Monday Mailbag 7/29

Which National Championship Team to you think was Tech's greatest and why?

My pick here is going to be the most recent one (1990), with the following reasoning: in the years since the game's invention, it's gotten far more popular and competitive. The number of folks playing the game in 1917 is a small fraction of the folks who were playing the game in 1990 -- and that's on all levels. All that to say, the more time that passes, the harder it is to win a title between recruiting, coaching, innovating, and executing. I gotta hand this one to the most recent group.

Why does the AJC have regular articles about udwag recruiting while they go for weeks at a time with nothing about Tech recruiting?

I think there are two reasons for this, neither of which you want to hear but will admit are true. First, they're the state school with more fans. For better or worse, it's the truth, and they want to produce content that's most efficient in scoring page views. The other side (that we also hate to admit) is that they're much better about scoring on high-profile recruits that make bigger stories. Compared to uga, it's more likely that someone will commit to us, they'll write a story, and people will respond with, "Who?" Higher profile kids make for a bigger story.

How many teams do you think could win the ACC this year?

Wrote the article in response, thanks for the great idea. To recap: Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia Tech -- all in order from most likely to least likely. (I included NC State originally purely for the sake of having more than 2 teams in play for the Atlantic.)

Favorite/Least Favorite Kick-off times?

Least favorite kickoff time is easily noon. Just the most inconvenient time possible. As far as my favorite, that's gotta be the 8:00 spot. Reason is actually more than just being in the spotlight -- the 3:30 start is great for tailgating without being rushed, but after the game I'm just dead and nobody wants to party. With the night game, it's socially acceptable to go to bed, and it's a "now or never" approach to partying.

Best Away Stadiums that you have watched a game in?

Confession time. The only places I've seen Georgia Tech play that wasn't Bobby Dodd Stadium were Sanford Stadium and Bank of America Stadium. Of those, I'd take Sanford just due to the way better environment. If I could pick somewhere to go watch an away game this year, I'd easily pick Clemson. When Sean Bedford says it's his favorite place to play not named "Bobby Dodd", I can't turn that down.

Where are the best places to watch a Tech game?

Besides the student section (or any other part of the stadium), I'd recommend finding the local bar dedicated to games. In Atlanta, Taco Mac is pretty solid but I'm sure there are better environments for it. Outside of Atlanta, I'm sure there are some awesome places dedicated to watching the good guys.

Have you learned anything more about what Roof's plans for the defense?

The long and short of what I understand about Ted Roof is that he wants to take a very simple approach, where success isn't bred from scheme so much as it is player ability. Al Groh wanted to out-scheme everyone, but when Charles Kelly basically just said "go play", everything got a lot better. That's similar to Roof's philosophy, and I think it's going to work very well given the talent we have on defense.

Does Roof like to blitz, or will he mostly rush 4 with an occasional 5 man rush?

My understanding is that Roof wants to be 'aggressive'. What exactly that means scheme-wise is up for debate, but my guess is with our talent in the secondary, he'll leave a lot of guys in the box to stop the run and pressure the QB.

Speaking of moving around, does it concern you at all that Roof has jumped from job to job since he left Duke? I think his longest stay with one team is two seasons.

Nope, he's at his alma mater (which he loves thoroughly). He left Auburn one year after a National Championship because his defensive talent and performance had flatlined, left UCF to upgrade to Penn State, and left there to return home. I see all of the logic in all of those moves.

How concerned should we be that Gotsis and Kitchens are the starter and backup at the NT position on the post-Spring depth chart? Not that they are bad players, just that they are SO or rSO and Gostsis didn't have much experience prior to coming to GT.

Honestly, Gotsis could be an All-ACC candidate by season's end. For so little experience, he's a BEAST in the trenches. It's a position that doesn't involve a considerable amount of technique or skill, and his physical gifts are extremely underrated.

Any updates on when is Shawn Green expected back? Is he expected to be available at any point during next season?

I couldn't tell you the story on Shawn Green. I don't think his ailments are season-threatening, but I need to look that up.

The backups behind Attaochu are two rFR and one rSO. Does that make practically Attaochu indispensable?

Jeremiah Attaochu is hardly indispensable. That said, his backup (Tyler Stargel) is not to be underestimated -- coaches love his motor and abilities. We don't want Attaochu to leave the field, but in the case that he has to, you shouldn't be biting your nails out of nervousness.

This may have been talked about already but WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH CUSTIS!? I keep on hearing that he needs to be cleared by the NCAA before coming to Tech?

Custis has some unspecified issues with the NCAA Clearinghouse, which is their version of the Hill. My guess is that he took a couple of classes in high school that the NCAA isn't familiar with, they said "we're going to look into this", had no intention of doing anything too quickly, took about a three hour lunch break every day, and will just get around to it when they feel like it. I cannot imagine a kid signed to Tech having any sense of issues academically in the sense of high school credentials, so I'm sure this will get ironed out sooner rather than later.

CPJ should use Jamal Golden as A back. That is one of Tech's most talented athletes on the field.

Actually on a watch list for the nation's "Most Versatile Player", meaning this isn't out of the question for him. I think that they need him in the secondary more than at A-Back though (he's our first CB off the bench, and could be the first FS off the bench), which is why he'll stay there.