AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > July
July 2007
In hindsight, Nix wasn’t bad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A look back instead of ahead, as there will be so much to look forward to soon …
It’s easy to find Tech fans with the opinion that the best thing to happen to their team since last season was the departure of offensive coordinator Patrick Nix to Miami, and the arrival of his replacement, John Bond, from Northern Illinois.
Mindful that I will first come off like a Nix sympathizer when I say this I have to wonder: how can the jury be in so fast on a guy? Nix called plays for one season.
It would be hard to argue that some issues within the offense last season seemed to go insufficiently addressed (like the deployment of Rashaun Grant, perhaps?), and I personally have a hard time with the suggestion that Tech didn’t throw much to tight ends, backs or over the middle in general because Reggie Ball was short. I see the principle in Ball’s heighth, just not to the degree that Tech would all but abandon those opportunities in the passing game.
On one hand, Tech won nine games, and lost the conference championship game by a field goal. On the flip side, the offense was non-existent for three of the final four games (not counting the Gator Bowl), the exception being against Duke. The North Carolina game was one of the worst I’ve seen, the offense against Georgia was prehistoric tunnel vision come to life and against Wake Forest it seemed ill-conceived.
Then, for the first 30-plus minutes of the Gator Bowl, the Jackets were re-invented offensively. Did the three weeks turn Nix into a genius, or did a mandated change at quarterback change everything? Or was it both?
All I know is in sum, the Tech offense was not a universal trainwreck last season. I also know it jumped the tracks badly a few times.
Seems to me the differences in the Jekyll & Hyde offense came down to two things more than all others: the quarterback, and the play-calling afforded the quarterback.
Now, before jumping to a conclusion, consider more: The offense was pretty good the first month-plus, with the exception of the second half against Notre Dame when Tech went into a shell trying to protect the lead. That wasn’t all Nix, folks. He was calling plays, but was not alone in dictating end-all strategy.
At mid-season, the offense changed. It was difficult, or impossible, to get a reasonable answer about why a quarterback everybody but Ball admitted was not healthy wasn’t replaced at least on a let’s-see-what-happens basis when he struggled. And at times, he struggled so horribly it was painful to watch.
I remember writing a story in late October in which Nix and Gailey answered in the affirmative when I asked if the decision to keep Reggie in games affected play-calling, shortened the game plan. I was a little surprised, naturally, because that would seem a typical jumping-off point for coaches to try another quarterback at most levels — unless the rest of your quarterbacks are dreadful.
We saw in the Gator Bowl that Taylor Bennett is not dreadful, though a full measure of his aptitude is yet to come.
So, circling back, is it conceivable that when Tech’s offense was at its worst last season, it had no more to do with Nix than it did the health of Reggie Ball and the head coach’s decision that Ball would stay in the game — or, in the second half against Notre Dame’s poor defense, the HC’s decision to button up and run clock?
At any rate, I don’t have anything for or against Nix. I just don’t think there is enough evidence to throw dirt on a guy when he’s only called plays at the Division I level for one year and the team did pretty well overall.
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The wait’s over; football’s here
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Strange time of year. Tech starts football practice in just days, and part of me wants to steer completely clear of football because I know that right around the corner it will begin to dominate my days for the next four or five months.
Another part of me can hardly wait to see what effect new offensive coordinator John Bond has, who’ll win competitions at RT, CB, SLB, and to see which freshmen bubble up the highest on the depth charts the fastest, and more.
But I’ll wait before going deeper into Tech football. Plenty of time and material around the bend.
I’m much more zoned into, and nervous about the first practice TONIGHT! My 10-year-old straps it up in a few hours. This is Patrick’s second season of football, and the first went better than I could have dreamed. Not only was he very competitive, but his team won the championship on a last-minute touchdown. A lot of fun.
I don’t know, though, if his mindset has changed for the better or worse in the past nine-plus months since last season ended. He seems a little less excited, perhaps because he’s been there and done that. Or is it because it doesn’t feel like football season yet for a 10-year-old? Patrick said over and over to sign him up again, and we signed up early to save $100. Now … I think I’m reading too much into this.
