Allen headed to Baltimore

He was taken in the seventh round, but former Tech B-back Anthony Allen is going into a pretty good situation in Baltimore. Ray Rice has the starting job, but Allen has a chance to be the backup.

Backup Willis McGahee has a $6 million base salary for 2011, which is a bit more than any team wants to be paying a backup running back. His agent has reportedly said he won’t take a pay cut, which is kind of forcing the Ravens’ hand. A Baltimore Sun report indicated the decision has already been made.

If McGahee is out of the picture, then that, at least at present, leaves Allen to compete with three other running backs. Combined, they have 11 NFL carries. It’s certainly possible the Ravens could cut McGahee and bring him back or they could find a backup for Rice in the free agency market, whenever the lockout ends. And it also bears mention that, as a seventh-round pick, Allen isn’t exactly a huge investment for the Ravens. But, they do like him (a couple quotes below) and he will get his chance.

Probably way more than you wanted to know about Anthony Allen’s chances to make the Ravens. From Ravens headquarters:

GM Ozzie Newsome: “We think there’s some upside there being that he played in a wishbone [system]. Running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery made the statement to us last week when we were in meetings that if we backed this guy up six or seven yards from the ball, then he thinks he could add a lot to us as a running back.”

Player personnel and college scouting director Joe Hortiz:

“Obviously, at Georgia Tech, they run the triple option, and he’s either running the ball or getting hit on a fake. So, he’s tough. But when you go back and look at his career, and at Louisville, and you watch the combine tape, I think at the combine he really showed the ability to catch the ball away from his frame. Not all the quarterbacks out there were throwing it on the money, and he could track it on the downfield routes. He catches the ball well. He’s a tough kid; he will block when he does those fakes, so he’s pretty versatile in that sense – square up and when they give him the belly and they’re throwing. They don’t throw to him there, but he’ll square up and take on d-tackles until they come off blocks.”

A couple other notes: I have to say that going undrafted would have to be a pretty agonizing way to spend two or three days. Particularly if you’re in the shoes of someone like Jerrard Tarrant or Mario Butler, who had an idea they might get drafted, but had no idea where or when. You’re so excited to find out where you’re going – a level of anticipation that is exceeded in life maybe only by a wedding or the birth of a child – but you don’t know when (or if) it will happen over the course of two days (if you don’t count the first round), so you’re just sitting there, waiting for the phone to ring, and then, after a good six or seven hours on Saturday where literally at any moment an NFL head coach might be calling to tell you his team is going to pick you, you finally realize a dream you’ve worked most of your life towards isn’t going to happen, at least not in the way you envisioned.

“It was quite different and long, one of the longer days of my life,” Butler said, “where you’re sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting and nothing happens.”

Butler, you’ll be happy to know, is looking up.

“I’ve just got to stay positive about everything,” he said. “That’s the way I’m looking at it, as long as I get an opportunity to showcase myself.”

2. There were 35 ACC players taken in the draft, second most. I’ll let you guess who was first. Every school except Duke and Wake Forest had players picked. The breakdown: North Carolina 9, Miami 8, Clemson 6, Florida State 3, Virginia Tech 3, Maryland 2, Boston College, Georgia Tech, N.C. State tied with 1.

Number of picks from Tech’s year-by-year for the last 10:

2010 – 4

2009 – 4

2008 – 3

2007 – 2

2006 – 3

2005 – 0

2004 – 5

2003 – 0 (not counting Tony Hollings, taken in supplemental draft)

2002 – 2

2001 – 0

115 comments Add your comment

Jacket Man

April 30th, 2011
11:05 pm

Congratulations to Anthony for the call, and to the other Jackets who will be getting the free agent calls once the lock out is over (you know who I’m talking to…).

Before the trolls start, let me just say that it’s a testament to the Yellow Jackets that they played competitively against teams that placed so many players into the NFL draft as compared to GA Tech this past season. This just shows what heart, playing like a team, and good coaching can do.

Tech Fan Since 1950

April 30th, 2011
11:06 pm

Ken, you are off to a great start covering Georgia Tech. We appreciate your efforts!

jocotrojan

April 30th, 2011
11:09 pm

wish Brad would of gotten drafted… oh well. im sure he can find a job in FA when the lockout ends… what a kid. proud 2 say both of us are from Wrightsville!!!!! even though im a uga fan, im proud of Brad for what he did at tech.

will

April 30th, 2011
11:26 pm

Whatever happened to Doug Robertson?

D A DoubleU G

April 30th, 2011
11:38 pm

Congrats Allen.

I mean it. Good luck in your career.

You are obviously a great RB (see this year’s UGA game), but can just one of the Tech supporters on this fine blog agree that the triple option moved him from a 2nd rounder to a late 7th, and that this will likely influence future recruits with NFL aspirations on choosing Tech??

Hope you all enjoyed the beautiful day enjoy the rest of your weekend.

GT87

April 30th, 2011
11:39 pm

Congrats AA!

lucky21

May 1st, 2011
12:03 am

Allens place in the draft si due to two factors one is techs record its hard to go high in the draft when your team goes 6-7 and secondly /dwyers subpar performance at the combines and prodays last year which gave scouts an unfair point of view of Allen but I’m sure his talent will get on the field and his blocking ability and his toughness

Bryce Barnes

May 1st, 2011
12:14 am

Shaun Chapas, UGAs VERY seldomly used FB, was drafted as a RB by the Dallas Cowboys AHEAD of Georgia Tech’s main weapon and star RB Anthony Allen.

