September 28, 2016
In This Issue
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Clutch, Consistent, and, Now, A Captain
Georgia Tech football PK Harrison Butker has some secret weapons as he chases history on The Flats
By Andy Dimitrov,
Georgia Tech Football
Play-By-Play Announcer
Harrison Butker still has the picture that foreshadowed his future career on The Flats - even if he didn't realize it at the time.
"I just saw this recently," the senior placekicker from Decatur, Ga., recalled. "I'm a little kid. I'm wearing a Tech sweatshirt, and I'm in Cold Stone Creamery.I took a picture with [former Patriots and Indianapolis Colts kicker]
Adam Vinatieri.
"I didn't really think I would ever become a kicker, so I didn't ever really watch football or watch the kickers. But it's funny that I got that picture with Adam Vinatieri."
Forgive Butker, for it happened a long time ago: as the picture shows, he wasn't wearing a Georgia Tech sweatshirt but a gold Gap shirt. And the NFL kicker was
Jay Feely, then of the Atlanta Falcons. Either way, Butker has grown into the Yellow Jackets' version of Vinatieri or Feely: a clutch, consistent veteran who has made special teams a bona fide weapon on The Flats.
His respect goes beyond the field too: last week the Yellow Jackets voted Butker one of their three team captains, making him the first special-teamer since punter
Jason Bender in 1994 to earn such an honor. "When
Coach Johnson told us after practice I was very humbled by it. It's still soaking in to me, thinking about the tradition of Georgia Tech football," Butker said.
Kickers and punters often get a bad rap as the skinny eccentrics practicing off to the side, never making or taking a hit, barely looking like the rest of their teammates. So how did Butker command so much respect in the locker room that his peers voted him captain?
On-field performance certainly helps. Yellow Jacket fans will always remember his 53-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime against Georgia in 2014. But Butker also took on an increased leadership role this offseason when the Jackets were divided into eight teams for a wide-ranging, off-the-field competition. The teams were awarded points based on a variety of factors like bonuses for community service or deductions for missing class. Butker's team, with him serving as captain, won.
In addition to being a fixture at the Jackets' weightlifting and conditioning sessions, Butker says he has also tried to be a resource to the team's underclassmen.
"Mentoring some of the younger guys, and just being there and trying to help them out with anything they had questions about," he said.
Head Coach Paul Johnson's Press Conference
Previewing Miami
Opening Statement:
"
Clearly, Thursday night didn't go as we'd hoped. Clemson has a really good football team. Couple that with we played as poorly as you can, at least offensively. You're not going to get the result you have.
"The good news is you get to play again and we have another game Saturday against another nationally ranked team in Miami."
Do you feel like Mark Richt's knowledge of playing you over the years will come into play?
."I have no idea. Sometimes that might get overblown a bit because the guys on the field are going to play. We've got some familiarity with them. They've got some with us.
"But, it's mostly, their offense, our defense. They've got a brand new defensive coordinator. Georgia was 3/4. They're 4/3. But, I'm sure they'll carry some things over. Everybody's gonna want to do their own thing. I'm sure that Manny Diaz, their DC...they're second in the country. He's not going to change his stuff to do what Georgia did. If he does, that might be an advantage for us...if they change what they've been doing so successfully."
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Miami Head Coach
Mark Richt's Press Conference Previewing Georgia Tech
"
We're getting ready to play Georgia Tech. We'll be in Atlanta on Saturday at high noon. That's probably a good thing - we're used to waking up early, so that shouldn't be a shock to our system. We're playing coach (Paul) Johnson and his offensive system again, and his teams have historically done a great job. They're probably top five in America in rushing during the time Johnson has been there, the last seven years. They're just good at what they do.