Whadya expect? I’ve been recruited as a coach. Last year I ended up a volunteer defensive line coach, and had a blast even though I missed some practices and a couple games.
I think they’re short on coaches this year because where teams used to split kids 10-11-12 all into one league, this is the first where 10-year-olds have a league unto themselves. That leaves fewer parents to draw from I guess. You start going to the likes of me for coaching help, perhaps you’re desperate.
Man, I loved youth football when I was playing it. Still have certain memories, and even smells (stickum, mint mouthpieces, wet grass) burned onto my brain, even 35 or so years later. Does that help?
There’s skeeters, too, dang it.
I’ll be back.
P.S. — help!
Over the weekend, I dragged songs off a friend’s Macbook and onto my iPod nano. First time doing that; got a lot of really cool old stuff including a doozy by — ? and the Mysterions.
Problem: I apparently overwrote everything already on the iPod, all the CDs I’d loaded myself.
How do I avoid doing this again? Is there a way to get the originals back other than the process I went through the first time?
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Choice reminds of Emmitt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey, got some Tech stuff here. A little Tashard Choice, some hoops, and a recruiting tidbit!
Mike Knobler drew the assignment to travel to Pinehurst, N.C., for the ACC preseason bonanza, but I’ve read with interest what Mike and others have written about Tashard not getting his share of attention, chiefly from the media.
Some of it is understandable. Even though he led the ACC in rushing by a mile last season, he wasn’t as flashy as Clemson’s Spiller or Davis, and Va. Tech’s Ore. began the season with more reputation. Plus, the Va. Tech program has been more high-profile in recent years, meaning more writers and ESPN types — at least on a national level — kept/keep an eye on the Hokies.
Beyond that, Choice wasn’t really hyped locally last year beyond the fact that the AJC after almost every game wrote a sidebar about him because he kept going past 100 yards in every game. He wasn’t splashed all over local TV, or ESPN.
Anyway, I was asked the other day what made Tashard so good. “Is he fast? Is he big?” I thought a few moments and said Choice is neither super fast, nor big. He’s roughly average size and average speed, but he’s very patient in waiting for holes to develop, accelerates on cue, doesn’t cut like Barry Sanders but has a little wiggle, and can move a pile, slip a tackle, etc.
In short, he’s a poor man’s Emmitt Smith (not a pro yet). Tashard, like Emmitt, has fabulous vision, stays square to his target, runs hard, almost never goes down on the first hit, follows blocks brilliantly, rarely improvises to the point of destroying a play, and is like dripping water that won’t stop. He’s persistent; hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer, and then he slips into the secondary for a 22-yarder.
I still think the key to Tech’s season will be the passing game more than anything, that Tashard can run, the O-line can block, the defense will be very solid, and Durant Brooks can routinely change field position with his punts.
If Taylor Bennett and a young WR corps can muster a better-than-average passing attack so that defenses can’t load up on Tashard and the running game (which should benefit additionally from a healthy FB in Mike Cox), I think Tech will be very good.
OK, moving on and around …
Looks like my report of Paco Diaw transferring to San Diego was premature. No, this isn’t because he’s had a problem completing that independent studies course. Instead, apparently the folks at San Diego decided they want to add a bigger player. As for Paco’s options, stay tuned. He may remain at Tech. He might transfer somewhere else. Ideally, he’d be close to his brother, Boris, in Phoenix. That made San Diego doubly appealing.
A question: Should A.J. Jenkins commit soon to Tech, which he might, that would be three kids from Florida having committed to the Jackets among the first nine … Is Tech sinking a foothold into the fertile recruiting grounds of Florida?
Tech is also strong on the DB from Blountstown, Jon Lockhart, and very much in the mix on the mega-talented LB from Miami, Etienne Sabino. Butler and Yandell came recently from Nease, which sent Tim Tebow to Florida, and a slew of studs elsewhere.
There are other examples. Clearly the evidence is building.