Good luck to both is these kids, but this truly speaks volumes about the NFL’s view on the Triple O. I think it’s safe to say many a rising High School Sr. Ruinningbacks were taking notes the last 3 days……

Good luck to Tech, however.

sports

May 1st, 2011
12:14 am

$7,000,300.00…unbelievable

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
12:29 am

Shaun Chapas, UGAs VERY seldomly used FB, was drafted as a RB by the Dallas Cowboys AHEAD of Georgia Tech’s main weapon and star RB Anthony Allen.

Amazing that someone can directly compare a fullback to a running back without knowing the difference.

Rodney Dangerfield

May 1st, 2011
12:38 am

Shaun Chapas is a fullback. There is a difference between a FB and RB. One primarily blocks and one primarily runs the ball. So your point is really lame and you just came on a Tech blog to spread your UGA self-superiority, or you are just an idiot. Shaun Chapas cannot hold a candle to AA when it comes to running the ball. I’m glad you are the expert on the triple option.

AA put up more yards on your dawg’s D on less carries than against Duke. Using your logic, Duke’s D is better than UGA’s.

Rodney Dangerfield

May 1st, 2011
12:40 am

Come to think of it, both of our slow, crappy starting RBs over the past two years put a load of yards on your dawg’s D. I guess that means UGA’s D is overrated.

Rodney Dangerfield

May 1st, 2011
12:43 am

I’m just sad that Calvin Johnson has Fat Matt as his QB. Just when I thought being drafted by the Lions was bad, here comes Fat Matt. First Calvin is held back by Reggie and now Fat Matt. You know you have talent when you have those two as your QB and you still make plays.

S'paw_99

May 1st, 2011
12:50 am

This comes from a Tech student, Dwyer & Ant being drafted so late the last 2 yrs, is going to hurt our recruitment of RB’s big time. I have no idea why Ant got drafted so late, he’s a talented guy, & from everything I heard he had a good showing at the combine. He ran pretty well, 4.55 for a big, physical runner (6′0″, 230 lb), & I think he did over 20 reps on the bench.

PJ used to be able to tell potential B-backs that you’re gonna get a great chance to showcase your skills, Ant had 240 carries last yr, Dwyer had over 200 in ‘08 & 09. Obviously the starting B-back is gonna get a lot of carries, but the NFL doesn’t like them.

It’s gonna be hard to get a top notch kid to come if they have any NFL aspirations at all.

football_365

May 1st, 2011
1:07 am

@rodney dangerfield man what are you whining for? Nobody on this board has said anything negative about a.allen or anybody else at tech. I have seen uga and tech fans wish him luck. Maybe you see different comments but it seems like you are just huffing and puffing for no reason. For
one weekend quit all the petty trash talk and show support to these guys taking the next step in their careers. Grow up!

nash

May 1st, 2011
1:11 am

I’m glad Allen got drafted I would have thought that he would have gone earlier but ha it happens. The safety is someone I would love to see in a Falcons training camp along with Nessbit getting cross trained to play another role other thatn qb but as is life in sports

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
1:16 am

It’s gonna be hard to get a top notch kid to come if they have any NFL aspirations at all.

Georgia Tech will never get top notch running backs regardless of who the coach is or what offensive system we run. If you want to support a team that does get these kinds of players then pick one of the football factories in the southeast.

OB/DB

May 1st, 2011
1:32 am

I hope the Falcons give Butler a shot along Nesbit as a Safety with the DAWGS D. Gamble and J. Davis

Stinger 2

May 1st, 2011
3:57 am

Good to see AA get drafted. I believe he would have gone much higher had he played at a school running a conventional college offense. Good luck AA.

stan

May 1st, 2011
6:49 am

good luck to the kid .make the most of your chance

ToeMeetsLeather

May 1st, 2011
7:21 am

DoubleU, yes we probably will never get a five star running back with Johnson’s system, but hey, we never have gotten one that I can remember. We will get plenty of tough SOBs interested in a valuble degeree and 1,200 yards rushing in a season though.

Good luck Allen, I know you’ll be ready when Rice tweaks his knee.

ToeMeetsLeather

May 1st, 2011
7:26 am

Hey I know I can’t spell, we need “spell check” AJC

superDawg

May 1st, 2011
7:30 am

rodney I guess the scoreboard is overrated as well.

RambleOn84

May 1st, 2011
7:35 am

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…yes, playing in our offense probably makes NFL teams more hesitant to take one of our running backs.

But you can say the same thing about quarterbacks playing in spread offenses. BTW, we saw spread QBs go #1 and #10 in the draft his past weekend.

My point is if a guy has enough talent NFL types will look past the system he played in in college.

Another thing that hurts running backs specifically, though, is that they just don’t have the same value in the NFL they used to. It is a passing league now.

Anyway, back on point. Congrats Anthony. I wish you the best, and thanks for your efforts at Tech!

.

May 1st, 2011
7:47 am

Wow, Rodney Dangerfield needs a time out to work through his anger issues. Seriously guy, it will be okay. Get mom and dad to buy you a snow cone and you will be good as new.

high school

May 1st, 2011
7:59 am

The NFL will not take serious running backs that play in this sorry excuse for an offense!!!!!

Da' Truth

May 1st, 2011
8:00 am

Congrats, another banner day for a school in the a.she.she.

RambleOn84

May 1st, 2011
8:02 am

Nice argument, “high school.” Unfortunately for you, two counterexamples already exist. Care to try again?

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
8:47 am

Two things hurt GT RB’s when it comes to the NFL – reads from the TB position and pass blocking.

GT has had some outstanding RB’s in the past so I don’t buy the argument that GT will never get the 4 & 5 star backs simply because it is GT. GT won’t get them because of the offense they run. GT went after Crowell only to see him go elsewhere in part because he wants to prepare for the NFL (he sure isn’t preparing for med school :-) ).

