Do you have any Christmas nostalgia you would like to share or try to carry forward as you age?
gtbadcarma: Do you have any Christmas nostalgia you would like to share or try to carry forward as you age?
Ben: I introduced my wife to the movie “Jingle All the Way” with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. It’s been several years since I had seen it, and I honestly forgot how much joy that movie brought me.
Logan: We put the pickle on the Christmas tree and search for it every Christmas morning. I have a leaflet explaining where the tradition started but I don’t have it on hand. We just enjoy the searching aspect.
Chris: My favorite Christmas gift I ever got was the K’Nex Screamin’ Serpent roller coaster set (I was either 9 or 10 I think). In the months leading up to Christmas I eagerly told adults about it when asked “what did you ask Santa for?” and I was beyond excited when I finally got to open it on Christmas Day. Back then my family always went to the local country club for Christmas brunch, and I brought the instruction manual with me to read at the table (while dressed in a blazer and tie). I then spent the rest of the day joyfully building it and showing it off to my parents.
Bill Brockman: I read that Penn State’s #1 backup QB has always wanted to play for a national championship. So, of course he’s gone into the transfer portal and won’t be available when Penn State plays to potentially win a NC. What am I missing here? Is being a backup dishonorable?
I know about the transfer timetable. He could, with difficulty, do both, but it might hurt his prospects.
Ben: I think he wants to be the starting quarterback for a national championship team. My guess is that he either thought he’d be able to do it next season or he didn’t think he’d get the opportunity to do it at Penn State. But you’re right. If you’re going to transfer with the hope of starting, you need to do it before Spring. It’s going to be a lot harder to come in as a starter for a team if you come after the Spring.
Logan: It’s probably the best option for him to either start or get money would be with another team. The timeline is tough so I get why he went to the portal, that said I do believe there are other players in the portal who are still playing bowl games with their teams. I think he should be playing if he really wants Penn State to win.
Chris: I think there’s a diversity of opinions when it comes to being a backup, especially for QBs. Some are content to wait their turn and win the role in a future year while others are conditioned from childhood that they are the best and deserve to always be the starter. There are plenty of guys out there who would be thrilled to be a backup/role player on a natty team, and there are plenty that need to be The Guy for it to have meaning. I think it’s especially hard for QBs because it’s a solitary position with so few opportunities – the fourth or fifth best WR or LB on the team still gets consistent snaps but the backup QB may only get to see a couple of garbage time drives in a full season. That’s understandably hard to deal with if you’re a highly touted recruit that has gotten used to being the star on your HS team. It’s tough though when your stated goal is “play for a NC” – there’s only four or so programs with that capability and they’re all potentially bringing in elite recruits every year.
Jellopacket98: Has anyone already asked this one yet? How much longer does Stoudamire have? Worst start in 43 years? And the ACC looks real bad this year, other than Duke, so it’s up for grabs. But if we finish way near the bottom, does Stoudamire get the door after just two years (especially considering how Key has done in just two years)?
Logan: Maybe 1 more year… It’s hard to say because I’m not familiar with his contract. Ideally you GT would like to make the decision when it would cost them the least mount of money. Outside of cost, usually 3 years is enough time to get a good gauge of how a coach is doing.
Anuj Bhyravabhotla: At what point do we start thinking about a succession plan for our current coordinators?
Ben: I’d be shocked if Brent Key didn’t have some kind of short list just in case one of them takes a job somewhere. On the offense, I think it works itself out. Defense would be the big one for me.
Logan: Constantly. That’s part of being a coach or a Athletic Director, be ready for the people you will lose. We’ve done a good job with replacing players in the portal, I expect GT to have coaches in mind in case we lose our coordinators.
Chris: Yeah I’m sure several people in the program have a short list.
Yeller Bug: Is anyone concerned about the number of O-linemen going into the portal? Of all positions, one would think that is one of the more stable.
Ben: We’ve only had 2 OL go into the portal. One lost his starting job early on in the season, so really, we’re only down one starter, and he was graded as one of the top OTs in the portal. He’s got a degree from Georgia Tech and probably wants an opportunity to either make a little more money or something else. So no, I’m not concerned.
Logan: I’m not particularly worried as there also seem to be plenty of talented O-linemen coming in this year either from the portal or from recruiting. At the moment O-line isn’t the the area of biggest concern.
Chris: I’m not currently worried. Like Ben said it’s only two, and like Logan said we’ve got a lot of talent coming in.