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Tag: Geoff Collins

  • The Tar Heels faded in past 2 years with QB Drake Maye. Now they must fix that issue without him

    The Tar Heels faded in past 2 years with QB Drake Maye. Now they must fix that issue without him

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    CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Mack Brown’s return to North Carolina stabilized the program. His sixth season begins with a pair of hurdles to accomplishing more.

    The Tar Heels are moving forward after star quarterback Drake Maye headed to the NFL, and Brown is determined to figure out how to finish better after two straight late-season fades.

    “It’s a problem, it’s an issue,” Brown said. “And it’s the only thing that’s keeping us from being where we need to be.”

    The Tar Heels were 9-1 in 2022 after clinching a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, then lost their last four. Last year’s team started 6-0 and reached No. 10 in the AP Top 25, then finished 2-5.

    Now Maye is gone as the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, and Brown is focused on how to get the Tar Heels to finish with some zip.

    “When we come out here and say the offense had a bad day in practice, that means you’re probably going to be an inconsistent team,” Brown said after the first preseason-camp practice. “And we’ve had too much of that around here.”

    This year’s team is picked to finish eighth in the expanded 17-team ACC.

    Brown is touting depth as the best of his second tenure in Chapel Hill, as well as showing optimism for growth under former Georgia Tech and Temple head coach Geoff Collins as defensive coordinator.

    Maye is the highest-profile of 11 departed offensive and defensive starters, though losses include one of the nation’s leading tacklers in linebacker Cedric Gray.

    Powering the offense

    Running back Omarion Hampton was an Associated Press second-team All-American last year after ranking fifth in the Bowl Subdivision by averaging 115.7 yards rushing. He’s studied film on players like NFL star Christian McCaffrey to expand his game.

    “I’m trying to catch the ball … and then pass block, because I know that’s what they do in the (NFL),” Hampton said. “I feel like doing that, it can expand my game and show them I’m able to do that as well.”

    Maye’s successor

    The Tar Heels have a preseason-camp battle to replace Maye, headlined by redshirt sophomore Conner Harrell and Max Johnson, a transfer with stops at LSU and Texas A&M.

    Harrell got his first career start in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl loss to West Virginia after Maye declared for the NFL draft, throwing for 270 yards and two scores while also running for 75 yards and a score. Johnson, son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, has 22 career starts.

    There’s also the return of Jacolby Criswell, who started his career at UNC before transferring to Arkansas for a year.

    Linework

    Willie Lampkin, who started eight games at right guard last year, is the only returning starter to the offensive line. The Tar Heels bolstered their numbers at the position through the transfer portal, including adding Austin Blaske (Georgia), Howard Sampson (North Texas) and Jakiah Leftwich (Georgia Tech).

    Brown said his goal is being able to reliably play nine offensive linemen.

    More defensively

    Brown is on the third defensive coordinator of his second UNC stint in Collins, who replaced Gene Chizik. UNC hasn’t ranked higher than 10th in the 14-team ACC in scoring or total defense for the past three seasons. Losing Gray (10.1 tackles per game) won’t help, though fellow linebacker Power Echols returns with pass rusher Kaimon Rucker (8 1/2 sacks last year).

    “More aggression — ‘Master of Mayhem’ describes him perfectly,” Echols said of Collins. “He’s going to call a real aggressive game.”

    Brown also sounded high on secondary that includes cornerback Alijah Huzzie (three interceptions) and adds safety Jakeen Harris from rival North Carolina State.

    The schedule

    The Tar Heels open at Minnesota on Aug. 29 and visit rival Duke (Sept. 28) in their ACC opener. There’s also a trip to No. 10 Florida State (Nov. 2), the reigning league champion and preseason favorite. The slate doesn’t include any of the league’s three new schools and is rooted in longtime instate or league matchups, including a trip to Virginia (Oct. 26), a visit from Wake Forest (Nov. 16) and the home finale against No. 24 N.C. State (Nov. 30).

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    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25

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  • Georgia Tech on the upswing under Brent Key after one of darkest periods in program history

    Georgia Tech on the upswing under Brent Key after one of darkest periods in program history

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    ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia Tech program that was about as low as it could go is suddenly filled with optimism.

    The Yellow Jackets are coming off their first winning season since 2018 and feel like they’re ready to push even higher under coach Brent Key.

    The Yellow Jackets were a laughingstock under previous coach Geoff Collins, who talked a good game but was woefully unprepared to lead a major-conference team.

    Those dark days are in the rearview mirror. While no one expects Georgia Tech to contend for national titles on a regular basis, this group has shown it can be competitive in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

    “We want to embrace these challenges that we have in front of us,” Key said. “Nothing’s easy. We don’t want it to be easy.”

    Key’s impact

    Heading into his second full season as coach, Key deserves credit for lifting the Yellow Jackets out of the abyss that was the Collins era.

    The fiery coach has instilled a winning, edgy attitude in his players, which paid off a season ago with unlikely victories over North Carolina and Miami.

    Georgia Tech was 10-28 in three-plus years under Collins, including a 7-19 mark in conference play. Since Key took over four games into the 2022 season, the Jackets are 11-10 overall and 9-6 in the ACC.

    Good to be King

    Haynes King returns at quarterback after a breakout season.

    The transfer from Texas A&M threw for 2,842 yards with 27 touchdowns to go along with 737 yards rushing and 10 more TDs.

    If there’s one thing King needs to work on, it’s being a bit more selective with his passes after getting picked off 16 times. But no one was complaining much after the Yellow Jackets averaged 31.1 points per game — their highest output in five years.

    “He does everything you want him to do,” offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in him and what he can do, and we just keep putting more and more on his plate.”

    Offensive weapons

    Faulkner received plenty of kudos for King’s development, which was hardly a one-man show.

    Running back Jamal Haynes piled up 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards per carry, to go along with 20 receptions for 151 yards. Eric Singleton (48 catches, 714 yards, six TDs) and Malik Rutherford (46 catches, 502 yards, four TDs) were the top receivers. All are back.

    “He’s got great players around him and he understands that,” Faulkner said of his quarterback. “He knows how to get them the ball and makes them look really good.”

    Defensive shakeup

    While the offense was a bright spot, Key was not pleased with a leaky defense that surrendered nearly 30 points a game, ranking 97th nationally.

    Georgia Tech overhauled its staff on that side on the line, most notably bringing in Tyler Santucci from Duke as the new defensive coordinator. Under Santucci, the Blue Devils surrendered just 19 points a game to lead the ACC and rank 16th nationally.

    He is expected to bring the same sort of results to Georgia Tech.

    “That’s why I got hired,” Santucci said. “Stop people, create takeaways, get the ball back to the offense and don’t let them score touchdowns. That’s not pressure. That’s our job.”

    The schedule

    Georgia Tech faces a difficult slate of games, beginning with the Aug. 24 opener against No. 10 Florida State in Dublin, Ireland.

    “It’s a great opportunity for Georgia Tech. for people to see the GT on a worldwide stage,” Key said.

    The Yellow Jackets also host No. 7 Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons — on Oct. 19 and close the regular season at top-ranked Georgia on Nov. 29.

    For good measure, there are back-to-back home games against No. 19 Miami (Nov. 9) and No. 24 N.C. State (Nov. 21), plus another tough road trip to Louisville (Sept. 21).

    It’s the kind of schedule that could make it difficult for Key’s team to improve much on last year’s 7-6 mark, even if they continue their upward trajectory.

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    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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