Thursday, February 05, 2004

A Daily Dose

FOOTBALL
On the day after signing day, we will start to see articles on a number of players. Here is one on Buford's team, including GT signee Kyle Manley.............. One of the encouraging developments yesterday was Chan Gailey's ability to go head-to-head with FSU and Miami and win two recruiting battles on the last day (story here). Wow! Here is a nice re-cap with quotes from Gailey about a few of the players and the needs we filled........ Now yes, Brandon Miller chose the Dawgs, but check out this quote from this article - "Miller said he didn't make his decision until Wednesday, finally picking Georgia because of academics. "We weren't thinking Athens was as good as it was for computer science,'' he said. ``They're putting more and more money into it.'' Oookkkeeyy Dokkkkeey. All I have to say is that Richt MUST BE one HELLUVA salesman!!!................ Michael Cox (story here), on our our signees, is a 6'2" 250lb speedy runner who rushed for 1253 yards and 13 touchdowns last year after coming back from a shoulder injury. Could this guy be the next PJ or Hollings?? Gailey seems to be able to find these guys. Notice the quote from Cox - "According to Cox, Tech coach Chan Gailey is hoping the speedy 6-2, 250-pounder can get 15-20 touches per game." Wonder when that will be? We got another talented guy Drew Gause, who is a MLB prospect as well, who seems to be like a bowling ball................ Here's a story on the red-shirting trend slowly disappearing. Someone on one of the boards actually said Gailey mentioned yesterday that the NCAA was seriously considering eliminating redshirting as we know it and giving student-athletes 5 years to complete 5 years of eligibility. Interesting...................... Here's more on the GT recruiting class, pointing out that this could very well be the best defensive line class in the HISTORY of GT. Obviously new DL coach Giff Smith has to be salivating................. Here's more on the dark side of recruiting, including prominent mention of the AJC article on GT/UGAg recruiting costs. Remember Willie Williams, that highly touted prospect that Bowden flew in on a private jet, with caviar, lobster, filet mignon, etc, etc? Turns out that during his official visit to Florida, he allegedly groped a female student on campus, punched a male student at a night club and discharged a fire extinguisher at a night club. Now you cannot judge a book by it's cover, but Williams was on CDTSD last night (of course with no mention of these criminal complaints), platinum capped from row of teeth and all, beaming about his going to Miami. Life of a rock star. Well, Willie, if you actually make it out of Miami unscathed and end up a pro-prospect, kudos to you - because I doubt it will happen................. Here's a very good bio of each player in our class.......... Here's another rundown of the class with some different quotes (story here)............ Want to know what Gary Cismesia's comments were after backing out of his GT verbal and signing with FSU? (story here). Bottom line is that he was the #1 kicker in Florida and wanted to stay in state, but only GT offered him early in the process. When Bowden came calling, it was what he really wanted. Funny comment about the hair though. They are already setting this guy up with a persona and swagger before he even steps on campus. In the end, we got the best kicker in Georgia, and who knows, we end up with the better end of the deal. If Belcher actually ends up with kicking AND punting duties, what a dual-threat, although I'm sure that's a longshot. Time will tell. In the end, it's better to have a guy who WANTS to be here............ Here's a look at the FSU class (story here)........... Well, we are going to have MORE competition for the state of Georgia's best talents in the the future, as G.O'Leary has targeted the state due to his past connections. He took one top-50 guy and will probably take more in the coming years. Whoopie :-(................... Here's a short story on Gary Guyton, another one of our signees.............. Here is AJC's grade of the Jackets recruiting - B+......... Even with Patrick Nix getting the Offensive Coordinator title, Chan Gailey will STILL call the plays. This probably means more of the same like last year. Hopefully Ball will have developed enough to be able to broaden the offensive playbook. Time will tell................. For a complete list of all Div I signings, click here........ The AJC ranks each ACC class, but GT is not in the list. On a separate page, Hollis gives us a B+........... Here's one board member's re-cap of an interview with Chan Gailey from the radio yesterday............

BASKETBALL
Well, after Morris's standout performance over Dwight Howard on ESPN2, he has been named USAToday's high school player of the week. Congrats Randolph................. Well, NCST last night proved that they could be for real by beating Wake Forest at home, remaining undefeated at their house. Maryland also defeated Virginia to strengthen their record.............. The schedule just gets tougher for GT as head on the road (story here).......... Here are some of Hewitt's comments following the FSU game.................. Here are SI.com's Seth Davis's comments on the addition of Will Bynum - "Will Bynum has been playing well for Georgia Tech, but I can't help but think his addition right before conference play has thrown off the Yellow Jackets' timing and chemistry. It's certainly meant a lot less shots for Isma'il Muhammad. "