"It all does start with the quarterback, Justin Thomas. Like most offenses, if you have a quarterback who can run your system well, you have a chance to move the ball and put points on the board. He does a great job. He's thrown for 364 yards already and run for 144 - he's their second-leading rusher. Outstanding player. He's very tough, mentally and physically. He can bring a team back from being behind. He did it, really in Game 1 [against Boston College]. He's done it before in his career. Certainly he did it one of the years I was at Georgia, a couple years back. He made some beautiful plays and set them up for a field goal and took the game into overtime because of his athleticism and his ability to throw the football. He is an outstanding player.
"
Marcus Marshall was their leading rusher last year, he had 650 yards. Last year against us he had 74 yards, had a big day. I coached his brother,
Keith Marshall, at Georgia, so I know the family.
J.J. Green is another guy I coached at Georgia, who's now over there doing a good job, he's an 'A back' for them. Their leading receiver is
Ricky Jeune. He has seven catches for 108 yards and averaging about 15 yards per catch, which is pretty typical.
[Brad] Stewart is their No. 2 guy.
"Up front, their center
[Freddie] Burden, this will be his 30th career start. He has the most experience up front.
[Shamire] Devine is a guy that, while I was at Georgia, I tried to recruit and got beat there in the recruiting process. He's a massive guy, 6-foot-7, 370 pounds, and really talented. He got banged up a bit last week. I don't know how he's doing. It's an outstanding system and coach [Johnson] does it as good as anybody.
"
Ted Roof has the 15th scoring defense in America, they're doing a wonderful job there. Up front he has three returning starters...
[KeShun Freeman], Patrick Gamble] and
[Rod Rook-Chungong]. Most good defenses start out with a front four that can play ball and penetrate and do those things.
[P.J.] Davis is the most experienced linebacker. He was the leading tackler last year - had 77 tackles. He's No. 2 on the team with 24 right now, so he kind of heads up that group. Their leading tackler is safety
Corey Griffin - h
as 25 tackles. They don't show Lawrence Austin as a starter in their base defense, but he's their nickel, plays a bunch. Everybody is playing three-receiver sets. He's really a starter, the way we see it.
"It's our first conference game. It's very crucial for us in that regard. Everybody in the Coastal is trying to win it, us being one of them. It's very important to us for a lot of reasons, but that's probably the most important reason."
"
"We're used to waking up [early]. That's probably a good thing."
On his history with Tech (13-2, 8-0 in Atlanta and 5-2 against Paul Johnson.
"There were different head coaches and schemes. Since Paul was there, [we went] 5-2 and the games that were lost were against his teams. We won one in overtime, so it could have been 4-3 really easily. Even last year's game was really close. Very, very evenly-matched games, for the most part.
"The common thread is can you defend the triple option?. When they have a QB runner who can throw as well as they can, it creates more problems than you want to be dealing with. That's the biggest part. Obviously the offense has to move the ball and has to score, get touchdowns, not field goals, we can't turn it over...those things will get you beat against anybody.
"But when you have two teams that go high-tempo, there's a lot of possessions. You might have 12 possessions in a game, or 13 or 14 - a bunch of them. If one team goes slow and chews up clock, you might get eight possessions in a game. All of a sudden, they seem more precious. You better take advantage of it. That's one of the things - they can make people feel very uncomfortable. We have to find a way to keep that from happening."
ESPN's ACC Football Power Rankings: Week 4.
Shakeup in middle,
but Louisville, Clemson reign supreme
Can we fast-forward to next Saturday? It will be the top two ACC teams going at it in Death Valley, as Louisville and Clemson remain atop the league power rankings this week. There was some movement below them, though, which adds more intrigue to the coming weeks.
1. Louisville Cardinals (4-0, 2-0) LW, beat Marshall 59-28
.
The Cardinals did what they do at Marshall, as Lamar Jackson tallied seven total touchdowns and nearly 500 yards of offense. Next up: defending ACC champion Clemson. Saturday, 8:00pm on ABC.
#2 Clemson Tigers (4-0, 1-0)
LW - Beat Georgia Tech 26-7
The Tigers' defense was absolutely dominant Thursday at Georgia Tech, with Dorian O'Daniel leading the way. The offense doesn't seem quite there yet, though. Can that change next week against Louisville? Next up: Clemson hosts Louisville, Saturday, 8:00p, ABC.
