How many reps do we give Philo if King is out?
chilidogringsFO: If the choice for the next game (or several) is 85% healthy King or 100% healthy Philo, which is the correct choice?
Ben: I think you play to preserve Philo’s redshirt and to prevent King’s injury from getting worse. I have no doubt that Haynes King gives us the best chance to win, but I don’t know that I would definitely go with an 85% King in any game that wasn’t the most winnable. So with the three remaining games, I would start Philo against Miami and UGA and King against NC State.
Chris: I think I agree with Ben – let Philo have a couple games that are probably out of reach anyways, but try to lean on King for NC State and only use Philo there as a “break glass in case of emergency”.
Logan: I understand what Ben and Chris are saying, but I genuinely believe you need to put your best option for winning a game out on the field even if you think the game is unlikely to be winnable. I think King is our best option to win as the offense is partially built to win around his run ability, so if I was coaching and I thought King was able to go I would start King.
Partywaggin: If King gets healthy/Philo improves just a little, will we have a “complete” game played by the end of the season? If so, who will it be against and will we still lose anyway if it’s against a couple of particular teams?
Ben: I think our best bet is going to be NC State. The Wolfpack haven’t been stellar this year, so I think Tech stands a reasonable chance in that game.
Chris: Yup, our best chance is NC State. Of course, our biggest opponent in playing a complete game is always ourselves so I’m not sure the chances are high. The good news is that NC States comes after another bye so we’ll have plenty of time to heal injuries and work on things.
Logan: Unfortunately we have a bunch of injuries that aren’t just our QBs, so I’m not sure we will see a fully functioning team for any of our remaining games this season. NC State is our best chance to win, but I do think our players may put on a good show for Homecoming depending on how hyped they are and how much the extra week of prep helps. uga is gonna be a rough one if we aren’t healthy. Heck, uga might be rough even if we are healthy.
Jellopacket98: I think everyone is officially off of the Pyron-mania bandwagon. He looked great with the scripted first drives, but fell apart from then on in both games. Did anyone forsee Pyron being that ineffective (I wanna say bad) and with Philo most likely moving into the #2 spot, do you think Pyron enters the transfer pool after the UGA game (or sooner)?
Ben: I think Pyron’s regression is surprising, but I also think that the playcalling is more conservative for him. There was a comment about hesitancy and playing not to lose, and I think that’s spot on. Tech is in a precarious situation sitting at 5 wins with 2 really tough games and NC State left. As the back-up QB, if you can come in and manage the game while the rest of the team (specifically the running game) wins for you, then that should be (and I believe was) the plan. The issue is that defenses have really keyed in on the running game and Tech has had several games where it has been mostly ineffective. As for Pyron’s decision to enter the transfer portal, I have no inside info or any way to know what he’s thinking, so I won’t speculate.
Chris: I definitely thought his floor was higher than what it’s proven to be. Still, I think we remembered the emotional aspects of his big exciting win against VT in 2022 and forgot that he started three games that season and was not really great in any of them (QBRs of 21.8, 66.1, 56.8). I also very much agree with Ben, a lot of the playcalling has felt “play not to lose” and he hasn’t been able to lean on the run game that much. As far as transferring I’m not sure; he’s already chosen to stay this long, but maybe he’d feel differently as the #3 guy.
Logan: Personally I think Pyron has done pretty good as a backup, but we have also seen exactly why he is a backup and not a starter. When he was winning in 2022 there wasn’t as much pressure so maybe he felt more comfortable running the offense knowing the worst he could do is lose a game for a team that probably wasn’t making a bowl game anyway. As Chris points out, it also wasn’t like Pyron dominated those games, he did enough to keep us in the game against mostly middling opponents. This year he had to step into the shoes of King in some high pressure games when we still need a win to make a bowl game, so things are more high stress and most of the opponents have had much tougher defenses. The offense complexity also seems to be higher and maybe Pyron wasn’t ready for that. There were some plays in the VT game where the receivers ran routes that Pyron wasn’t expecting leading to passes that were yards off the mark. Honestly I thought he looked pretty good against ND, so the drastic fall off against VT was a surprise but I was never really expecting Pyron to carry us to wins. I was hoping he could buoy us and if we got some fantastic performances from the rest of the team maybe we would win, but that didn’t happen and that’s not on Pyron but on the team as a whole. Most backups aren’t as good as the starter, that’s why the starter is in their role in the first place.
