Tech loses its chief recruiter, and that’s a major loss
Bringing football players to Georgia Tech isn’t easy. The competition for Georgia players is wicked, and not just from the state’s flagship university. All the heavy hitters come here to poach, and Tech has to fight twice as hard just to hold its own.
Other considerations: Paul Johnson’s spread option has further siphoned the pool. (Tight ends need not apply, since Johnson doesn’t deploy any, and receivers aren’t apt to be overused.) Al Groh just arrived as defensive coordinator, and recruiting for the 3-4 is a bit different. And this being Tech, there’s always the calculus requirement.
Giff Smith was landing players at a high rate by Tech’s standards, which shouldn’t be confused with Rivals.com’s rankings. Tech is never apt to duel Florida or Texas or Georgia for space in the top 10 — the famed class of 2007 was rated only 18th nationally by Rivals and contained no 5-star signees — but that class powered the Jackets to the 2009 ACC title.
Trouble is, three of those players just left early for the NFL, and now Smith is gone. That’s not good news.
Smith is leaving to join Chan Gailey with the Buffalo Bills as linebackers coach. Smith managed to do good work under both Gailey and Johnson — somewhat different personalities, you’d have to concede — and it was a credit to the chief recruiter that the Jackets’ talent base was as imposing as it was.
The kneejerk response is to say Smith’s departure delivers an immediate blow to Tech, coming as it does eight days before Signing Day. That’s probably not true. Players who’ve committed to the Jackets aren’t going to switch because the recruiting coordinator is Buffalo-bound. (The head coach would be a different story.) Where Smith’s loss stands to hurt is in 2011, when Tech was gearing up to sign its best class since 2007.
Smith is a Georgia guy — grew up in Mableton, graduated from Pebblebrook, played and worked at Georgia Southern, even did a stint at UGA as a grad assistant. He knows the state in a way even Johnson does not. Smith was the one man on this staff Tech could least afford to lose, and Gailey just hired him away.
Yes, Tech fans. Just one more reason to raise a glass to good ol’ Chan.
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249 comments Add your comment
SatchelBuzz
January 26th, 2010
7:28 pm
Good luck Giff,…but you’re making big mistake. Like I needed another reason to hate that SOB Gailey! Only wish I will one day get the chance to tell how I feel about him to his face.
In CPJ we trust,…..THWG!
The Dogfighter Returns
January 26th, 2010
7:29 pm
as long as magic city, the pink pony, and strokers are still in operation tech doesn’t really need a recruiter. hey now
just don’t walk by yourself around techwood son. the locals will jack you nerds in a heartbeat.
The Ole Ball Coach
January 26th, 2010
7:31 pm
According to Chip Towers UGA will sign nobody this year
all will be going to others schools ………… I guess Georgia should just quit this football sport.
Mark Bradley
January 26th, 2010
7:40 pm
Chan lasted one season and three exhibition games with Kansas City, Technophobia.
THWGT
January 26th, 2010
7:42 pm
Every program has it’s problems.was it not a former GT BB player that was just in trouble for gun possession.Your pot is just as black MR Kettle.
Buzzwax
January 26th, 2010
7:46 pm
Doubt Al Groh becomes recruiting coordinator….lets see a New Yorker trying to build relationships with rural HS Coaches…….Now Brian Jean Mary our LB coach, he is a very good recruiter and would fill the role very well…..
Elmore Spencer
January 26th, 2010
7:48 pm
UGA is battling the likes of Penn St and USC for recruiting rankings. (Ranked 8th by Rivals)
Tech is battling the likes of Baylor and Houston (Ranked 44th Rivals)
Which team would you rather be? Which one is more likely to win in the future?
Kirby Smart
January 26th, 2010
7:48 pm
Thanks again for the raise UGa. Didn’t even have to move and I’m still with a championship program. Life is good.
GT3O
January 26th, 2010
7:48 pm
If Paul Johnson could recruit at Navy without Giff Smith as well as he did, I am feel quite certain he will have no problem at GT.
Elmore Spencer
January 26th, 2010
7:50 pm
If Paul Johnson could recruit at Navy without Giff Smith as well as he did, I am feel quite certain he will have no problem at GT.
You dont recruit at Navy. You join
Elmore Spencer
January 26th, 2010
7:53 pm
Thanks again for the raise UGa. Didn’t even have to move and I’m still with a championship program. Life is good.
No problem Kirby. Have fun putting up with Saban. I heard he is real fun to work with.
GWB
January 26th, 2010
7:53 pm
Alphare you’re a blithering idiot. Want to predict how many 1st rounders GT has next year, or the year after that, or the year after that with the chum that PJ recruits.
GT3O
January 26th, 2010
7:54 pm
Elmore Spencer,
Funny you should say that coming off a 7-5 season, unranked with a top 10 recruiting class, and GT with a normal not so great class was top 10 and a BCS bowl team and a conference champion with a coach of the year in the ACC.
