Tony Eliiott's story is unbelievable.

I posted this in another thread, but this one's probably more fitting. As time passes, he is becoming a pretty attractive option. As a Clemson grad, here's my perception:

Chad Morris was supposed to be the next coming when he was at Clemson. Clemson started winning 10 or 11 games when he came in and were just shy of being considered elite. People freaked out when he left - Deshaun Watson was going to transfer, Swinney would be exposed, etc. In Tony Elliott's first game as playcaller, Clemson beat Oklahoma 40-6 with Cole Stoudt at QB. The same Cole Stoudt that threw 2 pick sixes against us and was garbage all season. The next year Clemson went to the national championship and passed for over 400 yards on Alabama, but lost. The following year, they did it again, passing for 400+ and winning this time.

Stylistically, Clemson started running the ball a lot more when Elliott took over playcalling. Morris would line up in shotgun on the goal line and we would be unable to get 1 yard when we needed it. We were a finesse team that couldn't establish physical dominance when we needed to because it wasn't our identity. Elliott runs the ball throughout the game and is actually able to feature players like Etienne while still getting Choice and Feaster plenty of carries. The contrast of 300+ lb Christian Wilkins scoring TDs at the goal line is just massively different from fade/slant routes being our best goal line option.

He's got a reputation as a player's coach and a solid recruiter, as well as being relatable to players (he's only 39 years old). I remember his graduation with a 3.6 GPA in engineering at Clemson being touted as impressive when he was hired, which IMO is not irrelevant when being considered at GT. If anybody would truly understand the rigor of STEM curriculum, it would be him.

Lastly, Clemson has recruited six 4 or 5 star QBs since Elliott took over playcalling in 2015. That's not gonna happen at GT, but it doesn't hurt to have that pedigree.
 
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ScionOfSouthland said:
Jeff Scott is the 5* recruiting machine at Clemson and Dabo is heavily involved in QBs. Elliott is assigned metro Atlanta and parts of Florida. Look at his running back recruits - all studs. He clearly knows how to recruit the state. He’s the better of the two co-coordinators but Scott is the better of the two recruiters.
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Elliott area is where i stay(Loganville/Grayson). We have a good relationship with Grayson, but Elliot opens the Archer, Buford doors that we’ve struggle to get players from. Having those 3 schools alone could bring Tech to Coastal dominance. I believe he will also get the qualifiers in the Dekalb, Clayton, & South Fulton (they do exist)
 
JJacket said:
Yea, Clemson has been recruiting like that for decades now. He didn't show up and turn things around for them. You realize Clemson is blessed with a lower bar for admission, right? Hell, look at their DL.

And honestly, that list is just OK by Clemson standards
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No, they haven't. Charlie Whitehurst was considered by some to be the best Clemson QB of all time when I started school there. They've had at least 3 quarterbacks who were MUCH better than him just since 2011. That's just one example. Clemson was a top 20-25 recruiting school historically. Now they're top 5. That's more Dabo than anything else, but let's give credit where credit is due.
 
johncu said:
No, they haven't. Charlie Whitehurst was considered by some to be the best Clemson QB of all time when I started school there. They've had at least 3 quarterbacks who were MUCH better than him just since 2011. That's just one example. Clemson was a top 20-25 recruiting school historically. Now they're top 5. That's more Dabo than anything else, but let's give credit where credit is due.
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Let's hire Dabo.
 
No head coaching experience, no experience at a university with recruiting limitations like Tech, no thanks. The "ticks a lot of boxes" talk is a joke. He majored in engineering at Clemson, BFD. Funny how a lot of the factories have these "great recruiter" guys. You think it might have something to do with Clemson and not this one dude?
 
18in32 said:
I'll be OK with us hiring any of several coaches, but after reading the Tony Elliott biography, he does tick an awful lot of boxes...

(1) A lot of success as a recruiter and as an offensive coordinator
(2) Only ever coached in South Carolina, so he should have lots of connections in Atlanta, Georgia and the Southeast
(3) He was an industrial engineering major at Clemson, and worked for a big company as an industrial engineer before returning to football
(4) He's of mixed race, which arguably makes it easier to connect with black recruits
(5) He overcame not just bad family and financial circumstances, but also limited athletic talent, to pursue his academic and football career
(6) He was an FCS recruit, so he'd really resonate with our recruiting pool (j/k)

I think the biggest questions are... do we want to hire somebody with zero HC experience, not even at the high school or DIII level? do we want to hire somebody with such a short resume? (He's 12 years younger than Jeff Monken, for example, who's been a successful head coach at both the FCS and G5 levels already.)

And most importantly, what are we going to do about that facial hair? That moustache has got to go.
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Solution is we all grow mustaches
 
johncu said:
No, they haven't. Charlie Whitehurst was considered by some to be the best Clemson QB of all time when I started school there. They've had at least 3 quarterbacks who were MUCH better than him just since 2011. That's just one example. Clemson was a top 20-25 recruiting school historically. Now they're top 5. That's more Dabo than anything else, but let's give credit where credit is due.
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It’s crazy how history gets re-written. Yes, Clemson got talent, but not THIS TYPE OF TALENT. Always had skill guys, but once Clemson began to put an emphasis on Elite Lineman especially at DT their program took the next step
 
I normally want a guy with head coaching experience but this could be a bold attempt at finding our own Dabo if TStan goes this route. A high upside, risky move. There's some reason to be intrigued here, I think.
 
Both Elliott and Scott make $850,000 this year. Hire one as the coach....the other as OC.....problem solved
 
Has there been any study on whether hiring head coaches to P5 schools has been more successful than hiring assistant coaches?
 
ScionOfSouthland said:
Jeff Scott is the 5* recruiting machine at Clemson and Dabo is heavily involved in QBs. Elliott is assigned metro Atlanta and parts of Florida. Look at his running back recruits - all studs. He clearly knows how to recruit the state. He’s the better of the two co-coordinators but Scott is the better of the two recruiters.
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Then let's go get Scott.

Is this Brad's son?
 
LongforDodd said:
Then let's go get Scott.

Is this Brad's son?
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He is Brad's son. You're giving up major coaching skill to get minor recruiting skill in this scenario - not worth it. Elliott is the primary play caller in Death Valley and Morris made it clear he was more prepared for the role than Scott when Morris left. Plus, Elliott knows Georgia very well.
 
RamblinWreck09 said:
I'd be happy with hiring Elliott as long as it doesn't come with any kind of stupid high buyout amount.
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Anyone coming here and not planning on running the option, is gonna want some long term financial promises.
 
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