Editor’s note: This item first appeared on ajc.com on Dec. 19, 2018.
On the day that Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson’s decision to step down became final, there were 15 high-school seniors committed to become part of the Yellow Jackets’ 2019 signing class.
Milton High quarterback Jordan Yates was one of them. He was at a friend’s house, waiting for practice.
“I was a little worried,” Yates said. “I just didn’t know how firm my offer would be with the new coaching staff. I know that stuff happens all the time.”
» More: Meet Georgia Tech's 2019 Early Signing class
As it turned out, quite firm. Yates spoke with the AJC on Tuesday night, looking back on what proved to be a fairly stable transition from Johnson’s regime to that of Geoff Collins. Of those 15, 12 signed with Tech on Wednesday. Only one commit, Crisp County linebacker Ahdarrious Gee, decided to go elsewhere (Troy), citing the change in coaching staff. The other two have chosen to wait until the February signing period and could still finalize their commitments to Tech then.
For Collins, it might have been a parting gift from Johnson – a recruiting class that was interested in Tech for reasons beyond football and relationships with coaches and that stuck together through uncertainty and the temptation to re-open recruitment. Despite the change in schemes on offense and defense, it appears to be a group (including four of his own high-school recruits) that Collins inherits willingly.
“Just really excited about the position flexibility, the versatility of the guys,” Collins said in an online broadcast announcing the class, which stood at 17 members at the end of the day Wednesday, including grad transfer offensive lineman Jared Southers (Vanderbilt).
One of those versatile players is quarterback Demetrius Knight from Strong Rock Christian in Henry County. Like Yates, Knight wondered if he needed to start looking elsewhere after Johnson’s announcement. But he quickly heard from his recruiter, cornerbacks coach Joe Speed, that the school would honor all commitments. Knight said he was “very relieved to hear that” and decided to stay committed. He did hear from coaches at Georgia Southern and Louisville checking his interest level and told them he would keep a close ear, but was staying committed.
“My thinking either way was Tech pretty much gave me a shot unlike any other school,” Knight said. “Either way, I was going to stick it out and see what happened there.”
Fortunately for Collins, he had familiarity and interest in Knight, having overseen his recruitment at Temple, as was the case with a number of members of the class. When Knight made his official visit this past weekend, Collins told him that he envisioned him at quarterback and wanted him to compete, but also broached the idea of switching positions, which Knight was open to trying.
The bond that prospects felt with each other, fostered through a group chat that Yates initiated, also helped keep the class together. There was no one fomenting panic, different players recalled. It likely helped, too, that Tech assistant coaches, despite not knowing their future past the bowl game, stayed on the road and in communication with committed players.
“Now that I think about it, no one really said something about going somewhere else,” said running back Tony Amerson of Montgomery, Ala. “We were all kind of like, we’re all in it together.”
It is not always that way. Louisville went through a turbulent transition from Bobby Petrino to Scott Satterfield. Seven prospects decommitted since Petrino’s firing, some because their scholarship offers were reportedly pulled. Since Nov. 26, the day news of Mack Brown’s hire at North Carolina broke, six players decommitted.
“It just plays into the fact that a lot of these kids nowadays, they like all the likes and follows on Twitter,” Amerson said. “That doesn’t appeal to me. It’s not about that. It’s about playing football and getting a good education.”
Collins obviously played his part, engaging with prospects through text messages, phone calls and at the official visits. Collins was on the sideline to watch Yates lead Milton to the Class AAAAAAA state championship Dec. 12 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Yates said that Collins told him he was watching the game on TV at his hotel and decided to go see the game in person, hopping in an Uber at halftime in time to shake Yates’ hand as he came out of the tunnel for the second half.
Yates did his part, too, making his plays with his legs, throwing with accuracy and leading the go-ahead touchdown drive in the second half to upset nationally ranked Colquitt County.
“I couldn’t ask for a better tryout for a future head coach,” he said.
Linebacker Chico Bennett from Ashburn, Va., said he went to his official visit this past weekend thinking that he could still change his mind about Tech if things didn’t go well. For one thing, he was recruited to play linebacker in a 3-4 defense, and Collins is implanting a 4-3. But, Collins showed him how he could fit in as a stand-up edge rusher and gave him a sense of his personality.
“Coach Collins reassured it for me and my family, my parents, the conversations they had at dinner and the talk we had right before I left, it was definitely reassuring,” Bennett said.
It’s not a group that impressed the recruiting gurus. As of Wednesday evening, it ranked 52nd in FBS and 11th in the ACC (247Sports Composite), fairly consistent with recent classes. More players may be added this week or in the February signing period. The most highly-rated prospect is cornerback Wesley Walker from Nashville, Tenn., rated the No. 575 player in the country.
Most of them will arrive in June, joining Collins as newbies.
“I think it’s pretty cool, just because it’ll definitely be a clean slate,” Yates said. “It’s open competition for everybody. That’s what he assured us.”
For a group that could have easily fled amidst uncertainty, that’s not a bad reward.
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