounds like you just have sour grapes and want to pander to the fan base in your area. Keep up the great journalism

Beware the Devils!

This is an interesting article about Ted Roof's new offense he unveiled against their rivals in Raleigh this past weekend. Obviously, it would be wise for the Jackets to check out the film of that game extra carefully as the Devils will likely throw the kitchen sink at the Jacket D in a couple of weeks. Let's hope that the hype doesn't go to our heads as the Wolfpack escaped with a 1-TD victory--the Devils have something to prove as perennial doormats and nothing would be finer than to beat us at their house.

Downloadable Chris Bosh interview

Check out this page for a downloadable interview with Chris Bosh:
Bosh Interview (direct link)

If you have trouble with that link, try here.

Just seems like a nice kid - always did.

More on hoops and the disappearance of the "round robin"

Story about this being the last year of the round-robin in ACC hoops. While I like the concept, I still think we cannot afford to play everyone twice. To get teams in the big dance, the ACC needs to beat out-of-conference teams, not each other. Now, that has to be good non-conference teams, not patsies. But if we are as good in the ACC as we say we are, we should be able to win more often.

Fox Sports Net to profile Reggie Ball tonight

Check it out tonight on Fox Sports South:

On Monday's show, Hildreth profiles Georgia Tech's starting quarterback Reggie Ball, who prepped at Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Ga. The 19-year-old true freshman has the Yellow Jackets competing for a bowl berth at 4-3 (2-2 in ACC), and he is making a serious run at conference rookie of the year honors. The versatile, 6-1, 180-pound field general ranks fifth in ACC passing yards (182.3 ypg) and total offense (206.9). Ball has already been named ACC rookie of the week four times this season, including his sterling performance in the Jackets' upset (29-21) of NC State, when he passed for 283 yards, with three touchdowns (one rushing). Also in Hildreth's profile, Ball's high school coach, Ron Gartrell, and Ball's father, Reggie Sr. (an assistant at Stephenson), provide their take on Tech's QB and his leap from a top-notch prep program to the starting role in major college football.

The show airs Monday night (tonight) at 6:30 pm EST and is re-aired Tuesday at 12:30am.

From AJC - on new commit Kyle Manley who watched the MD/GT game

Nice comments from Kyle Manley from AJC., a QB who committed to Tech recently.

Quarterback Kyle Manley, who committed to Georgia Tech two weeks ago, watched Thursday's Tech-Maryland game with great interest. "Reggie [Ball] is amazing," Manley said. "It's great; I can't believe they are 5-3." Manley said seeing the freshman Ball emerge as a top-flight quarterback hasn't given him second thoughts about his commitment. "Hopefully, I'll redshirt next year and learn from him," he said.

Comments on surprise teams in New Year's day bowl games

Nice mention of GT on CNNSI.

Hoops Scheduling

I can't keep up with Scott, but I'm trying to do my fair share. So here's an article from the Washington Post about hoops scheduling after the 3 new guys join. And a reference to us being 7th this year. Hopefully the hoops team reacts to low expectations as well as the football team has.

Volleyball team continues to roll

Still ranked #4 in the nation and undefeated:

22-0 (10-0 ACC). Beat NC St in their latest hijinks.

Dickey to DECIDE THIS WEEK!!!!

Hot off the presses. Keep you ears open. Ra'Sean Dickey plans to decide this week between Georgia Tech and Auburn. This was reported in a small blurb in the "The State" a South Carolina newspaper within the past few hours. Of course "deciding" where you will attend is different than "announcing" where you will attend. Hopefully it will be both.

As many of you know, Dickey's teammate already commited to Tech (Zam Fredreck). Dickey is a 6'9" 255lb power forward considered in the top 50 high school ballers in the nation. Here are a couple of profiles on him (rivals,.....the insiders).

Let's send Ra'Sean a huge Jacket cheer

Scheduling is everything

From a UVA sportswriter:

Scheduling is everything, and here's how it breaks down in conference games:

Virginia: at N.C. State, at Maryland, Georgia Tech.

N.C. State: Virginia, at Florida State, Maryland.

Georgia Tech: at Duke, North Carolina, at Virginia.

Clemson: at Wake Forest, Florida State, Duke.

Maryland: North Carolina, Virginia, at N.C. State, at Wake Forest.

So based on this, GT probably has the EASIEST schedule remaining and NCST has the toughest. We are in control of our own destiny. Stay tuned!!!

Good review of our football future at each position

"Ahsoisee" has posted a nice review of each position on the football team, and how the depth chart stacks up for next year, including those who have given verbals to Tech so far this year.

Personally, based on my "fan" perspective, our strongest areas for concern are at linebacker, wide receiver and various spots on the offensive line. But Gailey has shown a good ability to recruit (we have to give him a pass on his first year since he came in late on the process).

More rest in store for football team

Another 2 weeks off. Some misc. notes about the team.

- Eric Henderson leads the ACC in sacks (after 2 more against MD)
- James Butler leads in the ACC in INT's (after 2 more against MD).

GO JACKETS!!

Updated Polls

So, here are the updated rankings:

AP - #34 (3 points total; 1st appearance this year).
Coaches - #36 (#38 last week)
Congrove Computer - #41 (#45 last week)
CBS Sportsline - (not out yet - were #34 last week)
Sagarin - #27

Ball wins some recognition from some writer

Anyone know where this list comes from? Ball was named the 3rd "best" "Super 11 True Freshman" of the week. Ok, we'll take it. At least it means that Ball is gettting some recognition and more importantly, he is learning how to win.

The lure of the NBA

All college coaches have to deal with it. It is a reality of recruiting. How do you recruit and build a team when the best players that can push you over the top will not stay to actually do it? What Jim B. did at Syracuse last year (win it all) is an anomaly. What Paul Hewitt did with Chris Bosh is probably more like the norm (NIT). It takes time to build a program. But time is not there. You need a core of talented but NOT NBA-ready players. Then you need the serendipity of a blue-chipper (or 2) at the right time. Tech has the possibility of signing one of its best recruiting classes under Hewitt for next season. But is Randolph Morris signs with Tech, how long will he be here? Is he interested in accomplishing something at Tech, or is he interested in the school's ability to launch his pro-career? Will he look at the Salley's, Prices, Anderson's, Marbury's, Harprings, Bests, etc, etc? I don't blame any of the kids for having NBA dreams. The league has created the market for young talent, not the kids themselves.

Would an age restriction help the situation? It would certainly help the college game, but not dramatically in my opinion. We would have even more players declare earlier. For those who decide to go to college, it would buy college coaches maybe one extra year with a player. Could we dream about another year with Bosh? Sure, but in the end it is not a bargain for the kids.

Bottom line for me is that this is just a reality of the game now. It is a new challenge in the wrinkle of college ball for coaches. The top flight programs just cannot recruit the best any longer and develop them slowly over a 4 year period. You have to get them PT and figure out how to build chemistry with a new nucleous EVERY year. Seems to me it makes the picking of the winners in March even more difficult than before.

Bob Gibbons thinks Morris will commit in the spring

Recruiting anaylist Bob Gibbons thinks that Morris will not sign with any college until spring:

"Big-man prospect Randolph Morris visited UK's Big Blue Madness. It might be closer to next year's Madness before we know his college choice or whether he'll go directly to the NBA.

"I don't think Morris will sign early," recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons said. "I'd be shocked if he does."

As part of his leisurely recruitment, Morris was scheduled to visit Georgia Tech this weekend. Tech is widely perceived as the favorite, and not simply because he lives in the Atlanta area and his brother, Jonathan Morris, is a manager on the team. "

Patience will have to rule the day. The "early" signing period is in November, maybe we will know something soon. On the discussion boards, some of those close to the process seem to think there is a decent chance he will sign early. Time will tell. Stay tuned.

Starting freshman QB's around the nation

Story link here.

Some photo's of the Maryland game

A link with some photo's from the game.

Here are some other photo's.

Freidgen frustrated

Check out these comments:

Re: quarterback situation: "I think we need to start looking toward the future [at quarterback]," Friedgen said.

On Tech's defense: "It was mainly miscommunication out there, not knowing who to block," said guard Lamar Bryant. "They weren't running a very complicated defense. They just blitzed over 50 percent of the time."

On O'Brien's concussion: "He didn't even remember two series that he played," Friedgen said. (and the rest he didn't WANT to remember - whoooohaaaa!. thanks folks.....I'm here all week)

Ra'Sean Dickey / Anthony Morrow - head-to-head match earlier this year

These guys went head-to-head earlier in the year. Found this re-cap of the game. Morrow (commited to Tech) seemed to get the best of Dickey in this match-up.

Clucko the Chicken believed in Tech on Thursday night

While most of the CollegeFootballNews staff thought MD would beat Tech, one prognosticator really stood out. That's right - CLUCKO the CHICKEN. As you can see here, CLUCKO believed in Tech. Just points out the obvious - chickens know football.

Humanitarian Bowl watch now has Clemson the front-runner

Looks like in their opinion that we have played our way potentially into a better bowl (for the moment). We'll let Clemson play on the blue grass.

This article mentions what we have now been saying for 2 weeks - OUR DESTINY IS IN OUR CONTROL!! Win out and we could seriously be looking at the Gator bowl.

One thing is for sure - we need to root for Clemson and UVA to lose any upcoming ACC games. With wins over NCST, WF and MD, we win a tiebreaker at the end of season. We can take care of UVA in a few weeks, but we need Clemson to lose.

GO JACKETS!!!

One website posts odds on rookie of year in NBA

Check out this site. They have odds on Chris Bosh and others winning Rookie of the Year. They have Lebron James at 1:1 odds (a result of the hype machine imo). They have Carmello next at 5:2 odds. Bosh comes in at 10:1 odds, with TJ Ford, Dwayne Wade and Darko M. ahead of him (ridiculous imo).

(Hey B - it's off-shore gaming, you know you want it...).

Lastly, Hoopsworld picks Carmello Anthony, but has Bosh as a dark horse.

Really lastly, Bosh had his roughest outing of the pre-season Monday night, going 1/9, but he did get 8 boards. Here is an interesting article mentioning Bosh and the focus on Lebron James.

How on Terp writer ranks the ACC hoops coaches

Check out this guy's assesment of ACC coaches. I think he has Hewitt ranked too low. I would put him 4-6 in the conference. The wins in the ACC definitely have not shown improvement. However, I think this is a short-term situation as he will build this program into a winning one at the higher echelon of the ACC. It's a cop-out but this guy has had a string of bad-luck a mile long since he has been at Tech. This program will get back to some of the glory days in the late 80's and 90's. I am convinced it will happen again with Paul Hewitt.

Chris Bosh comments from Head coach

Quote from head coach Kevin O'Niell:

"Chris Bosh, at 19, already has an NBA game, which is something many 25 and 30-year-olds have trouble getting sometimes," said O'Neill. "He's not playing a college game where you try to do everything youself, try to go too quick, he really has a nice pace to his game and understanding of the game, a real feel for how to play."