Dacula Jacket

May 1st, 2011
8:53 am

Congrats Anthony! Good luck to Tarrant, Claytor, Butler, Joshua, etc. once the free agent signing period opens back up!

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
8:57 am

I hope AA makes it and has a great career but he has a tough up hill climb.

If you GT guys don’t think the system hurts the RB’s in the draft explain why AA wasn’t a mid round pick and why Jacquizz Rogers, who is smaller and slower, got drafted.

RB’s have short careers and teams will not invest the time and money to bring one from a goofy offense up to speed when there are so many already familiar with the pro-set. It’s not a knock on the GT talent but rather reality of the system.

Hiliarious

May 1st, 2011
9:02 am

I’m sure CPJ can use this year’s draft as an example to his team. Tarrant and Claytor have to feel like complete idiots right now. It was obvious to me they didn’t have a chance in the draft after last season and yet they left the team high and dry.

Now, they don’t have the NFL nor do they have their eligibility at GT (i.e., no more scholarship to pay for your last year of education).

Hilarious!!!!!!

the start of a two week career

May 1st, 2011
9:16 am

He’ll be cut before the 2nd pre season game..but hey, he’s got that Tech degree so Im sure he’ll be an astronaut by 2012.

@toemeetsleather

May 1st, 2011
9:44 am

You have a pretty bad memory , Tashard Choice was a 4 star as was Jonathan Dwyer.

ToeMeetsLeather

May 1st, 2011
9:44 am

Hey DAWG lurkers, where did five star Caleb King go in the draft? Oh OK.

ToeMeetsLeather

May 1st, 2011
9:46 am

I said five star bud, and Tashard transfered in from OK because his mom got sick.

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
10:12 am

Hey ToeMeetsLeather Caleb has another year left you tool. Are all GT fans ignorant or do you stand alone?

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
10:16 am

Hey Toe where did Nesbit go – you know Superman – ha ha ha………….

kb

May 1st, 2011
10:17 am

I think the jury is still out on Caleb, he’s still in school.Duh

Gatorman

May 1st, 2011
10:18 am

Good for Allen he got drafted and I feel will make the Baltimore team. However, all these other players that would come out as juniors only to be left out of the draft, maybe they should have left. It’s pretty obvious their own ego’s were greater than their talent, so give an underclassman a chance to shine. For the ones leaving football, I hope they have the sense to go back and finish their education. The world is a tough place to be successful and without a college education, McDonald’s and Walmart may be their best bet.

Tony

May 1st, 2011
10:26 am

OB/DB

The Falcons won’t sign any defensive players from Tech as long as Vangouarder is there. He ran off an all pro linebacker for that trash he has at linebacker now. How many all pros are in that bunch. And what did they do as Green Bay was putting up a 50 spot on them. I’m not sure but I don’t remember anybody putting up that much since the early days when Green Bay won by something like 56 to 3. And this from a team with the best record in the NFL.

ToeMeetsLeather

May 1st, 2011
10:27 am

Old Blind Nadlicker, that’s my point. Five Star to backup, to the backup in senior year.

Jacket Man

May 1st, 2011
10:47 am

The Ravens should know as much about how to use TO running backs as any team in the NFL as they’ve had a chance to watch Navy games on TV since Paul Johnson became their Head Coach. Don’t doubt that AA will be seeing plenty of playing time for Baltimore.

WnE

May 1st, 2011
11:04 am

I wonder will Vad Lee call up Josh and ask him why he wasn’t drafted?

Remember Vad, Josh was more highly rated than YOU coming out of HS and played against better HS competition (in Ga.) to boot and he put up better HS Stats.

Good luck and God Bless, Vad.

Jerry S.

May 1st, 2011
11:08 am

Agreed. I’ll bet Tarrant and Claytor were two of the guys CPJ referenced as being part of the problem with GT’s ‘individualism’ attitude last season.

They obviously thought more highly of themselves than the NFL did. As a major Tech fan, I say good riddance to both of them! Best of luck to them in the real world. Tech will do better this year without the attitude.

GDBurdell

May 1st, 2011
11:10 am

Gtbob:
It’s gonna be hard to get a top notch kid to come if they have any NFL aspirations at all.

“Georgia Tech will never get top notch running backs regardless of who the coach is or what offensive system we run. If you want to support a team that does get these kinds of players then pick one of the football factories in the southeast.”

tek IS a “football factory” except when you are having a losing season like last year, this year and the 9 years prior to 2009. Face it tek just talks about being a Duke or a Vandy…and does a crap job in both education AND football.

PJ has officially slammed the last nail in the coffin as far as recruiting goes…

WnE

May 1st, 2011
11:13 am

For all the douche-bag, putz, loser GT fans that are swinging from Coach Kung Fu Panda’s jock, remember that the both Dwyer & A. Allen had similar combine stats and similar Stats their final yr. at GT as did OHIO STATE’S Beanie Wells…………..

The DIFFERENCE is that Beanie Wells played in a pro-style Offense (single back or I-formation) while at Ohio State and was the last pick of the 1st round while the 2 guys that played for Coach Kung Fu Panda played in a gimmicky, crappy HS Offense and were PUNISHED BY NFL SCOUTS and as a result were drafted in the 6th(Dwyer) and 7th(Allen) rounds.

Had Dwyer & Allen played at Ohio State or USCw in a real pro-style Offense or something “close” they would have gone no later than the 3rd round.

