How much should a new coach understand Tech's uniqueness?

ElCidBUZZingFAN

ElCidBUZZingFAN

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We've said it ourselves. Wes reiterated it this week during his interview on the subject. TStan said it multiple times over the past few days. As he put it, he's looking for the "perfect fit", if I recall correctly as the direct quote. Tech is a unique place. I agree. It finds itself without any peer institutions for what it competes in 7 days a week, when combining both academics and football.

However, how important is that for someone to understand before they are considered or offered the HC job? Why is that important? To what degree must they understand?

I'm beginning to think, if you allow it, that thought process can be poison. The HC list Tech formulates wouldn't necessarily be of the best available. It'd be the best from a list that Tech has whittled down because of preconceived notions about a guy or (worse) intentionally selling the school far shorter than it could actually reasonably obtain.

Discuss.
 
ElCidBUZZingFAN said:
We've said it ourselves. Wes reiterated it this week during his interview on the subject. TStan said it multiple times over the past few days. As he put it, he's looking for the "perfect fit", if I recall correctly as the direct quote. Tech is a unique place. I agree. It finds itself without any peer institutions for what it competes in 7 days a week, when combining both academics and football.
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TStan's job is to make Tech not unique. A strong academic advisor program could get anyone through Tech. Hell, we have a fake person with a degree (unlike UNC which has real people with fake degrees)
 
18in32 said:
I think we may be 'over-uniquing' ourselves.

I mean, we're all unique in our own way. But we also all share some important human characteristics. Same for P5 schools.
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We ARE unique. We're in the downtown of a large metropolitan city. Only a handful of other universities with competitive P5 teams share that distinction. Atlanta is the capital of hip-hop and well-known amongst many HS recruits even if the older fogie fans like me hate the PA guy for playing it. GT itself is a known brand of academic excellence that also has a storied football tradition, including some Nattys. If you graduate with a GT degree, you're in elite company and guaranteed to 80K. Atlanta itself is the capital of one of the most football-talent-filled states in America. Plus a big-ass'd airport to fly recruits in and out of. I.E. Easier logistically to recruit to than some bumfuck place like Pullman, WA or Dipshitsburgh, WV.
 
18in32 said:
I think we may be 'over-uniquing' ourselves.

I mean, we're all unique in our own way. But we also all share some important human characteristics. Same for P5 schools.
Click to expand...
Correct. Yes, there are some things fundamentally different about the way we have to recruit, etc. But once a player is on the team and enrolled I think we are not very different than most other teams.
 
ElCidBUZZingFAN said:
We've said it ourselves. Wes reiterated it this week during his interview on the subject. TStan said it multiple times over the past few days. As he put it, he's looking for the "perfect fit", if I recall correctly as the direct quote. Tech is a unique place. I agree. It finds itself without any peer institutions for what it competes in 7 days a week, when combining both academics and football.

However, how important is that for someone to understand before they are considered or offered the HC job? Why is that important? To what degree must they understand?

I'm beginning to think, if you allow it, that thought process can be poison. The HC list Tech formulates wouldn't necessarily be of the best available. It'd be the best from a list that Tech has whittled down because of preconceived notions about a guy or (worse) intentionally selling the school far shorter than it could actually reasonably obtain.

Discuss.
Click to expand...

I've had the same thought about this. Basically poisoning the well before we ask anyone to take a drink. Needlessly limiting ourselves and basically telling any incoming coach not to expect to be able to compete.
 
Yukonwreck said:
Correct. Yes, there are some things fundamentally different about the way we have to recruit, etc. But once a player is on the team and enrolled I think we are not very different than most other teams.
Click to expand...

Thing is, I don't recall hearing as much of the bolded prior to CPJ's arrival. But now, after a decade of "IIWII" football, it seems to be the go-to excuse.
 
gtphd said:
TStan's job is to make Tech not unique. A strong academic advisor program could get anyone through Tech. Hell, we have a fake person with a degree (unlike UNC which has real people with fake degrees)
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If one motheröööööö has the nerve to tell me we cant take a recruit because they are too dumb to get through Tech I'm gonna make them read ten cincyjacket posts and then punch them in the face.
 
