It's certainly been an interesting year in college football, as there have been 11 coaching jobs that have been made available during the season or have been announced to be open following the season.
Some jobs are better than others, but if rumors are true, another job could be opening up fairly soon.
Reports came out recently that Les Miles will be "coaching for his job" against Ole Miss and Texas A&M. So what does that mean for us? Well, in LSU's current recruiting class is a guy by the name of Donavaughn Campbell. Campbell, a four-star guard that is 6-foot-4 347-pound guard, is the brother of current Georgia Tech quarterback Christian Campbell.
Back in May, Campbell received an offer from Georgia Tech, and fans' imaginations went wild. Things only seemed to point more towards Tech as time progressed. Campbell confirmed back in July that he would be taking an official visit to Georgia Tech, though reportedly staying solid to LSU. In this video, Campbell says his official visits will be to Tech and LSU, making it seem like it's down to those two teams.
Seeing as it is down to LSU and Georgia Tech, a coaching change at LSU could be the hair that breaks the camel's back, so to speak. Coaching changes have been known to make commits flip in the past, or at the very least open their recruitment back up.
That could bode well for Tech. LSU would be bringing in a new head coach, and presumably a new staff, though current coaches could remain on staff. The guy that would be worth watching what happens to is Ed Orgeron, who is one of the coaches who has been heavily recruiting Campbell.
If he were to leave to take a coaching job elsewhere, whether hired for a better job or asked to leave in order to clean house at LSU, the new LSU coaching staff would have to work quickly to find another coach to be recruiting Campbell.
As if that's not enough, GTSwarm also came out with a report Monday evening that was quite interesting. I'll add that in here, but before I do, I was asked to leave CuseJacket's source's name out of it, so if you've been over to GTSwarm and seen the name, do not mention it on this site. Your comment will be deleted. Anyway, here's what that source had to say:
- CuseJacket's source started by reiterating it's going to be an LSU vs. GT battle. He offered a lot of familiar arguments for both... he'll be more NFL ready by going to LSU playing in that style of offense, competing against tougher teams, etc. He's not making this an SEC vs. all other conferences argument, I promise, just his personal opinion.
- I asked about the idea of earlier playing time. CuseJacket's source said he thinks Donavaughn could slide in and start next year at GT, particularly given the offense he runs in HS with run-blocking being his strength. My read is it's safe to say Donavaughn is aware of the differences in the two opportunities.
- CuseJacket's source reiterated it's DC's decision alone. If DC tells him at the end that he wants to play at GT, CuseJacket's source said he's going to smile, pat him on the back, and say "let's go!"
- Christian Campbell was back in Louisiana this weekend. LSU texted DC and asked if he was going to their game on Saturday. DC said he couldn't because he was eating dinner with his brother and CuseJacket's source's son. Those ties/friendships mean A LOT to all three of those kids.
- As another GTSwarm User mentioned, CuseJacket's source's son will be playing baseball and football in Montgomery, AL. That's closer to ATL than Baton Rouge.
- I asked CuseJacket's source about DC's thoughts on academics at GT. He said Christian assured DC that he'll make it with the academic support system at GT. This says a lot in my opinion in this case and in general.
- In case you were looking for something more... CuseJacket's source said he's not a betting man, but if he was forced to bet $5 and DC was deciding today, he thinks DC would pick Georgia Tech.
- Pause and take deep breaths....
- Continuing that, CuseJacket's source said he also told LSU DL Coach Ed Orgeron (one of DC's recruiters) that was his opinion. Orgeron replied that he'll win that battle. And before the jokes rain down, there was nothing illegal insinuated by that comment in the context of my convo. Just a confident recruiter.
- It's not a done deal, not even close. DC's HS in the playoffs now. When their season is over you can expect much more time/energy devoted to the recruiting process. I'm sure we'll get the updates as they come.
So clearly there is some reason to be excited as a Tech fan here. As often as it doesn't seem like Georgia Tech is in the mix of things with top recruits, it's definitely safe to say that they are right there with Donavaughn Cambpell.
Only time will tell how things progress with him moving forward, but I would say things are definitely leaning in Georgia Tech's direction. And that could only improve if Les Miles is indeed fired, or even coaching for his job. Not knowing a coach will be there for your entire tenure as a student is something that I feel like could affect your decision.
Recruiting sure is a crazy game.
Back in June, Campbell announced that he wanted to make a final decision in December.