HS RBs, CPJ will “cost you” 4 rounds in the NFL Draft the minute you fax in your LOI, and for QBs like Vad “God Bless” Lee, you’ll NEVER get drafted by an NFL Team at QB.

Someone should ask Josh does he wish he should have transferred when CPJ got hired and moved to safety?

I’ll bet his answer will surprise many GT fans.

Fernando Appleyard

May 1st, 2011
11:17 am

Hey Tony, my memories of that All Pro linebacker are of him always trying to make a tackle ten yards downfield and getting lit up by the Arizona Cardinals.

cmon man

May 1st, 2011
11:19 am

why do tech fans get so sensitive when people talk about cpj and his triple floption offense? we all know that a. allen and j dwyer are great running backs and to be honest there is no reason for a 1300 yd rusher in a bcs conf with no long history of injuries, and no “character” issues to be drafted in the 6th and 7th rd. as much as you people try to deny it cpj and his offense is going to set your program back. for all the trash talk about caleb king im willing to bet if somehow this season he puts up the same amout of yds that allen put up he wont have to until the 7th round to be drafted. for you tech fans who try to fool yourselves into thinking that these elite athletes put academics as their top priority you are sadly mistaken these kids are looking for a fast track to the nfl. if these guys were totally focused on academics your graduation rate would be higher than 43%. with all of the negative recruiting that goes on this only adds fuel to the fire. i know instead of facing the reality of the situation i know most of you will call me a troll and anything else you can think of but the fact remains that after a 6-7 record and alot of failed expectations my favorite school sent 6 players to the nfl this weekend while tech sent “1″ player. i wish A. Allen nothing but the best congrats!

Tech Fan

May 1st, 2011
11:21 am

WnE. I agree with you in part about Josh Nesbitt. In reality though, he isn’t good enough to go to the NFL as a QB regardless of where he went to school. As a Safety, you are probably right. For some reason, kids want to play QB over any other position – even if it costs them in the long run with going pro.

Fernando Appleyard

May 1st, 2011
11:28 am

At least Nesbitt can look forward to a career as an Engineer. ;)

B.J.

May 1st, 2011
11:29 am

With regards to Tarrant and Claytor, it seems like they may be ready for some type of career in Las Vegas, NV.

Apparently, they love to gamble! Rahhhaaahhaaaaaaa!!!!!!…..

DJ

May 1st, 2011
11:40 am

This just in: Wisconsin is switching from the I-formation, as it cost big-time RB John Clay a spot in the NFL draft. Auburn will no longer recruit big-time running QBs for the spread offense since WR Darvin Adams wasn’t drafted. Finally, WVU is switching from the spread because RB Noel Devine wasn’t drafted.

You people crack me up. It doesn’t really matter where a B-back from Tech gets drafted. Pro caliber, non pro-caliber that position will get its yardage and be part of an offense that moves up and down the field. We (Tech) need some consistency at OL and a defense that performs at least 25% better to help do its part. A few defensive players getting drafted, which is about usual every couple years for us will help out, but it’s not all about pro players. And has been pointed out already, Tech doesn’t land the 5-star RBs. Occasionally we’ll get an upper tier recruit at RB (i.e. Dwyer, Joe Burns), or a transfer in (i.e. Choice, Allen), or even a position change (i.e. Tony Hollings, CJ Williams). But I’ll take Preston Lyons, Charles Perkins, Richard Watson, etc this year and bet you the offense churns it up on the ground. I’m not betting any of them are high draft picks, but for their sake I hope they have great careers in anything. Add in a little stability on the OL and even minor improvement on Defense and we’re better already.

You Dawgs had your usual class of players drafted….congrats. Outside of beating Tech, which I know makes you happy, what else did you have to show for having so many talented upperclassmen? Which makes you happier, the six draft picks or the 6-7 record? With all that talent, I’m shocked you couldn’t handle teams like UCF, Colorado, South Carolina, Arkansas, Miss. St……maybe you should switch from the pro-style offense to something else, might not produce as many NFL picks but maybe you’ll win more games. Or do you measure your happiness as a Georgia football fan based on NFL draft picks?

DawgsRule

May 1st, 2011
11:50 am

@ B.J.

Yeah, watching Claytor and Tarrant is like watching the World Series of Poker. They love to go “all-in”. Apparently, this time they went “all-in” a little too early in the game.

DJ

May 1st, 2011
11:54 am

From a football perspective, Tarrant’s move was questionable. I have no idea about any personal issues he may have though. As for Claytor, the football decision may not have been a good one to outsiders, but Nick already got his degree and has started a family. Of course don’t let facts like that get in the way of witty comments.

George Stein

May 1st, 2011
12:11 pm

WnE – That question was asked of, and answered by, Josh Nesbitt. His answer might surprise you, you clown. By the way, what about that commitment of yours not to comment again if someone proved you said something false?
http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-tech/nesbitt-ready-to-show-859846.html

Double – I’ll play ball. The problem I have with your comment – and the others like yours – is that it assumes that had Allen or Dwyer or any other B-Back in our system would have been drafted higher had they been playing in a pro-style offense (not that a pro-style offense actually is a pro-style offense). I’m not sure how anyone can identify the delta but I’d be curious to hear the reasoning.

As to the recruiting aspect, I didn’t see us getting many 4 star tailbacks when we were running a pro coach’s offense, so why wouldn’t we try something different? Ultimately, all the talk about the offense is foolish because it generally runs like a machine. UGA has shown no propensity for stopping it in three tries and until they do it consistently, their fans that trash our offense look even more like clowns.

George Stein

May 1st, 2011
12:13 pm

Good comment, DJ. But most of the folks here won’t be interested in facts.

