Technical Tidbits 5/5

Just a couple of days after cutting Georgia Tech from his list of finalists, five-star recruit Jaylen Brown made the decision to commit to Cal over offers from Kentucky and just about every other school in the nation. Brown must have thought that The Walking Dead was a documentary rather than a fictional series because he scanned his options and immediately hightailed it to the furthest possible place from Atlanta. In all honesty, however, there is nothing to criticize about Brown's decision. He found a place that he liked for academic and geographic reasons and didn't let the basketball factories talk him out of it.

The Georgia Tech Letterwinners Association recently sat down for an interview with current Cincinnati Bengal and new Georgia Tech alumnus Michael Johnson, who came back to school and was awarded his degree on Saturday. Johnson is one of many former student athletes to return to the Flats to earn a degree this year, part of a group which also includes notable players like Jarrett Jack of the Brooklyn Nets. Congratulations to Johnson and the other former student athletes who got out over the weekend!

ESPN's post-spring ACC power rankings feature Georgia Tech at No. 1 overall as the current favorite to win the conference. This seems like a more than fair place for Tech, which returns eight defensive starters and star quarterback Justin Thomas as well as most of the offensive line, although Clemson's offense could be scary enough to challenge the Jackets in 2015. No matter what ends up happening, it is good that a successful 2014 campaign was all it took to get some recognition from a well-respected media outlet like ESPN. All attention is good attention, unless you play quarterback at Florida State.

In fact, the current debate going on at ESPN is over whether Georgia Tech or Clemson is currently the best team in the ACC. The two teams face the exact opposite types of challenges coming into the season -- Tech lost nearly every skill position player on its record breaking offense while Clemson lost the majority of its nation-leading defense -- but I still see Tech as the better team. I see Clemson's defense taking a much bigger step back than Tech's offense will due to the departure of some insane talent like Vic Beasly, Stephone Anthony, and Grady Jarrett -- all early draft picks -- and for that reason I'm more confident in Tech's ability to win the conference.

Should Georgia Tech be considered the frontrunner to win the conference?