Did you know that today the ACC had the most players in the Pro Bowl selected? Did you know the majority of the players on the Indianapolis Colts were 2 star recruits in college based on those people who rank your top 10 recruiting class?
Tell me how credible those stars are, Elmore.
Remember, the ACC has the most players in the pro-bowl this year and the most of them were only 3 star recruits…
Mark Bradley
January 26th, 2010
7:54 pm
I believe Coach Martinez has been the victim of identity theft, Coach Grantham.
todd grantham
January 26th, 2010
7:55 pm
SO many coaches are retreads from the scrap heap. how come Willie cant get a job Mark?
GT IS NOW A 6TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 26th, 2010
7:56 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHA. AND WILL ALWAYS BE FOREVER AND EVER.
Elmore Spencer
January 26th, 2010
7:57 pm
How did Gilbert Arenas or Stephon Marbury do in Calculus?
GT3O
January 26th, 2010
7:59 pm
Elmore,
You couldn’t be more wrong about recruiting at Navy. Paul Johnson recruited Jonathon Dwyer for Navy and Jaybo Shaw for instance.
The fact that either of those two even considered going to Navy is a feat. That was more obstacles PJ had to jump over. It’s must harder to recruit guys to JOIN the Navy and play football…
Point is, PJ still had to recruit them….don’t be a moron.
GT IS NOW A 6TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 26th, 2010
8:00 pm
JELLO JOCKITCH YOU JUST HAVE TO GO TO CALLAWAY GARDENS AND SEE WHAT IS AT END OF YOUR STREAM IN THOSE WATERLESS URINALS AND YOU WILL KNOW YOUR PROPER POSITION OF LIFE HERE IN THE UNIVERSE. SEE THE JELLO JOCKITCH IMAGE AT THE BOTTOM. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
Elmore Spencer
January 26th, 2010
8:01 pm
Funny you should say that coming off a 7-5 season, unranked with a top 10 recruiting class, and GT with a normal not so great class was top 10 and a BCS bowl team and a conference champion with a coach of the year in the ACC.
Squirrel finds nut. It happens once a decade.
Remember, the ACC has the most players in the pro-bowl this year and the most of them were only 3 star recruits…
the pro bowl . lolololo
You mean the game all the best players “skip” because of “injuries”. Your actually using that as a stat?
Listen if you want to keep believing a 44th ranked class can compete year in year out with a top ten class go ahead. Its your right. But you are wrong and by a long shot. Its a numbers game and Tech doesn’t have the numbers. Its that simple. I know we went 7-5 last year with highly ranked players but ask yourself this. Will that continue to happen. Smart money say no. Most years our top ten recruiting classes have ended with a top ten ranking. Smart money says that continues with the occasional hiccup (2009)
GT IS NOW A 6TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 26th, 2010
8:02 pm
JELLO JOCKITCH IS ANATOMICALLY COMPATIBLE WITH AL GROhIN. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA
Elmore Spencer
January 26th, 2010
8:03 pm
Remember, the ACC has the most players in the pro-bowl this year and the most of them were only 3 star recruits…
and BTW please don’t compare the SEC with the ACC. It just makes you look stupid.
Call me when the ACC wins a BCS game. Heck call me when the ACC wins anything.
Elmore Spencer
January 26th, 2010
8:05 pm
P.S.
Iowa just scored again
GT3O
January 26th, 2010
8:08 pm
Elmore,
Doesn’t matter if they play or not, fact is they were selected, whether they actually play is up to them. I don’t see what your getting at other than the fact that you put too much into Rivals and Scout “rankings”.
Further, COACHING will get you further than a star. You have to be able to coach them up, having all those stars and that high ranking class doing as bad as UGA did last year points to something else…especially when PJ was getting more out of a “lower” ranked class.
Could it be that Paul Johnson just so happen just coach these lower star players up to bigger star level? While Mark Richt is getting the so called “ready made” talent and letting them waste banking on talent to be enough, when it’s obviously not?
cantondawg
January 26th, 2010
8:08 pm
I played with Giff Smith at GSU in 1989. He was a heckuva player and great person. I wish him all the best in the world. It didn’t surprise me that he’s been so successful. He has great people skills and knowledge of the game. I don’t expect him to stay at Buffalo long. He will be a college head football coach in the very near future. Congratulations and good luck Giff
The Dogfighter Returns
January 26th, 2010
8:09 pm
How did Gilbert Arenas or Stephon Marbury do in Calculus?
