SBNation.com User Blog: Tedward09

Ladies of Lawrence- Round 2

Tedward09 — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:22:49 -0000

Bird and Winfield wanted me to write a roadtrip/tailgating story for this weekend... I'm really not feeling it, so here's Round 2 of Girls of Kansas!!! I apologize if there are any repeats from the last time we did this feature, but then again, y'all really don't care do you? Let's check out The Ladies of Lawrence (again).

via cdn3.sbnation.com- NICE!

via www.efestivals.co.uk- Excellent

via 2.bp.blogspot.com- Love the farm machinery.

via american.idolblog.com- She was on American Idol!

via 2.bp.blogspot.com- I have no idea if these girls are from Kansas... but I sure hope so!

That's enough... I wouldn't want y'all getting in trouble at work for looking at racy photos. I can promise you that Dane and I will do our best to meet as many as these women as possible during our visit to the midwest.

Anyone else going to Kansas?

Go Jackets!

THWG

It's here!!!!!

Tedward09 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:28:49 -0000

Hello old friends! Yes I know it's been awhile since I've posted here on FTRS... but now that football is back, expect me to make a few more appearances around the blog! College football is back and yours truly couldn't be happier about it. That's really all I have to say... but I wanted to share my thoughts with you all about what makes college football special to me just because I feel like it. Without further ado here we go...

Tailgating, road trips, Paul Johnson!, The Ramblin Reck, Heckling Clemson fans, Heckling any other fans, drinking bourbon at 7am and no one else thinking that is somehow taboo, this video, and this video, bratwurst, seeing your football family that you only see once a week, for 4-5 months a year at tailgates, charcoal, cold fried chicken, driving home from a great road trip hungover as hell, screaming at refs, booking hotels on priceline 3 days before the game because you just decided to go that morning, rushing the field, big hits, watching this play from the sidelines at Raymond James stadium, Yellow Jacket Alley, I'm a Ramblin Reck from Georgia Tech, Up with the White and Gold, Joshua Nesbitt going to a coin toss without his helmet on, almost getting arrested for shouting the final score of the UVA game in downtown Charlottesville, 10 hour bus rides back to Atlanta from Charlottesville, WINNING ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS.

There are so many more things, but I can't think of them right now because I'm SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR SATURDAY! I'll be traveling back from St. Louis to Atlanta today to begin the festivities! Bourbon and Cigars with Winfield and Co. to kick things off around 10pm tonight.

What are your favorite things about college football??!

THWG

Jackets take Game 1from the Canes, 14-3!

Tedward09 — Sat, 15 May 2010 15:20:44 -0000

Jackets take Game 1from the Canes, 14-3!

Miami vs. The Joltin Jackets Preview

Tedward09 — Fri, 14 May 2010 00:33:35 -0000

The Jackets finish off their home schedule this weekend against Jim Morris's Miami Hurricanes. The Canes (or as some like me call them, the Cuban national team) come in ranked as high as 5th in the national baseball polls. The Jackets come in having won their last 4 games and are ranked as high as 6th in the polls.

This is a crucial series for both squads. The Jackets are 1 game behind Miami and Virginia in the ACC Coastal Division race. The Jackets need to get back on track in ACC play after dropping their last two series at N.C. State and versus Virginia Tech. With no mid-week games this week, Danny Hall has made a change to the weekend rotation that I've been hoping for since the Virginia Tech series by replacing Brandon Cumpton with Mark Pope as the Saturday starter.

Brandon has solid stuff, but I can't remember him having an easy first couple innings in any of our ACC series. He is the second coming of Zach von Tersch, who if y'all remember had the same problems in his career at Tech. Pope has been the Tuesday starter this season and has done a marvelous job. He comes into this weekend with record of 7-0 and a 3.53 ERA. Pope isn't your typical Danny Hall pitcher as he tends to go to the off-speed stuff first, fastball later. He should provide a good change of pace starting between power pitchers like McGuire and Jed Bradley.

Miami comes into this series having won their last 7 games, and 21 of their last 25. You really can't find a much hotter team in the country right now. The story starts with their Friday starter and reigning ACC Player of the Week Chris Hernandez and catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Hernandez, who gave us fits the last time the Canes came to Atlanta, comes in with a 7-2 record and 3.05 ERA. He will be a very tough matchup for us because of the way he can change speeds. The Miami offense revolves around Grandal. He is hitting a league leading .421, including an absurd .471 average in conference play. Think about that... he's getting a hit almost half the time he steps to the plate in the toughest conference in America. He can hit for power or for contact. Jackets fans, just resign yourselves to the fact that we are not going to stop this guy, we just have to limit his opportunities. I'm sure Danny Hall and Coach Kinkelaar will game plan around Grandal's chances to hurt us.

The immensity of this series cannot be overstated for the Jackets. We need to get back on track after dropping our last 2 ACC series. If you're in Atlanta this weekend, get to the Rusty C and make some noise for our boys!

THWG

Offensive Depth Chart

Tedward09 — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:03:12 -0000

Here is a preliminary offensive depth chart heading into the spring game. I may be off on a few of these, as I've only attended 2 practices this year, but I'll give it my best shot.

1st Team

QB: Tevin Washington
B-Back: Anthony Allen
A-Back: Roddy Jones, Marcus Wright, Embry Peeples, and Orwin Smith (lots of options here, so I'm just giving you the top 4 as the 1st team)
OL: Bedford (C), Uzzi (G), McRae (G), Nick Claytor (T), Zach Fraiser (T). So many injuries here so this will look much different in the fall.
WR: Stephen Hill and Tyler Melton

2nd Team

QB: David Sims
B-Back: Lucas Cox/Preston Lyons (both got reps on the 2nd team)
A-back: Charles Perkins and B.J. Bostic (these guys ran with the 3rd team most of the time, but were way too good for the 3rd team D)
OL: Jay Finch (G), Ray Beno (G), Will Jackson (G), Antonio Foster (T) (again, so many injuries on the line this spring)
WR: Kevin Cone and Daniel McKayhen (Jeremy Moore getting looks here but he hasn't had a very good spring)

And so it begins

Tedward09 — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:30:47 -0000

And so it begins

Yet another great product of the cesspool.

ATL Retro-Diary

Tedward09 — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:24:35 -0000

I took a trip to Atlanta this past weekend. I want to tell you all all about it. So sit back, relax, put the kids away and enjoy the retro-diary of my trip to Atlanta.

Thursday 4/15

3:45pm: Running out of work to catch my 5:30 flight to Atlanta for a weekend of drinking and heckling Jackson Scott Legget. Ever notice how everyone in the office finds something important to talk to you about as you're rushing out of work? Just happened to me. On the road by 4pm.

7:45pm: Flight gets in 20 minutes early... Winfield already at the airport to pick me up. I meet him at the curb just as a cop is yelling at him to move out of the pickup zone. It's going to be a good weekend.

9:30pm: At Cypress with Winfield, Dane and a bunch of others. Half price bottles of wine and great food... The drinks are flowing and it feels good to be home again.

11:30ishpm: Thursday night in Atlanta, where else would a Tech student go other than Moondogs? Meeting up with more friends and having a great time. Awesome start to the weekend.

Friday 4/16

8:30am: Rodzilla wakes me up as he's doing his nerd homework. Decide to check the work emails... over 30 received since 3:45pm the day before. I don't respond to any lest anyone gets the idea that I'm available to answer questions.

9:30am: Grab a shower at the Rodzilla/Winfield residence... quite possibly the most disgusting bathroom facilities you can find. I don't think I got any cleaner than before I got in the shower, but whatever... it cleared out the cobwebs from the night before.

11:00am: JUNIORS for chicken tenders and crossword puzzles. We (we being this girl I know and myself) finish the Technique crossword in less than 2 hours... with just a little help from the back page.

1:00pm: Winfield's at the library and I don't feel like walking back to his place before football practice starts so I decide to join him. Never thought I'd ever step back in this place again... I can feel the pain of all the students around me who are stuck there on a beautiful Friday afternoon.

3:30pm: Make a pilgrimage to Macs to purchase the necessary drinking paraphernalia for the evening. Then it's time to pound some pitchers at Ribs and Blues and head to practice.

5:00pm: At the Rose Bowl watching practice. Couple of observations:

- Groh is intense and very hands on, but not a drill sergeant like Tenuta was. I like having Kelly as the sole secondary coach.

- First team D looked to be Peters, Walls, and Cross on the DLine; Egbuniwe, Sylvester, Jefferson, and AT Barnes at LB; Reese, Butler, Tarrant and Edwards in the secondary. Solid group but there were some folks absent from practice (namely Brandon Watts and Julian Burnett who was on the beach)

- Anthony Allen is going to be a hoss at B-back. He absolutely trucked Jemea Thomas (running with the 2^ndteam D at this point). Jemea ain't no pushover either. Impressive play.

- QB play sucked at practice. I don't think I saw a single good pass. Sims did break a nice option keeper. About the only highlight for those guys.

6:30pm: Finally I am back inside my 2^nd favorite place on earth: Russ Chandler Stadium. If Wrigley and Fenway park had a child, it would be the Rusty C. It looks as beautiful as ever. My whole crew of baseball watchers is present. Gonna be a good time.