Tech Man

May 1st, 2011
12:33 pm

Welcome to the real world Claytor and Tarrant. Now you have no job and no scholarship. let’s hope MCDonalds and Waffle House are hiring.

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
1:08 pm

DJ you are correct in the fact that last years UGA team and to a certain extent the one before that didn’t play to the level of talent. Hard to explain but it is what it is.

Your comment about GT getting yardage on the ground is laughable – how else are you going to move the ball – you sure as hell can’t pass. The only reason CPJ had any success with the passing game (year before last) was the freak you had playing WR. You will never have that luxury again as any kid with WR talent will go elsewhere. Look at what has happened to Stephen Hill (a recruit UGA really wanted) he is moving backwards. Hill could have been a star in a spread or pro set offense as it stands now he will be a decent blocker. I guess CPJ can sell blocking only as a trademark of the GT football program.

CPJ and his enormous ego coupled with his stubbornness will be the ruin of GT football. Say what you want about being able to make do with 2 and 3 star recruits it won’t work as the ACC grows. You are so far behind the upper echelon in the ACC I doubt you will ever rise above 3rd or 4th in your division. Coach em up or punching opposing fans in the mouth won’t win the ACC.

Now that GT is using CPJ COACHED UP recruits the wheels are coming off. CPJ came to GT thinking he would show the world how brilliant he was because he would have better payers than he had at Navy & GS – oops he can’t get better players at GT either. But that couldn’t be because kids don’t want to play in a 60’s offense.

CPJ will be gone before CMR – write it down and remember you heard it first here.

cmon man

May 1st, 2011
1:15 pm

@dj where did nick claytor graduate from because it sure wasnt ga tech? george stein if cpj’s offense wasnt the reason behind two 1300yd rb not being drafted until the 6th and 7th then what was problem? and you can talk about all the yards the triple floption offense gained against uga but the fact still remains that tech lost the game period. and if you want to get techinical tech averaged 5 yds per play against uga while uga averaged 8, tech ran abt 30 more plays, and controlled t.o.p so if you are being honest uga did a pretty good job. but thats old news the issue at hand is cpj is not putting these guys in a position to transition to the nfl. has uga won a mnc no, but when recruits are asked why they like uga all of them say because the put players in the “nfl”. tech has a low graduation rate and they hardly put guys in the nfl. never mind uga teams in the acc will continue to out recruit tech and tech is going to continue to be the top choice of 2nd and 3rd tier athletes

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
1:28 pm

Hey Georgie you are correct – since CPJ took over you haven’t signed a 4 Star RB. Prior to CPJ (and his pixie dust offense) you averaged almost one 4 Star RB a year going back to 2002.

Face it CPJ does well against lesser programs and even does well against the better programs when he has the other coaches players. If Dandy Don were still around he could start his famous tune right about now. :-)

CPJ is a Genius

May 1st, 2011
1:40 pm

I can imagine CPJ said to Claytor and Tarrant, “Sure, since you’ve had your mind on the NFL all season, go ahead. Best of luck to you getting drafted.”

He’s all about teaching important lessons for future GT youngsters. Might as well be Tarrant and Claytor that learn the lesson the hard way…

Gatorman

May 1st, 2011
1:50 pm

PJohnson has the potential to easily convert his offense to a spread with not a lot of changes, but people don’t understand that he hates to pass more than a handful of times during the game. Darrel Royal had the same problem at Texas with the triple option and it cost him his job and no future options with another school. I’m sure Johnson would have other options in WAC or other second tier conference that can’t get top notch players anyway. The question now is how many season will Rad put up with mediocre success or losing seasons before he does a Hewitt on PJohnson.

George Stein

May 1st, 2011
1:52 pm

Couple things, cmon man.

I guess I don’t know why Dwyer or Allen didn’t get drafted higher. But that fact that you say you do proves you’re an idiot. I mean, why didn’t all the Texas Tech QBs get drafted highly? Heck, if the style of offense a school runs determines where a player gets drafted, explain what happened to David Greene. He was nothing short of terrific at UGA and nothing short of horrible in the NFL.

As to the performances of the teams in the UGA game, we were never talking about UGA’s offense. They played pretty well against Tech in the first half. You guys like to talk smack about Tech’s offense, but your boys should try stopping it first. If you want to smack talk our defense, I think you’d find that I’d join you (although I’m cautiously optimistic about its improvement this year).

Old Blind Dawg – I understand you long for the Chan Gailey years. But let’s deal with reality here. Gailey had one good recruiting class. Name all the 4 star tailbacks he recruited.

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
1:58 pm

PJ has officially slammed the last nail in the coffin as far as recruiting goes…

Chan Gailey, Mr NFL and the best recruiter of all time according to UGA fans only had one recruiting class that was better then any of CPJ’s classes so far. CPJ is basically recruiting near what GT is capable of. If you listen to UGA fans, then you would think that we were a consistent top 5 recruiter before CPJ and now we are last in the nation.

George Stein

May 1st, 2011
1:59 pm

Don’t confuse them with facts, GTBob.

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
2:47 pm

Yes don’t confuse anyone with facts – CPJ has tech positioned for greatness – if they switch conferences.

Georgie I think the last two really good RB’s GT had were signed prior to CPJ. I may be wrong as I don’t really track recruits of the lesser teams.

