Just a few days after Duke's David Cutcliffe made a comment about why high school receivers would want to play at Georgia Tech, Paul Johnson has fired back with a comment which just may have won the short battle between the two coaches:
How many receivers have they put in the NFL? I can tell you. None.
CPJ's comments, while they may seem somewhat harsh to some, are totally fair and valid. It is completely unprofessional for Cutcliffe to come out and question the motives of high school athletes who are trying to make a huge choice which will have a lasting impact on their future, especially when he has absolutely no grounds to make the claims on. A rebuttal from Paul Johnson was absolutely necessary simply because Georgia Tech can't be labeled as a free stomping ground for anyone to talk down on like Cutcliffe did.
In the latest installment of Georgia Tech's video series "AskJackets" featured star quarterback Justin Thomas, the true backbone of Paul Johnson's flexbone attack. Hearing what he had to say in that interview really made me like Thomas even more as both a player and a person; it's always nice to hear his comments because everything he says feels to reassuring. The best way I can say it is that it always feels like he's got everything under control. I especially like his comments at the very end of the interview when he addressed Tech fans and asked them all to come out and see the Duke game. You rarely see players take the time to look into the camera and say "I want you to come out and cheer us on because it makes us feel and play better." While those obviously weren't JT's exact words, the sentiment feels the same and I really appreciate it as a fan.
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Georgia Tech has been named as a dark-horse playoff team by ESPN writer... wait for it... Heather Dinich! The Jackets were the top ACC candidate to make the playoffs in the article (outside of FSU, of course), and they joined Ole Miss, Ohio State, TCU, and Arizona as Power Five conference dark-horses. While that is great news, I think the best news of all is that I was finally able to locate the elusive Dinich following her disappearance from the ESPN ACC blog a while back. I should really commission a work of art detailing this day. It simply cannot be forgotten...
Elsewhere in the rankings world, the Jackets came in at a three-way tie for fourth in the ACC power rankings by SB Nation. Someone needs to write me an explanatory essay on why the Jackets are tied with Virginia Tech, the team which Tech beat to open up ACC play in 2014. That makes exactly zero sense to me. I'd also put us above the two-loss Clemson Tigers. As for the rest of the rankings, that narrow win over Georgia Southern is starting to look better and better as the Eagles now appear to be a 10 win team this season; they have won their first two Sun Belt games since the Tech loss. And then there is the B1G, which is, well... it exists, I guess.
What do you think of Paul Johnson's rebuttal? What about Tech's status as a dark-horse candidate and their ranking in the ACC?
Have a great Thursday!