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Choice and Cox: Killer Cs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tashard Choice sounded a bit like P.J. Daniels at times on Sunday, giving credit to his offensive line and his fullback. Unlike Daniels, who rarely said anything else, Choice did talk about himself, too.
But here’s an indication of how strong a relationship Choice has with his blockers. He left the ACC media days in Pinehurst, N.C., and headed straight to Pennsylvania, where he and Cox are working together at a football camp in Cox’s home state.
That’s surely a good sign of cohesiveness in the backfield for Georgia Tech.
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Tech’s links to Hawkinsville strong
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK, shorter today, but probably not sweeter as I scattershoot before ending with a leftover from Saturday’s Kamaron Riley recruiting story, a chunk that was cut/edited out.
Only got one answer the other day on the two-liter bottle question, and I deem it only partly acceptable because while part of the answer was partly plausible, the entire entry was prejudiced with a smart-aleck finale. Still waiting for more believable text. If confused, see previous blog.
I continue to hear good things about Liam Klein, who replaced Geoff Collins (Alabama) as Tech’s director of (football) player personnel. Members of the staff feel they haven’t missed a beat, and may in some ways have improved with Liam. More on Mr. Klein down the road.
Mario West a Harlem Globetrotter? That still intrigues and baffles me. Hey, the Globetrotters, whom I loved as a kid, chose Mario in their first-ever draft, as was reported on Tech’s website a while back. He wasn’t even aware of it until someone asked. He was busy in the Hawks’ summer camp.
Mario may be the most intense/focused student-athlete I’ve dealt with in 18 mos. at Tech. That guy was zeroed in on what he wanted to do. Little if any time for goofing around with ‘Rio. Not one to try your next round of jokes on for sure.
Regarding Riley, the safety/WR/CB/QB who makes it three players in three years from Hawkinsville High to Tech (joining Trey Dunmon and Robert Hall), he is not a very talkative lad. That’s alright. His coach, Lee Campbell, made up for it.
There’s plenty of hard evidence that Tech has done better recruiting rural Georgia in the past couple years than over the previous, oh, 20-25 years. Still, I find it odd that Hawkinsville, a small school south of Warner Robins and east of I-75 in dead central Georgia, would send a kid to Tech three years in a row. Imagine, three HHS kids on Tech’s roster at the same time! That’s not standard.
Anyway, when I asked Campbell about that (Kamaron’s answer wasn’t very interesting), the coach said:
“Giff Smith has developed a relationship, and what he says he means. When he was recruiting Trey Dunmon, he said, ‘Who else do you have?’ I said Robert Hall is in the next class. Giff watched some film, and said, ‘Hey, we’ll be back to get this kid.’
“Our kids, they really like coach [Chan] Gailey and the staff. They feel at home up there. Coach Gailey has come down, and he’s nothing but quality, a top-notch character guy. Being from Americus, a small south-Georgia town, helps. We’ve got great relationships with UGA and coach [Mark] Richt and [defensive coordinator] Willie Martinez, too. Both schools have been great to us.”
I know, you folks hate any UGA reference, but there it is. This kid chose Tech even though his cousin, Charles Johnson, was a stud for the Dogs.
The Hawkinsville-Tech pipeline is doing so well that if HHS’s QB for the past two years, Jim Henry, has a sufficient transcript, he may receive preferred walk-on status at Tech next month, Campbell said. If that doesn’t work out, Campbell said Henry may enroll in January.
I don’t know any more than this about Henry, and coach Campbell is my only source.
Talk amongst yourselves.
Later, Matt
P.S. Yeah, there was beer at the dog’s birthday party Friday. We have periodic gatherings in our neighborhood for a adults and their kids — mixed (some concept, huh?). There are beverages for kids, and beverages for adults. This party was no different, except that it was outdoors near a pond, and featured a dog as star attraction. This was not a Barney party, or a preschool concert.
If confused, see previous blog.
P.S.S. And you thought this was going to be shorter! So did I, actually.
