Technical Tidbits 11/30: Tech picks up a new quarterback commit, Fuente wins ACC CotY Award

Georgia Tech picked up commitment number fifteen of the 2017 cycle over the weekend when Northside quarterback Tobias Oliver announced that he would be joining Paul Johnson on the Flats for a shot at the starting gig in the post-Justin Thomas era. A three-star quarterback according to 247Sports and a two-star prospect according to other outlets, Oliver chose Tech over a reported offer from Troy and interest from UGA, Georgia Southern, and others.

It remains to be seen if Oliver will stick at quarterback for his career or switch to another position as so many others have over the years, but he’s certainly a fit for Tech’s offense. Congratulations to Tobias on his commitment and to coach Andy McCollum on another big pickup!

The ACC named first-year Virginia Tech head man Justin Fuente the 2016 ACC Coach of the Year yesterday afternoon, once again proving that the award favors the underdog and all but casts aside the actual best coaches in the conference year in and year out. That’s no condemnation of what Fuente accomplished during his 9-3 inaugural season in Blacksburg, but rather a recognition of the fact that neither Dabo Swinney nor Jimbo Fisher, both of whom have appeared in multiple national championships or playoffs, have claimed the award even once. The only reasonable justification to back up those decisions is to claim that recruiting and coaching are two separate things, which would explain why the decision makers favor coaches that overachieve with less talent above those that bring in top-tier players and win accordingly.

In 2013, Duke’s David Cutcliffe won the award with a 10-2 regular season. They beat absolutely nobody that year, but 10 wins at Duke is still a remarkable achievement. The issue is that there’s a man named Jimbo Fisher who spent his 2013 season going 12-0, blowing out teams like Clemson in a way that will remain unmatched for a very long time on his way to a 45-7 thrashing of Duke in the ACC Championship and a win over Auburn in the BCS National Championship. Who was the better coach? Jimbo Fisher, by far. It’s not just an ACC issue, either; Ohio State’s Urban Meyer has won zero awards in the Big 10 and Alabama’s Nick Saban has won two in the SEC while at Alabama.

Another week means another round of bowl projections, and boy do people want Tech to play Stanford really badly.

• CBS Sports has Tech headed to the Tax Slayer Bowl to meet up with Kentucky.
• Sports Illustrated has Tech going to the Sun Bowl to face off with Stanford.
• Athlon has Tech to the Sun Bowl versus Stanford.
• Sporting News has Tech to the Sun Bowl to play... Stanford.

I’ll throw some more in tomorrow when they come out today following the release of the Playoff Rankings yesterday, so stay tuned.