10:00pm: Great game. It was a pitcher's duel throughout with Deck going a full 7 innings. Every time one team would get up, the other would tie it up in the next half. Great stuff. Top 11, bases loaded and Kyle Parker (having a monster year) is up. He's currently 0-4 with a couple strikeouts. I'm thinking he's either going to jack one out of the park or strikeout... Andrew Robinson fans him. We go to the bottom of the 11^th tied at 6... great stuff.

10:10ishpm: Chase Burnette at the plate with a man on first... he swings......... PING........ It'S OVER THE RIGHT FIELD WALL for a walk-off homer!!!!!!!! Chase was not afraid to be the hero. The Clemson fans exit to a chant of "JUST LIKE TAMPA, JUST LIKE TAMPA, JUST LIKE TAMPA!!!!!!!!" So awesome. Suck it Jackson.

11:30pm: Time to head out to the RRC Probate Party: dress as your drink. I go as the sketchy old alum who just wants to keep drinking. Alcohol provided by the college kids... Someone brought Old Crow Bourbon. As a former poor college student I applauded the person for bringing that stuff. $11 a handle and it does the job. Well done.

12:30am: Making plans to hit some bars cause I'm too freaking old for college house parties. Winfield is playing survivor flip-cup... HE WINS! And promptly vomits all over the floor!!!! Hooray Beer! He looks okay, I think he'll rally.

2:00am: Out in mid-town... we shut down the bars and it's back to see the carnage of probate party. Apparently I ditched Barfield and Jose... I receive 3 punches to the nuts for my transgressions. I get Jose back... Barfield I will have vengeance soon.

3:30am: Things are getting fuzzy. Somehow back to Winfield's place. RoboCop is playing on the TV for some reason. I promptly pass out in the recliner. (Turns out Winfield did rally and make it out to the Highlands, just in case you're wondering)

Saturday 4/17

7:30am: P.A.I.N. Everywhere. I can hardly move. My cell phone missing. Find a friend's phone and start calling mine................. nothing. Then I hear Winfield yelling as I'm calling for about the 3rd time. He has my phone in his bed. We still don't know why. Creepy shit.

9:15am: Wake up (again). More pain. Shower and Motrin.......................................................................................................................................Mmmmmmmmmmmm better.

9:45am: At Bobby Dodd for the scrimmage. Jose and I rally to get there. Winfield, Dane and everyone else are to weak to make it. Who says alums can't party like college kids?

10:35am: Scrimmage has been up and down to this point. Bostic broke a beautiful 70 yard run for a TD. Paul Johnson to Jon Lokhart "Hey KNUCKLEHEAD, it's trips formation, get over there!" Yup, it was worth the trip to be here this weekend.

11:00am: Mmmmmmm Willy's. Perfect recovery food.

12:15pm: Get to the Rusty C. early to get our BEAT CLEMSON shirts... except they are already out. 45 minutes early and I don't get a shirt? Bullshit.

2:30pm: I've been heckling Jackson pretty good to this point. Tell him to stop cheating in the 6^th just as they are starting to get something going; Jose follows up with a "How much did you pay them [the umps]" heckle. Jackson turns around and shoots a dirty look at us. Again, this trip was so worth it.

3:30pm: Despite the best efforts to give Clemson the game by Dietrich and Skole (an error a piece, both that resulted in Tiger runs) we pull out a close 4-3 victory to take the series. Time to go for the sweep tomorrow.

7:15pm: At Northside liquors purchasing more goodies. Winfield and I see Michael Johnson (yes, that one). He gives us a knowing look and drives off in his Tahoe on dubs. Yup, this trip was worth it.

Won't go into detail about Saturday night's festivities. 2 highlights though:

- Winfield drove me and someone else to the bar, but he leaves us there. Apparently it's hoes before bros to Winfield

- I get accused of "drinking like a punk", by a girl no less. And you know what? It's true, after 3 nights in a row of this, I can't do it. I'm ashamed. I'm out of partying shape. I hope I'm just in a rough spot with it and not passed my prime. I'm only 22 for God sakes.

Sunday 4/18

12:30pm: Back to the Rusty C to go for the sweep. Perfect weather again (3^rd day in a row). I discover a guy under a yellow tent selling lemonade and sweet tea (both freshly made). I get an Arnold Palmer. Perfection. I'd recommend it if any of you go to a game this season. It tasted like the south.

3:15pm: Jackets took control early and never let go. We have a streak of scoring in every inning. Jake Davies enters to start the 8^th but his customary Top Gun Anthem walk up music isn't played for the 2^nd time in this weekend. Jose and I are pissed about this. I may file a formal complaint with DRad.

3:30pm: 2 outs, bottom 8 and the Jackets haven't scored yet. The streak is in danger. Jacob Esch up.......... And IT'S OVER THE RIGHT FIELD WALL!!! HOME RUN! Jackets score at least once in every inning they bat (just like the Braves, NOT). Only the 2^nd or 3^rd time I can remember seeing that.

4:15pm: Heading to the car to go to the airport and guess who's right in front of walking to the team bus??? Mr. Jackson Scott Leggett himself. I am not complimenting him in any way, but other than his slip up on Saturday, he was behaved this weekend. I still hate him though.

6:00pm: Time to head back to St. Louis. Work tomorrow.

It was a nearly perfect weekend in Atlanta. If you haven't done it yet, GET TO A TECH BASEBALL GAME!!! It's one of the most enjoyable times you can have.

THWG

Top 10 Reasons I hate Jack Leggett

Tedward09 — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:51:22 -0000

Jack Leggett is just the worst. There aren't many opposing coaches, or people for that matter, that I hate more than Jack Leggett. So let's do this Letterman style... here are the Top 10 Reasons I Hate Jack Leggett.

10. He coaches Clemson. I don't like Dabo either... for the record.

9. His name sucks. Jack Leggett? Not bad actually. But his real name is Jackson Scott Leggett... now that's a shitty name. Plus, by going by the name Jack he is trying to share the same first name as Jack Bauer, which is unacceptable. Stop trying to change your identity Jackson... what a coward.

8. Clemson fans think he sucks too... it's not just me. Clemson bloggers have to defend him a la Bird and CPH.

7. He once cussed out a heckler at the Rusty C, calling the heckler an "asshole". Worse yet, this heckler wasn't even me. It was actually the worst heckler this planet has ever known (affectionately known as "Afroman" to my friends and I). There were children present during this event, making Jackson Leggett the worst possible role-model for a young person.

6. The best player he's recruited/coached is Khalil Greene. Danny Hall has recruited and coached the likes of Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra (didn't recruit him), Matt Wieters, Mark Teixeira, along with plenty of other big leaguers. You've got nothing Jackson... Khalil Greene? Give me a break.

5. Jackson Leggett hails from the state of Maine. Have any of you ever met anyone from Maine, let alone a decent person?

4. Jackson has created his own website: www.jackleggett.com. If Danny Hall doesn't have a website, then Jackson Scott Leggett DEFINITELY shouldn't have a website. The website includes "Jack Leggett's iPod favorites". Guess what Jackson, nobody gives a shit about what music you're listening to.

3. Once before a series at the Rusty C, Leggett left the umpire/managers meeting at home plate, ran back towards the dugout and did a head first slide into his team's huddle. Baseball isn't a gentleman's game by any means, but this move was classless and juvenile. Grow up Jackson. Your team doesn't think you're cool because you did a head first slide. What a prick.

2. In 2005, during a home series against the Fightin' Jackson Leggetts, my buddy Jose was ruthlessly heckling Jackson. Leggett turns around and winks at Jose. What were his "intentions" behind the wink?

1. He is the exact opposite of Danny Hall. Stupid and classless are the two words that come to mind when I think of Jackson "Jack" Leggett.

Needless to say, Jackson Scott Leggett is one of the worst humans currently roaming this earth. I encourage you all to join me this weekend in heckling him mercilessly. Thanks to Yellow Jackette for helping me put this together.

THWG

Football Season Starts Today!

Tedward09 — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 01:55:17 -0000

Well, kind of. Today marks the first day of spring practice for the Jackets. And we open with a lot of questions at a lot of positions. Here are the 3 major storylines, according to me, heading into spring practice.

1. How quickly will the Jackets pick up Al Groh's 3-4 defense? Personally, I think it is going to be a rough transition. Look for the Jackets' defense to look like the offense 2 springs ago, when Paul Johnson first arrived on campus. I expect there to be a large learning curve for us this spring, especially with our front seven.

I think the secondary should be much more consistent with Charles Kelly taking over the coaching of all positions back there. We saw a lot of our guys in the secondary out of position last year, and I always thought that the fact that Coach Wommack and Kelly were sending different messages to our guys. I think having one constant voice back there will really help our safeties and corners. I'm looking for Jemea Thomas (sophomore ROV) to have a big spring. He's got some big shoes to fill (Morgan Burnett's), but he is one of those guys that's just a baller. Think back to the play he made to break up a pass in the endzone vs. Duke last season and you'll know what I'm talking about.

