Technical Tidbits 5/1

Happy May, everyone. It only gets hotter from here...

Negative recruiting is a practice that goes on all across the world of college sports. Baseball, football, basketball, no sport is immune to the negative opinions thrust upon recruits by representatives of other schools that don't just want a recruit to gear up in their colors, they also want to discourage them from suiting up for another team. Here is an example:

Paul Johnson sits down with  the number one recruit in the nation, who has narrowed his choices down to Georgia Tech and UGA. CPJ would then proceed to tell a blatant lie, for example, "Now son, I hear those folks up in Athens have high academic standards and very little tolerance for rule breakers. How lame." This, although it's a sarcastic example, is still reflective of the actions some school take against others, and while it works on occasion, Paul Johnson doesn't see it happen at Tech very often according to his recent interview on the subject. Keep telling yourself that, Paul..

In case you wanted to learn more about negative recruiting, take a look here. It includes a good summary as well as comments from a few different head coaches from around the nation. I personally would have thought that everyone would feel the same way about the practice, but I am wrong again. I guess someone has to approve of it or else it wouldn't be happening.

Don't forget to come out and support your Yellow Jackets as they take on the dwagz at Turner Field on Tuesday, May 13 at 7:00 PM. It's always fun to see Clean, Old Fashioned Hate live and in person, so get yourself a $12 general admission ticket and come support the Jackets. Seriously. Do it. I was in attendance last year and the environment was totally overwhelmed by barks and chanting for the other team, and the outcome of the game certainly reflected the atmosphere; a 17-0 domination by the dwags. I stayed all nine innings, but man was it ugly-- the third ugliest game I've seen a Tech team play in any sport (vs. Miami in basketball this year, vs. MTSU). The game is also the last chance for the Jackets to see UGA this season; the series is tied 1-1 after both teams won their games in friendly territory.

The Yellow Jackets were the first team to offer the current high school junior from Tallahassee, Florida, OLB Devin Timmons. Timmons is currently unranked by all major scouting sites, most likely because he is not a senior, but has still accumulated quite a few impressive offers, including Cincinnati and Georgia Tech, and Florida State has been heavily scouting him but is yet to make him a scholarship offer. Timmons has announced that he will make his official college decision on May 25-- it is expected to be between Tech, FSU, or Cincy.

You can give his career highlights a look right here.

Megan Kurey and Kendall Woodard, two sophomore members of the Georgia Tech tennis program, have received a doubles berth in the NCAA Women's Championship, which will be held in hostil territory up in Athens. The couple own a 26-9 record on the season and boast an impressive resume of upsets this year, including wins against the number two and number four tandems in the nation in Georgia and Oklahoma respectively.

Daily Debate: Is negative recruiting a fair practice or one that gives an unfair advantage to one school over another? If you were a recruit, would your choice be influenced by a coach who sits down with you and talks poorly of a school you were considering attending?

Have a great Thurday!