Threet had several reasons to go to Michigan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Back again, and before I dive in, a question:
Why is it in the soft drink industry (including related beverages that some companies make, like Powerade, etc.), drinks generally come in 12-oz. cans, 16-, 20- and 32-oz. bottles, and when they jump up to the biggest of disposable vessels, these companies move up to a standardized measure — two quarts — and then add 3.6 oz. to come up with 67.6 oz. and a standard but metric measure: two liters?
Seriously, there’s a lot of people out there way smarter than I am. Somebody explain that to me. Why not just stick with two quarts? A gallon? I don’t get this, and I’m sorry that it just so happens to be bugging the flip out of me today.
Onward …
With regards to Steven Threet, I think his departure wraps around a combination of factors, some of which he alluded to, others he did not.
I do not doubt that the departure of former OC Patrick Nix is a factor. Nix not only was chiefly responsible for recruiting Threet, but was in all likelihood by far his No. 1 advocate in the program. Change the fact of that person (and this is more important for a quarterback than any other position player), and tweak the passing game, and I see holes being poked in a comfort zone.
But while Steven suggested that he was not homesick and that competition at Tech is no stiffer than at Michigan, I’d hold still before buying 100 percent into these assertions.
If he wasn’t homesick, isn’t it a heck of a coincidence he ended up 45 minutes from his home in Adrian, Mich., at a school — Michigan — that recruited him, but did not last year offer him a scholarship? And a lot of schools within a few hours of his hometown did offer scholarships by the way.
This strikes me as more than a coincidence that might solve homesickness, too.
Now, without rolling all the way over to becoming a conspiracy theorist, there has to be some yang on the other end of Threet’s yin to make this happen. Michigan has a scholarship, and I do not know if that is because one of the other QBs on the Wolverines’ roster transferred (which did happen) or not, but did Threet know of that opening ahead of time? He said his HS coach contacted Michigan on his behalf.
Did Michigan want Threet all along but not offer him for fear of scaring off not only their No. 1 QB recruit last year, but their No. 1 recruit overall? They got QB Ryan Mallett, one of the nation’s most highly-regarded, out of Texas after all. He’s on the dotted line now, and has, by the way, apparently hinted at homesickness himself. Is Threet a double safety net? In case Mallett bolts? If he doesn’t pan out as a player?
As for the competition thing, sure, there are a lot of quarterbacks at Michigan, too, but the only ones who matter are senior Chad Henne, redshirt freshman David Cone of Statesboro and Mallett.
Henne’s gone after this season (Tech starter Taylor Bennett will be here one more year). At Michigan, Threet has no choice because of his transfer but to sit out the upcoming season, and will have four years eligiblity left after that. Henne will be gone when Threet’s clock starts ticking, Mallett and Cone will have three years left at that point, and some believe Mallett may be bound for the NFL after three years in college. If Threet were to eventually beat out Cone in that instance (and no other hotshot recruit surpassed them), Threet in theory could start two years at Michigan.
At Tech, even if he won the backup job this year, he’d be in that position again next year, with two years left after that to bang his head against that of fellow freshman QB Josh Nesbitt, and in ‘09 hotshot Sean Renfree (assuming he keeps his commitment and redshirts in ‘08).
So I don’t have a drop-dead opinion about that competition issue. It’s apples and oranges in a way because at Tech he’d be competing right now, one year out of college. He has to wait a year at Michigan, and the super stud, Henne, will be gone. Bennett will still be here next year.
And I wonder if he sensed that new OC John Bond really covets a QB (like Nesbitt) with more mobility. Bond has written theoretically to that effect before.
All right, spent way more time on that than I meant to.
Quick update on recruiting. Of Tech’s four in-state commitments, OL Nick McRae, WR Chris Jackson, WR-S Kamaron Riley, and LB Steven Sylvester, recruiting coordinator Giff Smith has run the point on all of them.
Regarding the four out-of-state kids: running backs coach Curtis Modkins hasbeen in charge of Orlando running back Embry Peeples and helped Bond land Scottsdale, Ariz., quarterback Renfree. Linebackers coach Brian Jean-Marie has done the most work on Hilliard, Ohio, linebacker B.J. Machen, and special teams coach Charles Kelly has been the primary contact for Tallahassee running back Richard Watson.
