The gathering of pieces for Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Nate Woody’s scheme is well underway. Two defensive targets, defensive lineman Ahmad Craig from Buford High and linebacker Chico Bennett from Franklin, Tenn., shared their perspectives on their recruitment, both overall and specifically regarding Tech.
Craig is a three-star defensive lineman from Buford whom Tech has continued to recruit through the change in defensive coordinators. Originally offered by former coordinator Ted Roof, Craig is now being pursued by Tech’s new area recruiter for Gwinnett County, safeties coach Shiel Wood.
“(The coaching change) never really shaped my perspective of me going there, because coach Woody picked up the slack,” Craig said.
Craig has a slew of power-conference offers, including Tennessee, Auburn, Louisville, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech. Wake Forest was the first among power-conference schools, offering last May. It’s one of a handful of unofficial visits that he’s made. Georgia Tech made its scholarship offer in December, a couple of weeks before Roof left for N.C. State. With the semester over, he said last week that he planned to make a visit to Tech this week.
Craig sounded fairly open in the selection process.
“I haven’t really put in any thought to the top (schools) right now,” he said. “That’s coming up. That’s the thing I have to think about right now coming up.”
As for Tech, Craig said the Yellow Jackets are in the picture, having a tradition of aggressive defense and a solid degree, not to mention being close to home.
“If you go to Tech you’re going to come out with a great degree making great money,” he said.
He said he wants a school that “values my education as much as they do my production on the field, honestly.” Craig said he hears from either Wood or Woody once or twice a week.
He said he has grown up a Georgia fan (his father was raised a Tech fan), but is not pining for an offer from the Bulldogs.
By the metrics of 247 Sports composite, Craig is the No. 93 player in the state of Georgia. A 6-foot-6, 245-pound end, Craig demonstrates on game video considerable agility and quickness for a player his size and a tenacious style.
Craig said his goal is to have a decision made by the beginning or middle of his senior season.
“But if I’m not, I’ll just see what happens,” he said.
Tech made an impression on Bennett when every member of the coaching staff, as well as non-coaching staff, sent him a handwritten letter.
“They were all different,” Bennett said. “They weren’t all the same.”
In his recruitment, only one other school had done anything similar.
“Only Vanderbilt, but it was, like, one sentence,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t like Georgia Tech’s was.”
Bennett, a three-star prospect from Franklin and Battle Ground Academy, has Tech, Tennessee and Virginia among his top choices.
“But as I tell all the coaches, I’m really weighing my options right now,” he said.
He plans to take an unofficial visit to Tech soon. His area recruiter is inside linebackers coach Andy McCollum, who has scored a number of wins in Tennessee in recent years.
“They have a really nice culture, and I see that they have a good football program,” Bennett said.
Bennett plays outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense at Battle Ground Academy, and said he was told that Tech coaches would want to use him in the same position. It is a marquee, playmaking position in Tech’s scheme.
“Sometimes they have me dropping back in coverage, but (also) coming off the edge,” he said.
Bennett, rated the No. 33 prospect in the state of Tennessee (247 Sports), is listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds. In his highlight video, he looks like a matchup problem for offensive tackles with his quickness. He has a long, lanky body, plays with a fast motor and hits harder than you’d expect.
He said he would like to make a commitment right before his senior season begins.
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