Georgia Tech can Recruit with the BEST PERIOD!

BarrelORum

BarrelORum

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For years I've always been sick of the excuses that people on all the boards spew out about academics holding GT back. Its all about how you can sell Georgia Tech. Its all about the pitch. Georgia Tech provides young men with a unique college experience...

They get to play in the heart of the South in the one of the biggest City's in the country, not some bumble &%$#! nowhere. They get to play for a program with great history and tradition. They have the opportunity to experience the cultural diversity that is Atlanta. Atlanta is one of the largest sporting markets in the country and for that matter the world.

Finally, the education these young men will get is second to none. They won't be cast aside into an easy program just so they can get a diploma that will cap them out at a 40K salary if they're lucky the rest of their lives. The diploma mills reek of one thing... "they only care about football. At GT, they get real opportunities, with a REAL education. Its about Life.

Sure we have tougher academic requirements... but the type of kid who is using college as a playground and stepping stone for the NFL is not the type of kid we want anyway. Like Jacoby Monroe said... it was bigger than just football... its about the rest of his life. The thing GT has that these other schools don't have is the ability to provide security for the rest of their life.

I always said, you cannot use excuses to sell anything, especially GT football. The things that many kept harping on as negatives, are positives... you just have to know how to sell it. Braine couldn't sell it... He flat out couldn't and he didn't. Instead he provided a list of excuses as to why GT cannot compete. HORSE SHIT!!!

O'Leary could sell it... Ross could sell it. They knew how to bring in the talent and attract players to a unique opportunity in GT.... It looks like Gailey and company are finally getting it. Where in the past we've seen glimpses that they get it... we've also seen more evidence that they have not. It looks like we have truly turned the corner in terms of knowing how to Market GT to recruits.

Coaching has a lot to do with selling an image. If you cannot do that, then you won't be a successful coach.
 
I also like what Monroe said about if he didn't play pro football.that it's a life decision...not a football decision...
 
That's the same reason I chose Tech. And I'll be damned if Football didn't work out.:biglaugha:
 
BOR, I agree with you, there's no question that it CAN be done at GT and GT has distinct advantages as compared to other schools, but there's no denying that it's a tougher job than at the football factories.

Although I've been berated by the FAGS as giving excuses, I've never considered reality to be an excuse. And the reality is it's tough to be a student, a student-athlete, and a coach at GT (not to mention a fan!). And that's a reality that all three have to embrace and as you've pointed out, apparently Gailey and crew now have it.
 
I have always said there are enough darn good ballplayers who are smart and want a good education looking for a place to play college ball. It may take twice the effort to find them but there are plenty.

I have always wondered how people could say that GT can recruit top talent in baseball, basketball, women's tennis, and golf but football was a different animal. What a bunch of hogwash!

Clearly Chan & company plus the GTAA have figured it out and are hitting the sweet spot!

And don't think it won't pay off BIGTIME on the field. I can't wait!
 
GEETEELEE said:
BOR, I agree with you, there's no question that it CAN be done at GT and GT has distinct advantages as compared to other schools, but there's no denying that it's a tougher job than at the football factories.

Although I've been berated by the FAGS as giving excuses, I've never considered reality to be an excuse. And the reality is it's tough to be a student, a student-athlete, and a coach at GT (not to mention a fan!). And that's a reality that all three have to embrace and as you've pointed out, apparently Gailey and crew now have it.
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GTL, when you sell an image that WORKS, that image starts to sell itself. And the difficulty that you mentioned begins to decrease substantially. It also puts the burden of proof, on the other schools competing against you.

I have always thought that GT football could be sold at a powerhouse level to players like the Jacoby Monroe's the Darryl Richard's, the Clavin Johnson's, the DJ Donley's etc. Once you plant the seed and the seeds start to bloom, then the schools that aren't like GT, will be the ones having to recreate their images to compete.

We are in a unique situation, and we need to exploit it. Its only difficult and an excuse when you cannot see the light through the trees. Apparently, someone on Gailey's staff understands marketing. As long as we continue to sell GT for what it IS, then sooner or later.. We'll have set ourselves apart, and then there won't be so much difficulty anymore.
 
Not to take anything away from the current SAs, but if you think that tennis and golf do not have a step change in the number of high quality students playing at elite levels, I'll argue with you all day.

Basketball has always used the numbers excuse and Baseball has nearly as limited scholarships. That may or may not be a decent point.
 
As long as we continue to sell GT for what it IS, then sooner or later.. We'll have set ourselves apart, and then there won't be so much difficulty anymore.
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I hope you're right.

The proof will be in the pudding come February, and of course a GREAT shot in the arm for the recruiting effort would be to have a great season this year!
 
