From The Rumble Seat - All Posts

Meet the Freshmen: ATH Ty Griffin

2013-06-18T12:00:05Z

A few de-commitments from Tech's 2013 class resulted in a few open spots at the end of the recruitment period, meaning there were more scholarship offers to be given out. One of those went to a high school teammate of Yellow Jacket Darren Waller, a speedy QB from local McEachern High School. Ty Griffin visited Tech, got his offer, and committed all within the month of January -- right around the time that everything turned into a free-for-all in relation to recruits flipping. Griffin committed to Tech over offers from the three service academies (Army, Navy, Air Force), and claims that had he visited on the final weekend he would have gotten offers from UNC or Wake.

Griffin stands at 6' tall, and weighs in just short of 200 pounds. His film shows that he's very quick both laterally and vertically (he's been clocked at a 4.49 in the 40-yard-dash), and he's certainly a threat when it comes to throwing a deep ball. As a QB in high school, he benefited greatly from single coverage on the outside, though he was still able to convert throws over the top. His best ability though, by far, was his ability to carry the ball.

I wanted to go to Georgia Tech all along and it worked out. I am extremely excited and so are my parents.-Ty Griffin

As a QB, Griffin's biggest strength in the passing game may well have been his talented wide receivers. He was never put into a position where he had to make a tough throw or make a complicated read, and some of the throws on his highlight tape may well have been picked off were it not for a talented receiver. His footwork isn't what I'd call technically sound (he often threw on the run), and he only threw for 600 yards and 5 TD's his senior year (as compared to 1150 rushing yards and 19 TD's).

Griffin's skills at QB will likely result in him seeing minimal playing time at that position, where Vad Lee and Justin Thomas likely have it all under control for the next 3-4 years. However, his athleticism will allow Griffin to get on the field at A-Back, and maybe even Wide Receiver. Honestly, his shiftiness and speed would translate well to safety or cornerback as far as I'm concerned -- I can't say that he's ever played those positions though, and FBS football isn't really the place to start. In any case, Griffin's athleticism is a welcome gift on the Flats, and gives him the potential to make a big impact on the field.

Where do you see Griffin fitting in during his time on the Flats?

Football Commits #8 and #9 - CBs Lawrence and Lance Austin

2013-06-17T19:16:31Z

Today Georgia Tech picked up their 8th and 9th commitments for the 2014 class with 3-star CB prospects...and twin brothers...Lawrence Austin and Lance Austin from Lamar County HS in Griffin, GA. Both Lawrence and Lance are in the 5'9" 180 range, and each recently ran 4.40 40-yard dash times at Tech's recent Summer camp.

The Austin twins chose GT over recent offers from South Carolina, Stanford, and Vanderbilt. They are the 52nd and 53rd ranked CB prospects in the nation. All nine of Tech's commitments are on the defensive side of the ball.

Meet the Freshmen: WR Ricky Jeune

2013-06-17T12:00:09Z

After Antonio Messick's mid-July commitment, Georgia Tech's staff received a few commitments through the course of the season. However, thanks to America's favorite game of FBS recruiting, those commitments ended up flipping to other schools. At season's end, on the heels of a Sun Bowl victory over USC on New Year's Eve, January 14 saw the commitment of WR Ricky Jeune, a top-25 prospect in the state of New Jersey and a top-100 receiver nationally, according to Rivals.com. Jeune committed to Tech over Purdue specifically, citing his relationship with the coaching staff at Tech and generally feeling at home in Atlanta. He also claimed offers from Boston College, Kansas, Rutgers, Connecticut, and East Carolina.

Jeune has a very lengthy frame (similar to that of Stephen Hill and Messick), standing at 6'3" and weighing in around 205 pounds. As it turns out, he'll be very comfortable in the Jackets' run-heavy offense, as it's fairly similar to the offense his high school ran (looks like it's a shotgun-based variation on the flexbone that Tech runs). His film shows that Jeune's responsibilities in the offense were mostly to make catches 20+ yards down the field, where he often found himself in double coverage. He also made the occasional 2-yard "hitch route" catch & run, similar to what Paul Johnson has done for Demaryius Thomas, Stephen Hill, and Tyler Melton. Jeune also got plenty of experience blocking in what I expect was a run-heavy offense in high school, something that will pay dividends and put him on the fast track to playing once he reaches the Flats.