#3 Florida State Seminoles
(3-1, 0-1) LW - Beat South Florida
55-35
The Seminoles bounced back nicely by adjusting defensively to USF and getting Dalvin Cook going in a 20-point road rout. They host reigning Coastal champ North Carolina next in what should be an exciting matchup. Next up: FSU hosts North Carolina Saturday, 3:30pm, ESPN.
4. Miami Hurricanes (3-0, 0-0)
LW: Bye Week
The Hurricanes had the week off but have the chance to prove to be the class of the Coastal with a tough six-game stretch coming up, starting next week at Georgia Tech. Saturday at noon on ESPN2.
5. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-1, 1-0)
LW: Beat East Carolina 54-17
That's one way to end East Carolina's six-game win streak against the ACC. The Hokies stomped on the Pirates early and often in a 54-17 win, and man, that Justin Fuente offense sure looks fun, doesn't it?
6. North Carolina Tar Heels
(3-1, 1-0)
LW: Beat Pitt 37-36
The Tar Heels showed resilience in converting three final-drive fourth-down plays against Pitt before taking the lead with two seconds left after trailing all game. Mitch Trubisky had himself a day, as he threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns. Next: Saturday at Florida State, 3:30pm, ESPN.
Kay and Yun Fall in
SIC Semifinals
Head to ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa
Georgia Tech men's tennis doubles pairing, juniors Michael Kay and Daniel Yun fell in the semifinal match at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships on Monday morning.
The Georgia natives defeated Tennessee's
Jack Schipanshi and
Luis Valero, 6-4 in the quarterfinals to advance to Monday's competition. The pair then fell to Florida's No. 38-ranked doubles pair,
Elliot Orkin and
Maxx Lipman, 6-1, 6-2.
Up next, senior
Carlos Benito and junior
Chair Eubanks head to Tulsa, Okla. to compete in the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships beginning on Monday, Oct. 3. Eubanks will compete in the singles main draw while Carlos will fight for a spot in the main draw during the qualifying rounds. The No. 14-ranked doubles pair of Eubanks and Benito will also compete in the doubles main draw.
Click Here For the Georgia Tech Men's Tennis Schedule
Meanwhile, t
he Georgia Tech women's tennis team wrapped up the Bulldog Classic on Sunday playing host Georgia in singles play.
The Lady Jackets concluded the weekend with an overall singles record of 11-7 after freshman
Nadia Gizdova picked up a win on Sunday. The freshman defeated Georgia's
Mariana Gould in a three-set thriller.
Georgia grabbed four singles wins over the Yellow Jackets despite Tech battling hard. Three of the four matches were forced to a third set, but the Bulldogs proved victorious.
Up next,
Johnnise Renaud and
Paige Hourigan will travel out to Pacific Palisades, CA. to participate in the Riviera/All-American tournament on October 4-9.
Click Here For The
Georgia Tech Women's
Tennis Schedule
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770-596-6451
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News & Information on Georgia Tech Team Sports
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Jackets Begin Coastal Division Play vs Miami
Georgia Tech football hosts nationally ranked Hurricanes in
Division Opener
Georgia Tech (3-1, 1-1 ACC) vs. Miami (3-0, 0-0 ACC)
Saturday, October 1
Noon, Atlanta, Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field (55,000)
TV: ESPN2.
Play-by-Play,
Allen Bestwick
;
Analyst,
Mike Bellotti
;
Sideline,
Kris Budden
Satellite: XM113/Sirius 193.
Play-by-Play -
Andy Demetra;
Analyst -
Sean Bedford;
Sideline -
Randy Waters
For the second-straight week, Georgia Tech welcomes a nationally ranked opponent to Bobby Dodd Stadium when it hosts No. 14 Miami (Fla.) for a high-noon showdown.