RamblinWreck92 said:
We ARE unique. We're in the downtown of a large metropolitan city. Only a handful of other universities with competitive P5 teams share that distinction. Atlanta is the capital of hip-hop and well-known amongst many HS recruits even if the older fogie fans like me hate the PA guy for playing it. GT itself is a known brand of academic excellence that also has a storied football tradition, including some Nattys. If you graduate with a GT degree, you're in elite company and guaranteed to 80K. Atlanta itself is the capital of one of the most football-talent-filled states in America. Plus a big-ass'd airport to fly recruits in and out of. I.E. Easier logistically to recruit to than some bumfuck place like Pullman, WA or Dipshitsburgh, WV.
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Being in Lincoln, Nebraska, is one of Scott Frost's biggest obstacles.
 
Not a requirement, but a bonus if it's available.
 
RamblinWreck92 said:
Thing is, I don't recall hearing as much of the bolded prior to CPJ's arrival. But now, after a decade of "IIWII" football, it seems to be the go-to excuse.
Click to expand...
There was quite a bit discussed at the time of CPJ's hire about his experience with the recruiting restrictions and the academic rigors of the Academy. It was seen as a plus for choosing him. And his experience at Southern, having high school connections in Georgia and neighboring states. He said he was going to recruit in-state players heavily. Sounded good at the time.
 
GTCrew said:
If one öööööööööööö has the nerve to tell me we cant take a recruit because they are too dumb to get through Tech I'm gonna make them read ten cincyjacket posts and then punch them in the face.
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We are very snobbish about the academics. The difficulty of the curriculum is exaggerated. It should never be an issue keeping a player eligible.
 
Yukonwreck said:
Correct. Yes, there are some things fundamentally different about the way we have to recruit, etc. But once a player is on the team and enrolled I think we are not very different than most other teams.
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Differences are our players have to be much more disciplined between the big city spotlight and academic rigor.
 
GTCrew said:
If one öööööööööööö has the nerve to tell me we cant take a recruit because they are too dumb to get through Tech I'm gonna make them read ten cincyjacket posts and then punch them in the face.
Click to expand...

We should never not take a recruit because they are too dumb. That being said, the people saying we overplay the academic rigor are wrong.

Side note, SAs aren’t treated the same way on campus as at other schools. You actually are given the grade you earn at Tech.
 
the uniqueness is real but we overplay it and allow it to limit our choices and create built-in excuses. a new coaching hire can be a spark for building momentum and overcoming some of those challenges, maybe even changing the hill's stance towards athletics.

also, I think there is something to the idea of a new guy who "doesn't know any better" than to think that he can go out and sell the institute to any recruit out there. and once we get them on campus, we should be able to keep them on the field. that is probably the harder thing for a coach to understand and plan for.
 
gtphd said:
TStan's job is to make Tech not unique. A strong academic advisor program could get anyone through Tech. Hell, we have a fake person with a degree (unlike UNC which has real people with fake degrees)
Click to expand...

Well, this goes back to those structural changes. For whatever reason, even though we think we are just smart as shit, we don't believe in making anything easier on ourselves when it comes to athletics administration. We let some clueless lady manage our player's progress under Chan, we half-assed our ACC Championship appeal, we don't staff up on recruiters...

My Butch Jones thread was somewhat in jest, but I am serious about some of the recommendations. We need to know when to follow best practices and when to innovate. We need to innovate for gameday experience. We need to follow best practices when it comes to administrative support - i.e. mimic the factories as much as humanly possible.
 
JacketForLife said:
We should never not take a recruit because they are too dumb. That being said, the people saying we overplay the academic rigor are wrong.

Side note, SAs aren’t treated the same way on campus as at other schools. You actually are given the grade you earn at Tech.
Click to expand...
I don’t know man. I heard Joe Hamilton on the radio last night. And he came off dumb as hell. Maybe he’s smoked and drank too much since his times on the flats.
 
JacketForLife said:
Differences are our players have to be much more disciplined between the big city spotlight and academic rigor.
Click to expand...
Sarcasm? 'big city spotlight'? we're lucky to get noticed in Atlanta. The biggest stars on our team could wander Atlanta's clubs without notice. That ain't the case in Auburn or Starkville.
 
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