As for the front seven, I really don't know what to look for here. We will have some experienced guys there, but everyone is starting from square one with Groh's system. Look for a lot of the younger guys to step up and get some big reps this spring. A name to watch for is Brandon Watts at linebacker. He raised a lot of eyebrows on the scout team last year while redshirting last season. I'm also looking for AT Barnes to step it up at the OLB spot. I am personally hoping for AT to finally find a way to use all his talents on the field because he's never quite fit in the previous 2 defensive schemes.

2. Who is going to step up and assert themselves as the #2 QB? As we all know, Jaybo Shaw has transferred to Georgia Southern to play for Jeff Monken, and Josh is recovering from offseason ankle surgery. We've got 3 guys legitimately competing for that spot: Tevin Washington (redshirt sophomore), Jordan Luallen (RS Freshman), and David Sims (RS Freshman). None of these 3 guys have much experience, although Washington did see a small bit of mop up duty last season. Additionally, Washington is probably the best athlete out of the 3 of them. It has been rumored for awhile that Washington will move to A-back, but I don't see that happening now that Jaybo's gone. Luallen is the most established passer of the 3 of them. Sims is a pure athlete and may end up being the best option at the QB position, if he can learn to play within CPJ's system. This should be an extremely interesting story to watch progress throughout the next few weeks.

For those of you wondering, true freshman BJ Bostic will most likely start spring practice at the A-back position, not at corner as I had previously written before signing day. There has also been some chatter about playing BJ at QB, but I think we'll get BJ ready to play at A-back during the spring and see about the QB position later. BJ will also get some looks at return man as well.

3. My third storyline to watch for during the spring is the situation on the offensive line. We have 4 redshirt freshman: Ray Beno, Will Jackson, Jay Finch, and Antonio Foster, who should all compete with the guys returning for starting positions. These are the first 4 offensive lineman handpicked by CPJ for this system. After a year of bulking up and learning the techniques of this offense, I am expecting big things from these guys this spring. Foster and Finch will most likely play at the tackle spot, Beno will be a guard, and Jackson can play center or guard. Definitely keep an eye for these names because they will be seeing a lot of playing time next season.

What are you looking for from the Jackets during the spring? Practices are at 3:45 at the Rose Bowl Fields and are open to the public as far as I know. If you haven't made it out to a spring practice and live in/near Atlanta, I'd definitely encourage you to go as you can learn a lot. And a lot of times you can swing a beesball game right after practice, which makes for a perfect day.

THWG

How to Fill Out a Bracket: Be a Homer or Use Your Head?

Tedward09 — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:43:25 -0000

I just finished filling out my bracket in the FTRS Bracket Challenge. This was probably one of the toughest things I've had to do all year! As ridiculous as that sounds I think some of you can see where I'm coming from.

When your team (in this case, Tech, obviously) is in the tournament it makes filling out a bracket a very bittersweet task in my opinion. On the one hand, I want to pick Tech to make a deep run in the tournament this year because I feel like we have favorable matchups for our team in the first and second rounds. But on the other hand, we all know Tech has been wildly inconsistent, so trying to predict how we'll play is nearly impossible.

Tech is really great at breaking my heart too... especially in basketball. In 2007 I picked Tech to go to the Sweet 16 (think back: Thad Young, Javaris, and some nice role players around them). That team could have gone a long way. That year was the first of 2 consecutive years where I got every pick correct on the first day of the tournament. And I believe Tech played late afternoon on Friday against UNLV. And up until the Tech game, I was still perfect with all my picks. What happened? Yup. Tech spoiled everything.

What are your thoughts about picking your team in the tournament? How far did you pick Tech to go this year?

Edit: DON'T FORGET TO JOIN FROM THE RUMBLE SEAT'S BRACKET CHALLENGE! YAHOO ID#: 72926 PASSWORD: gojackets

Official georgie vs. Joltin Jackets Open Thread

Tedward09 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:03:06 -0000

Georgie sucks. We all know it. Game at 7pm ET. TV: CSS. Radio: WREK Atlanta. Now just a few reminders of how much Georgie sucks at everything. Consider it a mini-hate week.

via www9.myfantasyleague.com

via assets.sbnation.com

via images.morris.com

via assets.sbnation.com

TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!! GO JACKETS!

ACC Tourney Reaction

Tedward09 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:34:42 -0000

First of all: DOOK and all their fans can screw themselves. I hate all of you so much. How'd football season go? Go back to the country club. You all suck.

Now that we have that out of the way I'm curious to hear all of your reactions to our performance in the ACC tournament. I think we need to go beyond Bird's Hewitt Approval Poll below.

Frankly, I can't say that I approve of the job Paul Hewitt is doing of coaching our players. You all know why I think that: we turn the ball over, we can't run consistent offensive sets throughout an entire a game, we lose our man on defense all the time because we are switching all the time, and of course we can't run an inbounds play at all (see below).

However, I will give CPH credit for motivating this team during the tournament. The ESPN broadcasters (Shulman and Dicky V.) made the point that when speaking with Paul Hewitt before the game he stressed that this tournament was the biggest goal for the team this season. And I commend him for setting that goal. Paul Johnson and the football team set their #1 goal as winning the ACC last year. From a fan's perspective, this is exactly what you want.

With that being said, I am still appalled at the mistakes this team makes throughout a game. The fact that we won 3 games in a row to get to the championship game amazes me. 25 turnovers against Maryland? 5 in the first 3 minutes of yesterdays game? Countless scoring droughts and missed opportunities? Absolutely ridiculous and inexcusable for a team with this caliber of talent, which leads me to my next point.

This team got to the championship game on its talent alone. Yes, we did run some good sets at the start of the Maryland and NC State games to get the ball inside, but we couldn't sustain anything over the course of the entire game. And during the game yesterday, DOOK was ready for us to pound the ball inside. They fronted the post and exploited the biggest weakness of our perimeter players: making quick, and accurate entry passes into the post. Once they took that away, we just had individuals (Favors, Bell, Miller, and Shumpert mainly) making plays to keep it close.

Honestly, this team is just frustrating to watch. We have all the talent in the world yet we are forced to still grind out victories over inferior teams because of a lack of quality coaching and game planning. Coach Ratface even said that we are "the most athletic and talented team in the ACC." Now when one of the greatest basketball coaches ever says that, wouldn't you think the team he is speaking about should whoop their opponents, or at least be considered a favorite?

We need a change at the head coaching position. Tech basketball may make a great run in the next couple weeks in the NCAA tournament, no doubt. But next year we will be right back where we were last year and in 2005 with the losses of Favors, Lawal, Bell and as much as it pains me to say it, Zach Peacock. There will be talent next year, but it will need excellent coaching and solid game planning if we are going to be successful. With this coaching staff, we're never going to have that and it's just a fact.

I hate to focus on the negative with a big weekend coming up, but the facts need to be stated. Dan Radakovich if you are reading this please know, the natives are restless on The Flats. Please don't let this team's magnificent ACC tournament run fool you: we still have a very serious problem at the head coaching position.

Your thoughts?

Poll

Do we need to change Men's Basketball Head Coaches?

Yes

97 votes

No

25 votes

122 votes | Poll has closed

Tedward on the Radio!

Tedward09 — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:23:30 -0000

I will be doing an interview at 5:45ET on The Fan Sports Radio 790 & 1350. These stations serve Southeast Georgia and Northeast Florida. Anyone in that area be sure to tune in! Their website doesn't have a live stream that I can see, but I will ask for a copy of the spot to post on the blog.

Jaybo is leaving

Tedward09 — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:22:09 -0000

We have it on good authority that Jaybo Shaw, our backup QB, will be leaving Tech after the spring semester to pursue football elsewhere. While it is not confirmed, the little birdie in our ear is telling us that he will be enrolling at Georgia Southern to play for Jeff Monken (former Tech A-backs coach). The reasons for this are not yet clear, but one might be because of the talent level of the 2 redshirt freshman QBs who will be getting some reps in spring ball this year.

We will have more details for you as we confirm them. This news makes spring practice even more critical than ever. The only QB who will participate in spring ball who has seen game time is Tevin Washington (Nesbitt will be out due to ankle surgery). We wish Jaybo luck in his future endeavors.

Missouri State Preview and Thoughts on Danny Hall

Tedward09 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:45:15 -0000

Opening Day!

While it still feels like winter for most of us, today marks the first day of the new baseball season for the Joltin Jackets. This day couldn't have come soon enough if you ask me. Although it will be bitter sweet as it's the first opening day I will miss in about 4 years. Somehow, the Jackets will have to carry on.

We are opening up the season against the Missouri State Bears, who hail from the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears are projected to finish 2nd in their conference this season. The starting pitcher for tomorrow is Aaron Meade, an all-conference performer last season. He's a left handed pitcher and went 9-2 with a 3.39 ERA last season. He should be a tough test for us starting the season. Expect the Friday game to be closer than you think. Meade might be able to keep the Jackets' offense in check for at least a few innings. Other than Meade, the Bears don't pose much of a threat at any other position. The talent gap will be too much for them to overcome. Expect a sweep by the Ramblin Reck this weekend!