O'Leary wants to be a head coach again

Story on O'Leary and the Vikings. He indicates at the end his desire to be a head coach again. I guess it's time to polish up the old resume. Ok, that was a cheap shot.

Is Ralph Friedgen passing the blame?

"ThreeBee" at The Hive board posted an interesting article on the game with a comment from Friedgen

"They've got to decide what they want to accomplish for the season," he said.

Not "We've got to decide..." - it was "They". That's NOT the sign of a leader or head coach if you ask me. In business, the most effective leaders (I have seen) are the ones who freely distribute credit for good things and take the blame when things go wrong. This particularly applies with higher level executives (who are a little more solid in their place) and a head coach is a "top executive". Maybe he was challenging his team to take a long look in the mirror. Not sure, but could "the Fridge" become a victim of expectations?

Expectations are a funny thing. It is not what you do that matters. It is what you do COMPARED to what people THOUGHT you would do. Same goes for Wall Street. Dell Computer comes out and says that revenue has increased 35% in the current quarter and profits are up 50% and the stock goes down 20%. Why? Because the "experts" had projected a 50% increase in revenue and a 75% increase in profits. It's all about the expectations. I made that one up but it has happened to Dell and many other companies numerous times.

So to bring it back to football. Tech currently stands 5-3 and in a virtual 6-way tie for 2nd place in the ACC. FSU is undefeated in the conference and in the top 10 in the nation, yet Chan Gailey is probably more of a favorite to win ACC Coach of the Year. Why - expectations! Tech fans are thrilled to be tied for 2nd and Maryland fans are disgusted with the same record. Expectations. Of course the challenge of expectations is that they change over time. Maryland fans have much higher expectations after playing in 2 bowls in a row and playing so well under Fridge. Tech fans were told to expect the worst after all our tribulations and we believed it! So a .500 record would make us happy.

Of course, now the question is - what are the fan's expectations of this team now??? If we end up the year with a .500 record and a low-end bowl, will we be unhappy? It is certainly better than most thought would happen. What is our minimal expected performance from here on out? We still have a freshman QB - still are missing key players - still have little depth, etc, etc.

My expectations - beat Duke, beat UNC, a 50% chance of beating UVA and about a 30% chance of beating UGA. End the year at 7-5 minimum. 8-4 a distinct possibility, and 9-3 still a stretch (in my expectation).

What are your expectations?

Wa - who?

After an outstanding victory over a good Maryland team (GT coaching product, of course), the Jackets have to be happy with where they are and I'd like to remind everyone HOW BAD things looked three months ago. I know I am simply blown away. Here are a few snippets of my ramblings from just before the season started:

"I couldn't agree more with the decision to essentially jettison the season early and often in favor of getting a youg QB some reps for the future. Let's be realistic: who thinks we'll beat BYU in their house, then Auburn, then Clemson, then FSU? Maybe we go 1-3 there, but wouldn't you feel better if we had done that with a freshman QB and a former QB playing tight end or whatever? I pity Greg Gathers who worked to come back from the kidney ailment for this. I'm thinking Shawn Jones when I think of this new kid. Since I've heard virtually nothing about him and haven't seen him play, that tells you something about my expectations for this year and maybe next."

Interestingly, we DID go 1-3 in a weird way, but now this. I was also implying that Mr. Gailey was trying to provide cover for himself with the decision to bring in Ball--the old "wait until next year" defense. Boy, was I wrong...along with alot of others. That guy--and the people he's put around him--can flat coach. Finally, this ringing endorsement sent to some friends via email in mid-August:

"Remember where you read it first...Georgia Tech will beat:

Vanderbilt!

...and...Duke!

this year. That's it. Season tickets are still available by calling 1-800-TECHTIX."

I'm as enthusiastic a fan as there is, and I honestly believed that Tech was on the way to a 2-9 debacle of a season. Who wouldn't have? Lose ten players, QB with zero experience, lost Gathers to a terrible disease, coach under fire already for a team that "quit" according to some against Georgia, then got spanked by a bad WAC team, THEN you go out and lose to a decent BYU team with more monsters ahead on the schedule?!?!?

Appreciate what this team has done. Outstanding efforts on all fronts...and yes, I still think of Reggie as a Shawn Jones who struggled through his first season and he'll probably do the same this year despite the promise so far. If you can't get behind this team (no matter what happens for the rest of the year), you better hand over your tickets to someone who can. Enjoy the rest, then let's take it to Duke as though they're FSU--no letdowns, Jackets! Let's also hope the Terps win out by beating UVA, Wake, and NC State to separate the pack a little bit.

You'll read more reasons to hate Virginia in the coming weeks, but I need none. 41-38, baby :)

Fear the bee!

One last article - The "fine line" between winning an losing

Good review of the game from CollegeFootballNews.

Articles about the game

- An AP blurb.
- Story on the punting game being in a mess.
- Gwinnett Daily story here.
- Gainesville Times re-cap.
- AccessNorthGa story.
- Story on the Terps losing QB O'Brien.
- Macon Telegraph article.
- Another Macon Telegraph story.
- Here is the story from a "Maryland" perspective.
- Another story from the Maryland web page.
- Article on concern for the Terps.
- Morris news service story

Below is a blurb from VaTech's website about their team, but mentioning GaTech's defense.

"As I type this article, I'm watching the Maryland-Georgia Tech game. What just happened? How ironic. Maryland has the ball and can score the winning touchdown, but Georgia Tech's defense makes a play and gets yet another interception. Now this Georgia Tech defense wasn't supposed to be very good this year. They were racked by injuries and academic suspensions. But they shrugged off adversity and they are probably one of the top defenses in the land. I long for another defense like this at Virginia Tech, and there will be no more Big East or ACC titles until we get one. "

Bowl scouts were at the game

From the AP newswire:
BOWL SCOUTING:@ The game drew plenty of bowl interest.

Representatives from the Gator, Peach, Tangerine and Continental Tire bowls were on hand to scout Georgia Tech and Maryland, both in the running for postseason consideration.

Last season, Maryland played in the Peach Bowl, while Georgia Tech settled for the Silicon Valley Football Classic.

Here are some other game notes. Also here are the final game stats.

Jackets win!!! Jackets win!!! Jackets win!!!

Well, how about that!! The Jackets take down the Maryland Turtles 7-3. A gut-check game. A grinder. An old-fashioned trench war. No rest or stress-relief until that final second ran off the clock. There is plenty to be happy about and areas to be frustrated with. Let's save that for later. Bottom line - we got a "W" baby. I love this game.

The future is in our control. GO JACKETS!!!!

ESPN article on the Jackets and Gailey

If you hurry and click here you will see that Tech is highlighted on the ESPN college football page with a pic of Gailey and Ball.

If you click there and it is gone, try these links to the articles.Good article on Gailey's approach and building something with the Jackets. I sure would like to believe the line "Week by week...Gailey has slowly unveiled an approach that has Tech on the verge of something special." Here are some key stats for the match-up, and here is a good preview of what to watch for with both teams. As if you didn't already know that.

Let's show everyone that this is something special and spank the turtles tonight at BDS. GO JACKETS!!!

Off topic

I was in Boston last weekend, and witnessed the misery of Red Sox nation up close. But I was still surprised when I read this venting of Boston fans' frustration.

News & Notes

Good pub for Tech in ESPN, here and here. Also, this caught my eye earlier this week, a history of Friedgen's offense.
I'm looking forward to watching this tonight.

Reggie Ball Article from Athlon Sports

Got this in the mail inside a weekly promotion Athlon Sports offers to companies. Here was the front page blurb:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Reggie Having a Ball at Tech"

Can one drive turn around a season? What about a career? Well, in the case of Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball, the answer is yes.

For Ball, a true freshman from Stone Mtn, GA, that drive came on Sept. 27 at Vanderbilt Stadium, with the Yellow Jackets trailing the underdog Commodores 17-10 with just over two minutes to play. Ball, and the entire Tech offense, had struggled throughout the night. To that point of the game, he had completed just 7-of-17 passes for 76 yards and had thrown two interceptions. It looked as though Georgia Tech was headed for another close loss, its fourth of the season.

But then it happened. Ball turned into a major-college quarterback. Aided by a masterful 45-yard third-down scramble, he led Tech 89 yards down field in just 1:40 to tie the game at 17-17, and then he scored on a 25-yard naked bootleg on the first play of overtime to give the Jackets' a 24-17 season-turning victory.

Georgia Tech followed its win at Vanderbilt with a 29-21 win over North Carolina State in Atlanta and an impressive 24-7 win over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. This three-game winning streak improved the Jackets' record to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC heading into a bye week.

Since embarking on The Drive, Ball has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the nation. He has completed 40-66 attempts (60.1%) for 540 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. In the previous four-plus games, Ball's numbers were very freshman-like - 61-of-128 (47.7%) for 736 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions.

Georgia Tech, projected to finish in the bottom third of the ACC, is just two wins away from bowl-eligibility for the seventh consecutive season.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, I'll admit that the drive against Vandy was a nice turning point, but let's not brand it "The Drive" and say it turned around Ball's career. He doesn't have a "career". He is just establishing himself in the college game and developing as a player. Nice article but a little melo-dramatic.

Game predictions from the "experts"

From an Athlon Sports publication:
Athlon Sports Charlie Miller: Tech by 1
Mike Babcock (big 12 corr.) MD by 3
Pat Harty (Iowa City Press) Tech by 3
Peter Finney (New Orleans times) MD by 4
Tom Luicci (Neward Star) MD by 10
Steve Wieberg (USA Today) MD by 3
Lee Jenkins (Orange County Reg) MD by 3

CBS Sportsline predictions:J Darin Darst - AOL college staff writer - GT
Dennis Dodd - CBS senior writer - GT
Harmon - Sportsline forecast - MD
Tony Mejia - SL writer - MD
Jason Singer - SL producer - GT

CollegeFootballNews - GT 23 MD 20

GT Sports Blog ulimni predictions:
Walt GT 21 MD 24
Terry GT 28 MD 24
Scott GT 17 MD 14
Bryan ?????????? (put your neck out B): UPDATE: Bryan GT 21 MD 16

Bottom line is that this game is up in the air and there is not a clear choice as a winner (even among GT alums).

Reminder to fans at the game - cheer for Randolph Morris

Randolph Morris (top 20 high school hoops senior) is on campus today and Friday and will be at the football game tonight. If you are there, start a "Rand - olf" cheer or something. We would definitely like this kid to have a good experience on campus.