As for the suggestion on the previous blog about grading each position on the football team, a good idea. I’ll try to do it before camp starts or within the first week. It may be an on-line only project.
I’m off to a training class and the AJC, and then to start the weekend (one of the last few unfettered weekends of the summer before beginning about a nine-month stretch where every weekend will have Tech events and/or events with my kids).
You’ll never believe how I’m kicking it off. My twin daughters have decided to throw a birthday party for our dog, Rupert, whom we’ve had for six months. His age was approximated at 1.5 years when we adopted him, so this is what you get: a home-made party hat for the dog, invitations (with paw prints manually stamped on them) for several other mutts in the ‘hood, a bag of assorted doggie toys/treats for Rupert’s “friends,” and I’m supposed to buy beer and chips for the humans.
At least I get the last part.
Revving up the blog
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey, what’s up?
It’s a new world at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and by proxy the ajc.com, and I think you will agree this is a new-age approach to the Tech blog. At least I hope you agree. Buckle up and get your reading glasses. One of our new goals is to be more interactive. I think I can handle that.
I’ve been away a while, most recently on vacation and before that lying low and trying to shake the annual buildup of cobwebs that accumulate between the gray rafters in my cranium. That’s not getting easier with my advanced age (43), and it’s certainly complicated when you’re at the beach and there are so many coolers around.
Even before that, we’ve run the Tech blog at a low ebb since basketball season ended, and won’t ratchet it way back up again for a few more weeks, when football begins anew. But it’s coming.
On the subject of low ebbs, I did a pretty good job of keeping a promise last week while we at the beach of not checking my computer from last Tuesday morning until this Monday at around lunch. Never watched the news while at Pawleys Island, S.C., for the 10th straight year, and never saw a newspaper.
So I was more out of it than usual, and other than knowing of Sean Renfree’s commitment to Tech on Monday thanks to a cell phone text message, I was oblivious to all that is Tech. I was more intent on listening to my iPod, re-connecting to the Counting Crows (best song: Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby, which at over seven minutes is too long for commercial play and therefore the best hardly known CC song).
While shake, shake, shaking myself back to reality and struggling to figure the lay(ers) of the land at the new ajc (where old phone numbers have changed, and/or don’t work, many editors and writers have changed jobs, retired or moved on, and considerable furniture has been moved both literally and figuratively) it dawned on me:
For the dead of summer, there’s considerable activity on The Flats.
Four recruits have committed in a week, a second quarterback is transferring, a DL has transferred in, Paco Diaw has narrowed his list of target transfer schools (going to end up at San Diego, rather than Maryland-Baltimore County or Monmouth), football practice starts in three weeks and before that a new sports information direction will take his seat in the Edge. Oh, and Javaris Crittenton hit the game-winner in his first NBA summer league game with the Lakers.
Count me surprised that Steven Threet is leaving Tech to transfer (I don’t know where yet, and neither did coach Gailey when I spoke with him this morning).
Steven has been engaging every time I’ve spoke with him (not having any luck reaching him today, though), always seemed genuinely happy to end up at Tech and he enrolled early. How often do early enrollees transfer? And especially before their first season rolls around! I still hope to speak with him.
No need, though, for alarm. Threet might have been No. 2 this season, but that’s a definite “might.” If he won that job, and I don’t think he was going to, it would have been by a hair over Calvin Booker and/or Josh Nesbitt. With Taylor Bennett in position to handle the next two seasons, there is plenty of time for Tech to plan/recruit so that two years from now, when Threet most likely would’ve been a real factor, the Jackets will have filled in that hole.
My hunch is that after having a so-so spring when it became apparent that Bennett would be the man for the next two seasons and that Calvin Booker is at least a little (and maybe more) better than some thought, Threet gave matters some thought.
He was, from what I have been told, an outstanding student, but I think fellow freshman QB Josh Nesbitt showed up last month and began working out with other players, and although those workouts are limited in their form by NCAA rules, there is a pretty good chance that Threet got an eyeful.