Now, if you read my first post on this site back in December, you know that I (along with several of my friends) view Danny Hall as a Baseball Deity of sorts. Call me crazy, but the man/deity runs one of the finest programs in any sport in the country. I really can't describe his greatness in words... but luckily for you, my buddy Chris created a facebook group as a tribute to Danny Hall several years back to help mortals like us try to understand who Danny Hall is and why... Here's what he came up with.

And then, on the Judgement Day, when we all are in Heaven, we will stand before the Almighty throne, and there will not be an old man with a gray beard, but it will be Danny Hall, and the members of this group will not be surprised like the rest of heaven, but will wear an 'I told you so' smirk on their face. Then, people will ask Danny Hall, "If you are God and creator of all things great, who then is Satan?" And Lord Hall will open the floor of heaven, and there, ruling the underworld, is also Danny Hall. Upon seeing this, people's heads will begin to ache with this great paradox, but Danny Hall will glance at the members of his tribute Facebook group and give them a wink, and then they will know...

Happy Opening Day everyone.

via profile.ak.fbcdn.net

GT Baseball Primer

Tedward09 — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:40:12 -0000

Bird posed a couple of questions to me about our baseball team in preparation for OPENING DAY on Friday. Here is the Q&A, my answers in italics. It's kind of long, but maybe it'll help you get through the day...

What are the highlights of Georgia Tech's returning team offensively?

Well, Tech has 6 returning starters on the field. The highlights for the offensive attack come from Jeff Rowland, Tony Plagman and Matt Skole, in my opinion.

Jeff (or Jeffrow as myself and YellowJackette prefer to call him) is a fantastic leadoff man. Jeffrow hit .340 last season with 8 HR, 13 doubles (tied for 2nd on the team), and stole 21 bases on 26 attempts. In addition, his fielding percentage was .960. Jeffrow really has everything you're looking for in a leadoff guy: hit for average, speed, plate discipline (tied for 2nd on the team last season with 31 BB), and even some surprise power. 8 HR in the leadoff spot ain't nothin to sneeze at. I'm expecting another solid performance out of Jeffrey this year.

Tony Plagman will once again be a gem for this offensive attack. Last year he batted cleanup for us but he could probably slide into that coveted 3-spot in the lineup. The previous couple seasons that spot has been held by Luke Murton and Matthew Wieters, so Tony has some big shoes to fill. Last year Tony had a monster season: .354 average (T-1st on team), 87 hits (led team), 18 doubles (led team), 16 HR (2nd on team), and 73 RBI (led team). To go all the way, we'll need that kind of production or better from Tony again this year. Even more important... Tony and I are good buddies ever since we worked on a project for our marketing class, a fact that eats away at the soul of my buddy Jose on a daily basis.

Finally, Matt Skole will be an important piece of our team this year. Last season, Matt began the season on an offensive tear the likes of which I hadn't seen before. In my opinion, he started faster than Derek Dietrich did the year before. However, he cooled off tremendously during the ACC season. His numbers for the year were respectable: .302 avg, 17 HR, and 58 RBI. But Skole struck out a whopping 69 times last season. He'll have to improve his discipline and not try to smash every pitch he likes at the plate. Matt has world class power (any of you that were at the second game of the Clemson series last year when he hit the roof of the freaking field house in right field on the fly can vouch for that). He will need to maintain this power, but also learn to take more pitches and get on base. Also, Matt will be assuming the role of backup catcher in addition to starting at 3rd base. Generally, Danny Hall plays his backup catcher twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday. Coach Hall has stated that he has confidence in Matt taking on that role, but it remains to be seen how he will perform there. We need Matt to maintain his offensive production while taking on an extra challenge on defense.

Now, some of you might be saying (Winfield especially), "What about Derek Dietrich??" Well, since I don't have a man crush on double-D (anymore) and Winfield does, I'll give you the straight talk about Derek as I see it. My dislike for his current game doesn't come close to the level of YellowJackette, but I've grown less and less fond of his game from last season until now. Derek came in as a highly touted freshman (he was drafted in the 3rd round by the Astros as a senior is high school, but came to Tech because of an injury to his throwing shoulder) and lit up the ACC. I won't even bother posting the stats because they were out of this world. But last year, Derek never got it going and to me, he really didn't seem to care. He swung at bad pitches all year and was unreliable at the end of games. Throw in his ultra-erratic fielding (14 errors at short last year) and you've got one frustrating player to watch. I hope Derek gets it together this year, we need him to. But for now, he's on my "F*cking Chris House" list, along with Zach Peacock, and Chris House.

For those of you that need an explanation, I have invented a list of players that the general public views as a "good" player, but who is actually terrible. Thus was born the "F*cking Chris House" list.

Number 1 on the list, ahead of the man the list is named for incredibly, is Zach Peacock. For some strange reason, Zach thinks that since he's a shooting guard trapped in the body of a 6'10 center. He takes step-back 3s and crazy fade-away jump shots while being quite possibly the worst defender ever. Even after 3.5 years of playing college basketball, he still has no clue who to cover on a switch. Just stop already Zach, you're not a 3 man, you are a freaking 4 or 5 and you can't play any defense. Sorry you have to hear this, but someone needs to shout the truth from the mountain tops. I will say it's not all Zach's fault. He can't help it that his coach is incompetent (yeah that's right Bird, I said it) and has actually managed a losing ACC record with 3 McDonald's All-Americans on the roster. I mean we have absolutely no offense. I'm watching the Kansas vs. Texas A&M game now and Kansas just ran a 3-man weave to get Sherron Collins open. Does Paul Hewitt know what a 3-man weave is?

And Chris House, don't even get me started... yeah yeah he never made an error in the field, I know but you know what? He only hit HRs against Mercer and didn't steal a base till his senior season. He's a nice guy and all, but seriously, I'm so glad we'll have an actual right fielder this year.

I don't like to hate on our players, but I've given up hope on the baketball team this season and Chris House has graduated, so it's fair game.

Alright, happy thoughts people. How did I start ranting about Zach Peacock during my baseball preview?? Let's get back to the subject at hand...

What do we know about Georgia Tech's returning pitchers?

We know that we have a bunch of badasses.

This year's staff is one of the strongest ever at Tech. The weekend rotation is as solid as I've ever seen it. All-American Deck McGuire will anchor the staff. Last season, Deck went 11-2 with a 3.50 ERA, 118 SO, and 41 BB. He's a typical power pitcher with a ridiculous fastball (in the mid 90s with excellent movement) and a devastating changeup. His only issue last season was getting off to a slow start. If Deck can get rid of the early inning jitters, we won't lose a Friday game this year. That's just a fact.

The Saturday starter is Brandon Cumpton, who started most Sunday games for us last year. Brandon has excellent stuff. His problem has always been control and the mental side of the game. Once things start going wrong, Brandon seems to have a tough time recovering. Hopefully, another year of seasoning has helped his game and he'll be able to use his great stuff to the team's advantage this year.

The Sunday starter this season will be Mark Pope. Besides dating one of the hottest chicks on campus, Mark was also busy last fall making the switch from the bullpen to the starting rotation. Last season, Mark served as the closer and single-handedly blew the rubber match against UVA by giving up 6 runs in the 9th inning!!!! I'm sorry if that was painful to relive for some of you. While I haven't gotten over that blown save yet, I will say that Mark should be a much better starter than closer. From what I saw, it took Mark a while to get his stuff going, but once he gets in a groove, he's lights out. Mark isn't a power pitcher. Instead he can throw a lot of off-speed stuff to set up his fastball, which can touch the low 90s. He's got one of, if not the best, curve ball that I've seen in a college pitcher that he can throw for strikes or use to get hitters to chase it.

The bullpen will be led by senior Andrew Robinson (ARob to me, obviously) and Kevin Jacob. ARob is a great setup man who throws hard and has been in tough spots before. His leadership will be big for our younger pitchers. Kevin Jacob has the best stuff of anyone on the team, even McGuire. Last season he rotated between starter and long-reliever. He had a lot of issues with his control last season but it seems he solved those problems this past summer when he played in the Alaska Baseball League and was named the number one prospect in that league at the end of the summer by Baseball America. His final stats from the Summer League were outrageous: 2-1 record, 0.34 ERA, 46 SO, in 26.2 IP. 0.34 ERA!!!!!!! HE ALLOWED ONE EARNED RUN THE ENTIRE SUMMER... AND ONLY 9 HITS. Try to wrap your mind around that... you can't do it, it's impossible. Kevin will serve as the closer this year. His fastball can hit 98mph, plus some good off-speed stuff. Combine that with his highly unusual delivery motion (it's kind of a shortened version of Hideo Nomo combined with Hideki Okajima) and you have a deadly combination. As long as he has control, I feel really comfortable with the back end of the bullpen.

Who are the big dogs in the ACC this year? Will UVA repeat as tourney champs?
Like every year, the ACC is probably the strongest baseball conference in America. There are 6 teams in Baseball America's Preseason Top-25 including 3 in the top-10. UVA is ranked 2nd, Tech is 6th, and FSU is 9th. UVA should be very strong, like usual, but obviously GT will be winning the ACC and NCAA tournaments this year, without question. Clemson will be much improved from a year ago. UNC is down a little bit, but Mike Fox always brings a good team that is well coached and has good pitching. I'd watch out for them again this year.