* Despite last Thursday's loss to No. 5/3 Clemson, Georgia Tech remains an impressive 7-3 against ranked opponents at home in
Paul Johnson's nine seasons as the Yellow Jackets' head coach.
* Georgia Tech's quest for a fifth ACC Coastal Division championship in 12 years begins in earnest with its first division matchup of the season. The Yellow Jackets have finished first or second in the Coastal Division six times in eight seasons under Johnson and seven times in 11 seasons since the ACC went to its two-division format in 2005.
* Georgia Tech is looking to bounce back from recording just 124 yards of total offense in last week's 26-7 loss to Clemson, which was its lowest offensive output of the Johnson era. However, the last time that the Yellow Jackets managed less than 200 yards in a game (157 in a 41-17 loss to BYU on Oct. 27, 2012), they rebounded to average 466 yards per contest over their next four outings, including 401 in a 33-13 win at Maryland the next week.
* True freshman B-back
Dedrick Mills was a bright spot in last week's loss to Clemson, rushing for a career-high 75 yards and a touchdown. His 4.7-yard rushing average was a game-high and the highest attained by any player against Clemson this season (min. five attempts). Despite playing in only three games, Mills is tied for fourth in the ACC with five touchdowns this season.
* Georgia Tech leads the series 11-10 (Miami; W1) Last Meeting, Miami 38, Georgia Tech 21 (Nov. 21, 2015 - Miami, Fla.)
Scouting Miami
*
University of Miami freshman wide receiver
Ahmmon Richards
was named Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Rookie of the Week on Monday by the league office.
Richards is the first Hurricane to be recognized with a weekly honor this season by the ACC.
The Wellington, Fla., native earned the recognition after he hauled in four passes for a freshman record 142 yards receiving at Appalachian State.
*
After its only open weekend of the season, the University of Miami (3-0), rose one spot to No. 14 in the Associated Press Poll. This is the highest the Hurricanes have been ranked since Nov. 9, 2013 when Miami held a No. 14 ranking in both the Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Poll.
* In 15 years as the head coach at Georgia, Mark Richt faced off against Georgia Tech on an annual basis. In his 15 matchups against the Yellow Jackets, Richt posted an impressive 13-2 record.
* During his time at Georgia, Richt played 22 games against ACC opponents. In those 22 games, Richt posted a 19-3 record.
Looking ahead to the Yellow Jackets, Canes quarterback
Brad Kaaya said that "it's always a dog fight every time'' between the two teams and that he's "sure this past loss to their rival Clemson is going to give them fire coming into this week. We can't underestimate anyone.''
When asked that night about his take on the Clemson-Georgia Tech game, UM coach
Mark Richt, diplomatically, said, "Obviously, Clemson's defense just did an unbelievable job. They kept it from being a contest.''
Richt said Kaaya's knee, which was injured in UM's victory at Appalachian State, is getting better. "A bruise, a bone bruise, however you want to say it, no matter what you do, even if you run and it gets sore, it's going to heal and it'll feel better. It'll feel a lot better Saturday.''
Richt mentioned that Kaaya "looked a thousand times better [Sunday] than he did early last week.'' The coach said the Canes will be "getting some guys back. I know [cornerback]
Adrian Colbert [knee surgery] is coming back.''
Richt said that linebacker
Darrion Owens, who has played in two games since undergoing reconstructive surgery for a severe right-knee injury early last season, "had a little something going on.''
The coach said the Hurricanes are "on target'' in many areas this season, including "effort, perimeter blocking, guys hustling to the ball on defense, on special teams guys flying down the field...''
Added Richt: "But are we good enough to go through the conference play and really be truly competitive? We're going to find out. But to this point we've done a nice job of doing the things that takes to be a good team.''
Click Here
for Georgia Tech's 2016 Football Schedule/Results
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Tech man Taz Anderson dies
after living one heck of life
By Mark Bradly, AJC.com
Taz Anderson was smart and fearless and, best of all if you were a journalist, ready and willing to speak on the record. He didn't like it when  Dave Braine handed Chan Gailey a new contract and proclaimed that Taz's beloved alma mater would never win big consistently - didn't like it and said so: "I'm disappointed Georgia Tech would expect mediocrity in anything."