Morris is one of about 15-20 recruits left in the top 100 (varies depending on the recruiting service) that have not committed to a school. Out of the short list remaining, we are in the running for about 5 of them (Morris, Dickey, Nwankwo, Howard, J.Smith). Again, 2 scholarships remaining and all these guys are forwards and centers. The most likely scenario (imo) still seems to be Morris/Dickey, but only the kids and their families know for sure. Patience reigns supreme.

Tech NO University

Anyone who ever scraped themselves off the floor after a week of studying for an exam at Tech is sensitive to the use of the "U" word and Chan Gailey has been guilty of using that word repeatedly throughout the week in interviews. Here's one such mention.

Mr. Gailey is a relative newbie at Tech, so we'll give him a pass...but I would urge him to take a walk across campus one morning and look at the guys/girls trudging up the hill. One can READILY see that there aren't a lot of English majors in the group, and I mean no offense there. Georgia Tech is an Institute of Technology and I like it that way. If you want to shorten the name during interviews, say that playing on Thursday night is good for the "Institute."

One of the things I like most about Georgia Tech is the rich tradition of sports excellence and high academic standards that make it a unique place to get an education. It isn't for everyone, but it is what it is--and that is most certainly NOT a University.

Football notes

Macon Telegraph story of the significance of Thursday night football.
Blurb from the Ledger.
Jonathon "Fred" Smith leads the conference in YAC. What is that - click here to find out.
Maryland QB plans to bring it "...to the game" this week. Sounds like a movie of the week.
Article on bowl implications of this game.
Story on Ted Roof and his days at Tech with Bill Curry.

I have to preface this next link. I ran a google news search for "Georgia Tech" and this link popped up. An nice story about the atmosphere at Tech during football season. Then I read the last sentence talking about the Auburn game and tearing down the goalposts.

"I remembered thinking that there's no way they could get the goalposts out of the stadium. Then I realized that these were a bunch of engineering students (surprisingly cute ones, too). "

"Suprisingly cute ones too" - what? Was this article written by a female? No, a guy named Todd H. Were there a bunch of female coeds carrying out the goalposts? No, I remember looking at the pics. I checked out the listing of other stories on the site. There were article titles such as "Big balls award" and "Hitting a home run for my lover" and "If looks could win the NBA playoffs". My level of comfort suddenly went way down. Suffice it to say I left this site and will not return. Check it out at your own risk.

It's Time To Set the Record Straight

I noticed that Clemson fan responded to Walt's GOTIGERS blog comment, in such a way to reference our recent loss at Bobby Dodd. I thought that it would be a good time to set the record straight for all Clemson fans.

Since 1902, Tech and Clemson have played a total of 65 times. Tech has won 43, Clemson 20, and we've tied twice. This means that over the past 100 years, our football team has consistently been over two times better than yours. This is a perspective that I not only found interesting, but also worth posting to set the record straight for everyone.

Call 1-900-GOTIGERS for the hottest chat lines!

Why is Clemson such an easy target? I'll tell you why--not only is the self-proclaimed "second best team in the ACC" (currently tied for fourth place) comprised/followed by a bunch of hicks, but some of the players also put together personal web pages offering pornographic images.

Naturally, the players didn't do it, and "it was just for a class" according to one guy. Even more predictably, no one will be disciplined or miss a single down. The kicker is the following statement from Tommy "my diddy kin coach!" Bowden:

"The things I addressed was that a lot of these guys have Web sites and haven't looked at them in two or three years," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden told the paper. "'So y'all better check them because people can go in there and add stuff. Y'all are held accountable because you represent Clemson University.'"

Enough about the student's improprieties...how about sending coach to an English class or two so that he doesn't sound like Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies???

Key question for Auburn now? How did they lose to Tech?

Check out these comments from the Birmingham News:

One Auburn mystery remains:
They have turned their season around, beaten two Top 10 teams, lead the SEC West and just smashed one of their longtime conference rivals. So the question today isn't how Auburn beat Mississippi State 45-13 Saturday, or how Tommy Tuberville feels about beating Jackie Sherrill, or how Carnell Williams scored six touchdowns against the Bulldogs. Rather, the biggest question of the season for Auburn is simply this:

How in the world did this team lose to Georgia Tech?

--Charles Goldberg

How - by getting their vaunted running attack stuffed down their throats. By only scoring 3 points against Tech's stingy "D". Maybe we should send Charles the commemorative DVD of the game.

CBSSportsline "Experts" pick the game - 3/5 pick GT

Here is how one group of "experts" sees the outcome versus Maryland. So far on our board we have 2/3 picking GT.

Andrew Brackman - interesting recruit

This guy is 6'9" and a big-time BASEBALL prospect. That's right - he's a huge pitching prospect that could actually be drafted next spring. However, he has also come on strong as a top 150 hoops prospect. So he now has two lists of schools - those for baseball only and those for hoops and baseball.

Now, Tech has offered him a scholarship in baseball only, but word is that he may be able to switch it to a hoops scholarship after his freshman year. There are NCAA rules in place that place certain sports higher in the scholarship hierarchy, so he couldn't play hoops on a baseball sch. I don't pretend to understand all the rules, but this is an interesting kid and could be a good addition to both programs.

Check out this site for more details about him. Also, here is a good picture of him with hobbies, etc. Looks like the kid has a good sense of humor (biggest influence - Jared from Subway).

Good review of Tech team

Good overview of Tech's football team. Nothing new but a good review for those not up to speed on the team. Also, here is an article on the progress of the offensive line.

Wilkenson "just wanted to get on the field"

I for one, am glad THIS guy is on the field.

Jackets win golf title

See story here.

"Yellow Jacket offense Rolling with Freshman"

Good article on Reggie Ball and his growth as a frosh. Some comparisons to Joe Hamilton by Ralph the "Fridge".

Bosh leads all rookies in rebounding

Raptors power forward Chris Bosh leads all rookies in the preseason with 7.8 rebounds per game and ranks third in scoring at 12.2 points. And soon, it all starts over - for real. Also, head coach Kevin O'Neill is toying with the idea of starting him in a game or two.

Football Team Due At Home on ESPN Thursday Night Game

I'm taking Tech. This will be the third time in recent years when we have played Maryland on a Thursday Night ESPN Game. I have to believe that will all of our inconsistency over the course of this season, we just might be due for another big win at home. I think that Ball and the rest of the team will be pumped up and ready to prove something. And while I agree that Ralph eats defenses, we might be moving beyond the years when the post-Ralph GT teams still used most of his old material. Gailey has a different approach and could put something together that might surprise Maryland. If we can score early at home, then we might be able to carry it to the end. If not, the Varsity stays open until 1. Final score: Tech 28, Terps 24.

Tech Loses a Heartbreaker to Maryland

Prediction time and I see no reason to change my tack that has been working for a little while.

Terps 24, Tech 21

Good effort, but not enough offense to put us over the top. Also too many turnovers due to Jackets looking ahead to the matchup with Duke (that was a joke).

Here are the challenges that I see with Maryland:

1) They mix it up well with equally good running and passing games. The Jackets can't key off the run like they did against Cadillac earlier this year.

2) McBrien is WAY underrated with 1200+ yards passing so far this season. They also have game with a decent receiving corps as well.

3) Friedgen eats solid defenses alive...literally. This guy's pregame meal will be held at the Varsity this Thursday...that's right, the whole restaurant will be closed from 5 p.m. on to accommodate the sizeable appetite of big Ralph. That kitchen is only so big.

The light at the end of the tunnel: Maryland hasn't won a close game this year, losing to NIU early. All the remaining wins have been over by the third quarter, so if we keep it tight it'll be interesting to see what the pressure does to them. Obviously, the Jackets have had to deal with tight-game pressure and have responded well at times, but the Terps are untested there.

YellowJackets don't want success to go to their heads - again

As we have been saying here all along to the team - don't read the papers! Don't believe the hype - bottom line - Tech is an UNDERDOG going into this Maryland game. We are NOT expected to win. Ok boys - prove them wrong!

Here is a story about not letting success go to their heads.

Former GaTech QB Andy Hall having an impact at Delaware

Well, easy not to feel bad now that Reggie Ball in taking the snaps but check this out:

Quarterback Andy Hall, who was one of the highest -ated quarterbacks in the country coming out of high school and who played two years at Georgia Tech before transferring to Delaware, is having a spectacular senior season. Hall has completed 103 of his 161 pass attempts for 1,361 yards with 15 touchdowns and two interceptions. He is fifth in I-AA in pass efficiency (163.24)

In just two seasons at the University of Delaware after transferring from Georgia Tech, senior Andy Hall has put up some impressive numbers, including a 13-5 record as a starter in his 18 games. In his first season at Delaware in 2001, he threw for 1,832 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 863 yards and seven touchdowns. And he is off to an even better start this season, throwing for 1,361 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushing for 483 yards and four touchdowns in seven games. He ranks fifth in NCAAI-AA in passing rating (163.2) and 14th in total offense (263.4). Those numbers have played a big part in Hall being officially added to the Walter Payton Award Watch list by the The Sports network. The award annually honors the top offensive player in NCAA I-AA football and is selected by a vote of member sports information directors. The Cheraw, SC native has enjoyed some outstanding performances this season, throwing for a career-high 283 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener vs. The Citadel and rushing for a career-high 159 yards and two touchdowns, including a UD quarterback record 85-yarder, in the win over Hofstra. He also threw three touchdown passes in earlier wins over Richmond and West Chester and threw for 236 yards vs. William & Mary, his sixth career 200-yard effort. He accounted for five touchdowns in Saturday’s 55-10 win over Rhode Island, throwing for 153 yards and a career-high four touchdowns and rushing for 71 yards and another score. Hall, a pre-season All-Atlantic 10 second team pick, proved he is back at 100 percent after undergoing off-season rotator cuff surgery on his throwing (right) shoulder. Consider the following numbers:
• He currently has 262 career completions at Delaware to rank No. 7 all-time at UD in that category, 16 shy of sixth place.
• He has passed for 3,193 career yards for eighth place all-time at Delaware,499 yards shy of seventh place all-time
• He has 4,485 yards of total offense to rank No. 9 all-time at Delaware and heneeds just 253 yards to move into eighth place
• His career pass completion percentage stands at .574, well on the way to surpassing the UDcareer mark of .561 by Matt Nagy (1997-2000).
• He has rushed for 1,346 career yards to rank third all-time among Delaware quarterbacks and 33rd all-time among all UD runners. He owns the second and third longest single-game rushing totals in school history and his 85-yard run vs. Hofstra was the fifth longest in school history and the longest ever by a Blue Hen quarterback. The two other UD quarterbacks who have rushed for over 1,000 career yards are Bill Vergantino (2,564 in 1989-92) and current NFL standout Rich Gannon (1,509 in 1984-86).

hhhhhmmmmmm. The old "what could have been" thoughts going through my brain.

Volleyball 20-0 (8-0 ACC) Ranked #4 in nation

They just keep winning.

