Technical Tidbits 1/27: Johnson visits Mobile recruit, ACC tourney picture remains murky

As Paul Johnson looks to fill out his 2017 recruiting class, he made a quick weekend trip down to Mobile to meet with wide receiver Marlon Williams and his family. A three-star prospect with offers from LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and others, Williams would be a huge boost to what is already looking like a very solid class. The conclusion of the 2017 season will mark the end of Ricky Jeune’s Tech career, so there will certainly be a hole to fill alongside whoever the starter at quarterback will be. The AJC article above indicates that Williams is friends with the Swilling brothers, so maybe that will be the deciding factor. Conversely, it could be the only reason he’s giving Tech the time of day so late in the recruiting process. We will know soon enough.

Georgia Tech’s shocking upset of No. 6 Florida State on Wednesday night was a very welcome occurrence for Tech fans, but the fact that it completely derailed any vision that we thought we had of the ACC’s trajectory could end up being the main takeaway as the season progresses. Previously though to be a one-seed caliber team, the Noles have lost national respect and left something akin to a vacuum behind — one which could be filled by any number of ACC teams. Whether or not ten teams from the conference could potentially make the tournament had been a point of discussion for weeks before the upset, but Tech’s win only continued the cannibalism of the ACC and really left the door open for quite literally anyone in the conference to make the big dance. Most importantly, Georgia Tech now has a clear path to postseason play. It involves quite a few more wins, but it somehow exists nonetheless.

In the opinion of CBS Sports contributor Jon Solomon, there are a number of factors that made the ACC’s passing of the SEC as the hegemonic power of the football world official. He argues that Florida State - Clemson’s usurping of Alabama - LSU as the best game of the year coupled with the flat-out domination that the ACC experienced against SEC teams this season makes SEC dominance a thing of the past — a statement that can be extended to more than just football. The ACC is better at basketball — the fact that 10 teams could make the tournament argue that point automatically — and the two are just about dead even in baseball. Solomon’s article is only about football during the 2016 season, but the truth is that the ACC is exactly where it needs to be as a conference. Great work by everyone involved — and terrible work by most of the SEC — to help achieve that goal.