Next, a top QB prospect, Renfree of Scottsdale, Ariz., commited to Tech and said he was going to redshirt in 2008, and begin competing in ‘09. I know some have said he was homesick, and I haven’t spoken with Steven so you can call me crazy (and be right). But my theory is he didn’t like the writing he foresaw on the wall.
Other football notes: As Gailey told me when I asked, freshman CB Laurence Marius (yes, he’s still a freshman because he left school this spring before finishing class) is still home in Key West, Fla. For the record, I checked and even if Marius decided tomorrow that he wanted to return to Tech, he could not regain his eligibility for the upcoming season. He’d have to redshirt, and clear some stiff academic hurdles.
That’s an issue. Tech is not deep at CB.
Lastly, if/when Diaw transfers, and he will unless he fails to complete an independent study course, coach Paul Hewitt will have a scholarship to play with. He said he might try to fill it before the school year starts. Hewitt loves the story of Jared Dudley, the ACC player of the year from B.C. Nobody gave him a schollie until a week or so before class began, and B.C. took a flier. That worked out, huh?
You have to wonder, though, if another scholarship player is the best plan on a team where there is not a super-clear separation of talent already, and as many as 11 or even 12 players already figure to enter the season with visions of being in the game rotation. How deep is too deep? When does playing a bunch of players become counterproductive to the point of warbling rhythm and obfuscating roles?
Someday, if I can get rid of all these friggin’ cobwebs, maybe I’ll be smart enough to answer my own questions. It ain’t happening today, though.
Catch you again sometime this week.
Matt
P.S. In the interest of this new-age interactivity, if you have ideas/questions/answers about Tech’s teams that you’d like me to look into, fire away (to mwinkeljohn@ajc.com). I won’t be able to address a bushel at a time, but let’s try.
Take off with Hewitt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt recently returned from a family vacation to Europe. He gave the AJC his five highlights from the trip.
Read Hewitt’s, and then volley back with the best memories of your summer ‘07 vacation.
1: Went to the French Open, and I got to see Lleyton Hewitt — no relation — and Serena Williams play.
2: Touring Geneva with my wife’s aunt. Beautiful city, I enjoyed that.
3: Taking a tour of the Tower of London. That was pretty good.
4: Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower with my kids. I had been before, but my daughters had not.
5: Spending time with [wife] Dawnette’s family in London. We had a good time, had a cookout in London, and that was pretty cool.
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Hewitt may have an open slot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Paco Diaw is likely to transfer from Georgia Tech to the University of San Diego, which would leave Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt with a scholarship for the 2007-‘08 school year. Diaw, a 6-foot-6 rising junior forward/guard, scored a total of eight points in eight games last season.
He has explored multiple transfer options, Hewitt said, and the Senegal native and half brother of Phoenix Suns player Boris Diaw is living with his brother in Phoenix while finishing independent study work through Tech. His transfer is contingent upon him finishing that classwork.
The eligibility of senior guard Mario West expired, and with freshman Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young going to the NBA after one Tech season, three scholarship spots are open for incoming recruits Gani Lawal, Lance Storrs and Maurice Miller. Hewitt said he may add another scholarship player if Diaw transfers, or take a walk-on.
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Who makes quicker NBA impact?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Javaris Crittenton averaged 14.375 points per game last season at Georgia Tech. Thaddeus Young averaged 14.355. You couldn’t get much closer than that.
Now that we know Crittenton will be playing for the Lakers this winter and Young for the Sixers, the question is who will have a bigger rookie season in the NBA.
Crittenton is likely to begin his pro career behind Jordan Farmar, who became the Lakers’ starting point guard in the playoffs as a rookie but didn’t exactly set the world on fire (averaging 6.4 points, 1.6 assists, 1 turnover and 22.8 minutes in the five games).
Young joins a bad team that is likely to stay that way in the near future. The Sixers have depth at his position but are talking about making trades before the season, which might free up some playing time for Young. (Incidentally, you can help choose which number Young wears as a pro. Voting begins Thursday at www.sixers.com, and the choices are 5, 21, 30 or 31, today’s Philadelphia Daily News reported. Young wore No. 33 at Tech.)
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