Flunkgate reprieve

Well, it looks like we may get back a few of those "flunkies" that we lost. Unfortunately that will not include Tony Hollings and Tony Hargrove. Here are the details.

Former Tech coach Ted Roof - ready to coach Duke

With a 29 game ACC losing streak, things can only get better - right? Ted Roof is ready to give it a go.

Randolph Morris - current status

Here is the article:

Key points:
- GaTech still the leader according to his father
- Now showing 5 schools in the running (GT, UK, Louisville, UCLA, UGA)
- Visits Tech Thursday (and will be at the Maryland football game)
- Will taKe all his other scheduled visits
- Visits Louisville Oct 31, UCLA Nov 7 (showing Clemson Oct 25-26 - not sure if this is accurate)

Come on Randolph - be a Jacket!!!

Tech's golf team in the lead at Gary Koch Tourney

Tech's team is ranked 5th in the nation in the latest GolfWeek Magazine. They are in the lead in their latest tourny.

More bowl projections

Well, 2 guys at ESPN have us going to the Humanitarian Bowl against Boise State. The folks at CollegeFootBallNews.com seem to agree.

Of course last week they had us playing Navy in the Continental Tire Bowl. It will probably change every week until the end of the season. Let's just keep winning those games one at a time. Our destiny is in OUR control.

Ra'Sean Dickey has a good visit to Auburn

Dickey visited Auburn last weekend - here were the comments from rivals.com

Auburn has already secured verbal commitments from two of the South’s top guard prospects for the class of 2004 and could be closing in on a commitment from one of the nation’s best power forwards, Bennettsville (S.C.) Marlboro County High’s RaSean Dickey, who just returned from an official visit to the Plains. The 6-foot-9, 255-pound Dickey rated his official visit a "strong 9" on a scale of 1 to 10 and is close to making a decision. Get all the inside scoop on Dickey's trip to Auburn, what ACC power is the Tigers' biggest competition and when he plans to make a decision.

Looks like Randolph Morris will be at the Maryland game this week and on campus. He visited UK's march madness last weekend. Word is it was a good visit, but GT could still be in the lead. "RamblinOn" below commented that it is possible that Morris delays his decision until Spring - let's hope not. Hoopsmasters is reporting that he may want to make 3 more visits.

So, is this respect?

Check out this statement from a review of ACC hoops:

Don’t misunderstand me, I think Duke will be very good, but projecting them number one or even in the national top five is a stretch. If the same players wore Georgia Tech or Virginia jerseys, for example, they probably wouldn’t even be in the top ten. Part of that is Coach K, part of that is reputation. We’ll see if they live up to the latter.

Many people think Duke is highly overrated this year and is crazy to be thought of as a top 5 hoops team. So does this say Coach K gets too much respect or that Georgia Tech does not get enough? Who knows, we all know Coach K is evil and wants to rule the world.

Latest in the football polls

Didn't play, but we moved in the polls. Here's the latest:

CBSSportsline "117" - #34 (were 31)
Congrove Computer Rankings - #45 (were #48)
ESPN Coaches Poll - #38 (were 39)
AP - still no mention

Good report from Tech's 1st Hoops practice

For a good report on the Jacket's first practice session, check out this post from "The Hive".

Ok, so where does the football stand?

Conf. Overall .........Conf........Overall......Games left
Florida State............ 5-0........ 6-1 .......WF, ND, CU, NCST, UFL
Maryland.................. 2-1........ 5-2 .......GT, UNC, UVA, NCST, WF
Virginia..................... 3-2....... 4-3 ........Troy ST, NCST, MD, GT, VaTech
NC State.................. 2-2........ 5-3 ........Duke, UVA, FSU, MD
Clemson................... 2-2....... 4-3 .......UNC, WF, FSU, Duke, USC
Georgia Tech............ 2-2....... 4-3 .......MD, Duke, UNC, UVA, UGA
Wake Forest............ 2-2........ 4-3 .......FSU, CU, UNC, UConn, MD
Duke........................ 0-4........ 2-5 .......does it really matter
North Carolina.......... 0-3....... 1-6 ........does it really matter

So, from the looks of it, FSU will probably cruise the rest of the way. From the looks of it, Clemson and GaTech may have the easiest ACC schedules remaining (not counting FSU of course). What is brewing is a major shootout in the middle of the pack.

I would estimate the following teams to be bowl eligible (at least 6 wins):
FSU, MD, UVA, NCST, Clemson, GaTech.

That basically means everyone would have to keep beating up on UNC, Duke and Wake Forest for the remainder of the year. Certainly a possibility for Wake may have found new motivation after the GaTech game "I hate to give Georgia Tech any credit, but they motivated us after that game" (words from WF head coach going into half time ahead of Duke 42-0).

Bottom line - Tech's fate in a bowl is squarely in their own control. If they win the remaining ACC games (UNC / DUKE should happen, UVA/MD a challenge), we can go into the UGA game with an 8-3 record. Winning there would be another surprise of the year (a la Auburn), but always possible. A 7-5 or better record should ensure us a bowl bid. Of course, the better the record, the better the bowl. I really believe an 8-4 record is a realistic possibility.

Go Jackets.

Latest Vegas odds on the Tech/Maryland game

Well, it looks like we are only 2 point underdogs (for now) for the Thursday night match-up with Maryland at home. See odds here.

Danny Sheridan has us as 3-point underdogs (click here).

Keith Brooking injured

Keith Brooking was injured during the Falcons game (fractures in his back)- looks like he will be out anywhere from 1-6 weeks. Probably time for the Falcons to just call this season off and take a "bye" year.

Importance of Recruiting again for UK

Again, highlighting the importance of landing Randolph Morris.

Former Tech linebacker and defensive coordinator named head coach as Duke's new head coach

Well, they finally fired Duke's head coach and they have named Ted Roof as the new head coach. Some of you may have remembered Roof as a defensive coach under O'Leary. Good for Ted!

Raptors lose 1st pre-season game with Bosh

The Raptors just couldn't hang on against the Nets. They lost 82-76. Bosh had 8 rebounds, 5 points (1/2), 3/8 free throws (ouch) and 2 blocked shots. Interesting to point out that this was Vince Carter's BEST night so far, with 26 points on 10/13 shooting. So Carter has his best night and the Raptors lose. Coincidence?

Interesting comment from a Winnipeg paper: "If the drafting of Chris Bosh, who looks like the real deal, doesn't get Toronto Raptors GM Glen Grunwald a new contract, nothing will "

Can Clarence Moore return to his past ability on the hardwood?

Clarence Moore returns to the Jackets hoops team after a year layoff. Can he return to former glory? If he can be the all-around guy he was in the past, he will be an important part of this team. Here is a nice story on his return.

Dez White stepping up in role with Bears

Nice story on Dez White becoming more of the Bear's "go to" guy.

Jackets Begin Practice for Terps

Jackets Begin Practice for Terps :: Tech, Maryland Meet Thursday Night in Nationally-Televised Showdown Get ready for the Thursday night match-up.

At least we can beat FSU at something

The Volley Chicks win again (3-0) over FSU in Tallahassee. Now they are 20-0 (8-0 ACC). and still #4 in the nation.

So something good came out of the Clemson game

Glad to see something positive came out of the Clemson game. There is no such thing as a mountain without a valley.

Re-cap of UK march madness from a UK fan that was there

Why should it matter to Tech fans about UK March Madness? Well. mainly because Tech's #1 priority high school recruit is Randolph Morris and he was there also. Check out this post on the UK board for a re-cap of the evening along with comments about Morris:

Key comment: Randolph Morris was there with someone (I think it might have been his brother or something). He seemed to be very quiet and sat a couple of rows above the Crawford family. He didn't seeme as intrigued by the whole thing as Crawford did... even though Crawford wasn't exactly standing and cheering all night.

From the little bit that I saw tonight, I'd say Joe enjoyed himself and Randolf was neutral. I know that MM isn't going to be the only thing these recruits consider when making their final decision, so I hope that the rest of the visit went well.

Tech ladies have their own "midnight madness"

Who knew we had such festivities? And did you know that the daughter of NBA Hall-of-Famer Earl "The Pearl" Monroe is on our team?

I guess if we had looked at the Ramblin Wreck site we would have known.

More on March Madness - blah blah

More on the ridiculous spectacle that is Midnight Madness. I sure hope Randolph Morris can see through all the bs that is this hype and see where his future really is - with the Jackets.

Drew Hill in the broadcast booth

Former GaTech player Drew Hill, who had a very successful pro-career, will be announcing the Tuskegee-Moorehouse game on the radio today at 1:30. A small step possibly towards a broadcasting career? Who knows.

Aaahhh - haaa!!! There is something to be said for college hoops competition

Nice story highlighting that Chris Bosh and Carmello Anthony might actually be the odds on favorite to win rookie of the year. Why - both had a year of seasoning in college. Now, there's a good argument if I ever heard one. Carmello and Chris played against each other last night. The Raptors won 86-81 to stay unbeaten. A nice comment in one article was that Chris Bosh was the best player on the floor in the 4th quarter.

The line:

Bosh 11 points (3/8), 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 5/6 from the line, 2 steals
Anthony 19 pts (6/9), 4 rbds, 1 block, 7/8 from line, 2 steals

Both guys had a good night. I would love nothing more than to see one of them finish ahead of "King James" for ROY.

Here is another re-cap of the game. And here is another article talking about his "NBA Pace" (with a nice pic of Bosh slamming the ball).

By the way, check out this page. See the picture of Bosh driving on the right - check out the size of his arms. They don't appear to be the string beans that we saw at Tech. The boy has bulked up some.

Tenuta silently has Yellow Jackets playing tough "D"

Story on the Jacket Defense. From the sounds of it, we will probably be lucky to hang on to Tenuta as an assistant coach for long.

Also, here is an article about the Jackets exceeding expectations.

UK chants "Randolph Morris" at Midnight Madness

blah blah blah. "We're KY and we rule everyone". Article on their Midnight Madness and attempted wooing of hoops recruit Randolph Morris.

Here is another re-cap highlight Tubby Smith's need to land a top recruit as he has lost a couple already.

Re-cap of ACC Hoops recruiting

Good recap of ACC hoops recruiting. Here is what was said of GaTech:

GEORGIA TECH: : Two senior commitments. 6-1 St. Matthews (SC) Calhoun County senior WG/PG Zam "Buck" Frederick (No. 82); and 6-6 Charlotte (NC) Latin senior WF/WG Anthony Morrow (No. 127). (Note that 5-10 Arizona PG transfer Will Bynum becomes eligible to play at the conclusion of the current 2003 fall term.) The Jackets hope to strike paydirt by landing prime big men such as 6-11 in-state star Randolph Morris (No. 13) and/or 6-10 South Carolinian Ra'Sean Dickey (No. 36).

Midnight Madness

AJC Article on the start of the college hoops season and questions for the various teams in the state of GA.