GTalbatross: Once Larissa heals up, has Logan Wiley shown enough to earn more rotation time or is she faster off the bench from Collier when something isn’t clicking?
Jack: For now, I’d stick with her over Pierce. She’s been a much better offensive weapon and by putting Mogridge at right side, it’s actually helped our blocking a bit with two middle blockers on the front row instead of one. What this gives Collier more than anything is optionality. One of Mogridge/Pierce/Wiley is always at the net, but we can customize based on if we need size or speed at the net. What really has me curious is what this does to our 6-2 rotation when Soares is back healthy. Does she take out Mendes like usual but slides Mogridge over and puts in Wiley instead of Fischer/Harper? At the very least, I hope we have some sort of ideal plan with all of our options before we head to Stanford.
gtbadcarma: The offense last year was very inconsistent, hot then cold, however the offense put up a lot/enough points. This year the offense is still very hot and cold but the points just are not there. Is the offense actually performing worse than last year (lack of play execution or lack of talent), or have teams taken Tech seriously again and are more focused and prepared to shut scoring drives down, or is it purely on vanilla play calling that has become predictable?
Ben: I think it’s a little bit of both. If Tech is allowed to run the ball as it would like, there’s nobody they can’t keep up with, and defenses know that. But Faulkner has also done a poor job of adapting the offense to give an answer to those defensive strategies.
Chris: Agree with Ben, if the run game is on then we can be great. If it’s not, we’re dead in the water. We also had way more big plays last year, whereas this year what’s worked has been more methodical run-based drives. I think teams are keying in on our run game more and daring us to throw the ball, which we haven’t done well. On top of that, Ben is right that Faulker hasn’t really adjusted or adapted – we see the same stuff over and over again and teams know how to stop it.
Logan: I wonder how much input Key has on offense. No offense (hah, pun), but some of the plays look like an Offense Line Coach is calling them. Despite having talented receivers and a good passing QB we often fall back on running up the middle and using our O-line to push the opposing defense off the ball. I can’t blame the coaches for that because our run game is also very good, but it can be a bit predictable when it comes to short 3rd and 4th down plays. One of our biggest issues has been 3rd down and 4th down conversions this year, and I can recall a few important 4th down conversions with 1 yard to go where we ran up the middle and got stuffed because the defense knew exactly what we were doing. That’s a lot of talk to say I think we need more play variety like Chris said. Also, since we have a run focused offense it burns clock more so there is less time to score, and there is already less time in each game because of the new this year rules causing clock to burn much faster.
Bill Brockman: Any comments on Jackets vs dwags back to Truist Park, but that’s the only game between them? I think it’s a big treat for the players to play there, opposed to Gwinnett’s.
Logan: I still think its awesome. It’s a huge treat for players and fans and I believe it also bring in some money to the Athletic funds. I’m all for it.
Jack: We’ve been hoping for this for a long time. It’s better for the rivalry to have it there, and certainly feels like a nice substitute for what has been a three game series in the past.
jabsterjacket: Are there any reasons besides onfield ST performance why Brumfield was let go? Is there more to it than that? I seem to recall hearing about a “suspension”…?
Ben: Nothing has been officially released aside from the fact that Brumfield left the team, not that he was let go.
Chris: Nothing has been said officially. It doesn’t sound like a performance problem though, more of a personal thing.
DressHerInWhiteAndGold: What’s your pizza order?
Ben: Alright, time to piss some people off. My go-to is pineapple, bacon, and red onion. Sweet, salty, tangy, and absolutely delicious. If you want a little bit of heat, you can add jalapenos too.
Chris: meatballs and sun-dried tomatoes. There’s a place near me that also does one with fried eggplant parm, onions, basil, and ricotta that’s amazing.
Logan: Pineapple and Sausage on a pan pizza with extra cheese. Don’t @ me.
Jack: I have now realized my friends here are not to be trusted with their pizza orders (except you Chris, well done). Give me a load of anything aside from mushrooms and pineapple and it will be good. I’m a real sucker for a good margherita though. One of my bucket list meals is to have a margherita pizza in Italy.