Jeune would classify to me as more of a possession receiver (as opposed to a speed receiver), even though he showed decent ability to outrun coverage in high school. His biggest challenge in stepping up to FBS-level football will probably be making himself a little faster while retaining his deep ball abilities -- specifically catching in traffic. Jeune's frame could also use a few more pounds to make him more physically imposing for players trying to cover him.

Overall, it wouldn't surprise me to see Jeune play as a freshman, nor would it surprise me to see him become Georgia Tech's next big deep threat at a very depleted wide receiver position. He looks like the prototypical receiver that Tech looks for based on his play style in high school, but only time will tell on how much Jeune can accomplish on the Flats.

Do you think Ricky Jeune has what it takes to play as a freshman at Georgia Tech?

New Football Commit - ATH Trey Klock

2013-06-17T03:00:00Z

This afternoon Georgia Tech picked up their 7th commitment for the 2014 class with 3-star jumbo Athlete Trey Klock from Hummelstown, PA (near Harrisburg). Trey is 6'4" 264 and will come to Tech as a 'combo' lineman (can play both sides) but will start at the DL.

Trey is extremely athletic, as evidenced with his runner-up Boston College interested in him as a TE. He is so athletic he might eventually even develop into a 3-technique DT. Klock was also seriously considering Syracuse and Temple.

Sunday Evening Edit: Check out this video of Trey announcing!

Fan-thing of the Week: PeterInVA Trolls UGA Fans

2013-06-16T00:50:21Z

Frequent commenter and general knowledgeable dude PeterInVA brings us a gem this week as he gets two known UGA grads to say "Go Jackets!" in a nationally broadcasted piece of media. Go here for the good stuff, and make sure you give Pete your gratitude for brining us this glorious moment.

A Look at the Numbers Behind a Georgia Tech Touchdown Drive

2013-06-14T13:16:33Z

This week I wrote a post at Football Study Hall detailing the outcome percentages for drives in college football by yard line and down. So if you have a 1st and 10 at your own 40, I can tell you how often an average team against an average defense would score a touchdown (just under 30% of the time). Percentages are nice and all, but what does this actually look like on a specific drive? Well, I'd like to show you.

I wanted to pick a drive that I remember as being fun and exciting without it being a comeback late in the 4th quarter or half, so the numbers behind everything wouldn't be skewed by a late drive in a close game. I chose to take a look at Georgia Tech's first 4th quarter score against UNC (one of the most entertaining games of the year) that featured big plays by Vad Lee and Orwin Smith. Let's go into the Play by Play:

1st Play; 1st and 10 at GT 19. Most likely outcomes: Punt (51%) Touchdown (20%)

Click the hyper link on "1st play" to watch the play

The following table shows the outcome percentages of this drive BEFORE the 1st play.

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Percentage	20.1%	51.2%	8.0%	2.8%	5.7%	8.7%	3.3%	.2%

Here are the changes in outcome percentages after the play, so going from a 1st down at the GT 19 to a 2nd down at the GT 21. After a gain of 2 yards here are the changes to our outcome percentages:

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Change in % Points	-4.3	+9.6	-2.8	0	-.9	-1.6	0	0

I want to point out that this table shows a change in %, so a value of "1" changes the percentage from 20% to 21%

I am not going to do a film review, I just want to show you how the numbers change throughout a drive. Having said that....Morgan Bailey should have left his double team and gone to the second level to block the linebacker a second earlier, opening up the lane for Vad. Vad made the right read. BUT I DIGRESS. The numbers says this was an overall negative play, our chances of getting a touchdown dropped by about 4 percentage points and our odds of punting the ball went way up.

