Coach Land's Two Takeaways From Jahmyr Gibbs' Recruitment
Concluding months of speculation as to where the all-purpose back out of Dalton, GA would wind up, 4* RB and consensus Top 100 recruit Jahmyr Gibbs is now officially a Yellow Jacket.
Overseeing a recruitment that exploded as Gibbs' senior season at Dalton HS progressed, Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins and running backs coach Tashard Choice were able to fight off multiple college football powerhouses and sign Tech's highest rated recruit since Derrick Morgan in 2007 (24/7 Sports).
Outside of Collins & Choice, the only person that had more insight into the mind of Jahmyr Gibbs during the recruitment process was none other than his own high school coach.
Coach Matt Land has overseen the Dalton Catamounts as the head coach for the past 10 years, compiling a 78-36 record and making the playoffs in 8 of his 10 years at the helm. While many were shocked to see Gibbs' recruitment escalate to the level that it did, Land was not among them.
"It wasn’t a surprise. This didn't come out of nowhere," he said today following Gibbs' announcement to attend Georgia Tech. "I remember the first day he showed up, I remember him going for 223 yards against Harrison HS as a 152lb sophomore. This is the result of hard work."
Land also described Gibbs as the kind of person that he wants his son to look up to, and someone who asks himself "what more can I do?" instead of "how little can I do?" Land also noted that "If there is a story that comes out of this, that I believe he can tell, it’s that if you have a dream and you're willing to work hard, that dream is probably achievable. And if it's not, you'll get close."
Over the last few months, Gibbs has been wooed by many of the top college football programs in the region. Alabama offered him halfway through his final season at Dalton. FSU & Texas did the same in December. LSU & Florida even hosted him for official visits during the previous contact period.
However when it came time to put pen to paper on his Letter of Intent, the Yellow Jackets emerged the victors. Having seen Gibbs be faced with seemingly all the options in the college football world and still stick with his original commitment, it tells him two things.
Number One: Georgia Tech conducted themselves in the optimal manner when faced with a recruitment of this magnitude.
"I think it says a lot about Georgia Tech. When he committed, I was a little hesitant because I knew he wanted to take those visits. I thought to myself: “Do you really want to take those visits after you've committed?” But Georgia Tech really communicated with him in a very effective way and said: “You've earned them. Go on those. Just let us be the last visit.” I thought that was well played. I told Jahmyr that we'd be honest and we would communicate through this process. If that commitment wanted to change or needed to change, then we would be honest and upfront."
Number Two: He has an unwavering loyalty to everyone around him.
"He's loyal. He was loyal to me, he was loyal to his teammates and he was loyal to his coaches. He's been loyal to his school as we've come through this whole process. A lot of people trying to come in and recruit our kids from high schools, not just colleges. For him, it's always been about that Red Dalton “D”. Then as these coaches began to come in from colleges, he gave everyone a chance. He listened intently. We developed criteria for what was going to be important in making a decision as much “apples-to-apples” as you can. You want about three or four fundamental things that you can decide on. I'm just so proud of the way he matured through this process. It never got too big for him. He always kept it manageable. When it got a little big, he'd always call timeout, step back, kind of get his arms around it and start again. And I just think that speaks a lot to his character and in his integrity as well."
In an industry where most on the outside take note of just wins, losses & statistics, Land sees that the Georgia Tech coaching staff can look past the numbers. He describes the "real benefit" of coaching is that it "is a relational job", and that both Coach Collins & Choice understand that. He believes that maintaining the relationship with Gibbs, keeping the dialog clean and allowing full transparency with the Georgia Tech coaching staff is the reason that he will don the White & Gold.
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