No Reasons Why Georgia Tech Can't Recruit at a High Level

The excuses ended today, boys. Heard the new GT AD on 92.9 this morning say that there are NO REASONS why Georgia Tech can't recruit at a high level. He didn't mention anything about academics or narrow curriculum.

So for all you excuse makers and whiners who constantly use the "Academic Excuse"... If you think you know more than the new GT Ad then go down to the GTAA and convince him you know more than he does.

Originally Posted by Jim Hart

The excuses ended today, boys. Heard the new GT AD on 92.9 this morning say that there are NO REASONS why Georgia Tech can't recruit at a high level. He didn't mention anything about academics or narrow curriculum.

So for all you excuse makers and whiners who constantly use the "Academic Excuse"... If you think you know more than the new GT Ad then go down to the GTAA and convince him you know more than he does.

What about the uniform excuse, Jim?

Acadamics will be a factor. Look at the offensive linemen we lost this year. However, it is not a showstopper. We need to get a Giff type recruiter. For all the talk about Gailey's recruiting, there were only 2 strong classes (2003 and 2007). Giff made a huge difference in 2007. McCollum is a good coach but the recruiting has been subpar. We've had 3 decommits in the last week with a total of 7 stars.

Jim,

Isn't it possible that the new AD is telling of times to come and his future plans for revamping the overall approach ?

It is impossible to say academics hasn't impacted recruiting including last year we have lost at least 4 people clearly because of entrance requirements

Is academics an issue? To a certain extent, yes. We can't recruit the Jadaveon Clowneys, the Washuan Ealeys, the Robert Nkemdiches of the recruiting world. Guys who made it to college by the skin of their teeth. You know who we can recruit? The Stephon Tuitts, the Jordan Jenkins, the James Vaughters, the Calvin Johnsons, etc. Guys who took their education seriously, and are the epitome of "student" athletes...oh, and all were Georgia prep players who had GT high on their lists. We're not looking for 85 guys a year, we're looking for 15-20 guys on average a year. You're telling me 15-20 guys in just in the state of GA don't either like Business or Engineering? GA produces 200+ D1 prospects a year, Florida is around 250-300, and lord knows how many in Alabama, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. The thing is, we really only need 3-5 "difference makers" a year, and we can fill in the rest with solid role players.

CPJ has been a consistent recruiter in terms the quality of his best recruit to the quality of his worst recruits in his classes, but he's yet to get the handful of difference makers each year that every team needs. How many games this season could we have used a Demaryius Thomas, or a Derrick Morgan to take away one side of the field? How about a ball hawking safety that's currently the starter for the Green Bay Packers?

Bottom line, we've talked about CPJ's classes every year, the shortcomings, and what we need to do to improve the GT brand among recruits. You know who was the common denominator throughout every discussion? Paul Johnson.
Think about it.

Originally Posted by Jim Hart

The excuses ended today, boys. Heard the new GT AD on 92.9 this morning say that there are NO REASONS why Georgia Tech can't recruit at a high level. He didn't mention anything about academics or narrow curriculum.

So for all you excuse makers and whiners who constantly use the "Academic Excuse"... If you think you know more than the new GT Ad then go down to the GTAA and convince him you know more than he does.

You have a bad morning, Jim?

Originally Posted by Jim Hart

The excuses ended today, boys. Heard the new GT AD on 92.9 this morning say that there are NO REASONS why Georgia Tech can't recruit at a high level. He didn't mention anything about academics or narrow curriculum.

So for all you excuse makers and whiners who constantly use the "Academic Excuse"... If you think you know more than the new GT Ad then go down to the GTAA and convince him you know more than he does.

Wow, do we ever need that {sarcasm} emoticon back!

Jim, I share your disdain for simple cheer leading. Recruiting Thoughts – A New Degree Any Help?

But of course, one can always parse the ADs statement to be true if you accept that we already recruit at a high level, but not the highest or elite levels. Why don't we give the guy a break and recognize that GT recruits a lot better than the last school he was at. {sarcasm}

Seems to me to be a big difference between "a high level" and "the highest level". Anybody who doesn't think academics plays a role is hiding in a cave somewhere.

Originally Posted by AllGT

Is academics an issue? To a certain extent, yes. We can't recruit the Jadaveon Clowneys, the Washuan Ealeys, the Robert Nkemdiches of the recruiting world. Guys who made it to college by the skin of their teeth. You know who we can recruit? The Stephon Tuitts, the Jordan Jenkins, the James Vaughters, the Calvin Johnsons, etc. Guys who took their education seriously, and are the epitome of "student" athletes...oh, and all were Georgia prep players who had GT high on their lists. We're not looking for 85 guys a year, we're looking for 15-20 guys on average a year. You're telling me 15-20 guys in just in the state of GA don't either like Business or Engineering? GA produces 200+ D1 prospects a year, Florida is around 250-300, and lord knows how many in Alabama, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. The thing is, we really only need 3-5 "difference makers" a year, and we can fill in the rest with solid role players.

CPJ has been a consistent recruiter in terms the quality of his best recruit to the quality of his worst recruits in his classes, but he's yet to get the handful of difference makers each year that every team needs. How many games this season could we have used a Demaryius Thomas, or a Derrick Morgan to take away one side of the field? How about a ball hawking safety that's currently the starter for the Green Bay Packers?

Bottom line, we've talked about CPJ's classes every year, the shortcomings, and what we need to do to improve the GT brand among recruits. You know who was the common denominator throughout every discussion? Paul Johnson.
Think about it.

But the pool of candidates is much larger nationwide, and in reality.....if you look at text scores by state, Ga compared to much of the nation is weak. Focusing on the southeast is intentionally tying one hand behind our back.

Originally Posted by Animal

But the pool of candidates is much larger nationwide, and in reality.....if you look at text scores by state, Ga compared to much of the nation is weak. Focusing on the southeast is intentionally tying one hand behind our back.

Absolutely....I've been one of the biggest proponents on this board when it comes to recruiting nationwide. My point was that even though we probably need to recruit nationwide, there's still more than enough kids who qualify academically and who are interested in our majors that we probably could field a top 10-15 team every year from just the kids who live within a 5 hour radius of Atlanta. The recruits I named were all kids who chose to go to out of state (not including CJ) that ended majoring in things GT offered, or have a similar academic program. At that point you have to ask yourself why those type of kids don't end up here?