2023 GT Spring Ball Thread

I posted that "15 Questions With Coach Bent Key" interview on FB last week. Today a response to that post was made by Zach Pyron's dad that really says it all. I think he posts on here, but I assume, if he sees this, that he won't object to his words being shared with other. This is his response to that FB post ---

I will keep repeating it to anyone willing to listen. From the very first phone conversation he had with our son, to the in home visits, us visiting the campus, all the way up to last season and him coming up to us after every game even when our son was on the sideline holding a clipboard….he was authentic, honest, and had a way about him that you just knew he was a great leader. GT got the right man. This is a leader men will follow anywhere.
 
THWG247 said:
“The game of football is played in practice leading up to the game. It's how well you're prepared and has zero to do with any sentimental thing. I believe in practicing and preparing well.”

The difference between Coach Key and the former guy is exemplified by this statement.
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Glad he thinks that now instead of when his OL sucked
 
gtGreg768b said:
Completely out of the blue, true sophomore walk-on Mike Roch has taken the lead in the race at QB1
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I thought it was Holden. Holden Hiskok.
He might be out with a groin injury. But Mike Hunt is moving up the depth chart. Ah .... depth chart ... welcome back, depth chart.
 
Benefit of new LB coach Kevin Sherrer ‘hard to measure’
Kevin Sherrer, the Yellow Jackets new linebackers coach, brings a résumé that catches notice. (Danny Karnik/Georgia Tech Athletics)

Caption
Credit: Danny Karnik

GEORGIA TECH
By Ken Sugiura, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Updated 1 hour ago

Brent Key hired a linebackers coach. Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker took receipt of an invaluable resource.

Kevin Sherrer, the Yellow Jackets new linebackers coach, brings a résumé that catches notice. Sherrer started at the high school level in Alabama in 1996 and worked his way up to coaching outside linebackers at Georgia (2014-17, spanning the Mark Richt and Kirby Smart tenures), then inside linebackers and special teams at Tennessee (2018-19) and then linebackers with the New York Giants in the NFL (2020-21).
Hired in January, Sherrer holds the official title of linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator.

Aside from Smart, Sherrer was on the staff of Nick Saban at Alabama (as director of player development 2010-12) and former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt. Beyond a coach who will tutor Tech’s linebackers, Thacker has an aide who can be a counsel with years of experience behind him.
As Key leads Tech in his first year as full-time head coach and has entrusted the defense to Thacker, he has given him ample help.
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“What I am able to gain from him and the value that he brings to me and bring to the defense is hard to measure right now,” Thacker said Monday after the team’s fourth practice of the spring.
Thacker said Sherrer has offered his knowledge on details as nuanced as the path that linebackers take to get to the quarterback on a blitz “and bringing his own vision of what that looks like, being able to articulate it to the guys to make us better.”

His bank of knowledge has served the staff as coaches have put together the scheme and playbook, helping figure out what worked and didn’t work with Tech’s defense last year, how it was exposed and what solutions might be available to address it.
Sherrer has “just brought tremendous value in nuancing the defense in those ways,” Thacker said.
Sherrer was available after not coaching in the 2022 season. He was swept out in the Giants coaching transition, spending the year back home in Alabama, visiting coaching colleagues in college and the NFL and catching up on lost time with his family (he is married with two sons in college).
In this hiring cycle, he connected with Tech quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke, who had worked with Sherrer at Tennessee. While he had never worked on a staff with Key, they had a number of coaches that both had worked with at separate times, including Saban and Pruitt. Key shifted linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Jason Semore to special teams coordinator with duties coaching the nickel backs and safeties before Semore took a job as defensive coordinator at Marshall.
Sherrer has stepped into his role as a help to Thacker.
“There are some things that have gone on in this defensive system here at Tech that are new to me,” Sherrer said. “So it’s constant learning. As a coach, you’re constantly trying to gain knowledge. So I’m trying to gain knowledge from him and his understanding and his approach, coach Key’s approach to the overall program and help just give my opinion of that now. And then, obviously, once we get into the season, there’ll be things that he and I may sometimes discuss, talk about, what we feel like the best thing to do is. Yeah, it’s important to have a good relationship, and so far it’s been great.”
It’s been a change. He described coaching in the NFL as a dream job. He likened it to coaching coaches, because players at that level know the scheme well enough that they can figure out what the offense is trying to do.
“Your job as a coach is just to give them a few little nuggets here and there to help improve or give them some longevity into their career,” he said.
He spoke of how surreal it was, in his first game with the Giants, to look across and see Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger on the other sideline. When he last coached in college, in 2019, the transfer portal was a year old. The NCAA had yet to grant all football players one transfer with immediate eligibility. Athletes didn’t yet have the NCAA’s approval to be paid for their name, image and likeness. Recruiting, in short, has changed “a lot,” Sherrer said.
Sherrer isn’t the only new experienced resource for Thacker. Key also hired Brian Baker, who coached linebackers at Tech 1987-94 and was defensive coordinator in 1995 before coaching in the NFL 1996-2014 and 2020-21. Baker is senior defensive analyst for the defensive line, helping out defensive line coach Marco Coleman, whom Key brought back after a year at Michigan State.
Thacker called his hire “a game changer” and a huge benefit.
Thacker made a point to note the humility with which Sherrer and Baker have approached their roles. Thacker said that, in their first conversation, Sherrer stressed to him that he was coming to support the staff, the team and Thacker himself.
“I think the biggest compliment I can give him as a man is he’s come in and he’s been true to that,” Thacker said. “He’s been what he said he was going to be.”
As Key seeks advantages to help a team that probably won’t overwhelm many ACC opponents with talent, the added brainpower on Key’s staff could be one.
“I think (Thacker) is a heck of a coach and I’m really looking forward to what we’ve got once we get all the pieces to the puzzle together and get to the fall,” Sherrer said.
 