Story on UGA / Tech key freshman

Already made a post about this earlier in the week. Now the AJC has picked up on the story. Here is a story about Kregg Lumpkin and Reggie Ball as team-mates in high school.

Tech Players in the NFL

Here is a list of former Tech players in the NFL. Also, here is an article that interviews many of them about life in the NFL.

JACKETS IN THE NFL
Keith Brooking, LB, Atlanta Falcons
Joe Burns, RB, Buffalo Bills
Kelly Campbell, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Felipe Claybrooks, DE, Cleveland Browns
Marco Coleman, DE, Philadelphia Eagles
Nick Ferguson, DB, Denver Broncos
Will Heller, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tony Hollings, RB, Houston Texans
Dorsey Levens, RB, New York Giants
Charlie Rogers, WR, Miami Dolphins
Nick Rogers, LB, Minnesota Vikings
Travares Tillman, DB, Carolina Panthers
Dez White, WR, Chicago Bears
Chris Young, DB, Denver Broncos

One man's basketball preview

One man's opinion on each ACC team. By the way, could you possibly make the font on your site ANY smaller. I don't use glasses but needed them by the time I got done.

Story on the hoops season

Mentions Chris Bosh being a possible All-American this year IF he had stayed. And if pigs had wings.......

Article on importance of Tubby Smith's weekend w/Randolph Morris

More on Randolph Morris.

K.Fox considered #35 college player in the nation by ESPN-Mag

Nice props for K.Fox, considered by ESPN the Mag. as the #35 impact player in the nation this year.

35. Key Fox, Georgia Tech, LB: A complete linebacker-can rush the QB, play the run and cover. A leader on the ACC's top run D.

How is Tech doing with the top 100 FB recruits in GA?

Check out this link to see how we are doing with the top state of Georgia football recruits this year - not bad actually, although we know UGAg will do great in-state as usual.

In case you are curious Tech has made scholarship offers (so far) to #2,3,11 on the list as well. This is based on this site.

Bandwagon-eer Ed Nelson playing the Rudy role

See story here.
Our old friend Ed Nelson gets to play his only game this year tonight at UConn's march madness.

Will Tech's up-tempo style scare away Randolph Morris?

Check out this article about KY's march madness and the details about Randolph Morris, out most sought after recruit right now. Interesting comment though:

Bartley said a team that emphasizes inside play will attract Morris. "He wants to be on a team that plays inside-out, where he'll get some touches and develop as a player," he said. "Duke, for example, shoots a lot of three-pointers and plays outside-in, so that's not really the place for him."

Now, check out Zam Frederick's comments on why he liked the Tech system:

Georgia Tech runs an offense which Fredrick said is similar to what Calhoun County plays. “He runs a motion offense where everybody gets touches,� Buck Fredrick said. “You get opportunities and you’ve got to make the best out of the opportunities when you get them.�

So, will Hewitt's motion offense satisfy Morris's need to play an inside-out game, not an outside-in? It sure looks like our game this year will be outside-in, with the loss of Bosh and Nelson. Can Hewitt convince Morris of his role and growth on the team? Hopefully looking at getting Bosh to the 4th pick in the draft should help. However, it does look like a little bit of gray area. But then, what do I know?? I'm just a hack fan.

Nice comments about Chris Bosh

See story here.
If Bosh has managed to shut-up Vince Carter, that's quite an accomplishment

Here is another glowing review of Bosh. Come on NBA!!! Put in the age restriction rule - please!!! Can you imagine Bosh for another 2-3 years at Tech............sorry, I was just daydreaming. Back to reality.

"Tech's Lewis aims to make the most of his last season"

Link to story here.
Can Marvin Lewis develop more consistency in 2003? Will he continue his pattern of "lights out" shooting some games and "where's Marvin" in others? He is a floor leader because he is a senior, but will he be a real VERBAL leader? The guy can shoot the rock, but can he take it to the next level. He has one more full season at Georgia Tech to prove it.

Get an appreciation for the difficulty in starting a freshman QB

Nice article on how difficult it is to start a freshman QB (particularly TRUE frosh like Ball). Ball does get a good mention.

Quote from Bobby Bowden: "If you are starting a pure freshman quarterback, I hope you run the option or something," Bowden told Florida Today. "Because if you've got to bet on him to drop back and read coverages and make real intelligent decisions, I don't think the kid is out there (who can do that). I don't think God has made them that way yet, you know?

"You'd have to keep it very simple. It's not the arm, it's not a physical problem. It's the ability to make a decision. How many freshmen could you stick out there, a straight-A student, and give him 11 different coverages? When he throws that ball, he hasn't got any idea which (coverage defenses) are in because they are disguising, you know?". "To expect him to drop back and read that and get that ball to the right guy, they haven't made those guys yet."

Reminescing for the old days

Nice post from "BarJacket" at the Hive. I sure don't remember anything on his list, but I'm sure many Tech faithful do.

Great New Website with Tech Photo's

Thanks to "NickGT" from "the Hive" board on this site.

I am going add a new link to this website (Charles' Photo DB)- great find with some fantastic photo's. Check out this one from Nate Curry's fantastic catch in the endzone against NC St from the Reggie Ball fade route. There are actually about 6 shots from this one play - obviously a serious camera setup.

And tell me this one doesn't make you feel all good inside.

Actually I ended up creating a new category for GT Photo websites as there are more coming up lately. Happy viewing.

Chan gets consideration for mid-season Coach of the Year by ESPN writers

Check out the comments. They didn't pick him but he did get mention.

"Georgia Tech's Chan Gailey is winning with a true freshman quarterback and without 10 players (including star RB Tony Hollings and defensive end Tony Hargrove) who were ruled academically ineligible before season's start."

Here is an overall look at the ACC at mid-season by ESPN.

Women can sky too

Story on the women's hoops team. (Ok, slight exaggeration on the "skying" part).

Clemson STILL Sucks, 17-15

Disclaimer: I don't like Clemson, and never have. I've been there, met the locals (nice people) and rooted for them against non-conference teams. Something stuck in my head after that whuppin' that we took earlier this year.

After Reggie Ball declared that we would "not lose again" post-FSU heartbreaker in his freshman wisdom, the Tigers took it to heart and pounded us. Bad idea, Reggie. Immediately after the game, one of the Tiger players said that they were insulted by Ball's comment and that "Tech thought they were the second best team in the conference." Another bad idea.

I'll help you with the math, Tiger fan. After tonight's loss to the overrated Wolfpack, the records are as follows:

Georgia Tech 4-3, 2-2
Clemson 4-3, 2-2

Call me crazy, but sitting tied with GT for fourth place behind UVA, Maryland, and FSU probably doesn't make many people view Clemson as the second best team in the ACC. I say sign the Tigers up for that Continental Bowl before their stock drops further and send the Jackets to Orlando to enjoy Tangerines! Besides that, the covered wagon ride to Charlotte is a lot easier on the Clemson faithful than Central Florida...and they DON'T have to travel through Atlanta to get there.

Mark my words--Tech may not end up in the top tier of the conference when all is said and done, but they'll finish with a better ACC record than Clemson. And we'll see you next year with a sophomore QB and experienced O-line [insert bitterness here].

"On the ACC: Georgia Tech taking many by surprise "

Good article about the "surprising" Yellow Jackets. One note to the author though - we did not lose Jason Geathers to a kidney ailment. Get it right please!!

Love the last paragraph, speaking to the issue of perceptions of the quality of football in the ACC versus SEC.

"When Ole Miss jumps up and upsets Florida at The Swamp, it's because the SEC is a fierce conference. When Georgia Tech offs N.C. State, it's because the ACC isn't any good."

Butler doing it for Jackets

Definitely one of our most talented defenders. Check out the story.

Stephon Marbury's cousin announces his choice for college

Here is the link

Sebastian Telfair, a top high school recruit, has made his decision on a college - Louisville. He still may make the jump straight to the NBA since he doesn't have to sign on the dotted line with Louisville until spring. He is Stephon Marbury's cousin and is touted as the best player to come out of his region since....well - Stephon. He is a concensus top 10 high school player.

If he does end up changing his mind in the spring to go to the NBA, he would be shortest player to attempt to go pro (6'0") and he would be the first to announce BEFORE he goes through his senior year in high school.

This guy was just in a 5 page spread in ESPN the Magazine and been on the cover of "Slam". In other words, a media driven hype-machine, albiet not near the level of Lebron.

........In even younger recruiting news.....did you hear about that 1st grader (6'3") who could take it to the rim? They say once he gets through potty training and can wear "pull-up pants", it will add 6" to his vertical. Evidently Coach K. has been trying to get diaper deal with Proctor & Gamble.

Tech could prevent Auburn from National Championship???

Check out these comments:

Losing to USC is no sin -- even though the 23-0 score was a true comeuppance. But losing 17-3 to a middling Georgia Tech team is the thing that will keep Auburn from where it dreamed of being. The Tigers have a legit shot at coming back to win the SEC, which will have to serve as the consolation prize -- and not a bad one at that.

Couldn't have said it better myself (except the part about a "middling" Georgia Tech Team)

The Hoops team - getting geared up

Another review of the Tech hoops team - should be a fun year. I like what Paul Hewitt said about incoming transfer Will Bynum:

But Bynum, an overtly confident player, should do more than just back up Jack. With the Wildcats, he dominated at times, including a game against San Diego State last season when he scored a career-high 19 points. He also made 6 of 11 3-pointers against Northern Arizona.

"I just know the son of a gun can play," Hewitt said of Bynum. "Will is one of those guys, and not to put too much on his shoulders, but he can fix a lot of problems. He does have some leadership qualities that come out on the floor in the form of his confidence."

Game of the Century

Most diehard Tech fans know about the most famous and lopsided drubbing in the history of professional sports. It was Georgia Tech versus Cumberland.

The final score ---- GT 220 Cumberland 0. (Not a typo)

The game still holds many NCAA records. It is captured in infamy on this website. I like it so much I decided to provide a link on the list (under football extras "Game of the Century").

Chris Bosh impresses fans

-- A poll on the Toronto Raptors’ Web site asked, “Who do you think has impressed Coach (Kevin) O’Neill the most this preseason?” A whopping 62 percent chose rookie big man Chris Bosh, while 26 percent of the votes went to Vince Carter. (18,268 votes)

Last night Bosh helped the Raptors beat the Timberwolves by LEADING the team with 16 points (6/13), 7 rebounds (3 off), 2 steals, was 4/5 from the line.

Check out this re-cap: On one play, Bosh got Garnett off his feet on a ball fake from the right block and then scored off glass. Defensively, Bosh was, at times, a shot-blocking presence and controlled the boards.

Through these early pre-season games, Bosh has become the #1 guy off the bench for the Raptors. Friday night he plays against Carmello Anthony and the Nuggets. Who knows, he may be starting by the time the season starts. CHRIS, COME ON!!! Sure you don't want to consider another year of development at Tech?