Taz Anderson died Monday. He was 77. He'd had 43 rounds of surgery and was awaiting a 44th. He'd been on the waiting list for a heart valve when his kidneys began to fail. He'd been in the Cardiac Care Unit for two weeks - "He was fine up until then," his wife Greg said - and then he was gone. I miss him already. I liked him a lot.
We'd corresponded last month about
Mike Bobinski's exit as Tech athletic director. We discussed about the possibility that the Jackets would hire alum
Todd Stansbury away from Oregon State. "I've always thought a Tech AD should have gold in his blood," Taz said. I looked for him at Stansbury's press conference Thursday. He wasn't there. I meant to call him that afternoon. I didn't. Wish I had.
His family thought it was funny that, back in the spring, he did an interview with me from a hospital bed. I did, too. He was in Piedmont, recovering from Surgery No. 43 - a hip replacement. I'd called to ask his thoughts about
Calvin Johnson retiring at age 30. Like Taz, Johnson played at Tech. Like Taz, Johnson had been injured while playing football. The damages of an NFL career had become one of Taz's most ardent causes. (Of his 43 surgeries, he attributed 30 to football.)
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Former Yellow Jackets in the NFL
Georgia Tech football had two ProJackets post
NFL career firsts
last week
Two former Yellow Jackets had NFL career firsts this past week. NFL rookies D.J. White(CB, GT 2012-15) and Adam Gotsis (DT, GT 2012-15) had a memorable week in week three of the NFL season, as each posted an NFL first. White recorded his first career interception, picking off Ryan Fitzpatrick of the New York Jets in the Chiefs' 24-3 win on Sunday afternoon. Gotsis recorded his first career tackle in the Broncos 29-17 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Not to be outdone, veteran
Demaryius Thomas
(WR, GT 2007-09) totaled 100 yards receiving on six catches in the Broncos' win, which included a 55 yard touchdown catch and run.
Click here to view White's interception and
click here to see Thomas' 55 yard touchdown:
Tennessee's
Derrick Morgan
(OLB, GT 2007-09)
had a pair of solo tackles in the Titans' loss to the Raiders.
Miami's
Brandon Watts
(LB GT 2010-13),
Indianapolis'
Chris Milton
(DB 2012-15)
and the LA's
Isaiah Johnson
(DB GT 2010-14
) are on their practice squads.
Those injured include Denver's Vance Walker (DE GT 2005-08) who is out for the season with an ACL tear, the Rams' Zach Laskey (FB 2011-14) and San Diego's Tyler Marcordes (OLB GT 2012-14) are on the reserve/injured list.
Click Here For The Full Story and More on
All 17 Former Yellow Jackets Currently On NFL Rosters
Click Here To Go To Our NFL Page With Links To The Official Websites Of Every National Football League Team
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Tech Volleyball
Defeats Virginia Tech.
Continues ACC Play with North Carolina on Friday
Three Yellow Jackets recorded double-doubles as the Tech volleyball team (10-4, 1-1 ACC) defeated Virginia Tech (6-7,
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Senior Setter Rebecca Martin |
1-1) in four sets Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum. Teegan Van Gunst (her 9th), Rebecca Martin (2nd) and Gabriela Stavnetchei (2nd) recorded double-doubles.
"It was a great win on the road and it's good to see us bounce back from Friday," head coach
Michelle Collier said. "We played with more energy and intent. Our middles set the tone offensively and defensively. Now it is time to get back in the gym and get better. We have a very challenging weekend ahead of us."
The Jackets host North Carolina (10-2, 2-0 ACC) on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra.
No. 12 Carolina volleyball is coming off its second five-set victory of the week in a win over Boston College .
Taylor Treacy and
Julia Scoles led the Carolina attack, as Treacy hit .370 with 15 kills, while Scoles posted her second straight double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs.