Supersize that order mutt said:
As he teaches his offensive scheme, Faulkner has made it easier for the quarterbacks and the rest of the offense by retaining much of the terminology that former coordinator Chip Long had used.
“We’ll carry over whatever makes sense, and then we’ll create new things,” Weinke said. “Obviously, Buster will have the final say in all of that, but I think the ability to be able to carry over some of those things – we all understand this offense is going to run through the quarterback, and the better understanding he has and his functional ability to be able to process information will be crucial in terms of our success in this offense.”
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I remember years ago reading about one of the things that makes Alabama able to effectively operate "Nick Saban's School For Coaches Who Can't Coach Good": they maintain consistent terminology. In other programs where a coordinator might change, they would bring in a full new playbook and a new set of terms. Bama uses its own "system," and uses consistent terms for different plays, formations, etc. year to year - whether they keep the same coordinators or make a change. Even when a new coordinator introduces new plays, Saban still insists on keeping the same terminology surrounding them so the players can focus on more important things.

Reminds me of the "minimal decisions framework" employed by people like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg, and yes, Saban himself (who supposedly eats the same thing for lunch every day). They do things consistently (such as wearing the same clothes) so they can focus their mind on the crucial things, and not get hung up on the trivial. As odd as it may sound, over a lot of reps, the benefits add up.

All of which is to say, love to see this from our coaches. Sounds like they're simplifying their directives in practice to focus the team in on fundamentals, and eliminating distractions to help the team focus on what's important. It's smart coaching, and puts our players in a position to succeed.
 
ThatGuy said:
I remember years ago reading about one of the things that makes Alabama able to effectively operate "Nick Saban's School For Coaches Who Can't Coach Good": they maintain consistent terminology. In other programs where a coordinator might change, they would bring in a full new playbook and a new set of terms. Bama uses its own "system," and uses consistent terms for different plays, formations, etc. year to year - whether they keep the same coordinators or make a change. Even when a new coordinator introduces new plays, Saban still insists on keeping the same terminology surrounding them so the players can focus on more important things.

Reminds me of the "minimal decisions framework" employed by people like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg, and yes, Saban himself (who supposedly eats the same thing for lunch every day). They do things consistently (such as wearing the same clothes) so they can focus their mind on the crucial things, and not get hung up on the trivial. As odd as it may sound, over a lot of reps, the benefits add up.

All of which is to say, love to see this from our coaches. Sounds like they're simplifying their directives in practice to focus the team in on fundamentals, and eliminating distractions to help the team focus on what's important. It's smart coaching, and puts our players in a position to succeed.
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I eat the same thing for lunch everyday too. Does that mean I have Saban-like qualities? LOL
 
This is the fourth installment in an eight-part series breaking down each position group as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets continue their spring practice, which will culminate in the annual spring intrasquad game at 1 p.m. April 15 at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

A year ago, Georgia Tech was figuring out how to replace three starting offensive linemen.
.
No paywall .. wow
www.ajc.com

Experience, continuity could bolster Georgia Tech offensive line

A year ago, Tech was figuring out how to replace three starting offensive linemen.
www.ajc.com www.ajc.com
 
1982Jacket said:
ThatGuy said:
I remember years ago reading about one of the things that makes Alabama able to effectively operate "Nick Saban's School For Coaches Who Can't Coach Good": they maintain consistent terminology. In other programs where a coordinator might change, they would bring in a full new playbook and a new set of terms. Bama uses its own "system," and uses consistent terms for different plays, formations, etc. year to year - whether they keep the same coordinators or make a change. Even when a new coordinator introduces new plays, Saban still insists on keeping the same terminology surrounding them so the players can focus on more important things.

Reminds me of the "minimal decisions framework" employed by people like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg, and yes, Saban himself (who supposedly eats the same thing for lunch every day). They do things consistently (such as wearing the same clothes) so they can focus their mind on the crucial things, and not get hung up on the trivial. As odd as it may sound, over a lot of reps, the benefits add up.

All of which is to say, love to see this from our coaches. Sounds like they're simplifying their directives in practice to focus the team in on fundamentals, and eliminating distractions to help the team focus on what's important. It's smart coaching, and puts our players in a position to succeed.
Click to expand...
What's up with that pull over top Sherrer is wearing? Looks like something you could buy at Walmart.
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