GTCrew: You'd be wrong to say tennis as a bunch of qualified SA's. Actually it might be worse than football. The reason is home schooling and tennis academies. Of the top 100 men tennis players in the US juniors (18 and under), I'll bet 20 go to full time tennis academies (like Nick Bolleterris' in Sarasota) and another 25 are home schooled. Neither of these two groups are getting any kind of education whatsoever and it show in their poor SAT scores.

Also, the admissions requirements for tennis are signicantly higher at Tech than for football players. In the last three years the GT men's tennis team has lost 3 top recruits due to the GT admissions office requiring an 1100 SAT. The three high school SA's got 1080, 1070, and 1050 and were told to take it again. They said screw that and one went to UNC; one went to U of Illiniois (a top 10 program); and I forgot where the other went.

Of the remaining top 55 men's junior players, I bet only 15-20 could get an 1100 on the SAT.

I can't speak for golf but I'll bet it's similar...
 
Good post but academics at GT is a real issue. It does limit the pool of recruits. The pool is still plenty large enough to land 20-25 per year but it takes our staff a little more work than most other schools to target players that can be successful on the field and in the classroom at GT. Our coaching staff would be wasting valuable time if they target a guy like Leonard Pope (and the multitudes of other signees that end up at the prep schools). We also have to find PSAs that want to major in something that we offer - our limited curriculum is an issue as well.

These are not excuses - they're realities. It doesn't mean we can't recruit successfully (obviously), it just means our staff has to be more determined to find the right ones and sell GT.
 
ContactBuzz said:
Good post but academics at GT is a real issue. .............


These are not excuses - they're realities. It doesn't mean we can't recruit successfully (obviously), it just means our staff has to be more determined to find the right ones and sell GT.
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Not trying to get anything out of context here.
The one thing that Tech has over football factories (I assume you mean uga Alabama, Nebraska, etc.) is that Ga. Tech is a recognized academically elitist school. Not just a hard school, but one that has a world reputation for excellence.
I will always believe that smart kids will want to go to smart kid schools, including blue chip athletes.

I love the fact that we are attracting so many southeastern studs. I was skeptical about that ever happening.
Just maybe, being a stoopid high skool jock isn't as cool as it used to be. :smirk:
 
Correct PW, Tech is known world wide. 2 years ago when I was in Bucharest Romania, I had my GT hat on and out of the blue someone yelled where did you get that Georgia Tech hat. The guy knew Tech on a strada named Mehi Bravu in Bucharest. He wanted to talk and talk about Tech but I was with other people so only chatted with the guy for maybe 3 minutes but he was real excited to see GT there. I was shocked that 10,000 km from home people knew Tech.
 
BoR, I am reluctant to use the phrase "megga dittos" re your statement but I can think of no response that better describes you statement.
 
First, I would like to say that I have always believed in Gailey & Co. when it came to recruiting. They have always closed on a high number of recruits that they were cleared to go after. I do not know if that number has increased or we have gotten lucky in that this year many of the top players are looking for more than a football factory can provide or in the minds of our recruits our reduced number of schollys equal more PT. It could be a combination of both.

While, I am and have been a supporter of CCG, I would wait for one more year before declaring we are seeing a trend. I certainly hope this is the case and having spent a fair amount of time one on one with CCG, I know he can sell.
 
They have always closed on a high number of recruits that they were cleared to go after.
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I don't think this is entirely true. We seemed to close on a high percentage of visits but many qualified kids eliminated us early in the process and without a visit. It has been discussed in detail in other post but we are doing a much better job of getting offers out early AND convincing more kids to visit.

By the way I agree about Gailey being good in front of the kids and their parents. We've also heard positive statements by recruits in this regard.
 
gtyellowjackets said:
GTCrew: You'd be wrong to say tennis as a bunch of qualified SA's. Actually it might be worse than football. The reason is home schooling and tennis academies. Of the top 100 men tennis players in the US juniors (18 and under), I'll bet 20 go to full time tennis academies (like Nick Bolleterris' in Sarasota) and another 25 are home schooled. Neither of these two groups are getting any kind of education whatsoever and it show in their poor SAT scores.

Also, the admissions requirements for tennis are signicantly higher at Tech than for football players. In the last three years the GT men's tennis team has lost 3 top recruits due to the GT admissions office requiring an 1100 SAT. The three high school SA's got 1080, 1070, and 1050 and were told to take it again. They said screw that and one went to UNC; one went to U of Illiniois (a top 10 program); and I forgot where the other went.

Of the remaining top 55 men's junior players, I bet only 15-20 could get an 1100 on the SAT.

I can't speak for golf but I'll bet it's similar...
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Who makes the decision at GT that says that one group of SA's can get into school with a lower SAT score than another group?

LFD
 
LongforDodd said:
Who makes the decision at GT that says that one group of SA's can get into school with a lower SAT score than another group?

LFD
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That wouldn't be found in a written job description even if true. However, the requirements do not differ by program.
It would be based on a need to compete and as we know, the few borderline kids need to be very close.
 
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