If you could recommend one baseball game or series for non-baseball fans to attend, what game or series would it be?
I would say the Clemson series, for a couple of reasons. First and most importantly, I will be at this series and it will be the only regular season series I plan on attending this year unfortunately. So I will be unleashing heckles the likes of which won't be heard during the rest of the season. It will probably be worth coming just to hear that. Plus, Jack Leggett is the worst human being on the face of this planet and deserves to hear the wrath of every Georgia Tech fan present. If you don't hate him yet, you will after this series. Plus this series is always fun. Both teams are perennial powerhouses, have great baseball tradition (ours is much better than Clemson, obviously). I think this will be the marquee match-up at the Rusty C this season

I have to say this as well... If you're not a baseball fan, make an effort to become one this season. Baseball at Georgia Tech is unappreciated and is taken for granted by far too many Georgia Tech fans. We have one of the best programs in the country, yet we are at the bottom of the ACC in terms of attendance. So here's my pitch to you. Come out to at least 3 weekend series this season... bring the whole family if you'd like (don't worry, I always keep the heckles clean, for the kids). I think you'll like what you see. We have a lot of great players and a great coach who put a great product out on that field. Come out and hang with Reck Club at the top of Section 10, or some of my crew in section 12. I promise you'll have a good time.

That's my pitch, I'll get off the soapbox.

Speed round...first thoughts in three words or less...
Preseason MVP: Tony Plagman
Post-seaston Goals: National Championship
Delta Derby: Kind of boring
Ring of Fire: Drunk
Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road: Drunker

I'll add a couple of my own...

Danny Hall: you're the greatest
Baseball drink: The Turkey
Best snack: sunflower seeds

via alt.coxnewsweb.com

A FTRS Exclusive

Tedward09 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:10:39 -0000

We have learned from multiple sources that Roddy Jones has joined the Georgia Tech baseball team. Roddy began practicing with the team this past week when they opened up pre-season practice.

Some of you may know already, but Roddy was a stud baseball prospect in his high school days. He was a 4 year letter winner in center field and was drafted in the 39th round by the Chicago White Sox. Of course Roddy decided to go to college and play football.

Playing baseball in college has always been a possibility for Roddy, but for whatever reason he hasn't decided to take on 2 sports at Tech until now. The center field position for the Joltin Jackets is pretty much set with Jeff Rowland, who also leads off. The right fielder spot is currently taken by Chase Burnette, but his spot is less secure than Rowland's. So Roddy could fit in out in right.

However, I wouldn't expect him to start any time soon as it'll take awhile for him to get his timing back at the plate. Roddy's speed will add another dimension to our attack. Rowland is really the only threat on the bases, so adding Roddy's speed to the lineup will be a great addition.

More on this story as it develops. Since I can't find any highlights of Roddy's baseball career, here's an oldie but goodie.

Good luck to Roddy on being Tech's newest 2 sport athlete!

THWG

2010 Football Recruits: 2 Defensive Lineman

Tedward09 — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:36:41 -0000

On the day before National Signing Day, we'll take a look at the last 2 defensive lineman in this class. A quick side note though... there was one comment from a reader yesterday about doing a review of last year's recruiting class to see how they'll impact the team this coming season. Fear not Techies, there has been a plan in the works (by me) the whole time to do just that. I did want to get started on it earlier, but I decided to take y'all through this class and then review last year's class closer to spring practice since that's when their names will start appearing more often.

Onto the topic of the day. The first commit we'll discuss is Shawn Green. One thing to I should say is that I incorrectly reported that Ryan Ayers was the only commit in this class to play in the Under Armour All-American game. Shawn Green was also took part in that game. Sorry for the misinformation. Shawn's a defensive tackle from Grayson HS in Loganville, GA. He's listed at 6'3" and about 275 lbs. This guy has the potential to be that man-eater in the middle of Al Groh's defense. There isn't much video available of Shawn online, but if ESPNU ever replays the UA All-American game make sure you watch it to check out both Shawn and Ryan. Because we really don't know what Groh is looking for in a DT/nose tackle, it's tough to say whether or not Shawn will see the field next year. I believe he's got the talent to do it, I think it's a matter of whether he has enough size and if he can pick up the defensive scheme quickly enough when he arrives on campus.

The next player in this class is defensive end Anthony Williams from Union Grove HS in McDonough, GA. He's listed at 6'4" and 230 lbs. Cool fact about Anthony is that he was good friends with Daryl Robertson, a former Tech DE. Interesting also because they seem like they are similar players coming out of high school. Most noticeably they are both really tall and pencil thin for their positions. Anthony has plenty of room to add muscle to his frame while not losing any speed. According to some of the analysis by the recruiting sites, Anthony isn't all that explosive off the ball and may end up being a better run stopper than pass rusher. If this holds true, I'd expect Anthony to stay at DE in our new scheme even with his lean frame. He's definitely a work in progress and will most likely red-shirt a year.

That's all for now. We'll have plenty more updates throughout the week... Hopefully we'll have a surprise commit to report on later this week (no idea if that's true, just hoping because I love the excitement).

THWG

2010 Football Recruits: Signing Day is Almost Here!

Tedward09 — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:40:50 -0000

via bittenandbound.com

I wouldn't mind having her as my recruiting host!

Okay, obviously Brooklyn Decker has nothing to do with Georgia Tech recruiting news. I just figured y'all would hang around longer if you could scroll up the page and have a hot chick to look at. You know I'm right.

Happy February! Sorry for the lack of recruiting updates. I've started a job and let's just say it's been a baptism by fire to this point. My will to write at the end of the day has been taken away. But we've got a BIG BIG update for you today with more to come throughout the week. IT'S ALMOST SIGNING DAY! FOOTBALL SEASON NEVER ENDS!

First off, check out this write up on the first commit in this class, Charles Perkins via the AJC.

It was a busy recruiting weekend on campus. It was the last weekend for official visits before NSD and it was also Junior Day for the 2011 recruiting class. We had some big time Junior's on campus and handed out a number of official offers. But we'll save the 2011 class for another day because we're about to close out a good recruiting class this week.

We had a couple of visitors over the weekend and received one commitment that we know of to this point. Tony Zenon, a running back from Deerfield-Windsor High in Albany, GA committed to Tech on Saturday 1/30. Tony is listed at 5'8" and 160 lbs, so obviously he'll be lining up at A-back for the Jackets. Here are some highlights of Tony.

Even though he's a tiny guy, he's a pretty physical runner. Like other CPJ running back recruits, he picks his running lane very quickly and hits it immediately. This is an essential skill for an A-back in the Reckbone offense. I don't think he's as fast as someone like Marcus Wright but I think he'll be able to be a contributor over the next 4-5 years. The one knock on Tony is that his only other offers came from Marshall and Georgia Southern. Therefore, his commitment will hurt the overall ranking of this class according to the recruiting services. But CPJ is apparently quite high on this kid, so I will trust his judgement over some of the recruiting pundits any day.

After the jump we'll talk about 2 more members of the 2010 recruiting class.

Morgan Bailey is the 2nd O-line commit in this class, after Catlin Alford. Morgan is an Offensive Tackle listed at 6'5" and 285 lbs. He's a big big boy with a frame that will allow him to get bigger and stronger without losing any of his explosiveness off the ball. And that last point will be the key for Morgan, and any other O-line recruit for the Reckbone offense. Check out this extremely long highlight video of Morgan's junior campaign.

Like I said, he's a big boy. Morgan is the prototypical tackle for our offense. Look for him to have great success in the future. Between current starters and last year's class I see Morgan red-shirting next year to learn the system. That will help him a lot as Morgan has said that he plans to major in Physics at Tech. Good luck with that one Morgan!

The next recruit in this class is cornerback Ryan Ayers. Ayers is the highest rated player in this class according to many recruiting sites. Ryan is the only member of our recruiting class to participate in the Under Armour HS All-American game that was on ESPN a couple weeks ago.

He hails from South Paulding HS in Douglasville, GA. He's listed at 5'10" and about 180 lbs. While he has a pretty skinny frame, he's not afraid to get after it and be aggressive at the line of scrimmage. Check out this highlight video of his junior year (I hope it works for y'all, it was being kind of flaky when I wrote this).

I have high hopes for Ryan to become a star at Tech. We are going to need fast, physical corners like him in Al Groh's aggressive style of defense. With the various zone blitzing schemes that Groh uses, often times our corners will be left one-on-one with the opposing teams receivers. We're going to need some great athletes out there and Ryan will certainly help us in that area. However, there is a lot of talent already in place at the corner position at Tech. Everyone who saw action at the corner spot (Tarrant, Reid, Butler, Sweeting, and Peterson) will be back next year. It is a tough call on whether or not Ayers plays as a true freshman. But I think he'll really have to shine in fall practice to see the field next year because there's just too much established talent back there. Plus, CPJ has often stated that he would like for all freshman to redshirt a year to get acclimated to the college game.

That's it for now. Much more to come as the week progresses. Hopefully, we'll have a surprise signing day commit to get really excited about.

Also, Winfield will be attending the signing day function at the Edge Center the morning of NSD, so if there are any readers out there just dying to meet Winfield who haven't already, he's the nerdy looking kid who will be trying to work on his Senior Design Project and cover the GT football team at the same time. You won't be able to miss him. HA!