UNC follows its Friday match at Georgia Tech with a Sunday outing at Clemson.
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Tech Golf Finishes 6th at Maui Jim Intercollegiate.
Return to Action October 21-23
Chris Petefish earned his first top-10 finish of the year, while he and his Tech teammates battled strong winds Sunday but held position and finished in sixth place at the inaugural Maui Jim Invitational at the Mirabel Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Senior
Vincent Whaley (McKinney, Texas), who did not count for the Yellow Jackets the first two rounds, stepped up with a 2-under-par 69 Sunday to lead the team. Petefish (Jr, Danville, CA.) and freshman
Luke Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.) each shot 1-over-par 72, and junior
James Clark (Columbus, Ga.) carded a 75 to provide the fourth counting score. Soph
Tyler Joiner (Leesburg, Ga.) closed with a 77.
Petefish earned his fourth career-top-10 finish, tying for ninth place with a career-low score of 207 (-6), 11 strokes off the lead. Schniederjans tied for 13th place one shot further back at 5-under 208.
"This was a great opportunity to learn the grind" said head coach
Bruce Heppler. "It was the first time for some of our guys to really face a tough situation as the wind was up to 20 miles per hour when the round started. These experiences are really critical to a player's maturation process. Some teams handled it better than we did, but we had some guys learn some good lessons. We now have three weeks to get ready for our great event at the Golf Club of Georgia."
The 16-team field included No. 8 LSU and No. 20 South Carolina, both of whom advanced to the NCAA match play championship last spring, as well as top programs California and Houston.
The Yellow Jackets have a few weeks break before returning on October 21-23 at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in Alpharetta, Ga.
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Pittman Named ACC Cross Country Freshman Of The Week
Georgia Tech men's cross country freshman Frank Pittman was honored as the ACC Cross Country Men's Freshman of the Week following his performance at the 31st Annual Roy Griak Invitational.
In his collegiate debut, Pittman finished in the top seven for Tech, racing to a 151st-place finish in a field of 253 runners. He recorded a time of 27:12.3 on the 8k course, aiding the Jackets to an 18th-place finish over ACC foes Duke and Pittsburgh.
The Tech men's and women's cross country teams raced to 18th and 23rd place on Saturday in the Roy Griak Invitational. The men's squad topped ACC foes Duke and Pittsburgh in the Merrill Fischbein Men's Gold 8k.
"We had a good day, saw a lot of positives, and some areas we can improve," said head coach
Alan Drosky. "The men and women are moving in the right direction."
Pittman, the six-foot, Atlanta native, raced unattached in the UGA Invitational on Sept. 3, clocking a time of 26:39.16 in the men's 8k. Prior to coming to Tech, Pittman lettered for four seasons at the Marist School in Atlanta, Ga. In 2015 he was named the Georgia Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year.
The Georgia Tech men's and women's cross country squads will return to action this Saturday, Oct. 1, when they race in the Foothills Invitational in Oxford Ala., hosted by Jacksonville State University.
Click Here For the Georgia Tech Men's 2016 Cross Country Schedule
Click Here For The GT Women's 2016 Cross Country Schedule
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Georgia Tech swimming and diving will host
Georgia Southern on Friday
Tech held its White vs Gold intraquad meet over the weekend at McAuley Aquatic Center.
"I was very happy to see the team race," stated Coach
Courtney Shealy Hart. "I saw some things that were great and some things that we need to work on. Two freshmen that stood out off the top of my head were
Brennan Day and
Kristen Hepler. Some of our returners,
Moises Loschi, does a great job for us,
Kaitlin Kitchens coming in,
Iris Wang,
Rodrigo Quadros Correia, and
Ben Southern all did some good things."
"We definitely have some work to do. It was a good starting point for us, I think we broke multiple intrasquad records. A good start up as we get into our first meet next Friday, but looking forward to going back to working hard and fixing some of the little things and focusing on how we can get better for the next weekend."
