Georgia Tech strength-and-conditioning coach Lewis Caralla was unabashed in his praise for the way that the several transfers who arrived in January have fit into the winter workout program and the fabric of the team.
Speaking Saturday, Caralla said that they have adapted to the environment so well that “it’s like they’ve been here for three years.” Among transfers who enrolled in January are offensive tackle Devin Cochran (Vanderbilt), defensive end Kevin Harris (Alabama), cornerback Kenyatta Watson (Texas) and wide receiver Kyric McGowan (Northwestern).
“Numerous positions where they brought in transfers, the way they came in and the way they kept their head down and the way they learned from previous transfers that we had — it was the best offseason we’ve had yet in the winter so far because everyone just jelled everyone was everyone was bringing energy the same way,” Caralla said.
Those players were adapting as Caralla was bringing in his own set of newcomers. Caralla had to replace his strength-and-conditioning staff, as Zach Reed, Kyle Seger and Edward Thompson all moved on from Tech for jobs elsewhere or to pursue different opportunities.
In their place, Tech hired Sean Boyle, Thomas Gordon and Gary Wilkins.
“I think we hit a home run with the three guys we have,” Caralla said Saturday. “All the players love them, they did a great job this winter, and they’re becoming themselves more now and comfortable with who they’re supposed to be here. So I thought it was a great addition.”
Boyle was hired from Colorado State, where he was an assistant strength-and-conditioning coach for one year after serving as a graduate assistant strength-and-conditioning coach at Temple in 20019. Boyle’s twin brother Pat already is on Tech’s staff as the team’s football research-and-analytics coordinator. Caralla joked that he calls the Boyle twins “the big bears” for the way they moved around the weight room and hoist weight.
Caralla knew Gordon from when Gordon played at Michigan 2010-13 and Caralla was an assistant coach on the strength-and-conditioning staff 2012-14. He was hired from a workout gym in the Detroit area.
“He’s been coaching, and he brings a wealth of knowledge from the field,” Caralla said. “And he’s always been lifting, he’s always been training himself. He played in the NFL, so I think he brings a lot of experience.”
Wilkins was most recently director of athletic strength and conditioning at Morehouse. He was previously at Tech in 2018-19 on the football video-operations staff.
“He also had a shot to play in the NFL and played in Canada for a little while, and works really well with our D-linemen,” Caralla said.
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