Mailbag 8/25

What the outlook for the swimming and diving team this year?

From the looks of it, we're actually pretty good at this (also note, I'm not hip with the swimming and diving lingo). RamblinWreck.com recently put up an article about what the swimming and diving team has been up to over the summer, and it's pretty interesting.

What stood out the most was that Tech has eight members that have earned spots in the US Olympic Trials, so a special shout out to those guys: Brad Oberg (100 back), Alex Kimpel (200 breath), Mark Keaveney (100 back), Andrew Kosic (50 free), Mark Sarman (100 fly), Ben Southern (100 fly, 200 fly), Joseph Portillo (200 breast) and Ricky Lehner (100 breast). These guys will be put to the ultimate test in the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska next summer.

Place your bets: Ohio State vs. The Field for the BCSNCG.

It's hard not to put money on Ohio State right now. They didn't really lose a whole lot from their awesome team last year. I will take the field though for a couple reasons. First of all, I think the absence of Joey Bosa for those first few games could certainly have an impact, as well as not necessarily knowing who the starting quarterback is. The other reason I take the field is because college football is so unpredictable, there's no real way of knowing what's going to happen.

In regards to the below poll/prediction, how happy would you be with this outcome? Would you rather not make the CFP or make the CFP then lose in the title game?

I would be ecstatic if we made it that far, especially if we beat Alabama to do it too. And to answer the second question, I would rather make the CFP and lose the championship game than not make it and never get the chance. Playing in the championship game is never a guarantee, so you gotta take the chance whenever it's presented.

Who will be our leading wide receiver this year?

As many of you have probably noticed, I do really like Ricky Jeune. However, based on what I've been hearing about Brad Stewart, my confidence that Jeune will lead the Jackets in receiving is not quite as strong as it was. I think Jeune will still lead the Jackets, but it will be a lot closer.

Will all of our B-backs gain more than 1970 yards in both rushing and receiving this year?

This is a tough question to answer, because I've never seen any of our B-backs play in this offense. Because of that, I will say that at this point, they won't quite reach that mark, but they certainly have the potential to do so. I think the key there is Marcus Marshall's ability to catch. He is the real deal and could do some damage to opposing defenses.

How about some Big Guy TDs this year? Can you just see Shamire Devine taking it into the end zone? Do they ever "practice" that? Can you practice that?

You certainly can practice that. In fact, Tech has practiced it. I'm sure y'all remember Ray Beno from a random catch he had. Well after that catch, Paul Johnson decided to add it to the playbook. We only ever used it once that I can remember, though, and it didn't go well. So yes, it has happened. Will it continue to happen? Maybe, but I think the only guy athletic enough on our offensive line to do it effectively would be Trey Klock (who was a tight end in high school).

Errin Joe can catch and has got some moves! Will he be our next Ray Beno???!!!!

I'd be perfectly okay with this. Ray Beno was a phenomenal lineman for us. It takes some talent and quick instincts to do it like Beno did.

What will it take for the Yellow Jackets to make it to the College Football Playoff this year?

Two things. First of all, the new guys on offense need to come in and not need a ton of time to adjust and settle into their new roles, because if we're still trying to figure things out by Notre Dame, there's a good chance we may not win that game.

The other thing that will get us there is vast improvement on defense. A lot of people have speculated that our defense is bound for improvement this season, but they need to be able to prove that on the field.

Over/Unders: We’re doing that again this year, right?

Absolutely, but I'm hearing rumors that it may be under new management this year.

How many of the Commetariate play some form of Fantasy Football? We’ve got a local ACC+sec only league. Made me a Rashad Greene fan as I drafted him two years (FSU not so much).

Honestly, I've never heard of doing something like this. If I enjoyed/had time for fantasy sports, I'm sure I'd love to do something like that. The key there is making sure you have a proper scoring system, which I'm sure you can find online. If someone wants to put that together, feel free to post it as a fanpost. There will not be an official FTRS group for this

If you could pick one game to go to this fall other than FSU and uga, which one would it be?

This is a tough choice, but I would go with Notre Dame, if for nothing else than to go see Touchdown Jesus in South Bend.