THWG

Thanks for reading

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

Just in Case You Didn't Think Georgie Fans were the Dumbest Creatures Known to Man...

Tedward09 — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:08:09 -0000

This happened:

This guy covered himself in peanut butter before the Georgia vs. UT bball game this past weekend and proceeded to EAT THE PEANUT BUTTER OFF HIS SWEATY BODY DURING THE GAME.

I'm speechless. It hurts my brain thinking about why someone would do something like this. Here's one more look.

via cache.gawker.com... The ginger in this picture wasn't messing with peanut butter boy.

Thank you UGAy fans... you make it too easy. Big thanks to Jose Crespo for sending this our way.

THWG

2010 Football Recruits: Multiple Updates

Tedward09 — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:20:30 -0000

It's getting close... National Signing Day is February 3, one week from Wednesday. I realize I am very behind on the profiles of each football recruit. We're going to cover two of the 2010 recruits today. But first, there was some big news over the weekend.

Tech picked up two more commitments for the 2010 class, bringing the total number of verbal commits up to 16. Deon Hill, a running back from Phoenix City, AL (attends same high school as current Tech A-back Orwin Smith) and Jeremiah Attaochu, an OLB from Washington D.C. committed during their official visits this past weekend. We'll talk more about these two young men in the future, but both are great additions to the program. Hill looks like a clone of Orwin Smith and Attaochu should become a force in Al Groh's 3-4 defense.

We have one more weekend and there will be several visitors on campus from what I hear, so look for some more exciting news leading up to National Signing day! Now, let's take a look at two more recruits after THE JUMP...

Catlin Alford is an OL recruit out of Adairsville High School is Adairsville, GA. Alford is listed at 6'3" and 270 lbs. His primary position in high school was defensive end and some tight end. That kind of athleticism will serve him well in the Reckbone system. Aside from Tech he was recruited by Navy, NC State, and Auburn among others. Also, Catlin participated in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association North-South All-Star Classic game recently.

Watching video of him (not publicly available or else i'd share it) he reminds me a bit of Sean Bedford, currently the starting center for the Jackets. He'll be able to fire off the ball quickly and use leverage to get guys on the ground. I see him starting his Tech career at center (as most of our OL recruits do) and ending up at Guard. He will definitely be a redshirt, as his OL skills are very raw and he needs to add some bulk to his frame.

The next recruit is Isaiah Johnson, a safety from Sandy Creek HS in Tyrone, GA. Isaiah is one of the 3 recruits (along with Charles Perkins and B.J. Bostic) who has already enrolled at Tech and doing workouts with the team. His measurables are 6'2" and 180 lbs. He is a really sound defender for someone his age. With Morgan Burnett's early departure for the NFL, Isaiah may be one of the recruits in this class who gets a shot at some playing time next year. We'll have to see how he does during spring ball, but he's definitely a name to watch out for in the near future.

Here is some video of Isaiah from his Junior year. He is wearing number 49 in these clips. As you can tell, he's got great closing speed and is a disciplined tackler. Another great pickup by the Tech coaching staff. We may have another star at safety in the making on The Flats.

This class will not be rated highly by the recruiting services. As it stands now, I believe Scout.com has us ranked 44th in the recruiting rankings. But the coaching staff has addressed nearly all the needs we have, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Because our coaches do all of their own scouting (and not all coaching staffs do this surprisingly), the staff has an excellent understanding of the capabilities of each player they recruit.

If you want to get an idea of how well our coaches know these recruits, head to the Edge Building and the football meeting room on the second floor on the morning of signing day. I'll have an exact time for you later, but last year the public was allowed to arrive at 7am or so. This is different from the official celebration that takes place at night downtown. Each coach discusses their recruits as the LOI are faxed in. It's fascinating to hear them talk about these recruits and how they see them fitting in to the program. All the coaches also take questions from the fans assembled about the program in general and certain players.

I got the opportunity to go last year and it was probably one of the 10 best experiences I had as a Tech football fan. The best part is when Paul Johnson speaks at the end and takes questions from the fans in the room. Last year, he called us "really hardcore" for coming so early. His greatness cannot be quantified.

THWG

Danny Hall Kicks Ass

Tedward09 — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:39:55 -0000

This is the first article with this title, but it surely will not be the last. You see, Danny Hall has spent more than $50,000 on a freaking pitching machine. Only someone as great and divine as Danny Hall could manage to do such a thing. Check it out.

Baseball preview will have to wait until closer to February 19, the day that can't come soon enough. Everything will be right in the world.

THWG

Belated Reaction to Groh

Tedward09 — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:54:47 -0000

AL GROH IS THE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR OF THE GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS! That's right, the man who coached the GREAT GREAT Giants defenses of the late 80s and early 90s is coming to The Flats. In case you hadn't heard yet. This is old news to all of you obviously, but this is my first chance to give you my thoughts on this.

Groh is a huge hire for the Tech football program, and that is an understatement. As Dane put it on Friday night, "Dude, we are a legit team now." Truer words have never been spoken. Between the Reckbone offense and now Groh's extremely unique 3-4 defense we are going to be a nightmare to prepare for each week. Although the 3-4 defense has become more prevalent in the college game in recent years, it's still something that college offenses do not see on a regular basis, especially in the ACC. Combine the 3-4 system that with the athletes already in place on the defensive side and we should be very well off on that side of the ball next year.

While we don't have the ideal personnel at the moment for this defense, we have a number of pieces in place to succeed right away. As Groh said, the most important positions in this system are the Nose Tackle and Outside LBs. T.J. Barnes and Redshirt Freshman J.C. Lanier both have the size to play that position right away. Ben Anderson could also be a candidate to play here even with his smaller size (relative to the other 2 guys) as he can eat up blockers inside. We sorely missed Ben the last 3 games of the season. As for freshman, Shawn Green is probably the DT recruit most likely to stay at NT in the 3-4. Denzel McCoy will most likely move over to DE in the new scheme, which should work out okay because McCoy played a lot of DE during his senior season.

As for OLB, we are much stronger here than at NT in my opinion. Look for Anthony Barnes to have a much bigger role on defense next year at this position. AT has always been a "tweener" who's talents could never be fully utilized in our 2 previous defensive schemes. In addition, guys like Sylvester, Watts, Chris Crenshaw, Euclid Cummings, among others should all get some chances at the OLB position. We shouldn't have any problems rushing the passer with those guys coming off the edge.

One more area where this hire really helps is recruiting. CPJ said that the reason he finished the search last week was so that the new DC could sink his teeth into recruiting for this class. I have a feeling Groh's hiring will land us at least another recruit on the defensive side of the ball. I won't name any names here, but we have an excellent shot at landing at least one more LB recruit. We had a chance with him before this hire, but I think our odds of landing him are greatly increased by switching to the 3-4 scheme.

In related news, we added the 14th verbal commit, a kicker, to this class over the weekend. CPJ received a verbal commitment from Justin Moore out of Marist HS in Atlanta. Moore actually switched his commitment from Miami (OH) to us since we just offered him a scholly last Wednesday. Justin is the top-rated kicker in the state of Georgia, though he is only rated 2 stars. Kickers don't hold the same value to the recruiting services as position players. The scouting report on Moore is that he is extremely accurate but has a great leg to go with it. I think it's important for us to have a legitimate scholarship kicker on the team. Blair may beat him out next year, but competition at the spot can only improve the performance of our place kickers. After the commitment by Moore, I estimate we still have 3 scholarships to give this year.

More updates to come this week on the recruiting front. Sorry I've been MIA the later part of last week, I just moved to the St. Louis area to start my job this week. So if there are any readers in the St. Louis area who are looking for a new drinking buddy, look no further. I have arrived.

Al Groh baby, Al freaking Groh. Is it September yet?

THWG

2010 Football Recruits: B.J. Bostic

Tedward09 — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:23:31 -0000

As promised yesterday we're gonna do a quick profile of B.J. Bostic. Bostic is a QB/CB prospect out of Jefferson high school in Louisville, GA. He's listed at 5'11" and 175 lbs, though I've seen him several times in person, and I'd put him closer to 5'9". B.J. is an interesting prospect because he played quarterback all throughout high school but will most likely begin his college career on the Flats on defense as a corner back. An interesting fact about B.J. is that is his cousin Chris Crenshaw was a member of the 2009 recruiting class and redshirted this past season as a defensive end. Georgia Tech: Where FAMILY happens (sorry, I couldn't resist).

via alt.coxnewsweb.com

I freaking love this picture. If B.J. wants to wear a suit as a uniform, I say we let him do it. Just my opinion though.

B.J. truly is a freakish athlete. His 40 time is listed as 4.55, but that really doesn't tell the whole story. I've talked before about Paul Johnson seeking recruits who can play fast in pads, and B.J. is another recruit that fits that mold. Check out this highlight video from a game during his Junior season against Toombs high (I apologize for the poor quality of the video, but it was one of the few publicly available clips I could find)

The one drawback with B.J. is that he never played a live snap on defense until the O-D All-American game a few weeks back. He has worked on his corner back techniques at various camps and occasionally during practice, but overall he's completely raw on the defensive side of the ball. As mentioned yesterday, he is one of the 3 early enrollees in this class, so that will give him some extra time to work on his ball skills. However, I still predict that B.J. will have to redshirt the 2010 season; both to work on his defense and add some weight to his frame. No matter what though, there is a bright future ahead for B.J. Also, with that kind of athleticism, don't be surprised if B.J. gets some snaps at A-back or even QB at some point during his time at Tech.

