Technical Tidbits 1/22

Following a strong performance during the East vs. West Shrine Game, former Yellow Jacket Darren Waller has been getting a lot more attention from NFL scouts as he prepares for the upcoming draft. The big 6'-5" receiver has been drawing glances from a number of teams in need of a tight end, which is a position that many NFL front offices see him as a better fit for than wide receiver. While Waller didn't record a catch in the game itself, he made quite a reputation for himself as a physical and talented player during practice -- a number of media members in attendance were tweeting out praise for the big man all week long.

The Georgia Tech basketball team will travel up to Charlottesville tonight to take on the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers in what will either be a nail in the coffin of the 2014-15 season or a drastic turning point for the Jackets. The Hoos are currently undefeated -- one of two undefeated teams left in the nation -- and will be by far the toughest opponent of the season for the struggling Tech squad. If the Jackets can somehow pull out a win, it would be Brian Gregory's third straight season with a victory over a top five opponent and also propel Tech into a stretch of very winnable games to close out the ACC schedule (I'm using "winnable" loosely here; this stretch does include games against Duke, UNC, and Louisville).

ESPN published their Georgia Tech edition of the "story of the season" series recently, and it features a lot of shattered expectations and great storylines from the 2014 campaign. The character of that great team is described perfectly in this sentence, which just about sums up the season for the Jackets.

Georgia Tech's final four games came against teams that were ranked in the College Football Playoff selection committee's top 20 at the time of their matchups. The Jackets finished 3-1, with the lone defeat a two-point loss to defending national champion Florida State in the ACC title game.

It's all about how you finish, and the Jackets finished with a flourish.

If you've ever read anything I've written, you know that one of my favorite things to do is discredit recruiting rankings because they mean absolutely nothing. This point of view, while it may not be the most widely-accepted, seems to be backed up just perfectly by the rosters of the two Super Bowl teams -- neither the Seahawks nor the Patriots have a player on roster who was higher than a four-star recruit in high school. Some notable three-star athletes include Robert Ninkovich, Darelle Revis, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Russell Wilson, and Kam Chancellor while a number of two-star players are present as well. All stars are good for is being shiny and occasionally forming the shape of some obscure animal or something. Otherwise, they count for about as much as the diploma of a UNC basketball player.

What do scout-assigned stars count for? Do they really matter in the long run?

Have a great Thursday!