The Jackets will open up the 2016-17 regular season slate on Friday, Sept. 30, versus Georgia Southern at 4 p.m. again at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
Georgia Southern Swimming & Diving Head Coach
Laura Thomas has named senior
Anna Battistello and
Kierra McCormack as the team's 2016-17 team captains. Battistello enters her final season as a sprinter for the Eagles. A distance swimmer McCormack returns from injury for the 2016-17 campaign.
Click Here for More on Georgia Tech Swimming & Diving
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Georgia Tech baseball's 2016 recruiting class ranked
as one of the best in the nation
The Yellow Jackets' 2016 recruiting class was ranked No. 18 nationally by Perfect Game and No. 36 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, it was released on Monday, Sept. 26.
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Buford High's Austin & Nick Wilhite
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The Jackets' most recent class
was once again rated as one of the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and continues to receive national recognition for their recruiting classes on an annual basis under head coach
Danny Hall.
Coming off a 38-25 season in 2016 and the program's 28th NCAA Regional berth in the past 31 seasons, the Yellow Jackets have once again retooled heading into the 2017 season.
"I am really excited about our freshmen class. They will provide needed depth and competition on our 2017 team this year. Many of them have played on state championship high school teams and National Championship Amateur teams," stated Coach Hall. "
Bryan Prince our recruiting coordinator, with assistance from
Jason Howell, continue to recruit elite student-athletes to Georgia Tech. As with all of our teams, the work begins to develop their talents and to mold them into a cohesive unit that represents Georgia Tech at a national level."
The 2016 class should provide theJackets added depth on the mound while plugging a handful of left-handed power hitters into Tech's lefty-friendly Russ Chandler Stadium. The class, which Perfect Game ranked as #20 in November 2015, includes 10 student-athletes from Georgia and two from inside the perimeter.
The 2017 freshmen class features twins
Austin and Nick Wilhite
(photo above) from nearby baseball power Buford High School, along with their teammate and right-handed pitcher
Griffin Jolliff. Local standout
Xzavion Curry from Mays High School was ranked among the top 200 players in the nation, while another highly-touted local product in right-hander
Garrett Gooden from St. Pius X, was a first-team Under Armour All-American.
Hall Receives New Five-Year Contract
Georgia Tech baseball head coach
Danny Hall,
 the school's all-time winningest coach with 961 victories in 23 seasons on The Flats, has signed a new five-year contract that will keep him with the Yellow Jackets through 2021, Georgia Tech athletics announced on Tuesday.
"I am very pleased that Danny Hall has signed a new contract to remain at Georgia Tech," interim director of athletics
Paul Griffin said. "Coach Hall is one of the most successful coaches in college baseball history and continues to oversee a program that excels both on and off the field. Our baseball program, our athletics department and the Institute all benefit from his leadership."
Hall has led Georgia Tech to five ACC regular-season championships, five ACC Tournament titles, 20 NCAA Regional berths and the program's only three College World Series appearances since his arrival in 1994. He owns a 961-477-1 record (.669 winning percentage) at the helm of the Yellow Jackets and is 1,169-594-1 (.663) in 29 seasons as a head coach, which includes six years at Kent State (1988-93). His 1,169 career victories rank 28th in NCAA Division I history.
"I am thankful for the opportunity to continue to lead the Georgia Tech baseball program," Hall said. "My wife, Kara, my sons, Carter and Colin, and I have been blessed to be part of this world-renowned Institute. Tech is truly a special place that offers our student-athletes an elite educational and athletic experience.
"I am overcome with gratitude for (Georgia Tech) President
(G.P. "Bud") Peterson, the Athletic Association and my current and former coaches and student-athletes. This has been, and will continue to be, a collaborative effort. In addition to the efforts of our student-athletes, coaches and administration, our alumni support gives players and coaches a competitive edge in the college baseball world. Fans make the gameday experience at Russ Chandler Stadium second-to-none."
Hall's new five-year contract runs through June 30, 2021.
Click Here For More on Georgia Tech Men's Baseball
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