One other thing about B.J. that I want to touch on is his character. The guy gives some great interviews and is always very engaging. Take a look at this video of him announcing his commitment to Georgia Tech last spring as well as this interview with the AJC from last November.

I love hearing him run off the names of all the other schools he considered and then watching him put that GT hat on! B.J. was the 4th commit for the 2010 class and has remained solid as a rock throughout the recruiting process despite receiving offers from several other schools to play QB or the "Wildcat" position. He is a great addition to the Tech Football Program and will represent the Institute very well over the next 4-5 years.

THWG

2010 Football Recruits: The Georgia Top 50 and Other Ramblings

Tedward09 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:09:30 -0000

It's been quite awhile since we've given y'all a recruiting update, and for that I apologize. Between the trip to the Orange Bowl and getting ready to move/start a job I haven't had much time to write. I know y'all have missed recruiting updates dearly so here we go.

But first, it should be known that I'm writing this while I re-watch the Orange Bowl for the first time. Quick thought: the first drive of the 2nd half was a thing of beauty... The false start on 3rd and 4 with about 8 minutes to go in the 3rd on their 20 yard line or so absolutely kills us. We had the toss sweep setup perfectly to Embry. Instead we get third and nine and only gain about 4 yards then Blair misses the field goal attempt. Sorry to depress you, but it's tough not to think what could have been if we don't get that penalty right there. And the TD drive was just fantastic. I'm sitting here thinking "Where the hell was this offense in the first half?" And I'm also thinking, "How do we lose this game after a drive like that?" This game was well within our reach, we just didn't execute well enough throughout the game.

Anyway, I could break down this game forever, but that would depress you and since most of you are reading this at work your boss might ask you why the hell you're so depressed, but you won't be able to admit the true reason for your depression because it was caused by reading my blog post when you weren't supposed to be reading it so you'll have to lie to your boss and that could set off a terrible chain of events ending with you losing your job. So with that being said, on to some recruiting news (this will put you in a good mood I promise).

The AJC just released the Georgia Top 50 Football Prospects for 2010 on Friday, January 8th. Georgia Tech was represented very well on this list with 9 verbal commitments rated among the top 50 players in the state, including 2 in the top 10. Considering the small size of this class (only 13 commits to this point), having 9 of the top 50 players in your home state is getting the job done if you ask me. Here are the players appearing on the Top 50 list:

5. Charles Perkins, RB, 6-0, 210, Collins Hill

9. Isaiah Johnson, DB, 6-2, 175, Sandy Creek

16. B.J. Bostic, QB/DB, 5-10, 160, Jefferson County (Offense-Defense All-American)

21. Ryan Ayers, CB, 5-10, 170, South Paulding (Under Armour All-American)

32. Morgan Bailey, OT, 6-4, 285, Loganville

34. Anthony Williams, DE, 6-4, 235, Union Grove

40. Fred Holton, S, 6-1, 195, Thomasville

43. Synjyn Days, QB/DB, 6-2, 205, Hillgrove

45. Shawn Green, DT, 6-2, 275, Grayson (Offense-Defense All-American)

One quick note, Charles Perkins is the top-rated RB in the state according to this list and placed ahead of much-ballyhooed Florida commit Mack Brown. I thought Paul Johnson wouldn't be able to get top-level talent to run his system? What gives? Anyway, 3 of our commits are enrolling early and beginning classes this week: Charles Perkins, BJ Bostic and Isiah Johnson. This is a huge bonus for us and these young men as well. They'll have a chance to bulk up in the weight room and go through spring practice before the other members of their class get there. Here's a picture of one of the newest Tech Men, Charles Perkins.

via blogs.ajc.com

Yes everyone, he really is that awesome. Welcome to The Flats Charles and all the 2010 commits! We'll be publishing a profile of 2010 commit B.J. Bostic tomorrow.

THWG

GT Defensive Coorinator Candidates

Tedward09 — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:26:38 -0000

In light of the firing of Dave Wommack on Friday, we would like to take you through the candidates to become the next defensive coordinator on The Flats. Wommack's firing was something many had speculated about throughout the season. Personally, I thought CPJ was going to give Wommack one more year to straighten things out given all the injuries to the defense this season. Obviously though, I stand behind anything and everything Paul Johnson does so I approve of Wommack's firing.

Now as most of you may know already, there is only one definite candidate for the job and that is Al Groh. There have been a couple rumors tonight from footballcoachscoop.com, Mr. College Football's Twitter acount and Mark Bradley's column that we have reached or are very close to reaching a deal with Groh to become the new DC. However, we'll throw a couple of other names out there as well for your thoughts and discussion. Here we go.

Al Groh: We all know Al Groh pretty well from his time at UVA and if you're a Jets fan as their head coach.
Pros: Experience at both the pro and college levels, 3-4 defense is unusual and difficult for colleges to prepare for in short turnover, good recruiter, HATES VT, familiarity with the ACC particularly the Coastal, too old to find another gig, and his defense kicks ass
Cons: Price tag, could lose buyout money if he takes a job this year depending on wording in contract, 3-4 scheme would not fit the current players on the team and will take time to bring in proper personnel.

Jon Tenuta: We all know him. Some of us hate him, some of us love him but he IS available and he could get a look. Personally I highly doubt it will happen considering CPJ could have hired him when he came in initially, but we'll give the Pros and Cons anyway.
Pros: Familiarity with GT and ACC, not under contract, unique and difficult to plan for zone blitz, great DB and LBs produced at tech, defenses shutdown Georgie, his scheme looks like this.
Cons: Doesn't like to recruit, defense susceptible to average dropback passers (think Matt Ryan) and max protection schemes, would be lateral move at best for his career

Giff Smith: This could be a logical internal promotion, but I think the odds are better of us re-hiring Tenuta than promoting Giff to DC. He's too valuable as a recruiting coordinator to become our DC.
Pros: Loyalty to GA Tech, no external search required, GT recruiting guru, DL has racked up 126.5 sacks in 6 seasons, coached up 3 defensive linemen taken in the NFL Draft since being at Tech,
Cons: Little experience coaching in secondary and linebackers, Would be first full fledged DC job, DL performed poorly at close of 2009 season and OB, need to appoint new recruiting coordinator

Jim Leavitt: A little far-fetched given his situation I know, but you never know.
Pros: Great defenses at Kansas State when he was there along with Bobby Stoops, knows how to get the most out of his players, high energy guy, we could stay a 4-3 scheme (which is the scheme all our players were recruited for), produced some good defensive lineman at South Florida (Selvie,etc).
Cons: controversial choice and might be too "hot" for us to hire him right now

Mike Ditka: Rumor has it, Paul Johnson's goal is to have the most badass coaching staff ever assembled so of course he's going after DITKA

Pros: He's MIKE FREAKING DITKA.

Cons: Because of the level of badassness between CPJ and Ditka, teams would forfeit games before they even come to Atlanta, which would make fans not come to games which in turn would result in no revenue for the Athletic Department and ultimately cause Georgia Tech to collapse in on itself. So that could be a concern.

We'll see what happens. No matter what though, this move to fire Wommack and hire a new DC says a lot about Paul Johnson. This is exactly the opposite of what Mark Richt did so obviously it is the right move (sorry, I had to get one shot in at Georgie). The future is bright Tech fans.

THWG

Today is the BIG DAY!!

Tedward09 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:14:31 -0000

That's right! The mutts are proudly representing the Southeastern Conference in Shreveport, LA in the Independence Bowl against Texas A&M. I'm not going to preview this game or anything like that. Obviously, I'm picking A&M to win.

But I feel I haven't let out any hatred towards U(sic)GA in quite awhile (and I really haven't ever done it on this blog since I've been here less than a month), so I'm going to take this opportunity to do that. Let's recap some of U(sic)GAs recent highlights, in no particular order.

1. They're playing in the INDEPENDENCE BOWL. Basically, if you want to make an equation out of it, Shreveport, LA = sh*thole. WTF do the players do in freaking Shreveport during the days leading up to the bowl game? Even Georgie players are going to have a hard time getting into trouble there. I don't give a sh*t that they beat us anymore, they're playing in Shreveport in the Independence Bowl. The joke's on them.

2. Their stupid, fat, ugly, inbred, good-for-nothing dog mascot died, after only a year and a half on the job. Hey, did you know the Reck hasn't missed a home game since 1961? F**K YOU UGA VI and all of your inbred siblings/parents/cousins.

3. They allowed 41 points to a Steve Adazio coached Florida offense. HA!

4. They're playing in the INDEPENDENCE BOWL in SHREVEPORT, LA.

5. They couldn't convince Bud Foster to come coach their sh*tty defense, even after offering him a half million. Bud, it was the right move because no one wants to work for a coach that looks like Helen Hunt

6. Their quarterback, the Ginger Ninja, sucks worse than T.J. Yates. That's a really tough thing to achieve Joe. Maybe he should have spooned with his backup, then he could be a first round pick. Furthermore, Joe Cox is a ginger who doesn't have a soul.

