How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm once they’ve seen the Flats?

Georgia Tech’s latest recruiting pitch looks like something that was beta tested at Dragon*Con.

I can’t wait to hear from the first recruit who says he was swayed by that.

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Old wine in new bottles

This, I am sure, changes everything.

Georgia Tech has made a leap forward in its recruiting efforts. It is the hope of coach Paul Johnson that the Yellow Jackets now won’t be playing from behind.

The team has expanded the recruiting department from one person to four, a staff that includes Tech great Joe Hamilton.

Only thing is, the genius still has to seal the deal.

Johnson has come under criticism for perceived recruiting shortcomings, to which he has responded that Tech’s recruiting results are similar to what his predecessors have achieved, with the star-studded 2007 class standing as an outlier.

Yes, that, because Chan Gailey is the gold standard of Tech recruiting.

Johnson has charged the recruiting staff with a lot of the legwork that previously occupied the time of the assistant coaches, such as gathering transcripts. The team evaluates thousands of prospects each year, and Griffin’s staff will endeavor to streamline the process. For instance, if there are 100 offensive line prospects to look at, Griffin said, “we can go through the 100 to find the 10 that we think they’d like and then let them make the decisions from there.”

With as many as four coaches heading to Florida next week — assistants have been on the road evaluating prospects since the end of spring practice — Cassano surveyed high school coaching contacts in the state to check on who would be worth seeing. Griffin estimated Cassano’s 45 minutes of work saved the coaching staff two days of travel and evaluation time, hours that can be more devoted to more worthwhile prospects.

“Two phone calls, we can cover about four counties — who can play, who can’t,” Griffin said. “People we know and trust.”

I guess that means they’ll be able to find even more kids who’ll run afoul of the Johnson Doctrine.

Is there such a thing as Yellow Jacket porn?

I didn’t think it was possible to improve upon perfection, but apparently it is.

I bet Mark Bradley’s getting all tingly just thinking about it.

Tuesday morning buffet

Mercifully, it’s a Tebow-free buffet.

• “The cool thing is I would’ve beat the crap out of my body and now I don’t have to,” Pollack said. “I couldn’t do what (David) Greene has done and be an insurance guy. I have to have football in me and it’s in my blood. If I weren’t doing this I’d be coaching.”
• Here’s a suggestion to let current players serve on the selection committee.  Would they be paid for that?
• David Greene likes what he sees out of Georgia’s offense.
• How bad was Auburn’s offensive line last season?  This bad:  “Ball carriers got back to the line of scrimmage less than 80% of the time…”
• Fighting the NCAA – it’s not just for Jerry Tarkanian anymore.
• Athlon ranks the SEC running backs, and Georgia finds itself with #1 and #4 on the list.
• Before you ask yourself what kids like Bray and Geathers were thinking by leaving school early for the NFL draft, consider that they could have taken steps to keep the option of returning to college after the draft, but chose not to do so.
• Tech fans, the AJ-C has your consolation for the lousy draft right here.
• Mark Schlabach’s preseason top 25 list (I know, I know) is ordered by which teams have the easiest path to an undefeated season, which is how you get Ohio State at number one and Louisville fourth.
• Or if you’d prefer to look at another man’s win projections for next season’s top 25, here you go.

The talent gap in Georgia closes.

Really, isn’t that the best way to make lemonade out of the lemons otherwise known as Georgia Tech’s NFL draftee numbers… er, number?  I mean, the Dawgs have eight kids selected, the Jackets have no picks, so wouldn’t that mean the 2013 rosters are more balanced?  Amirite?

Heck, even Mark Bradley won’t swallow that one.  Tech is getting killed in recruiting and there’s not enough genius in the Genius to make up for that.  Attitude in a head coach will only take you so far – shoot, James Franklin’s got that, but the reason there isn’t an AD who wouldn’t take Franklin over Johnson at this point is because Franklin can recruit kids and hire competent defensive coaches.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for that certain combination of schadenfreude and sour grapes that marks the Tech fan, StingTalk, as always, is your go-to destination.

“I just sat in my locker and cried.”

Somehow, Tony Barnhart relives Jeremiah Attaochu’s self-described “season from Hell” without even a passing glance at Georgia Tech’s most lopsided loss of the year.

Of course, that may be because Tech clinched a spot in the ACCCG that day.

Or maybe it’s just that we’re used to it.

Tuesday morning buffet

The line is open, so grab a plate.

• SEC Network announcement is postponed in the wake of the Boston Marathon tragedy.
• I don’t know what it is about Les Miles and head coach rankings, but Athlon, it’s real simple:  any head coach with a national title and a program that’s a perennial contender in the SEC West is a better head coach than Dan Mullen, for starters.
• Another weird list.  I mean, Jeremy Hill is one of the top ten players to watch in the SEC?  Good player and all, but still…
• Texas State’s move to FBS football has its costs.
• Georgia Tech decides it needs to go shopping for recruits out of state, while Vanderbilt keeps adding on Georgia kids.  I guess James Franklin agrees with the Genius: “I certainly think there’s people in Georgia that can meet the academics.”
• Year2 looks at how technology is running ahead of NCAA recruiting rules.  No surprise there.
• He also maps SEC historical series here and SEC East historical series here, if you’re interested.
• Possible opening day note:  Clemson loses its starting TE to ACL tear suffered in spring game.

Media, you don’t know Paul Johnson. You only think you know him.

Pity the poor genius.

“The media has an image of you, and they want to portray that image – so that’s what they are going to portray,” Johnson said. “They paint you a certain way, and that’s the way they want to portray you. I’ve never worried much about it, because the people I know, (they) know me. But Twitter gives you a chance to control your message a little bit.”

He’s never worried about it, but he’s going to start tweeting to get his real side out there.  I can’t wait for some ass to get on his nerves and spark a public Twit snit.

Prediction:  somebody at Georgia Tech is going to realize that hiring a “Social Media guy” is a smart idea real, real soon.

“He deserves a chance. He’s ready.”

It’s official:  Paul Johnson has a coaching tree.

Brian Bohannon has been named Kennesaw State’s first football coach.

Bohannon, who played at Georgia, has been an assistant coach in charge of quarterbacks and B-backs at Georgia Tech since 2008. Bohannon will be introduced at a press conference at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. The Owls are expected to play their first season of football in 2015.

“He’s the perfect fit,” athletic director Vaughn Williams said. “He’s an up-and-coming coach. He’s been around success in a lot of different ways all his life. I think you are a product of your environment.”

Must… restrain… snark.

Seriously, that makes three programs in the state running the triple option.  That’s got to be even better news for Tech’s recruiting in the next few years.

No wonder recruits are flocking to the Flats.

Shorter Paul Johnson:  The reason Tech’s recruiting is mediocre is because the parents suck, the kids suck and their high school coaches suck.  Oh, and an early signing period would mean I wouldn’t have to work as hard.