2nd Play; 2nd and 8 at GT 21. Most likely outcomes: Punt (61%) Touchdown (16%)

Drive Percentages before the play:

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Percentage	15.8%	60.8%	5.2%	2.8%	4.8%	7.1%	3.3%	.2%

And now here are the changes after gaining 3 more yards to bring up a 3rd down.

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Change in %	-4.8	+10.6	-1.4	-1.1	-1.5	-1.8	+.1	+.1

We just keep getting closer and closer to punting the ball, don't we? You kind of have to just give credit to the UNC DT tackle here, Devonte Brown. He climbs over who ever is trying to cut block him and takes down Sims.

3rd Play; 3rd and 5 at GT 24. Most likely outcomes: Punt (71%) Touchdown (11%)

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Percentage	11%	71.4%	3.8%	1.7%	3.1%	5.3%	3.4%	.3%

And this is the change after Vad goes into the phone booth to come back out and gain us 39 yards.

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Change in %	+31.4	-60.6	+13.6	+8.3	+1.4	+1.7	+4.6	0

This is a huge play. Our odds of scoring some points go up 45 percentage points. I can't help myself, this is a designed QB run, Vad rolls out to his left and no one even pretends to run a route. Luckily the UNC guy doesn't even try to wrap up and Vad just runs through him like he wasn't even touched for a huge gain.

4th Play; 1st and 10 at UNC 37. Most likely outcomes: Touchdown (42%) Made Field Goal (17%)

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Percentage	42.4%	10.8%	17.4%	10%	4.5%	7%	8%	0%

On the play Laskey ran for 7 yards. I think a faster B-Back turns this gain from a 7 to a 14 yard gain. As soon as he sees the defender he just squares up and runs into him, falling forward for two yards. This is my biggest complaint with Laskey. On THIS PLAY, so no not all plays, but this play there is a lane for Laskey to cut away from the defender and get to the safeties. A faster running back wouldn't think twice about going for this cut. Maybe he doesn't get the cut and the defender makes a tackle at 4 yards and not 7, but Laskey seems to know he can't make the cut, and is just gonna run till someone stops him. In our offense anyone could have gained 7 yards on this play, I'm hoping we can find someone who knows he could have gotten 14 instead.

Anyway here is how that affected our chances:

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Change in %	-3.4	-5	+8.6	+4.1	-1.1	-1.9	-1.4	0

At this point we are about as likely to attempt a field goal as we are to score a touchdown. Either way, as long as we don't turn the ball over we should have a good shot at scoring some points.

5th Play; 2nd and 3 at UNC 30. Most likely outcomes: Touchdown (39%) Made FG (26%) FG Attempt (40%)

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Percentage	39%	5.8%	26%	14.1%	3.4%	5.1%	6.6%	0%

Again, I said on the previous play I noticed, not on all plays. This time Laskey picks his head up, sees a crease and goes for it. Way to run.

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Change in %	+16.5	-5	-1.9	-5.7	-.3	-.9	-2.7	0

It is interesting that now odds of kicking a field goal have actually gone down, but our odds of scoring a touchdown have gone wwaaayyy up. This 9 yard play is almost as important as Vad's 39 yard run.

6th Play; 1st and 10 at UNC 21. Most likely outcomes: Touchdown (56%) Made FG (24%) FG Attempt (32.5%)

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Percentage	55.5%	.8%	24.1%	8.4%	3.1%	4.2%	3.9%	0%

Our wide receiver and our running back try to block each other. Of course we lost yards on this play. I count three things to nitpick on this play.

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Change in %	-9.1	+.6	+5.2	+2.7	0	+.1	+.5	0

7th Play; 2nd and 11 at UNC 22. Most likely outcomes: Touchdown (46%) Made FG (29%) FG Attempt (40%)

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Percentage	46.4	1.4	29.3	11.1	3.1	4.3	4.4	0

We are going to miss Orwin's speed next year, he just ran away from the only guy who could have made the tackle.

