2020 Recruiting

Flywheel

Wait, what year is it?
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
17,891
What bothered me was flipping Samford and Wofford commits with no other P5 offers the weeks before signing day. This year we’re flipping commitment from Alabama and Oklahoma for perspective.
Wait for the fat lady. Remember Jay Hardy had about a dozen crystal balls pointing him at Tennessee, and then he put on an Auburn cap.
 

GTCrew

Patrick Henry
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
49,873
I think this is part of what some of the self-defeatist "you can't recruit well here, it is what is" Tech fans don't get. There are a number of reasons why players commit to schools, but the relationships built with coaches and the culture they see being fostered are often pivotal.

Sure, a certain percentage of recruits will be off the table due to academics, and we're never going to get the recruit whose top priority is playing in front of 80-100k every week, but there's a lot to sell at a school like Tech, and if you're doing it right, you will appeal to a number of very talented recruits.
You really think stadium size matters for many kids? How many more could Miami get if they had fans...

I dont think it really matters except as a proxy for fanbase size and as a correlation to success.

Anyway, I agree completely that culture is most important and I have been thinking a lot about the GT culture.

It seems to be family and fun, and it seems to be successful. One of the most visible pieces of branding is the 404 and that is about Atlanta as our family, which it logically is.

However ultimately the critical piece of our culture for recruiting will be fun. That is what is going to make recruits choose us over the SEC. It is going to be much more difficult for the SEC bagmen to outrecruit "fun". (Not impossible, but harder.)

The AA has done a good job making the games fun. Think of what the Braves have to do. 40%+ of the time the team is going to lose and you know it. You have to make fans happy even when they just paid a bunch in time and money and the score is an L. So how do you make the game fun? The whole place singing sweet caroline is fun. That is fun even if we lose. Tailgating is fun. Flyovers are fun. (The wins will come, but fun is literally more important.)

Recognizing random people seemingly every single break is very much not fun. We could cut way back on that. No disrespect to their worthiness, but bo-ring. Every break needs to be a braves type gimmick. Pick a fan and do the shell game. Can we get home depot to pay us for a mascot race? Lots of dance cam/karaoke/kiss cam etc. Do the thing were you have a plant fan of the opposing team get rejected or pranked.

Also, we as a fanbase need to really self-reflect on embracing the culture. Family and fun. Go out of your way to acknowledge other GT fans when you see them. Like we are in a secret club. Really try to be positive. Really try. Negative is not fun. Positive is fun.

I dont know if you noticed, but georgie seemed surprisingly miserable this year. 11-2 and sugar bowl bound and unhappy. Its not just about the LSU blowout or the USC egg, they were pretty miserable even after wins all season. X wasnt good enough. Y called stupid plays. Yadayadayada. Good. I hope they turn that appropriate drive for a MNC into an inappropriate obsession that makes them miserable. We gotta help them with that.:biggrin:

Meanwhile, we are coming off 3-9 and yet are roundly still fun and positive. The duds who harp on negativity (A shutout a month ago? Really? Who cares brother. Get over it. Life is too short.) are the exception not the rule and most of them are getting set straight. Now is the time to be ecstatic over elite recruits choosing GT. But remembering they are doing that partly because GT right now is fun, and a small part of that is the fans being fun.
 
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smokey_wasp

Dodd-Like
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
11,021
Why were we not in the mix for Braun?
He wasn't interested under the old staff that his family had a relationship with, and it wasn't likely that Parker was going to sell him on Tech since he was on his way out. Don't even really see any evidence we pursued him much.
 

gtfan088

Dodd-Like
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
20,638
You really think stadium size matters for many kids? How many more could Miami get if they had fans...

I dont think it really matters except as a proxy for fanbase size and as a correlation to success.
I was just using that as one example of the type of kid we may not get (i.e. one hell-bent on experiencing something we can't offer)--not making a commentary on what % of kids feel that way. As I tried to make clear in the rest of the post, I don't think that sort of thing is a significant limitation for us.
 

GTCrew

Patrick Henry
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
49,873
I was just using that as one example of the type of kid we may not get (i.e. one hell-bent on experiencing something we can't offer)--not making a commentary on what % of kids feel that way. As I tried to make clear in the rest of the post, I don't think that sort of thing is a significant limitation for us.
Thanks for that response, I knew it was an example but I took the opportunity to ask you for more depth of your opinion on that specifically, and it seems like we are on the same page.
 

00Burdell

Mod Thyself
Staff member
Joined
Nov 25, 2004
Messages
24,705
I dont know if you noticed, but georgie seemed surprisingly miserable this year. 11-2 and sugar bowl bound and unhappy. Its not just about the LSU blowout or the USC egg, they were pretty miserable even after wins all season. X wasnt good enough. Y called stupid plays.
This is a very important point. Let us take time to ponder and contemplate the depth of the dwag misery.

Their coach chose the wrong quarterback;
The fans know the coach let the better quarterback get away;
The quarterback who got away is a candidate for the Heisman Trophy and led his team to the Playoff;
Dwag fans are starting to realize that Richt was much better at developing quarterbacks than Dr. Pepper is;
The dwag coach publicly blamed the WR corp for losing to LSU;
Many dwag fans expressed serious concern that their coach would publicly blame a unit for a loss;
The dwags just lost one of the best assistant coaches in college football to another team in their conference; and
A historical nemesis (UF) is awakening from a deep slumber;

So, yeah - the dwags have good reason to be miserable.
 

Walton

Damn Good Rat
Joined
Jan 5, 2018
Messages
1,178
Love the framing of the Gibbs nugget. It was 1st in the list of course. See my post above for more detail.

From the article: "if they sign Gibbs....confirmation of the recruiting prowess of Collins and his staff."

Umm, having a top 30 class in his first full cycle will confirm the recruiting prowess of Collins and staff. It looks like GT is going to do better than that, much better. If they do finish strong and sign Gibbs, then Collins will be closing in on legend status when it comes to recruiting at GT.
 

GTCrew

Patrick Henry
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
49,873
Love the framing of the Gibbs nugget. It was 1st in the list of course. See my post above for more detail.

From the article: "if they sign Gibbs....confirmation of the recruiting prowess of Collins and his staff."

Umm, having a top 30 class in his first full cycle will confirm the recruiting prowess of Collins and staff. It looks like GT is going to do better than that, much better. If they do finish strong and sign Gibbs, then Collins will be closing in on legend status when it comes to recruiting at GT.
Yes, yes, yes. Legendary is him being the one constant for our three greatest classes.
 

Olgoldandwhie

Flats Noob
Joined
Feb 11, 2019
Messages
788
This is a very important point. Let us take time to ponder and contemplate the depth of the dwag misery.

Their coach chose the wrong quarterback;
The fans know the coach let the better quarterback get away;
The quarterback who got away is a candidate for the Heisman Trophy and led his team to the Playoff;
Dwag fans are starting to realize that Richt was much better at developing quarterbacks than Dr. Pepper is;
The dwag coach publicly blamed the WR corp for losing to LSU;
Many dwag fans expressed serious concern that their coach would publicly blame a unit for a loss;
The dwags just lost one of the best assistant coaches in college football to another team in their conference; and
A historical nemesis (UF) is awakening from a deep slumber;

So, yeah - the dwags have good reason to be miserable.
Wake me up when we kick their tales 8 in a row again.
 
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