Technical Tidbits 6/5

Tech's pitching staff could potentially take a big hit by the time Friday rolls around, the reason being today's MLB Draft. Southpaw reliever Sam Clay is thought to be the Jackets' top draft prospect this season-- he is projected to go as early as the first five rounds (by CDH at least), which would entail a signing bonus that would be hard to decline. Clay spent the 2013 season as a  closer/long reliever hybrid for the Jackets and finished with an impressive 1.33 ERA in 54 1/3 innings (according to the AJC, but the ACC lists him at an even more impressive 1.26 in 57 innings). That said, it would be no surprise to me if Clay has thrown his last pitch as a Yellow Jacket. However, we should probably expect for most of the other prospects with some eligibility left in Grimes, Heddinger, and Spingola to return.

Georgia State head coach Trent Miles is raising a few eyebrows by hosting satellite camps at Georgia State's campus... for the benefit of Notre Dame and Penn State. Miles invited James Franklin and Brian Kelly to be "guests" at the camps, which will hopefully draw attention to GSU's football program by bringing all of Atlanta's best prospects to the downtown campus. Understandably, Paul Johnson isn't a big fan of the satellite camps because they are drawing attention away from Tech and exposing recruits to other schools from other states, therefore hurting his chances at recruiting them. It seems to me like this is a loophole which will be (should be) closed pretty soon before GA State has a waiting list of  SEC schools lining up to set up their own camps in Atlanta-- I MEAN SO THAT THEY CAN BE GUESTS AT AN UNRELATED CAMP FOR GEORGIA STATE.

Paul Johnson made a few encouraging comments in a recent interview regarding the QB competition at Tech. We all know how truthful he is when talking about the situation at Tech, and it helps to hear him say that Justin Thomas has good arm strength and is going to benefit a lot from the competition with Tim Byerly. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of having Byerly get some playing time this season. He feels more and more  to me like a Josh Nesbitt every day, and anyone who can come in and play just Nesbitt is welcome in my book. Call me crazy, but I think we have a better QB situation than most ACC schools at this point.

Georgia Tech lost a graduate and former team captain yesterday in Tom Coleman to a combination of COPD and Alzheimer's disease. Coleman is a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame and played at Tech during the 1950's, before enlisting and serving a tour of duty in Korea. All of our thoughts go out to his family; he was truly a perfect embodiment of what everyone at Georgia Tech strives to be.

Daily Debate: Would holding a satellite camp benefit Georgia Tech's recruiting? Where might the Jackets host (or "be a guest") at one?

I leave you today with Georgia Tech offensive lineman Errin Joe, AKA Winnie the Pooh. I had no idea that everyone's favorite bear was 6 foot 3, 326 pounds, but hey. I guess we saw it coming with all that honey. It is strange considering his website lists him at just 22 inches tall, so that's suspicious. Been spending too much time with Ryan Braun, I suppose.