It's almost time for bed but I figured I'd share some more notes and analysis I got from McGuire's second session of fielding questions from the media. Enjoy this before sleep like I am or with your morning coffee tomorrow.
I asked coach about how they're feeling at inside linebacker right now. He was not backing down from the fact that they are young and inexperienced at that position, even with Jacob Rodriguez flashing last season and Jesiah Pierre making the move back inside. Joey did make sure to mention Justin Horne and Miquel Dingle, which he described as "two of the fastest linebackers in the country" even coming in as freshmen. McGuire mentioned he feels like they are or want to be two-deep at every position defensively, so finding four guys who can adequately hold it down inside is key. Guys like Ben Roberts and Ty Kana will be key here.
CJ Baskerville got out a shoutout today from coach, I was too far to hear what the question really was, but it's clear McGuire is happy to have the former Aztec back in West Texas to play STAR. Speaking of STAR, Joey also mentioned AJ McCarty once again, in regards to what position he would play in the secondary. If my memory serves me correctly, the plan will be for McCarty to play corner but McGuire and his staff are confident in him at every position, including STAR. Obviously some more work needs to be done to get McCarty on the field in the first place. Timeline on that remains TBD, McGuire mentioned they might not know until going into Wyoming.
It was really interesting getting to listen to his philosophy on the 4th downs, because clearly there are going to be naysayers. Joey seems confident in their approach and that boils down to how bought in the staff is and how much they trust each other. Getting to understand how involved this team is with analytics was eye opening, given how much numbers are factoring into the game today. These guys are on the cutting edge and that's refreshing for Tech.
It's been said before and it will likely be said again, this team lacks star power to an extent. You don't have a big name on this team to carry that national spotlight. I never even felt like Tyree Wilson had that characteristic about him and he was a top 10 draft pick. But when looking at this team from top to bottom they are solid throughout and that's where you'll see their success. I thought the guys they brought to media days did a great job at representing this team and what the rest of the league will have to face every week.
If y'all have any other questions, feel free to shoot them my way.
I asked coach about how they're feeling at inside linebacker right now. He was not backing down from the fact that they are young and inexperienced at that position, even with Jacob Rodriguez flashing last season and Jesiah Pierre making the move back inside. Joey did make sure to mention Justin Horne and Miquel Dingle, which he described as "two of the fastest linebackers in the country" even coming in as freshmen. McGuire mentioned he feels like they are or want to be two-deep at every position defensively, so finding four guys who can adequately hold it down inside is key. Guys like Ben Roberts and Ty Kana will be key here.
CJ Baskerville got out a shoutout today from coach, I was too far to hear what the question really was, but it's clear McGuire is happy to have the former Aztec back in West Texas to play STAR. Speaking of STAR, Joey also mentioned AJ McCarty once again, in regards to what position he would play in the secondary. If my memory serves me correctly, the plan will be for McCarty to play corner but McGuire and his staff are confident in him at every position, including STAR. Obviously some more work needs to be done to get McCarty on the field in the first place. Timeline on that remains TBD, McGuire mentioned they might not know until going into Wyoming.
It was really interesting getting to listen to his philosophy on the 4th downs, because clearly there are going to be naysayers. Joey seems confident in their approach and that boils down to how bought in the staff is and how much they trust each other. Getting to understand how involved this team is with analytics was eye opening, given how much numbers are factoring into the game today. These guys are on the cutting edge and that's refreshing for Tech.
It's been said before and it will likely be said again, this team lacks star power to an extent. You don't have a big name on this team to carry that national spotlight. I never even felt like Tyree Wilson had that characteristic about him and he was a top 10 draft pick. But when looking at this team from top to bottom they are solid throughout and that's where you'll see their success. I thought the guys they brought to media days did a great job at representing this team and what the rest of the league will have to face every week.
If y'all have any other questions, feel free to shoot them my way.