—-
They taught themselves capitalism. C.R.E.A.M. son.
fan of Baton twirlers
January 26th, 2010
8:12 pm
maybe Al will Groh some nads and be able to recruit some solid majorettes for the flag boy nation ..i mean He is good friends with William and Mary…lmao
Yellow Jackets Recruiting Takes a Severe Blow | Football Picks
January 26th, 2010
8:13 pm
[...] not Tech’s recruiting coordinator anymore. Chan Gailey just hired him away [...]
todd grantham
January 26th, 2010
8:13 pm
Did you not see Willie’s blog obituary from a few blogs ago?
it was very moving.
GT3O
January 26th, 2010
8:13 pm
Elmore, P.S. I think Joker Phillips out coached Mark Richt again…and Kiffin just laughed at UGA all the way to USC while out coaching Mark Richt too.
At least GT lost to a top 10 team and not other unranked teams.
Technophobia
January 26th, 2010
8:14 pm
Gilbert Arenas went to Arizona, not Tech.
fan of Baton twirlers
January 26th, 2010
8:14 pm
true GT30 …Richt can’t coach a lick..till ya put the TEch team on the field!! lmao course i am sure Al Groh will stop that ….coming from mighty Virginia like he is..lmao..your right Georgia just can’t coach em…apparently you don’t even have to coach good to beat a team at Tech
gtfanfrom1951
January 26th, 2010
8:14 pm
Mark no one is irreplaceable. I’m believe that Coach Johnson will find the right man for the job.
but arent players.....
January 26th, 2010
8:17 pm
….begging to play football for coach Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech….i mean “what has Georgia done since 1980 ” coach johnson???
GWB
January 26th, 2010
8:18 pm
Ok technophobia, how about Crittendon? Think he ever saw a math class. We know Reggie Ball didn’t.
Technophobia
January 26th, 2010
8:19 pm
Coach Grantham, man I missed Willie’s blog obit. No offense but he’s a way better poet than you.
todd grantham
January 26th, 2010
8:20 pm
i hope the travel schedule included some UGA basketball games. too hot a story to ignore.
GT3O
January 26th, 2010
8:21 pm
fan of baton twirlers…
And you UGA fan’s were singing a similar song as what I said in 2008…you know it, surely you don’t have that short of a memory.
Paul Johnson in his first year a the BCS level, bringing a new system to players fit for the pro system, no less freshman and sophomores which were the youngest class in the ACC that year, and he came into Athens and beat the preseason ranked #1 team with Stafford and Moreno and many other seniors.
Talk about Mark Richt being out coached.
Paul Johnson is 1-1 against UGA. Try not to forget so soon.
todd grantham
January 26th, 2010
8:21 pm
tech, willie was an old vet at limericks. i’m just a neophyte.
GWB
January 26th, 2010
8:23 pm
GT3O get a clue you moron. Think Dwyer, Nesbitt, Burnett, and Morgan were lower star recruits? Chan handed those guys to fat Paul on a silver platter. You won’t even sniff another ACC title with Johnson’s chum.
Technophobia
January 26th, 2010
8:25 pm
Coach Grantham, see, there’s your problem. What the heck rhymes with neophyte? Old vet is a start though.
GWB
January 26th, 2010
8:26 pm
Hey GT30, maybe PJ can coach em up to winn a bowl game one of these days. Or score more than 10 offensive pts. Think that’s possible?
GWB
January 26th, 2010
8:29 pm
Maybe one of these days PJ can coach em up enough to win a bowl game or beat a few mediocre 5 loss ooc teams. Think so GT30. Until PJ can do that he hasn’t done $hit.
StraightJacket
January 26th, 2010
8:35 pm
What I REALLY want to know is….
How does PRE-Season National Champ (how much is THAT worth?) and a PERENNIAL Recruiting National Champion (uh,… I think this is worth EVEN LESS than a PRE-Season National Championship!) like UGag ONLY beat a 6th Rate High School team by LESS than a touchdown?
Sounds like a real problem to me.
Sounds like an entire coaching staff living on the Peter Principle.
So, Athensfolk, Enjoy. While you can. The Peter Principle isn’t designed for longevity OR excellence.
-SJ
louisville slugger
January 26th, 2010
8:40 pm
Mark, did you hear about the morning rush hour fiasco here in Louisville today? Black ice everywhere, took me 95 minutes to go from Buckner to Hurstbourne! Regarding G. Smith, sounds like a good move for him, but PJ will need to replace him with someone of similar charisma, etc., for sure.
Technophobia
January 26th, 2010
8:41 pm
Last year UGa took the week off before the Gator game. Next year they take the week off before the Tech game. Wonder how the dawg fans feel about that.
Wreckmaniac
January 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
Why didn’t Chan hire Willie Martinez ?
Mark Bradley
January 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
Did not hear about it, Louisville Slugger. I hope everybody’s OK. I still have relatives in Louisville.
Mark Bradley
January 26th, 2010
8:51 pm
I did note the farewell done limerick-style. And I was impressed, Coach Willie/Todd.
Not Disappointed
January 26th, 2010
8:52 pm
This one hurts.
Ramblin Wreck!