Coloradojacket

May 1st, 2011
2:54 pm

Alright:
1. the last Tech 4 star running back to sign with Tech was Dwyer. Choice and Allen Transfered in and remember, Allen still transfered knowing he was going to play in CPJs offense.
2. It is a real shame that UGA with all of that NFL Talent had the same record Tech had with only one NFL draft choice.
3. It will take a few years and some success from a Dwyer or Allen in the NFL to chnage the minds there. The fact is the College game and the NFL are parting styles very quickly. The most successful college programs now run a spread option. That is how you win in college. See Auburn, Oregon etc.
4. As far as Tech last year, we were moving to a 3-4 on defense that hurt. But more than anything else it was turnovers. Turnovers cost us Miami, Kansas, Georgia, and Airforce. If we don’t fumble 3+ times in each of those games we win.

norris

May 1st, 2011
3:04 pm

Enter your comments here

norris

May 1st, 2011
3:06 pm

interesting that UNC had the most players drafted but was weighed down with NCAA sanctions and investigations all year, UNC has yet to win a Coastal title much less the ACC..same as Miami, number of players drafted but yet to win Coastal much less the ACC. Clemson,the 3rd most, always has a good number of players drafted but again no ACC title.

Interesting

ormewood

May 1st, 2011
3:21 pm

Norris, I think three of those UNC players who were drafted in the first two rounds never saw the field for a single down last season. Searcy, from Dekalb missed about four games due to suspension. Another one, the RB White, missed the last four or five games with an injury.

Still, based on the talent they have had, UNC has clearly underachieved with Butch Davis. Miami has been underachieving ever since they joined the ACC so nothing new there. Clemson had a lot of guys drafted for a 6-7 team.

Fandango

May 1st, 2011
3:23 pm

It really makes me giggle when I see Techies attempt to make the argument “with all that talent UGA had why did they have the same record as Tech”, as if the 2 play in the same conference with the same schedules.

It’s simply incomparable nerds.

You would be an absolute fool if you truly believe that if UGA and Tech swapped schedules last year, UGA would have had much better results than Tech, and Tech would have had much worse results than UGA.

Only for a Techie, does head to head matchup not mean squat for the “who’s better” pee pee contest.

And finally,please do not forget when making the argument about UGA having such great recruiting classes and lack of National Championships recently, that UGA NEVER has the 2nd or even 3rd best recruiting class within their conference. That very large fact is always conveniently left out.

9-1

George Stein

May 1st, 2011
3:50 pm

Of course you don’t, Old Blind Dawg. But that didn’t stop you from saying we’ve signed a 4 star back every year Chan was around. It also doesn’t stop you from posting on the blog every single time there’s a new post.

Last thing – Allen was recruited and signed by Johnson. But don’t let facts get in your way.

William Satterwhite

May 1st, 2011
4:12 pm

There’s no denying that the relative novelty of Tech’s offense does hurt the way Tech backs are evaluated by NFL scouts now but that’s just because the idea of high level NFL-caliber athletes coming out of this system is still a foreign concept. With that said, the actual performance of backs like Dwyer and Allen once they get to the NFL will have more to do with Tech’s ability to recruit running backs with NFL aspirations as well as how NFL scouts come to view Tech running back prospects than anything else. Right now there are legitimate questions about how well a Tech B-Back can transition into being a conventional NFL halfback, it’s up to the players themselves to provide those answers when given the opportunity.

DJ

May 1st, 2011
4:19 pm

@ cmonman, Take 10 seconds and check it: Nick Claytor has already graduated from Georgia Tech. His remaining eligibility was as a RS-SR.

Fandango, get off the SEC box Chief. You guys can’t compete with the top brass in that league. You’ve turned into Vanderbilt and Kentucky, hiding within the almighty SEC. UCF, Miss, St, Colorado….come on. Thank God you get up for a rivalry game vs. Tech, right?

And I love the fact that an idiot claims Tech always signs 4-star running backs and then can’t name them all….hint: they don’t exist as you claimed. But it’s cute to make the claim that you don’t follow “lesser” teams when you’re shown to be an idiot. And yes, regardless of whether your team wins/loses, your comments on a sports blog expose you as an idiot.

dawgfan

May 1st, 2011
5:30 pm

LMFAO @ getting one player drafted in the 7th round.

football_365

May 1st, 2011
5:31 pm

@ dj nick claytor is about 10 credit hrs away from his degree so he did not graduate and he was a junior not a rs sr. maybe you should take 10 sec and do a little research

football_365

May 1st, 2011
5:43 pm

This time last year tech fans were on top of the world. acc champs, finally made a bcs bowl game and had a few players drafted early. Fast forward a year they go from acc champs to losing to a service academy in a bowl game and only having 1 player drafted through 7 rounds. a kicker was taken before your best player and you say talent gets wasted at uga, well what happens at tech because they dont graduate (43%), and they very seldom go pro.

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
5:43 pm

LMFAO @ UGA having as many players drafted as they had wins last year. Nice coaching situation that you guys have there.

dawgfan

May 1st, 2011
5:49 pm

LMFAO @ GTBob running his fat Techie mouth about a team that his beaten his team 9 times in the past 10 years.

Tarrant for President

May 1st, 2011
5:56 pm

Tarrant is a genius. He could run this country!

Or he could serve me fries at McDonalds….

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
5:59 pm

LMFAO @ dawgfan running his fat mutt mouth about a team who was slightly worse then his team with about one tenth of the talent. You keep putting those players in the NFL dawgfan. Maybe they will learn how to win at football when they are there.

football_365

May 1st, 2011
6:02 pm

Lmfao@ tech having one player drafted which is the same amount of times they have beaten uga in the last 10 yrs!

crenshawcrusher

May 1st, 2011
6:05 pm

For all you folks that claim to NOT follow a lessor program but continue to spout out information (propaganda??) on things that you know nothing of, specifically that before CPJ we averaged a 4-star RB every year – I don’t think so……if I remember right, based on Scout’s rankings, we have had two 4-star running backs in the last decade, Reshaun Grant and Jon Dwyer. Allen and Choice were both 3 star transfers and PJ Daniels was initially a walk on. CPJ has had higher ranked classes than Coach Gailey other than 2007 and I know it is hard to believe but we see great things ahead and hope to add you as fans to this lessor program in the future.

