Josh Crawford is giving early signs of being the right hire for Georgia Tech
It can be a couple of years before a new hire can be judged properly, but I had a good feeling that Brent Key made a solid hire by getting Josh Crawford away from Western Kentucky and so far, I think Crawford has shown that he is going to be up to the task in Atlanta.
Since he was hired in Atlanta, Crawford has had the task of trying to put together a new look room for the wide receivers. EJ Jenkins and Malachi Carter were off to the NFL, and Nate McCollum, Ryan King, and Kalani Norris had entered the transfer portal. With the new hires on the offensive side of the ball and the change of scheme, Crawford was going to have to find playmakers at the position and that is where he appears to have shined thus far.
He coached six all-state receivers, four of which went on to play at the Power Five level. His high school pupils at wideout are highlighted by Darius Slayton, a high school all-American at Greater Atlanta Christian who went on to play at Auburn and is currently in his fourth season with the National Football League’s New York Giants. Crawford also oversaw the development of high school all-America quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who threw for 6,752 yards and 74 touchdowns in Crawford’s two seasons as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Valdosta H.S. (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Josh Crawford has shown signs of being able to bring in talent to Atlanta.
In the portal alone, Georgia Tech landed four players who are going to have a chance to be on the field early. Chase Lane (Texas A&M), Abdul Janneh (Duquesne), Christian Leary (Alabama), and Dominick Blaylock (Georgia) should play important roles in this offense. Janneh and Leary already showed they can make plays in the spring game and getting something out of all these guys that they were not able to show at their previous schools is what I am watching.
Leary was a highly-rated recruit when he went to Alabama but was never able to put any production together. Blaylock and Lane have battled injuries and Janneh is making a big leap up from the FCS to the ACC. Whether it was when he was a high school coach or while at Western Kentucky, Crawford has shown the ability to develop receivers and put some in the NFL.
The spring game also showcased the ability of guys already on the roster. Malik Rutherford was one of the stars of the game and D.J. Moore and Avery Boyd made plays as well. Other guys hoping to show development this season include Juju Lewis and James Blackstrain.
Where Georgia Tech fans have noticed Crawford's early impact already is on the recruiting trail, where he has brought in two four-star prospects and another underrated three-star.
Crawford was able to flip four-star Notre Dame commit Isiah Canion this week and he became the second-highest-rated member of the 2024 class according to 247Sports. Canion is going to be joining four-star receiver Koby Young (New Orleans, LA) in the class and both Crawford and special teams coach Ricky Brumfield share the credit for getting Young out of Louisiana. Both Young and Canion have the talent to be big playmakers at the next level and help Georgia Tech develop a dangerous passing attack in the near future.
Young held offers from programs like Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M. The fact that Crawford is already winning those kinds of battles is a good sign of things to come in the future.
One of the most underrated prospects in the Yellow Jackets 2024 class is three-star athlete Trey Horne (Rabun Gap, GA). Horne is likely to play receiver at the next level and keeping him away from programs like Florida and NC State, who were pursuing him, was another big win for Crawford.
I liked this hire at the time because of his experience in the state of Georgia as a high school coach and his resume of developing talent at Western Kentucky. The results on the field still have to come, but the early returns on the recruiting trail are some early signs that Key might have hit a grand slam with the hire of Josh Crawford.
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