What Georgia Tech Head Coach Geoff Collins had to say at ACC Media Days
Today was the day that Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins was taking the podium at ACC Media Days to take questions.
Collins was joined by some of his players including running back Dontae Smith, tight end Dylan Leonard, and defensive back Zamari Walton.
Here are some of the questions that were asked of Collins and his responses to them.
1. Collins was asked how hard it would make week-to-week preparations with four new coaches being in the Coastal Division:
"One of the biggest pieces is playing it one game at a time, one week at a time. Obviously, we are doing a lot of offseason studies over the summer and getting the breakdowns of where the other coaches have been. We are excited for the Coastal race and the great coaches that have been brought into the league"
2. Collins was asked what should give the fanbase optimism about where the program is headed after three straight three-win seasons:
"Just excited about the guys that we have been able to add to the organization, whether that means coaches or players. In the last couple of years, we have been able to develop depth on the roster and a lot of leadership, and the way the guys are working. The big focus since the end of last season is how can we play the best brand of Georgia Tech Football on college football Saturdays and that has been the focus of everything that we have done and all the changes that we have made, deep introspection on how we do things, and why we do things. We are excited to keep building and getting to that point."
3. Collins was asked how the new coaches have been received by the players and for his evaluation of the new coaches:
"They have come in with the proper attitude and mindset. We started spring practice a little earlier so we could get the new schemes and the things that we are doing offensively and defensively. The leadership that we have in our program has brought new guys in and taught them the process that we do."
4. Collins was asked where he was seeing the positives that were tangible outside of the win-loss column:
" The big thing is teaching the guys the process, how we do things, how we go about our preparation, how we go about our work. One of the biggest things and the benefit of the leadership in the program is staying true to the process and improving the process, even though results are not showing on the field, and the commitment of the leadership of our program and the coaches continue to find ways to improve every single day has been the whole focus,"
5. Collins was asked about the OTA's and how he has been able to use them to his advantage and the plusses and minuses of them:
"It has been huge. Since our spring game was on St. Patricks Day, we have added 27 new players to the program that weren't in spring ball. So us being able to go out there have film sessions with the guys, be able to go out on the grass and basically run through plays on air and our coaches are able to be out there with them, I think that has been very beneficial and hopefully give us a head start going into the preseason and to be ready to play at a high level."
6. Collins was asked about NIL and where Georgia Tech stands in terms of offering NIL relative to the rest of the conference and the rest of the southeast:
" I think one of the biggest pieces is our location. Being in the heart of the city of Atlanta where there are a lot of opportunities for our guys to benefit from the name, image, and likeness. We fully support it as a coaching staff, as an institution, as an administration and we've got the system set up with the different collectives. I think all of the opportunities are there in the city of Atlanta and the support that we give our guys is there"
7. Collins was asked to give examples of the deep introspection he gave the program and the things that he felt he needed to fix and how it can have an impact on the field:
" There are a lot of things that we have done that are very public, some new additions to the coaching staff obviously, bringing in 17 new transfers to the program, different things that are public, the representation of the things that we are doing. A lot of the things are internal as well, just trying to find every single way so that the product on the field, the way we play the game, the way we represent the institute, the way we get better every single day, the way we play a tough and physical brand of football, guys play with great energy and great effort, that has been the biggest focus throughout this entire offseason and we will continue to do that on a daily basis."
8. Collins was asked about the recent proposed rule change that would completely take restrictions off of transfers and how hard it could make it to keep tabs on the numbers and the roster:
"As long as the decisions being made are to better the student-athlete, that is what we support in this program, obviously there are things that you have to calculate as a head coach and personnel department and I have been blessed to be surrounded with great people that help give counsel and help manage all of those things and we have got a group of guys that are in the locker room that have done a nice job of helping us bring guys into the program to help elevate the way we play football in the fall and I have been pleased with the way the guys have handled it."
9. Collins was asked about the balance he was looking for on offense:
" We hired Chip Long as the offensive coordinator, tremendous background of developing offenses and offensive players, being very multiple, having a tough, physical style of football that is very complex to defenses, but with our own guys being able to execute very clean and fundamentally sound and that has been the big focus that we have been going through since January and we are excited to continue to build on that"
10. Collins was asked about facing his alma mater, Western Carolina in week two of the upcoming season:
" We obviously have a big opener in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Monday night football, and then we turn around and play five days later against my alma mater. Obviously, there are challenges that we have to continue to build and get ready for and we are going to take it one game at a time"
If you missed the press conference, here is the link to watch the replay.
Follow us on social media for the latest with Georgia Tech Athletics!
Facebook: All Yellow Jackets
Twitter: @AllYellowJacket
Follow Jackson on Twitter: @jacksoncaudell
More Georgia Tech Related Content:
Georgia Tech Baseball finishes 2022 MLB Draft with eight players selected
Georgia Tech Football: Early opponent preview vs Georgia
Georgia Tech Football Fall Camp Preview: Running Backs
Georgia Tech Football: Ranking quarterbacks that Tech will face in 2022