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
6:06 pm

Hey 365 don’t confuse DJ with facts or reality.

I love how my tech friends always throw out the “Academics” and “We led the galaxy in rushing” argument.

Hey techies the only thing that matters is the SCORE at the end of the game – you get no bonus points for not being able to advance the ball with the forward pass.

Hey Georgie & DJ I never said Chan signed a 4 star RB every year – stop twisting the facts to fit your illogical logic. I said they averaged almost 1 every year since 2002 which is a little off as they signed one in 02, 03, 06 & 07

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
6:27 pm

Lmfao@ tech having one player drafted which is the same amount of times they have beaten uga in the last 10 yrs!

Awe how cute. dawgfan must have gotten a secretary. Ironically your attempt at a troll actually proves my point.

crenshawcrusher

May 1st, 2011
6:29 pm

Old Blind Dawg – looks like you used a different data base than I to get four 4-star recruits over the last 9 classed for GT……. but still how does that equate to almost 1 4-star running back a year? I guess using math that I know, I get just under a 4-star running back every 2 years, no where near averaging almost one 4-star running back each year. Must be a higher math than I have been exposed to.

I do wish UGA luck in the future, I believe there are enough good players in this state for both teams to be good and I also don’t think that two good teams is a zero sum game. Both teams are at a cross roads….. for GT was last year the aberration and can CPJ keep the offense on track, add a bit more passing and get the 3-4 experience to get much more performance out of the defense…… for UGA (and I am not an expert so this is a top level look from far away) is the last couple of years a trend or just also a function of installing a new defense and just the usually cyclic in maturing a team. I know GT can do better with better recruits and I think we will get them and if you look closely at the program, we are doing better in recruiting (other than the amazing 2007 class)……… the concern that I see for UGA is that the last couple of years were achieved with super good recruiting classes so it will be harder to get better players in the UGA system. Good luck this year.

Back to the topic, good luck Ant and for all the other guys, I hope this NFL craziness gets cleared up since I think that a few more will latch on to NFL teams. We seem to do very well with FA;s sticking with teams.

dawgfan

May 1st, 2011
6:35 pm

LMFAO @ GTBob acting like he and other Techies weren’t the most obnoxious a-holes on the planet this time last year when hell froze over and they had a couple of 1st round draft picks. You would have thought Georgia Tech had invented 1st round draft picks the way these idiots were running their fat Techie mouths.

Tech fans are an effing joke. The only bigger joke is the pile of crap team they cheer for.

9 outta 10 Techies. Where happens to all that talent at UGA you ask Techies? They learn how to wax that nerd azz like it was their job. That’s what happens to them.

Thanks.

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
6:59 pm

LMFAO @ dawgfan acting like other mutts aren’t obnoxious redneck pieces of trash every day of the year. Like I said, congrats to all of your 5 star thoroughbreds who can beat Tech but are the laughing stock of the SEC and College Football in general. Fourth most players drafted since 2000 and can’t come close to comparing to other teams with even slightly similar talent.

You’re welcome.

dawgfan

May 1st, 2011
7:17 pm

LMFAO @ GTBob pretending like it doesn’t chap his crybaby Techie azz to lose to UGA year after year after effing year. This clown is about to blow a gasket. LMFAO.

Georgia Tech is a joke.

George Stein

May 1st, 2011
7:20 pm

So you do follow our recruiting, Old Blind Dawg?

Could you pick one story and stick to it, loser?

Rodney Dangerfield

May 1st, 2011
7:22 pm

The only reason Dawg fans come on here to bash Tech and it’s players is because they are scared. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t come on here to bash. I took a tally and their are more UGA fans bashing Tech than Tech fans commenting on this blog. It is kinda of pathetic how the Dawg fans flock to the Tech blog.

Rodney Dangerfield

May 1st, 2011
7:23 pm

Thanks for the interest!

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
7:57 pm

Crusher I think I used Rivals.

Georgie I follow college football and have fun comparing the recruits ratings with how well they perform in college and then the NFL. UGA has had some real 5 star duds and some ultra successful 3 star guys.

Bashing UGA for its SEC record, while true, is far more complex than you know. UGA is about where they should be based on talent. Check this out http://www.teamspeedkills.com/2011/4/29/2143090/ten-years-of-sec-first-round-draft-picks

Hey Rodney check out the nerds posting drivel on the UGA blogs. They are as thick as yellow jackets on a cow patty.

I drop in on the GT blogs simply to needle the weak and discuss football with the more enlightened ones.

do the dogs have poor coaching?

May 1st, 2011
7:57 pm

all that NFL talent and still bottom dwellers in their conference.

BIG BEE

May 1st, 2011
7:58 pm

I don’t understand why some guys spend all theit time telling other people how badthey are. If they read the remarks they make and they were about some of their guys all hell would break loose. BAD NEWS DAWGS RIDE AGAIN, AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
8:13 pm

LMFAO @ dawgfan, thinking he can get to me and other Tech fans by posting on the AJC blogs. We laugh at you and your ignorant fan base every time you try. Thank you for providing me some cheap entertainment today. You are poster boy UGA loser that everyone in the southeast laughs at on a daily basis. Now get back to telling everyone how your team is going to win the national championship again this year like all other UGA fans. I wonder what there will be more of this next year for UGA. NFL draft picks, arrests, or wins.