Now, where is the mighty Lebron James - averaging 8 points (33% shooting), 4 rbds, 4.3 assists, 3 turnovers. Bosh is out of the gates and running....

UGA back played with Reggie Ball in high school

UGA's freshman runner showing signs of life after a hamstring pull. Evidently Reggie Ball used to hand him the pigskin in high school:

Lumpkin starred at Stephenson High School in Lithonia, playing in the same backfield with Reggie Ball. While Lumpkin headed off to play for the Bulldogs, Ball signed with rival Georgia Tech and quickly earned the starting quarterback job.

Re-cap of ACC teams mid-season

Other than mistakenly saying we have beat Virginia, the article is accurate. Short re-caps of each team.

Summary of conference expansion

Good summary of ALL the conference expansion going on these days - not just in the ACC.

Article says Auburn would beat Tech NOW - and if frogs had wings......

Check out this article.

Quote: "There is no doubt in my mind the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (the roller coaster team of the year) could not beat the Tigers at this point in the season."

Well, you know what - THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT WE BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU (AUBURN) 17-3. Nobody doubts that. It is FACT!!! Talk your "what if" game. It doesn't matter. I hope Auburn wins out the rest of their games and wins the SEC. Then you will look back and realize you got slammed by the Jackets. In your mind, you can probably justify the loss to USC - they were expected to be good. But Tech was picked to finish last in the ACC, by most people. Don't forget, you got beat by an ACC team, and beat soundly.

Now, all you have to do is click your heels together three times, repeating "There's no team like Auburn, there's no team like Auburn..... Why, Auntie 'Em. You would never believe the nightmareI had. We started the season by losing to both USC and Georgia Tech. It was awful. And Uncle Zook was there, and there was a bad wizard named Chan....."

Former Tech alum with his own Blog references our site

A fellow alum, in his own band (Third Day), who was actually AT the Vandy game. Check out his Blog. He has referenced ours so we will return the favor.

Ever wanted to understand the physics of football

Anyone miss their Tech physics classes? Which one - particle dynamics, e-mag, optics??? I would have understood things better if they talked in terms of football. Check out this website.

Where are they now --- Malcolm Mackey

How about this??? Found this web page, which was totally in French. I have linked to the google translated version and this is what comes up.

Now, what does ".....Mackey is seen controlled positively with the cannabis...." mean? Hhhhmmm. Maybe a translation problem.

Here are some photo's of him in action.

Anyhow, anyone know what Malcolm is doing now? Always liked that guy. Word was he was at Tech this summer working out with some of the players, but no confirmation.

Good background story on PJ Daniels

PJ, you keep up your latest performances and Tech can win a lot more games this year. Link here for some history of PJ Daniels.

Chris Bosh has good outings for Raptors

After Chris Bosh's first two pre-season games of the year, here are his stats"

Averaging:

31.5 minutes
14.5 points
59% field goal %
no 3-pt shots
82% free-throws
7.5 rebounds
1 steal
1 block
2.5 turnovers
4 fouls

Here are some re-caps of his performances (one....two.......good summary of this 1st week....... The Raptors are actually 3-0 now and he has had good games in all three.

Obviously it is pre-season, but they must be happy at this point. Oh, what could have been....but I digress.

Wake Forest newspaper review new movie by comparing to Tech / WF game

Check out the opening paragraph of Wake Forest's student newspaper review of "Intolerable Cruelty".

"Intolerable Cruelty: a fitting description of last weekend’s football game against Georgia Tech? More like, the title of a stellar movie that opened this week."

Love it when we can inflict that kind of damage. Love it.

The Expansion dominos start to tip now

Link here

I guess some people are passionate about football

Check out this rant on The Hive. Obviously this guy cares a lot about GaTech - in particular football. I get the sense from reading various opinions that Tech joining the SEC breaks down into two camps.

1. People who remember Tech in the 50's / 60's during the Bobby Dodd era. This group seems to yearn for the days of competing every year again with the Auburn's, LSU's, Tenn's, Alabama's, etc. They just don't get the same satisfaction from playing Wake Forest, Duke and UNC every year.

2. People who do NOT remember that era and only know the SEC for years of corruption, acedemic fraud, cheating and scandals. This is the recent history. This is what the ACC is not known for. This group tends to want to stay in the ACC. I graduated from Tech and thought of it more like "surviving" than "graduating". We went through something difficult and spent blood, sweat and tears. I don't like the idea of the institution being thought of at the level of UGA and Alabama. Pretty arrogant considering we are talking athletic conferences here, but image is important.

Now I certainly put football #1 in my book, but basketball and baseball are NOT a distant 2nd. But everyone has a right to their opinion

Bowl predictions by CFN - Tech to Continental Tire Bowl???

Thanks to Todd on the comment post - check this out. Could we be playing Navy? Obviously wins versus Duke and UNC are requirements. At least one win versus Maryland or UVA would be great. Beating UGA - priceless (but unexpected). But you never know.......

How about that! I got done giving R.Friedgen a hard time for looking ahead (see post below) and now I am looking ahead to bowl games for Tech. Well, big difference - I am not the head coach of the Maryland football team!

ACC Expansion one factor in landing top GA linebacking recruit

So, Travis Chambers says that the expansion of the ACC played into his decision to commit to GaTech. He wants to compete AGAINST top competition and this helped push him over the edge. Let's hope this is really true and a trend. Evidently VaTech has landed both a good hoops recruit and a good football recruit as a result of joining the ACC. I think VaTech will really have a lot to gain - they will compete so much more effectively for those good Virginia players who just don't want to play in the Big East. Of course, this means that UVA will be a direct loser in some cases. Of course they are the main reason VaTech is in the league, so they can live with it.

By the way, Travis Chambers was recongnized for his game last week on the high school AJC "honor roll":

Travis Chambers, who recently committed to Georgia Tech, had 19 tackles as the Chamblee defense held St. Pius to 119 total offensive yards.

Tech ended up with #4 recruiting class in baseball

Baseball America rated GaTech's 2003 freshman baseball recruiting class the #4 in the nation. This is after last year's class was #1. Should bode well for the future of Tech baseball. It also helps that there are rules not allowing a player to jump to the Pro's right away once committed to a college. Here is how they all stacked up:

Baseball America 2003 Top Recruiting Classes
1...................North Carolina
2...................South Carolina
3...................Arizona State
4...................Georgia Tech
5...................California
6...................Notre Dame
7...................Texas
8...................LSU
9...................Arizona
10.................Georgia
11.................Stanford
12.................Stetson

How about those Tarheel's? Pulling in the best class - can only be good for the ACC - but the competition will only get higher.

Oh my - a CLASSIC article on UGA football players

This is just fantastic. Talking about the whistleblower who brought UGA football standards into the spotlight. My favorite quote (although there are many):

In talking about UGA players:
".....the typical Georgia football player. "We may not make a university student out of him," he said, "but if we can teach him to read and write, maybe he can work at the post office rather than as a garbage man when he gets through with his athletic career.""

Now THAT is classic. And of course, as we all know, some things never change. Just look at the hoops program. And people actually want to consider GaTech re-joining the SEC. Please....NO !!!

Is the Fridge looking ahead?????

I love it when coaches say things like - "If we can win against Georgia Tech and North Carolina, then I like that break going into the last three. It might fall right for us.". Love it when coaches offer sound bites that might get their players looking at the games after Tech. Click here for the full article.

How did Hoops recruiting play out last year?

Here is a good re-cap of the recruiting process (from RamblinRed) at the Hive last year that led to Will Bynum joining the team. As we have said before recruiting is an unpredictable process and Hewitt seems to have had more bad luck than most in his few years. It looks like he is really putting together another top notch class for 2004/2005. There should be good things to come for Tech hoops.

Article about Philip Rivers mentions Joe Hamilton / Shawn Jones

This article tries to make a case for Philip Rivers being the best quarterback in ACC history. It's a good case. He is benchmarked against other great historical quarterbacks including Joe Hamilton and Shawn Jones.

NCAA Hoops coaches forced go to "ethics" conference

To get their Final Four tickets, NCAA coaches are required to show up for this ethics conference. So bribery is good ethics?

Butler to receive honor at the Maryland game

James Butler will receive the 2003/2003 John N.Neal Endowed football scholarship. He will be honored at the Maryland game. Notice the comment from his mom "The thing that makes us most proud is that he is doing so well in the classroom,” Well, mom, I have to disagree. What makes me most proud is when James kicks the crap out the opposing offense, when he intercepts passes and blocks field goals. That's what makes me most proud. Of course, in light of Tech's "flunk-gate", I guess we should be proud of his classroom work as well. Go James.

By the way, did anyone see the replay of the Wake Forest game when he blocked that Field Goal. This guy absolutely skyed!!! He jumped so high the ball didn't hit his extended arms - it actually hit him square in the FACE!!! Evidently he's got about a 41" vertical. Hey, Paul Hewitt - got a minute?

Terps leading wide receiver has many GaTech ties

Interesting story highlighting his past ties to GaTech. Not that any self-respecting Tech fan now cares since he is catching balls for the TWERPs. Just another human interest story.

Editorial on ACC Expansion

Obviously there are a lot of opinions about expansion. Here's another article saying the BC addition is ALL about basketball, since the Miami and VaTech additions were all about football. I can't say BC fits well geographically but "it is what it is". Now, let's just wait and see "what it is".

It's that time again

Can you believe it - preseason hoops starts practice on Saturday. Ahhhh, the hardwood, the squeeking of shoes, the swooshh of the net. It's back again. Check out this nice re-cap of the Tech squad. Hope abounds in October, as it should.

Those "other" sports

Tech Volleyball swept Clemson tonight 3-0 to move to 19-0.

The Tech men's golf team finished 8th at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate in Birmingham, AL

Interesting article on the impact of expansion

See this article. It actually mentions GaTech and the domino that could lead it to join the SEC (if they booted Vandy). There may be some hard-core alums who would welcome this idea, but I am not one of them. The ACC stands for prestige, acedemics AND strong athletics. People want to say "we are more like an SEC school". That's BS - maybe Clemson, but not Tech. The SEC is marred by recruiting violations and scandals, and these are only the ones that are caught. The only "scandal" we had this year was losing 10 players to acedemic problems BECAUSE WE DO HAVE STANDARDS. I for one appreciate what the ACC stands for and would hate to leave.

Coach Gailey's comments on the WF posted

Check out Chan Gailey's website for his comments on the WF game.