7. They're playing in the INDEPENDENCE BOWL in SHREVEPORT, LA.

I raise the most giant of middle fingers to Georgie's players, coaches, and "fans", please join me in doing so.

via randazza.files.wordpress.com

Have fun in Shreveport!!! Go Aggies.

THWG

News and Notes

Tedward09 — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:53:01 -0000

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Only a week and a day until the big game in Miami. I'm ready to get down to Florida and the warm weather. Now onto a few noteworthy news items.

First off, in case you haven't heard the news heard 'round the college football universe, Urban Meyer has resigned from his head coaching position at the University of Florida. My dad (UF alum of 1982) went comatose in his recliner last night when the news broke. I was pretty shocked as well. But a man's gotta look out for his health and family first. Don't worry Tech fans, I highly doubt Jeremy Foley (AD at UF) will come looking for CPJ. And even if he did, Coach Johnson isn't going anywhere for a long time. Just a wild guess, but I say they go after Dan Mullen at Miss. State or Kyle Wittingham at Utah. Mullen was the OC for Meyer for his first 3 seasons at UF and Wittingham was Meyer's defensive coordinator when Meyer was at Utah. Other names being thrown around are Bob Stoops, Mike Shanahan, Bobby Petrino, and Chris Peterson.

Now onto to a recruiting note. T he Georgia All-State High School Football Team was announced over the weekend. Twelve of our current commits for 2010 are from the state of Georgia, and ten of them made the All-State Team in their respective classes. The all-state performers in each division are listed below, along with their CURRENT positions, high school and hometown.

Class 5A
Charles Perkins- RB, Collins Hill HS, Suwanee, GA
Shawn Green- DT, Grayson HS, Loganville, GA
Anthony Williams- DE, Union Grove HS, McDonough, GA

Class 4A
Morgan Bailey- OL, Loganville HS, Loganville, GA
Isiah Johnson- DB (projected as a safety), Sandy Creek HS, Tyrone, GA
Ryan Ayers- DB (projected as a CB), South Paulding HS, Douglasville, GA

Class 2A
B.J. Bostic (Offensive Player of the Year)- QB (project as a CB at Tech), Jefferson County HS, Louisville, GA
Catlin Alford- DL (projected as an OL), Adairsville HS, Adairsville, GA
Fred Holton- DB (projected as a safety), Thomasville HS, Thomasville, GA
Jake Skole- DB (position yet to be determined at Tech), Blessed Trinity, Roswell, GA

We will be profiling all of these players individually up until signing day. Congrats to all of these players! Can't wait to get all of them on campus.

2010 Football Recruits: Denzel McCoy

Tedward09 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:50:40 -0000

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. I was in Chicago last Wednesday and Thursday with some family. I was hoping to write some at the hotel on Wednesday night, however our hotel, the Hilton Palmer House, charged an arm and a leg for internet access. I don't understand it... the nicer the hotel the less free crap you get with it. Me, Winnie, and Dane along with others in our roadtrip crew stayed at a Days Inn in Chapel Hill this year before the DOOK game and we got free breakfast and internet! What gives?!

Had to get that off my chest. Now onto more recruiting info. Over the past weekend we had the other 2 commits, from the 2010 class on campus for their official visits. Everything I heard seems to indicate that the visits went well. As you might expect, we'll be doing a feature about both of these players soon.

The subject of today's post is Denzel McCoy. Denzel was the third player to commit to Georgia Tech in the 2010 class. He is a defensive tackle listed at 6'4" and about 270 lbs. McCoy hails from Northview high school in Duluth, GA and plans to major in Computer Science at Georgia Tech.

While the other two commits we've highlighted so far are very important, Denzel was the first premier player on a national level that committed to GT. McCoy had 34 offers at the time he committed to us from programs like FSU, Notre Dame, Auburn, among others. The fact that we were able to get hushed the doubters who said that CPJ could not recruit top notch players to his program against all the other major programs.

Here are some highlights of Denzel from his junior campaign at Northview, he is number 72 playing defense. You can tell that Denzel has plenty of raw talent by watching this clip. He comes off the ball quickly with plenty of power and still has the foot speed to chase down a running back; albeit a high school RB. He reminds me of Vance Walker, in terms of their traits on the field. McCoy will have to add about 20 pounds in order to be effective at the college level, so I would guess that he will redshirt his freshman year.

There has been a lot of speculation among fans about whether or not we will go to a 3-4 defense in 2010. Based on the defensive tackles in this class, Denzel and Shawn Green, I don't see that happening. We are not recruiting the typical nose tackle seen in a 3-4 scheme (think of Mt. Cody at Alabama). The only guy on our roster who resembles that type of player is T.J. Barnes. All of our other DTs are better suited for the 4-3 defense. I'm not saying there's no way we could make the transition, but based on the way we have been recruiting I would say it is highly unlikely we change schemes next year.

One final thing I wanted to share with y'all in case you didn't see it. After the loss to Georgie, the AJC interviewed a number of our commits in the 2010 class about the game. Almost all of them were present at the game that night. I love how they all took this loss personally and plan to train extra hard to avenge it next year. This class seems to have "gelled" the same way the famed 2007 class did, and that is a sign of great things to come. Next up for recruiting, we'll talk about B.J. Bostic...

THWG

Postgame Rant: GT vs. FSU

Tedward09 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:46:39 -0000

We lost to Florida State. The way we played, we probably deserved to lose. But we had a chance to win. The fact we even had a chance is amazing to me. We looked like one of the poorest coached and most disjointed team EVER. There was only one bright spot about the game. I got to see Derrick Favors' tattoo of Jesus holding a basketball, which is just awesome. On to the rant.

DISCLAIMER before I continue: I missed the first half of the game. But after seeing the score and hearing the stats on my way home to watch the second half, I don't think I missed much. We were out-rebounded by 10 in the first half. How the hell can we be out-rebounded by 10 in a freaking half when we have Gani and Favors on the inside?! How is this even possible? Yes I know FSU has a lot of "length" and they have a guy who's 7'1"... but still, there is no excuse. We'll come back to rebounding, and in particular, boxing out later. But now let's talk about offense.

Honestly, I have been apart of better offensive basketball teams at the Campus Rec Center at Tech playing pick up games. You may think I'm joking, but I'm absolutely serious. It seems like we have no set plays to generate an open look. Do you remember in the movie Semi-Pro when Woody Harrelson teaches the Tropics the play he calls "The Puke"? If you haven't seen it, Woody makes the team run the same play in practice until everyone on the team vomits so that they never forget it. This might be the wrong analogy, but Georgia Tech needs a play like "The Puke". We have no way of generating open shots.

Here's my idea for the offense. How are we not running the same offense as the Orlando Magic did during the playoffs last year? Put the ball in D'Andre Bell's hands and have him run a pick and roll with Favors every time down the court. You might think it won't work, but the Magic did that last year almost every possession and went to the NBA Finals. We don't have to run that play, but we need to DO SOMETHING!!!! And then when we managed to generate an open look, we couldn't knock them down.

I really want to rail on one player in particular, but I won't do that because I respect our student athletes too much. I'll just say the 6'9" PF has no business shooting step back 3's and taking runners in the lane. It is unthinkable some of the shots that were taken tonight by that player and others.

Back to defense. We played fantastic defense for the first 35 minutes as far as I can tell. We only allowed FSU to score 45 points with 5 minutes to go. Okay fine... Then all of a sudden we have a complete brain fart and allow them to go on a run. Yes we were scoring at this time too, but we couldn't get a stop to save our lives. What gives?

Then while their shooting free throws, the ball is up on the glass and our whole team stops playing!!!! WTF. Maybe the ball wasn't in play anymore, I couldn't tell... but the fact is that our players assumed there would be a whistle and there wasn't one. The football team plays hard until the whistle. Not so with our basketball team. And then in OT the FSU free throw shooter gets his own f**king rebound!! This is INEXCUSABLE. THE FREE THROW SHOOTER CAN'T MOVE UNTIL AFTER THE BALL HITS THE F**KING RIM, HOW CAN HE GET THE REBOUND? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

I'll tell you how. All of these problems stem from a lack of coaching and a lack of discipline. In other years we could blame s**t like this on our lack of a point guard, or just overall lack of talent. But not this year, it's all on the coaches this year.

Our players talk about how Paul Hewitt is a "players coach" and therein lies the problem. I don't know much about Paul or how he runs practices, but it's pretty apparent come game time. Our coaches and players talk about staying disciplined during the game, knowing each other's responsibilities, etc. but we can't do any of those things come game time. I've always been a Paul Hewitt apologist, but I'm sorry, this is inexcusable. I know it's only one loss, but things need to turn around in a hurry. If this team with this amount of talent can't have a winning record in a down ACC and get to the Sweet 16, Paul has to go. That's my opinion.

My buddy Jose summed it up best tonight after the game. He said, "I want to believe we won't suck [when I sit down to watch a GT basketball game] yet we always do."

THWG