Frodo Swagginz: I present to you the twofer:
Everyone is focusing on the things that Key does wrong, which is normal after a loss and most fan bases do it. That being said what are keys positives and needs improvement to you?
Ben: I think that the defense has improved is a key positive. I will also say that I appreciate Key is not afraid to make a move with his coaching staff. He gave last year’s defensive staff a chance to prove themselves, and they didn’t do what needed to be done. As far as improvement, it’s got to be in-game decisions and adjustments (particularly on the offensive side).
Chris: Yup, biggest key positive is that the defense is much improved and has been keeping us in games. The biggest needs-improvements are offensive consistency and in-game decisions (long FG tries, timeouts, etc).
Logan: Key has been a great motivator and recruiter to the program and it’s players. Key has also done a good job managing a staff who have actively improved the team. It’s kind of hard to see that as those things take time, but both sides of the ball have improved under his current staff. For improvements I will say clock and play management (although I could also say that for 50% of College Football coaches). He seems to make some questionable decisions at the end of quarters and when in 3rd and 4th down situations, although not sure if that is entirely on him. Also, and again I’m not entirely sure this is his fault, there have been a ton of injuries this year and it seems like we have never had a game where everyone is at 100%. Not sure if that has to do with training or with facilities more, but if that issue keeps popping up he will need to look at addressing it.
Side note, I know fans are always gonna belly ache but we really should appreciate how impressive Key has been at Tech. You’re talking about an O-line coach who has never been a head coach before in his second real season organizing a football team. This season is disappointing given the fall off from beating the #10 team (who is clearly not that) to start the season and being ranked for the first time in forever to now being 5-4, but Key really should get more appreciation for how good a job he has done at turning this program around from a bottom dwelling 3-9 program. I’m not sure I’ll be singing the same tune next year, but for now I’m still on the Key bandwagon.
Does Buster Faulkner keep OC for next year? On one hand, the players are familiar with his system and that will aid in playcalling, but it’s clearly regressing and my goodness is it a hot and cold system.
Ben: Speaking of this, I don’t see Faulkner getting the can. I think he’ll be given at least another season, but he needs to do a better job of adapting his offense to what other defenses throw at him. At this point, if you can shut down Tech’s running game, you are going to win. If that doesn’t change, then Faulkner is not the guy who can get the job done.
Chris: I think so. A lot seems to hinge on Haynes King – I’m really starting to believe that he hasn’t been healthy all season (and we know officially that Jamal Haynes wasn’t) and I’m wondering how much of the playcalling can be attributed to needing to work around that.
Logan: Honestly, I think Faulkner could still get poached. I think he will still be the OC next year if the decision is GT’s and Faulkner doesn’t get offers elsewhere.
Submitted via email: Kyle Kennard has 8.5 sacks this year. The highest Jacket is 2.5. He also more than the entire tech defense. How much NIL money would it have cost to keep him?
Ben: Not a clue! But as I said in an old mailbag, there’s no guarantee he’d be putting up those numbers if he had stayed at Tech. Would it have been nice to keep him? Sure! But he didn’t, so it’s a waste of gray matter to think about what he could have been doing here.
Chris: shrug. Ben’s right, there’s no way to know what he’d do on our team this year and trying to think about how much NIL money is “worth it” for players is a one-way trip to a headache.
Logan: Regarding the actual question, there are some websites now which give out NIL profiles for players but they don’t provide the most clear or accurate information. At the start of this season Kyle was valuated at around $100K and has since seen an increase in valuation to $652K. Part of that valuation is from contracts with groups outside of the school or tied to the school, and not necessarily South Carolina itself (also, that is just a valuation so we don’t know if that is what he is actually being paid). Based on those numbers Kyle most likely had an initial contract with the Gamecocks for around $100-200K and has seen those values increase from deals with business groups associated with the school. I think the move from GT by Kyle had more to do with marketability than with straight cash; my guess would be GT would have needed to offer him around the range of $200K-$300K to keep him from considering transferring to an SEC school. It would have been difficult to convince the GT brass to invest that much in a player who was valuated at around $100K prior to his performance this season. The average range for D-linemen NIL deals seems to be $250K-$600K in total valuation, so unless we could get the numbers up to that range or provide him with business deals that could it would have been difficult to convince Kyle not to transfer. That is all speculation on my part though.