Top 10 Volleyball rankings

Tech moves up a spot to #4 on the women's volleyball rankings:

School (1st-Place) Points....... Record....... Last Wk
1. USC (65).............1,625....... 16-0....... 1
2. Hawai'i................1,551....... 17-1....... 2
3. Florida.................1,504....... 18-1....... 3
4. Georgia Tech.......1,397....... 18-0....... 5
5. California............1,324....... 16-0....... 9
6. Pepperdine.........1,322....... 13-2....... 6
7. Stanford..............1,272....... 13-3....... 4
8. Nebraska.............1,063....... 15-2....... 7
9. Kansas State.......1,063....... 16-3....... 12
10. Northern Iowa....1029....... 15-2....... 10

Not only are we undefeated, this team has dominated. In terms of games won (best 3/5 wins), we are 54-5. The only teams that managed to win games were Nebraska (#5 at the time), Wisconsin (#24 at the time) and Maryland (won 1 game - they are 2nd in the ACC currently). Tech is only one of three undefeated teams in the nation left. By the way, why are we NOT ahead of Hawaii or Florida, who both have lost a match? This team leads the nation in assists/game, kills/game and hitting %/game. and of course we have the best record at 18-0.

Now, talk about fan support having different expectations. Our team is drawing an average of 895 people per match, which is 29th in the nation. If they would just schedule their matches right AFTER the football games, they would probably get more than that many people accidently walk in looking for a bathroom.

Tech connections with this weekend's Viking / Broncos game

Some good college connections for this game:

Broncos’ S Lee Flowers played at Georgia Tech in 1994 when Vikings’ defensive coordinator George O’Leary took over as head coach for the Yellow Jackets… Vikings’ LB Nick Rogers and WR Kelly Campbell played at Georgia Tech with Broncos’ S Chris Young for O’Leary

Hoopmasters.com updates their top 100 high school ballers

Hoopmasters.com has updated their top 100 high school basketball players. Here is how the Tech recruits stack up:

Dwight Howard - #1 - undecided (most likely NBA bound; will decide in the spring)
Randolph Morris - #17 - undecided (GT/AZ, GT lean, attending KY March Madness this weekend, could go pro; fall decision expected)
Anthony Morrow - #54 - GT
Jeremis Smith - #55 - undecided (AZ/GT finalists, AZ lean; visits AZ later this month; fall decision expected)
Ra'Sean Dickey - #58 - undecided (GT lean, team-mates with Zam F.; visits Auburn this weekend; fall decision expected)
Zam Frederick - #63 - GT

These are only the recruits on this list. Does not include Davis Nwankwo who has been reported on here before and is in the top 100 on other sites. Goes to show you need to take all these rankings with a huge grain of salt. Morrow and Zam F. are listed #125 & #126 respectively by Rivals.com, but are in the top 100 of most other rankings.

Again we have 2 scholarships remaining. My money goes on Morris / Dickey taking the remaining spots, but recruiting is a funny process. Never know what might happen.

The ACC continues to get stronger in hoops

link here. This does not even cover the outstanding classes of UNC and a good one from Dook as well.

Tech to play Div I-AA Samford next year

Did you know that Tech has scheduled Samford next year? Are you concerned that this is Div I-AA team? How will this impact our bowl eligibility next year - see this link for some clarification? Will a 50-0 win actually HELP us, or will it not matter? Is this now reality and life with Miami, FSU and VT in our conference? I am all for scheduling a couple of "cream puffs" but come on - let's stick with Div I-A - please.

On a side note, did you know that Chan Gailey coached at Samford for one year in 1993 before heading to the NFL? Did you know that QB coach Patrick Nix was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Samford for one year before coming to Tech in 2002? Hhhhmmmm. A little nepotism here?

Mid-Season ACC review from CFN

College Football News has posted a mid-season review of the ACC - link here. Tech showed up in these categories:

Biggest Surprise - Georgia TechThe Yellow Jackets have been hammered by injuries, academic suspensions and started a freshman quarterback. It's amazing they're still in the hunt for a bowl game.

Coach of the Midseason - Chan Gailey, Georgia Tech: There haven't been any excuses allowed, even though it would be forgivable if the Yellow Jackets hit the skids this year. He's coached the heck out of this team. Can you imagine where things would be if all the parts were in place?

Top Freshman - Reggie Ball, QB Georgia TechHis statistics haven't been out of this world, but he appears to be the type of player Georgia Tech can build around. Above all else, he appears to be a winner.

Although I was a little surprised at their top 10 players at mid-season. Ball showed up at #10, but Jonathon Smith was nowhere to be found - leading the ACC in receiving yardage total and per game. He deserves to be on that list, certainly ahead of Jerrico Cotchery (#5) who is #2 in receiving in the ACC. PJ Daniels get honarable mention as well.

Will ACC Hoops be better or worse with expansion

Interesting commentary by Jay Bilas. So what do you think? The home-away schedule we have played for years DOES ensure that it is very clear who deserves to be ACC champion. This could be comprimised by only playing some of the teams once. However, with a 12 team conference and playing everyone twice, it would be dog-eat-dog. We will just eat each other up and when it is time to see who goes to the dance, teams will be left out that deserve to go. The ACC is only of a couple major conferences left that play each other twice. Of course, now that this will end, we will have an opportunity to schedule some different out-of-conference games. Personally, I am glad we will only play some teams once.

Will we get more teams into the dance now? I think that it really comes down to winning non-conference games. Think about it:

- If we have a year with 2-3 dominant teams in the ACC, then the media will say, "it is Duke, UNC and Maryland...then everyone else". They will say the conference is weak.
- If we have a year with 5-6 teams bunched up at the top of the conference, the media wills say "the whole conference is weak - it is not what it used to be".

What will set the ACC apart? - beating the snot out of the other conferences. It's the only way to have a "strong conference" image. So, we need more of an opportunity to schedule those non-conference games. Playing each other more often is not the answer.

GT / WF game to be replayed Tuesday on Comcast Sports Southeast / Charter Sports Southeast

The GT / WF will be replayed at 2:30 and 9:30 on Tuesday. Here is the schedule. Great for those of you in the Southeast.

There are other sports on campus

Kyle Rabbit was name ACC Cross Country Performer of the Week. Tech came in 2nd at the Auburn invitational last weekend. Rabbit won the 8k race. I will refrain from all silly puns using the name "Rabbit" and his connection with running.

Also, the Tech Volleyball team continues their undefeated ways. They are 18-0 (6-0 ACC) and head to Clemson for a Tuesday match. They have now moved up to #4 in the nation. Chicks rule.

How does the bowl process work?

Here is a link describing how the football bowl process works for the ACC. Looks like if we can finish strong, the Continental Tire Bowl or the Humanitarian Bowl are the strongest possibilities. Of course, if we finish REALLY strong there are other possibilities. But let's take it one game at a time.

3 Tech players get ACC honors this week

Jonathon Smith was named offensive back of the week for his 7 pass 194 yard effort. This is the 2nd week in a row he has garnered the honor. He is now the 9th leading receiver in the nation

Hugh Reilly was name offensive lineman of the week. He certainly played a role in helping PJ rush for 175 yards. He has taken EVERY snap for the Jackets this year. Great going Hugh

Reggie Ball does it again - Rookie of the week. That's the 4th time and 3rd week in a row. He is making his claim on Rookie of the Year.

Here is the re-cap and the official release. Great going to all the Jackets. There were many standout performances.

Another Hoops Recruit Davis Nwankwo visits GaTech

Here is a re-cap of Davis Nwankwo's visit to GaTech. Looks like he is leaning AZ, but his parents want him to consider a stronger acedemic school. He is still one of 4-5 guys chasing 2 scholarships. By the way, Arizona has also decided to continue recruiting Jeremis Smith, who was arrested last week for shoplifting. He has re-scheduled his visit to AZ for late Oct. Some people expect him to commit to AZ that weekend. No word out of GaTech if they will continue recruiting him. My guess is they will continue. Smith is down to AZ/GT for his college choices. As usual, for both GT/AZ there are more players chasing fewer scholarships. We still seem to be front-runners for Ra'Sean Dickey & Randolph Morris.

Here is a little more clarification on his choice. He WANTS AZ and his parents don't. You can by his comments the pressure these kids feel going through this process.

By the way, Nwankwo is 6'9", about 235lb and is ranked in the top 100 in all the rankings.

Randolph Morris quotes - 6'11" hoops recruit

From a recruiting website:

Morris, a 6-foot-11 player from the Atlanta area, confirmed that Georgia Tech is a favorite. "That's true," he said. "I like Georgia Tech a lot. They're rebuilding and say I can be the focal point." It can't hurt that his older brother, Jonathan Morris, is a manager on the Georgia Tech team. "We've always wanted to be at the same college," Morris said. "We're so close." However, Morris chose Madness weekend for his official visit. He wanted to get a feel for UK basketball at a robust level. "I'll see Kentucky at its best and at its worst," he said. "I'll get a great feel for the whole Kentucky environment." At its worst? A tip from, of all people, Louisville Coach Rick Pitino, led Morris to pick Madness weekend for the visit to UK. "You can see the coach down and dirty in practice," the prospect said. "I talked to Coach Pitino lately and he said to see practice." Morris, who has not set a visit to Louisville, did not see himself getting swept away by the Madness frenzy of enthusiasm. "I don't think I'll go as far as committing," he said. "I have to see what I am missing at the other schools."

Here is the entire article.

By the way, Curtis Bunn of AJC did an editorial about Morris and Dwight Howard, and he leads readers to believe that both Howard AND Morris could jump to the NBA as a 1st round pick NOW! So what is Hewitt to do? Do we go for a "one-and-done" again like Bosh? Personally I think one-and-done tends to only work with perimeter players (a la Carmello Anthony). Just too hard to integrate big men into the flow of an offense. This would be particularly challenging for Paul Hewitt's up-tempo style. We will really see how this pans out this year now that Bosh is gone. However, is Morris a "one-and-done"? Is he another Kwame Brown? He certainly comes from a strong family that believes he will be better in college. Personally, I would LOVE to have him at Tech, as would most Tech fans. I hate kids leaving early, but is this better than them never coming at all? If the NBA puts in this age restriction that would be better for the college game, not necesarily for the kids. I just long for the days when you had Mark Price for 4 years. Oh, for the good old days.

Here is a profile of Morris's game.
Here is a story on his AAU team and teamates this summer.

Schedule Hurts Tech

I realize that we have no control over this, but you have to admit that playing two teams over the next month hurts our largely healthy football team. Who agreed to nearly back to back bye weeks? We play Maryland in ten days, then have to sit around for SIXTEEN days waiting to take on Duke.

Sure, it's a coincidence that the bye week comes around when Tech seems to have some momentum after knocking off two good teams, but this is the LAST time anyone would like to see the team sit idle for a while. It's too bad that we had to bunch up the bye weeks and we'll feel even dumber if someone gets hurt after playing Duke. Is this due to Tech's desire to play on Thursday night at all costs? I hope not....

The Stats are officially in!!!

