Fletcher Page is many things.
Redheaded pride of North Georgia mountain country. My college drinking buddy. A pretty good father, probably. And the second most important journalist in his own home (hi, Caitlyn!).
He’s also the AJC’s new Georgia Tech beat writer.
Wanna meet him?
SAY HELLO, FLETCHER
By Fletcher Page
Yes, I graduated from the University of Georgia’s journalism school. Let’s get that out of the way. It was a long time ago.
If I could tell my 8-year-old self that I’d one day be the AJC’s Georgia Tech beat writer, little me wouldn’t have believed it. I grew up in tiny Young Harris, playing, watching and obsessing over sports. Over the course of my journalism career, I’ve covered UGA football, University of Kentucky basketball, the Cincinnati Bengals and a whole lot of other stuff. I’ve covered five Masters tournaments and the Kentucky Derby three times.
Two years ago, I came to the AJC to cover news in Athens and northeast Georgia. It gave me the chance to go deep and long-form on serious, meaningful stories. It also pulled me way outside my comfort zone of locker rooms and practice fields. It was hard, both technically and emotionally. I loved it. It made me better, as a reporter, storyteller and person.
But I’ll always have a pull toward sports reporting.
This Georgia Tech opportunity feels like the right way back. I love going to games, walking into stadiums I’ve never been in and telling stories about players and coaches: where they came from, what they’ve been through and why they’re here.
I’m excited to take what I’ve learned over the past two years writing enterprise stories and mix it with everything I’ve done as a sports writer.
It’s going to be fun.
📲 Yes, yes it is. Y’all make sure to follow Fletcher at @FletcherPage or shoot a welcome note to fletcher.page@ajc.com.
ALBERTO AND THE OFFENSE
You must read Fletcher’s stories, too, of course.
He covered Tech’s defensive line on his very first day on the Flats, then followed up with this banger about new QB Alberto Mendoza, the Yellow Jacket offense and that Heisman-winning older brother.
Click through to hear from Mr. Mendoza himself — but it’s safe to call co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke (a Heisman winner himself) a fan.
Things he said about Mendoza:
- “The types of conversations you have with this guy are like having a conversation with an NFL quarterback.”
- “This guy will not go into a test without being prepared and having the answers before the test.”
Preparation is good. Especially because 1) Mendoza hasn’t started a football game since high school, and 2) the new Tech playbook trends a little chunky.
From Fletcher: “According to Weinke, most college offenses have three to five personnel groups. Georgia Tech will have 12 to 15. Most offenses have six to eight formations. The Yellow Jackets have 20 to 25. Add in shifts and motions, and Georgia Tech has upward of 250 plays it can call.”
Good luck, kid.
POLLS AND OTHER THINGS
😮 Meanwhile, in Athens: Four Bulldogs — Ellis Robinson IV, KJ Bolden, Drew Bobo and Raylen Wilson — each made an AP preseason All-America squad.
Strong stuff, but our data pal Rahul Deshpande dug a little deeper … and, as you’ll see above, found that Georgia is the only school to have at least three first- or second-teamers each of the previous six seasons.
- Overall, 24 Bulldogs have earned preseason honors over that span. That’s one shy of Ohio State’s country-leading tally.
💰 Georgia football also announced Progressive as its on-field logo sponsor for the upcoming season. (Flo Dawgs?)
📊 The results are also in from Monday’s Win Column poll, and about 41% of you think Matt Olson needs to win an MVP and a ring to potentially pass Freddie Freeman as the best Braves first baseman of all-time. An additional 32% envision one or the other being enough.
- As for the Hawks: About 69% of folks are ambivalent to most home games tipping off a half-hour earlier this season (nice!). Almost everyone who does care is looking forward to the earlier bedtime.
🔥 High school football has barely started and our friend Loren Maxwell is sounding the alarm on the new postseason formula: “Some bracket-worthy teams will miss the playoffs entirely.”
Yikes. But in the meantime: Buford-Gainesville (5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2) is this week’s big game. You can also watch these games on Atlanta News First/Peachtree Sports Network:
- Wednesday: Pebblebrook vs. Clarke Central (4:30 p.m.), McEachern at Kell (7:30 p.m.)
- Thursday: Centennial vs. Dunwoody (4:30 p.m.), Decatur at Blessed Trinity (7:30 p.m.)
- Friday: Hebron Christian vs. Carver-Atlanta (2 p.m.), Parkview vs. Coffee (5 p.m.), Houston County vs. West Forsyth (8 p.m.)
💪 A few days after missing a potential game-winning layup, Angel Reese led the Dream to a big road win over the defending champion Aces.
WHAT’S ZA’DARIUS SMITH’S DEAL?
Za’Darius Smith — the newest product of injury- and suspension-induced pass rush panic in Flowery Branch — turns 34 in a couple weeks. And even before his nascent unretirement, he had a pretty interesting story to tell.
- Smith didn’t play football until his senior year of high school in Greenville, Alabama (about 45 minutes southwest of Montgomery). He’d hoped to be a hooper, but the scholarship offers didn’t come in.
- After two years and a national title at East Mississippi Community College, Smith jumped to the SEC.
- His time at Kentucky (10½ sacks over two seasons) impressed folks enough that he became a fourth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2015.
The ensuing years brought three Pro Bowls and 70½ sacks (plus a reputation as a run stopper, something the Falcons also need). After stints with several other teams, including Kevin Stefanski’s Cleveland squad, Smith landed in Philadelphia last season — and suddenly retired five games in.
He didn’t offer much by way of explanation at the time. Reports merely deemed it a personal decision, which doesn’t tell us anything, really.
I do think Smith will help Atlanta. He posted a nine-sack season as recently as 2024 (and seems like a high-energy dude).
But I also need to hear the man speak.
How he describes his career flip-flop may offer early hints at how much fire’s left in his belly.
🔗 Bonus linkage: Falcons starters to focus on joint practices
C’MON, AJ. MAKE MY DAY.
We’ve talked a lot lately about “things that will be very important if the Braves want to make a legitimate postseason run.”
One of them — AJ Smith-Shawver — takes the mound this afternoon in Minnesota.
The 23-year-old has been summoned from Triple-A Gwinnett and, by the look of things, will have plenty of runway to become a rotation mainstay.
- Manager Walt Weiss: “This will be a day-to-day evaluation how things fall out based on need and performance. Right now we have six starters, and like I’ve said, it’s not going to stay that way the rest of the season. We’ll have to make an adjustment. But it’ll be based on need and performance at that point.”
Smith-Shawver said he’s happy to do “whatever they want” moving forward, in terms of starting vs. relief. But as our friend Gabe Burns points out, it’s not unrealistic to think a strong stretch run could land the youngster a spot in the Braves’ playoff rotation (perhaps in a piggyback situation involving someone like Didier Fuentes?).
Phase 1 of the experiment starts at 1:40 p.m. Keep an eye on Smith-Shawver’s slider, a tweaked version of which has produced strong results in the minors.
PHOTO OF THE MOMENT
Visual proof that star NFL receiver DeAndre Hopkins (left) has joined the Georgia Tech coaching staff.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Win Column. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.