Outcome	TD	Punt	FG	MFG	Fumble	INT	Downs	Safety
Change in %	+53.6	-1.4	-29.3	-11.1	-3.1	-4.3	-4.4	0

And now, here it all is in one graph:

I'm not really sure there is anything special to learn here, it is just a fun exercise in learning more about college football, and an excuse for me to re-watch the entire UNC game again. Thoughts, observations, questions? Put them in the comments.

Meet the Freshmen: WR Antonio Messick

2013-06-14T12:00:07Z

Antonio Messick committed to Georgia Tech in mid-July of 2012, and was the last player to commit (and actually sign with the Jackets) until January of 2013. At first glance, one can see that he's rated at 2-stars by Rivals and 247 Sports, only had offers from Georgia Tech and Charlotte, and generally lacks verbiage out there that suggests he might be a standout player in school. However, I'm willing to make the case that Messick could be the dark horse of this class.

Messick stands at 6'2", and weighs in around 180 pounds (I've seen him listed anywhere between 170 and 205...I'm just ballparking it). He has a very long, slim frame that Buzz Preston compared to that of Stephen Hill. The comparisons continue for me when you watch his film. Stephen Hill was noted for his unique running style -- he took abnormally long strides, yet could move extremely fast. Messick is a mirror of this, in that he seriously looks like a gazelle out there at times. He shows promise on special teams too, returning kicks for his high school team. In doing so, he showcased his vision and solid burst.

Overall, Messick's downfall appears to be that he's very raw on the whole. Highly athletic as he is, his hands aren't really astonishing, and he doesn't show great ball instincts such as timing jumps. (That's not to say that he couldn't catch a cold, or that he has no idea what he's doing, but more to say that the finer points of his game could use some refining.) Messick is similar to a few of the receivers that we've recruited in the sense that he's highly athletic, and therefore worth the risk of needing to refine the skills that take an athletic kid from 2-stars to 4-stars.

Messick is very fortunate to be entering Tech when he is, considering that our wide receivers are an extremely depleted unit (after Jeff Greene's departure and Anthony Autry's injury) and the playing time is completely TBD. If Messick can prove himself in fall camp, he very well could see some playing time this fall where he'll have a chance to shock everyone else who passed him up in recruiting.

Do you see Messick as a kid who can feasibly develop into a difference-maker for Tech, or is he a real project of a player who was deserving of his ratings?

For Antonio Messick's highlights, visit his page on Hudl. I cannot embed his video onto our site, unfortunately.

Meet the Freshmen: S John Marvin

2013-06-13T11:54:58Z

On the same day that Justin Akins committed to Georgia Tech last June, the Jackets received a second commitment in the form of John Marvin. Marvin committed to Tech over offers from Louisville, Maryland, Cincinnati, South Florida, and others. One of the more impressive aspects of Marvin's recruitment was his dedication to the Flats. On National Signing Day Coach Andy McCollum was introducing Marvin, and spoke about how the night before Marvin had been getting calls from other schools right up until the time that he turned his phone off. As it would turn out, a lot of other schools were fighting to get Marvin to play there, yet he never wavered on his commitment. Really the kind of guy that we like to have on the Flats.

Marvin stands at 6'1" and weighs in at about 190 pounds -- fairly stout for a safety. His solid frame does him quite a bit of good -- watching his film shows that Marvin is a head-hunting, hard-hitting safety who enjoys playing a very physical brand of football. You'll also notice that Marvin has quite the nose for the ball and is a fairly reliable tackler for someone who regularly hits so hard. Aside from defense, Marvin was also his team's kick returner, where he was able to show off some solid speed and burst. Overall Marvin looks like a solid football player with good instincts and physical gifts.

One thing lacking from Marvin's film is a display of ball skills. As far as safeties go, his physicality and tackling ability is pretty top-notch. However, he doesn't appear to be too much of a ball-hawk. If Marvin can develop more of a knack for pass defense and pulling down interceptions, he has a chance to be a really special player for Tech. He's expected to play this fall on Special Teams, but most likely not in the secondary considering how full the depth chart is with guys older than him.

Do you see Marvin as a guy who can be a difference-maker his freshman year on Special Teams? Where does he fall in relation to our other players in the secondary?