Again, while stats really don't mean anything except "W's" and "L's", they are fun to watch. So here are some interesting ones to ponder:

Offense:
- Reggie Ball is already 10th on the all-time ACC freshman passing list (1276 total yards passing, and 1448 total yards). He has a decent shot at finishing 2nd or 3rd on that list by the end of the season. Philip Rivers is the all-time frosh leader with 3054 yards (wow). By the way, Shawn Jones is 5th on the list with 1748 yards and Joe Hamilton is 9th with 1342 yards.
- Reggie is also 5th in the ACC in total offense this year.
- PJ Daniels is 2nd ACC in yards / game (89) and 1st in total yards (623). Also he has averaged 105 yards his last 5 games. Hiis 175 yards against WF was the ACC high in a game this year.
- Jonathon Smith leads the conference in receiving at 104 yards/game. He is 2nd in the ACC with all-purpose yards/game (128). He is also the 2nd leading active receiver in the ACC with 1825 career yards.
- Unfortunately in the team category, we are still poorly ranked in most overall team offensive stats. If we keep up what we have done the last 3 weeks, that should change.

Defense
- Tech has not allowed a TD on an opponents opening drive in 37 consecutive games
- Tech is still #1 in the ACC in rushing defense.
- Opponents are only converting 29% of 3rd downs against Tech (2nd ACC)
- James Butler is tied for the league lead in interceptions with 3 (1 other player). He is also 11th in the ACC in tackles (9.3/game). He is also 2nd in the league with 3 forced fumbles and 8th in passes defended.
- K.Fox is tied for the lead with 12.3 tackles/game. Daryl Smith is not far behind at 10.3/game.
- Eric Henderson is tied for the ACC lead with 6 sacks. He also 4th in league with 9 tackles for a loss.
- Did you know the GT-WF game last week was the shortest so far this year in the ACC (2:42)

While obviously I have focused on all the GOOD stats for Tech, there are plenty of categories where we do not shine (like most offensive team categories). However, as we all know, it takes more than good numbers to win a ball-game. Just look at that freak BJ Symons at Texas Tech. Passes for 586 yards versus NC State and LOSES. All of the stats in the world will not tell you who will win a ballgame. As always, however, they are fun to look at and talk about.

Tech Football moves up in the polls

USA Today / Coaches Poll - #39 (were #43 last week)
CBS Sportsline "117" - #31 (were #67 last week - can you say "oversight")
Sagarin Ranking - #32 (#4 strength of schedule)
Congrove Computer Ranking - #48 (#56 last week - shows #3 in strength of schedule)
AP - not listed (what do a bunch of sportwriters know anyhow?)

Now, if we can just get the top 40 teams to all lose.....and if we win out.......and hell freezes over......national championship here we come. Ok, so Tech fans tend to set their sites high. Hey, considering many of the "smart" prognosticators picked Tech in the cellar, so far we have to consider this quite a successful season. Take the Clemson embarrassment away and we are showing real character.

Where are they now (and who are they)

Sorry, I just don't remember Will Heller, but he caught a TD pass for the TB Bucs yesterday. He is a rookie this year and played on last year's Tech team. It was his only catch Sunday, but it was a 4 yard TD. At 6'6" this is a big boy.

Stats are for suckers, but......

PJ Daniels now LEADS the ACC in rushing w/ 662 yards (95/game)
Jonathon Smith now LEADS the ACC is receiving w/ 725 yards (103/game)
Kenny Scott now LEADS the ACC kick-off return yardage w/ 354 (23.6/return) Of course he has had more return chances

When the official stats come out this week we will have leaders in many defensive categories as well (tackles, interceptions, etc). Stats are for suckers but they sure are fun to fill the time in between games.

It's official - Boston College to join the ACC

Well, it's official.. Is BC joining the ACC a good thing? Time will tell, but it was really a necessary thing. It was driven by money, long-term viability and positioning. BC is certainly a good fit acedemically, prestige-wise and image-wise. Their sports programs have competed fairly well and should get a boost once in the conference. If we HAD to have another team, BC seems like a good one. We will see.

The Helmet Project

Pretty cool web site on helmets through history. Check out the ACC and some historical Tech helmets. Interesting

See photo's from the WF game

Check out some good photo's from the WF game.

Dwight Howard Journal

Here is a link to #1 Hoops prospect Dwight Howard. If this guy ends up in college for even one year I would be extremely surprised. If he does go, he's sure to be a one-year guy. He certainly would be fantastic, but can another one year guy help the program? Do we want another NBA prospect to leave early and forever be associated with GaTech, but not help the team acheive greatness? It is so hard for big men to integrate into a program in one year. Bosh did it well enough to win ACC frosh of the year, but the team ended up at the NIT, not the big dance. Now he's gone. We will always be proud everytime we see him play in the NBA, but the program did not go up a level. Hate to say it, but Randolph Morris seems like a better fit for the program. He could be a 2-3 year guy. Now, if they both want to come here and Hewitt can find an extra scholorship, well that would be the ticket.

Wow - A very impressive win 24-7 versus Wake Forest

What a line!!!
PJ Daniels - 33 carries, 175 yards
J.Smith - 7 catches, 194 yards
AJC claims 1st time in 111 years of Tech football w/a 150 rusher AND 150 yd receiver in same game!!
Ball - 12/24, 225 yards, 2 TD's, ) INT's
Total offense - GT 441 yds, WF - 277 yards
3rd down coversions (Tech 9/16, WF 1/13)
Blocked FG, only gave up 7 points
Turnovers - Tech got 2 interceptions, gave up NONE! WF also fumbled twice but recovered both times
James Butler - one interception, 2 forced fumbles, 1 blocked field goal, 9 tackles - WOW

Just an outstanding effort by the Jackets. Came right out of the gate strong and scored on the opening drive. The offense stalled after that but the defense did not, holding WF scoreless in the 1st half. After the WF TD in the 2nd half, the offensive line just took over - see Walt's post below this one - just impressive!!!

Now - once again a message to the team - DO NOT READ THE NEWSPAPERS THIS WEEK!!

Set the bar higher?

The most impressive thing about today's shock of a win in Winston-Salem on Homecoming there was a possession in the fourth quarter where P.J. Daniels simply took it to one of the best defensive lines in the ACC. Here's the line:

Daniels up middle for 8
Daniels up middle for 3
Daniels up middle for 14
Daniels up middle for 11
Daniels up middle for 2
Smith left side for 6
Daniels up middle for 5
Daniels up middle for 3
Ball right side for 6
Ball up middle for 1
Ace Eziemefe (since Daniels is on oxygen) up middle for 3
Ace up middle for 3
Ball up middle for 5
Daniels up middle for 3
Daniels up middle for 4
Daniels up middle for 1, touchdown sealing victory at 24-7

Credit to the O-line, but still...just get on his back?!?!? Daniels finishes the day with 33 carries and 176 yards against a great run defense. Bring that to the table against Maryland and we have a chance.

How does 4-3, 2-2 and 5th in the conference sound? Maybe Brian wasn't smoking when he predicted 6 wins...

AP article on Tech season so far

"Winning ugly is winning, and losing pretty is losing". Great point by Gailey - and we have accomplished both this year!!!

Chan Gailey for ACC Coach of the Year?

From Macon Telegraph assistant sports editor Michael Lough:

If Georgia Tech finishes .500, Chan Gailey has to be ACC coach of the year. A freshman quarterback, no established tailbacks, nearly a dozen players lost to academics, a couple injuries here and there, portions of a fan base jumping ship, and the team most expected to perhaps overachieve at 4-8 hits .500? That's a coaching job. And actually the odds are with the Jackets, to a point. Duke and North Carolina are should-be-wins, and Wake Forest today is winnable if Tech's defense doesn't get a headache from Wake's offense. The Jackets will need big doins for upsets against Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia. ...

Finishing .500 does not deserve ACC coach of the year (IMO). However, if we finish at least 2 games ABOVE .500, then we can start talking.

Short article on Dez White

Good story about Dez White and his background getting to where he is today.

Boston College to be invited to join ACC on Sunday???

Rmors are that there will be a conference call of ACC presidents Sunday for the sole purpose of voting on inviting Boston College into the ACC. If it is a yet vote, then BC is expected to immediately say yes. Or are we due for another bumble-%$&#??? What's it going to be Duke, UNC, UVA??? Going to make the conference look foolish again?

Volleyball team wins again against WF

17-0 - still #5 in the country and still kicking butt. Let's hope our football team can beat WF just like the volleyball team.

Editorial on Jeremis Smith's theft issue

Click to read an editorial about Jeremis Smith's theft issue and one man's opinion. Smith is a highly sought after Hoops recruit who had narrowed his decisions to AZ and GT.

Good pictures of Tech football / volleyball

Some great photo's of the NC St. game along with photo's of our undefeated Volleyball team. Plus in his archives he has hundreds of other Tech photo's, including NIT photo's, etc. I even added it to the link list on the left. Check it out.

Wake Forest Predictions - your call

It is time for predictions again. Here are my thoughts and opinions on the keys to the game

- Wake Forest capitalizes on mistakes - they lead the conference (& 5th in nation) in turnover margin. WF has a high scoring % on those turnovers and their opponents have a low scoring % on the few mistakes they do make. Georgia Tech has been very prone to fumbling. We fumbled 6 times against NC ST and were fortunate to get 5 of them back. Drop 6 this week and we lose - bottom line.

- What will give?? WF is the least penalized team in the conference. GT is not far behind (3rd least in ACC). However, Georgia Tech OPPONENTS happen to be the MOST penalized on average in the conference. Sympathy by the refs?? Who knows. What will give? Again, both teams need to focus on not making bonehead plays.

- Passing Offense - both teams are at the bottom of the ACC in offense. Both teams have shown flashes of greatness and more flashes of frustration. Which team can find their sweet spot? Can Reggie continue his progression and play at or better than the level he did against NC ST? Can Cory Randolph (soph) make some big plays? Will the offensive line protect Ball - they have not shown a great ability to do that although some of this is Ball's inexperience in the pocket. However WF only has 2 sacks this year, so hopefully they will give Reggie time. If that happens watch out. Wake's offensive line has done a good job all year, only giving up 4 sacks (#1 in conference). ADVANTAGE GATECH

- Rushing Offense - Can PJ Daniels consistently move the ball upfield? WF has been giving up 133 yards/game on the ground. Despite appearance, PJ has NOT consistently moved the ball upfield. He had a 50+ yard run against FSU and a 50+ yard run against NC ST. Take those away and his yards per carry goes down significantly. However, PJ's hidden strength is his blocking ability, where his a real freak. And the offensive line MUST create some holes. Wake is 3rd in conference in rushing (157yds/game). If they run the ball well against us, this could be trouble. ADVANTAGE WF

- Defense - the big question - Can Tech stop WF's running game? On the surface the answer should be yes. We lead the ACC in rushing defens