Monday Notes
04-14-2008 8:05 pm

4/14/08 - 7:50pm

What a cold day today. Temperatures dipped into the 40's during practice. It is usually not this cold in Atlanta in April, but the players, coaches; support staff braved the cold for 2 1/2 hours.

We had a spirited practice today. The players were 'flying' around and making plays left and right. Since this was the last 'full' padded practice of the spring, the guys gave it their all. Both sides of the ball had some impressive plays throughout practice.

The coaches are still evaluating everyone out on that field! Many players have made some 'huge' strides in showing the coaches that they are READY to play for the Yellow Jackets.

The group that really has to step up this spring is our young group of linebackers (LB's). Coach Brian Jean-Mary has been coaching them up all spring, demanding that they 'show up' to play every practice. Here are some pics of the LB's today:

Coach Brian Jean-Mary


Coach BJ watching the LB's from behind the drill


Walking away from the huddle


LB's getting lined up


Don't get CUT!!!


Sending the signal


Chasing the ball, don't stop till the whistle blows


Coach BJ never stops coaching


I think that hurt!

Up-Downs!

Talking to the guys, post practice

Well there are only (2) more practices left, Wednesday and the Spring Game on Saturday. The players are going to use this week to heal up and get mentally ready for Saturday. For many of our players, this WILL be their time to shine.

Stay Warm and see everyone tomorrow...

4/14/08 - 4:50PM

We had another big meeting today. The players had a chance to watch practice from Saturday and go over their "mistakes" and missed assignments.

Practice starts here in a few minutes so I am heading on out. Today is our last 'full' padded practice, so the coaches are expecting great effort out there.

See you in a little bit.

4/12/08 - 4:50PM

We had a spirited and 'big play' practice today. The guys too a lot or reps and there were plenty of surprises today.

Coach Johnson and the football staff was very impressed and excited about some of our younger players 'stepping up' today. There were all kind of TD runs as well as big sacks and interceptions.

We also had a big recruiting day as many top prospects joined us for practice today. We had a small program for them, but the majority of the day was spent watching practice.

With only a week left of spring practice, all our players will be on top of their game for each day of practice. Finishing strong in the spring will be a great lead into fall camp. We just have to keep working and practicing with a high intensity for the remainder of practice.

I have plenty of pictures from today’s workout. Hope everyone can get a feel for how intense it was out there today!

1 more week, 3 more practices! 

Have a great weekend!

4/11/08 - 7:30pm

Today is a tough day for the Georgia Tech Athletic family. One of our baseball student athletes passed away this afternoon. Everyone associated with our football program would like to send our condolences to his family, friends, and teammates. He will be missed by all.

Practice was a little bit of a break today for the players. We were in "uppers" or "shells" today. This means that our guys wore helmets, shoulder pads, hip & back pads, and shorts w/ thigh pads. 

The coaches developed a practice plan revolving around instruction and repetition of schemes and plays. Without hitting as much, the players can focus a little more on their responsibilities.

I was not able to take a lot of pics today. I was quite busy with prospects out at practice. Sorry for those of you who enjoy the pictures, I will have plenty tomorrow. Here is what I was able to do:

We have big practice tomorrow. Hope everyone can make it out. Just about a week left of spring practice! 

See everyone tomorrow.

4/10/08 - 5:00PM

Spring football here at Tech is an exciting time! With Coach Johnson and the new coaching staff shaping up the team, prospects, coaches, and fans have been really enthusiastic about GT Football and the direction the team is going!

Yesterdays practice was overall a good practice. As been the constant this spring, the energy level and intensity has been great.

There is one group on our team that does not gather as much attention as say the higher profile positions. That would be our special team. Last year we had 3 out 4 units in the Top 10 in the Nation with our Punt Team finishing #1 in Punting. 

Durant Brooks won the Ray Guy Award for the Nations Top Punter and will be drafted in the NFL Draft in a few weeks.

Durant Brooks #39


The Ray Guy Award (Just delivered to my office)


Well I took the liberty to get some shots of OUR specialists yesterday!


Punter


Punter


Punter


Long Snapper



Long Snapper


Punt Returner


Punt Returner

4/9/08 - 8:20PM

Coach Wommack


Coach Wommack coaching up the defense


Safeties running through drills


Drive those legs!