Fernando Appleyard

May 1st, 2011
8:41 pm

football_365, you sir are wrong! There were TWO kickers taken before tech’s best player.

GTBob and I quote: “Like I said, congrats to all of your 5 star thoroughbreds who can beat Tech but are the laughing stock of the SEC and College Football in general.” If the Dawgs can beat tech like a drum then what does that say about tech? Hmmmmm…..

And of course you haven’t recruited many 4-star running backs in the last decade….matter of fact you haven’t recruited many 4-star anythings as of late.

Fish Fry is a pitiable coach. Groh is an ancient dodderer. And your “program” is pathetic. You should raze that concrete monstrosity on North Ave. and relocate to the country somewhere. And add some programs to attract some decent women….wait, that would make you Georgia.

Nevermind.

Bogey

May 1st, 2011
8:44 pm

Don’t understand Claytor and Tarrant. Who’s advising these kids? The rankings are out there for them to make a sound decision. Anything past the third round is a crap shoot so you have to stay in school.

We Own You

May 1st, 2011
9:23 pm

Shame Nesbett wasn’t drafted—-but at least he’ll have an engineerng degree to fall back on.

Fernando Appleyard

May 1st, 2011
9:36 pm

He can hang it on the wall in front of the french fryer.

football_365

May 1st, 2011
9:38 pm

@we own you, that statment would be true if nesbitt had graduated instead he joins the 57% club! For those not familiar with the “57% club” thats the percentage of tech football players who never graduate!

Fandango

May 1st, 2011
9:49 pm

Josh Nesbitt is unemployed, and degree-less. By hiring an agent is is no longer granted any scholarship money to finish that “engineering” degree either.

With the lockout looking like it will be in stronghold for some time, no NFL team will hire Nesbitt ANY TIME SOON.

Josh Nesbitt: 1-2 against UGA, unemployed college dropout. A REAL success story of GT Football.

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
9:51 pm

Fernando, I have already admitted in this blog that GT is terrible at recruiting and always will be. I know reading more then one or two posts is a struggle for a UGA fan but try to keep up. And you are right, if GT made some majors like housing or basket weaving or whatever else you use to hide those morons that you recruit then our average star number might go up. But then we wouldn’t be Georgia Tech, we would be North Metro Tech, or Floyd, or UGA or something like that.

kb

May 1st, 2011
10:15 pm

GTBob, 32 of those morons were recruited and offered by PJ.

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
10:24 pm

KB there ya go – throwing truth at them – they duck and then come back with either thug, redneck, inbreed, trailer trash, moron – well you get the idea.

Techies call the UGA folks what you want just remember to wear that hypocrite badge when you venture out.

Wes Durham's Gigantic Bottom

May 1st, 2011
10:25 pm

Nesbitt makes better pitches to A-Backs than any other QB in the draft….I am shocked he was not drafted.

GTBob

May 1st, 2011
10:32 pm

That is probably true kb, I will trust your counting. I applaud CPJ for giving these special student athletes a chance at a prestigious academic institution but lets face it, when he offers them he knows and they know they aren’t coming to GT. Even if they are thinking about, then someone will remind them that they have virtually no chance at GT. If you can barely get double digits on the wonderlic then calculus is probably going to be impossible. But like I said, I applaud CPJ for giving them the chance.

Fandango

May 1st, 2011
10:36 pm

What do you call a Georgia Tech athlete taking calculus?

The longest 3 years of their life.

Wait…… tutors do it for them anyway. So disregard above joke.

Old Blind Dawg

May 1st, 2011
10:39 pm

Yup – the highest academic standards in the country

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2227377

London_Jacket

May 2nd, 2011
7:13 am

Anthony was a great pick-up for the Jackets and it was a win-win situation for him and us. Coming out of high school he was a mid-tier recruit – about 70 RB/FB’s rated ahead of him. He exited as one of the top 20 RB’s on draft day. In his two years of significant contribution he got to showcase peripheral blocking ability, downfield catching ability (not just outlet passes and screens), running on the edge and running up the gut. Probably the only thing he didn’t do extensively was pass blocking – and hopefully, if you have read the spring notes, we are planning to implement more of that in the future with our B-Backs. He also won a conference championship, played in a BCS Bowl and was an All-ACC player. Anyone saying that he was somehow disadvantaged by playing in Tech’s system is ignorant of the facts. Now, it’s up to him to make the most of it at the next level. He will have a lot of GT fans pulling for him.

WnE

May 2nd, 2011
7:43 am

I wonder will Coach Kung Fu Panda ever have an A-Back get drafted by the NFL.

I mean a true A-Back, not a situation like A-Allen playing A-back when he was really a B-Back in-waiting.

My prediction is never.

Sam

May 2nd, 2011
10:55 am

GTbob get a grip. GT athletes can’t find the calculus building with a GPS and GT is very skilled at keeping them away from there until their eligibility as expired and then it doesn’t matter to anybody at that point.

Sam

May 2nd, 2011
10:58 am

And then there’s the Ivan Allen School of Liberal Arts with that demanding Survey of Calculus course. LMAO!

GTBob

May 2nd, 2011
2:39 pm

Sam, you are right, they probably can’t find the Calculus building. Neither can the Calculus professors because it doesn’t exist. You see, at a school like ours, calculus is a common subject and not much importance is placed on it. Maybe UGA has a whole building dedicated to basketball 101 where they spend hours teaching their student athletes how many points you get for a three point shot but that isn’t really how things work at GT. Also, you have very little knowledge of anything if you think Survey of Calculus is an easy class at GT.