A quick google search reminds me that, under London, Mattes was our combo GA and OL coach.
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That is a brutal summary in of itself jesus the London era was a mess
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My recollection of Slade was him holding court in Newcomb Hall cafeteria with a few trays of food, a fork in each hand, and talking to anyone nearby who would listen. Personable dude. Unless you were a quarterback.
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Does seem like he’s recruiting a lot of guys with varied recruiting experience and knowledge of the mid-Atlantic and southeast. I also like him picking up multiple guys with experience recruiting to the service academies. May help in that they are used to recruiting with some institutional limitations.
I think Bronco’s staff did a great job recruiting guys who fit UVA well and who represented the school well on and off the field (I can’t think of pretty much any major off-the-field issues during his tenure). But their lack of familiarity/ties with our geographic footprint was one factor that seemed to prevent them from taking the next step. Hopefully this group can take that step.
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I like the staff he’s pulling together. There are some questions of course, but there’s always going to be that with a first time coach. As I’ve said I like that he’s tagging guys with ties to the area and a bit of a track record working in those regions.
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It almost has a George Welsh feel to it. We all know he came to UVA from the Naval Academy and that worked out pretty good.
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Elliott will call plays. It is an offensive leadership by committee, similar to how Clemson operates. It is a model Elliott is very comfortable working within.
As for Des Kitchings, the level this guy can recruit at will remove all reservation about the hire. Plus, Des is an outstanding RB coach.
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Mikey what do you make of the defensive hires so far and assuming Newberry comes onboard as the DC?
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Very much appreciate the info. Very hopeful, and super excited to see this crew hit the recruiting trail.
Also, just re-reading my post, I feel like I should clarify one thing - when I say “not thrilled” I mean it in the most literal sense possible - as in I wasn’t blown away or anything. Didn’t mean it like “disappointed” or anything similar. Just cool with it and very interested to see where it goes. And overall looking at the staff so far, I’m feeling pretty good.
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Appears to be very solid hires on defense. Very good blend of coaches who have performed
well at schools with institutional limitations and a number of superb recruiters. Plus, Justin Speros will do some great things as Director of Scouting. There is a lot to like about how the Elliott era has begun.
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With so many threads and posts on 247, I have a hard time following. 2 questions for those in the know:
Seems like Brian Newbury’s hiring as DC is pretty close to a done deal, but not yet announced. Is this correct? Saw that one of the Navy defensive assistants who has followed him around is now on our staff.
Is there a spot for Tajh Boyd? Would love to have him on board. Is his hire likely?
Thanks
Everything I’m hearing is that Newbury is on his was to be the DC for the Hoos and I wouldn’t be surprised if the announcement comes in before the end of week.
I haven’t heard anything definitive about Boyd. I know his name was tossed around from the moment TE was mentioned as a candidate but not sure if there’s anything beyond the smoke.
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247 has been down all day, has it been reported that Newbury is coming or just speculation based on hiring of Navy’s DL coach?
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No confirmation, informed speculation. It’s doubtful we’d have three defensive staff positions filled without input of the DC. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s Newberry but all signs point that way.
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Exactly. Putting all the pieces together Newberry seems the most likely. I’m imagining the hold up has something to do with timing/leaving Navy.
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And for those worried about ‘only’ getting Navy’s DC, he’s had offers and turned down Wazzu, UCLA, Cuse and Miss St. I imagine, hope, he’s been looking for an institution similar to Navy before making the P5 jump
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Count me 100% in the “I’m very excited” camp. This isn’t a home run hire but it’s a very strong hire. Question becomes how well the rest of the defensive staff can recruit but Newberry has a really impressive track record and will get the most out of our guys.
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Exactly how I feel. I like the way things are coming together and I like the upside/potential. It could all easily collapse but if it doesn’t honestly, it’s not like it’s a big fall from grace. I’m just really high on the people coming in and the way things are being built.
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Like the staff being built, but patience will be needed. A good chunk of the Bronco roster was just BYU-East so there will likely be some short term pain, but we’ll be in better shape for the long haul.
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OG hoo posted this on Twitter… Kitchings all time commits at USC, assuming it means he was a lead recruiter. Some very high caliber players
https://247sports.com/Coach/Des-Kitchings-319/AllTimeRecruits/
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