Tackling


Had to put this in, a great shot!


1 on 1's


Lining Up


Post practice speech to the defense


Coaching up the safeties

Have a great night and GO TECH!!!!

4/8/08 - 7:50PM

Well today was actually a slower day here at the football office. The coaches spent the morning going over yesterdays practice film. I will say when they broke meetings; they were definitely pleased with the work effort of the team on Monday.

Overall, the players still are trying to learn both the Offensive and Defensive system, but for halfway through Spring Practice, they are really picking it up.

Also there is definitely a sense of urgency among the players. The majority of the team came in today to watch film as position groups.  They studied their mistakes as a group and worked through them together. This way they will be able to learn from each other and talk about why they made certain decisions on the field. I know for a fact from my playing days that this is one of the best ways of learning, going through tough times with teammates and relying on each other to get through and push forward.

I along with the coaches am excited about tomorrows practice!

To get everyone fired up for GT Football, here are some shots of the Best Stadium in the Country!

Bobby Dodd Stadium in the heart of Atlanta, GA!!!

Come play in the Big Time!!!!










4/7/08 - 7:15PM

Practice #9! Just past halfway through spring practice! Today was a GOOD day for GT Football. Coach Johnson at the team meeting had a long discussion about what it means to be a "TEAM!" The players listened to what Coach said and really gave a GREAT effort out on the fields!

We were visited by a few former players:

GT #42 Adamm Oliver, GT #73 Nate McManus, GT #61 Matt hodes


The weather today was dryer than Saturday. The ball was on the ground a lot less than it was the other day. Our team is shaping up and really doing a great job of cutting down their "mental" mistakes.

Our Wide Receivers have been working their tails off all through spring. Coach Albert "Buzz" Preston has coached some of the best players in college football over the last 20 years and has brought that knowledge to our WR's. 

Coach Albert 'Buzz" Preston

I decided to follow the WR's today here is what they got into today:


Coach Preston in Action


Get up for that ball


Make the Catch #8!!!!


Coach Preston


Individual Period


Blocking


Getting off the Ball


1 on 1 - vs Corner


WR running a route!


Coach Preston doing "Up-Downs" with WR's!


Post Practice Coaching with WR's

The coaches were certainly pleased with the effort and intensity today. It was quite a step up from the weekend. Tomorrow will be a good day for the guys to rest their bodies. From here on out, our guys just need to rep all the plays and keep working hard to get better.

4/5/08 - 2:20PM

The GT Football team had a long and tough work day today. Coach Johnson had a long live drill situation and the players tried their best, despite the poor weather.

Our offense struggled at times today. With the ball being wet the QB's and RB's did their best to hold onto the ball. The offense scored a few TD's including a long TD's pass and a 30yd run by on of our B-Backs.

The defense improved from the last time we had a live situation. Every position was flying around the field and there are some bone crushing hits!!! There was one in particular that knocked the helmet off the QB!!!!

Although it was pouring out, Coach Johnson had the team work. Some of the coaches are still here in the office grading the film. I have not had time to speak with them, but I am sure they are excited by the player’s progress.

Here are a few pics from today:















Until next time....



4/3/08 - 6:45pm

Sorry for not getting a post up here earlier in the day. We are preparing for a coaches clinic and have been running all around the city collecting supplies.

With Coach Johnson being here at Tech, his "following" has filled our meeting rooms and practice fields the last 2 weeks. Coaches from all over the country including both High School and College have come here to watch Coach Johnson and the GT staff installs the new system.

With that, we have received hundreds of prospect film from all over the country. We log in every film and then distribute it throughout the coaching staff. Every film is evaluated. 

Here is a idea of how that process works. We have some students that help out here in the office for a couple hours a day. The student assistants handle the 'logging in' of the films and the mailing of the confirmation letter then distribute to the coaches. Once the coaches watch the film we 're-log' the film and store in our tape room. 

Here are the student assistants working hard:

Logging in the film and sending a confirmation letter


Working Hard!


Labeling the film for the coaches




Cataloguing the film


Carrying the 'bin' of film to the coaches


Georgia Tech Football Student Assistants

Tomorrow should be a good work day as the coaches’ say. We will fine tune everything as we rep out offensive and defensive plays. I know the players are going to get out there and bust their tails for a great practice! 

Time to eat dinner, have a great night!