Technical Tidbits 7/6: Geoff Collins gets a power ranking

You’ll have to scroll a little to find Georgia Tech Head Coach Geoff Collins in the rankings above. The author of the article took a kind tone to Collins and his work with the Yellow Jackets so far, but the rest of the rankings panel did not. Collins has had to deal with a monumental offensive transition and a global pandemic, which complicates things just a slight bit. Yes, Collins has had some on-field coaching blunders (botched timeout against The Citadel, anyone?), but he’s been working with an extremely young team up to this point in his tenure. Recruiting is up, and players should hopefully be taking advantage of increased marketing for NIL purposes. For what it’s worth, I’ve still got confidence in Collins and feel that the 13th spot on the rankings is a little low.

In just a few short weeks one of the best swimmers in Georgia Tech’s history, Caio Pumputis, will be able to call himself an Olympian. The Brazilian qualified for the nation’s team in the 200m individual medley on the final day of trials. Making an Olympic team is an accomplishment that Pumputis has been working towards since he began swimming competitively as a youth. The article above goes into all of the hard work and preparation that has led Pumputis to the biggest stage in sports, and how he made it to Tech in the first place. Congratulations, Caio!

Another Yellow Jacket has made the Olympics, former basketball player Avi Schafer. The walk-on center played two seasons on the Flats, only appearing in six games throughout his collegiate career. Schafer currently plays for the Shiga Lakestars in the Japanese B.League. Congratulations, Avi!

The annual Directors’ Cup is a major point of pride for many athletic departments across the nation. This competition ranks the performance of institutes as a whole in NCAA competition, so it pays to be good at field hockey and equestrian. Georgia Tech is at an inherent disadvantage in the contest, as the school only has 17 sports (for example, Stanford sponsors 36). So, for the Jackets to finish 44th in the final standings is a tremendous accomplishment. While Tech doesn’t sponsor many sports, it finds a way to be good at the ones it does support. There’s a lot of work left to be done, though, so look for the Jackets to attempt to climb the rankings as far as possible in the 2021-22 school year.

Even though July 4 was two days ago, I couldn’t help but share this beautiful picture. You’ve got to love Atlanta.

Question of the Day: Where would you rank Geoff Collins out of the ACC coaches?