Claytor breaks from "jail"

According to Georgia Tech's SID, starting RS-junior offensive lineman and Gailey recruit Nick Claytor will declare for this year's NFL Draft. It is unknown at this point what prompted Claytor's decision, whether it be favorable draft prospects, financial reasons, academic troubles, or simply a desire to escape the Single Option before it completely eradicates his pass blocking skills.

Predictably, CPJ Toadies have quickly worked in spinning the news to help exonerate Coach Johnson's lost season, citing this turn of events as evidence that Claytor was a "troublemaker" and "poison" to the team. In their eyes, it's always the fault of the player, and never the fault of the coach.

Claytor was a heavily-recruited prospect and part of Chan Gailey's bountiful 2007 class that included stars such as Josh Nesbitt, Jonathan Dwyer, Morgan Burnett, and Derrick Morgan, the latter three of which all declared for the draft following last season. He joins the pair of Clyde Yandell and Joseph Gilbert, who transferred after Johnson failed to get them admitted to graduate school at Tech, as Gailey offensive linemen which have been lost early in the past two seasons.

Johnson likes to blame Gailey's recruiting for the poor offensive line play on his 2010 team, but he clearly has no one to blame but himself. What other schools have players of significance jumping ship to the FCS for their senior year because their coach can't pull a few strings to get them admitted to graduate school? Now with Claytor gone and paper-thin depth along the offensive line, the excuses will surely be flying faster than ever as we head into the already ill-omened 2011 campaign.

Don't get on that plane!

On November 29th, 2010, the worlds of cubicle-dwelling middle-aged men throughout the southeast were thrown into a tempest when their creepy voyeurism of a seventeen-year-old kid unearthed the following chestnut on his Twitter account:

"I continue to pray about my early decision although others are starting to make a stronger argument"

That phrase was dispensed by none other than Durham, NC QB and 2011 Georgia Tech commit Vad Lee, a player who some would suggest is the Crown Jewel of what has been an underwhelming class for Coach Paul Johnson. The proceedings quickly invoked memories of Dontae Aycock, another Johnson QB recruit who committed to Tech in 2009 but had his offer revoked after subsequently catching a fateful plane ride to Auburn. The AJC has in fact confirmed that Lee "may" take visits to competing schools.

Diesel backs the dump truck on Tech fans

Tech alumnus and voluminous Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jonathan Dwyer recently had some choice words concerning the Institute on his Facebook page. You see, it turns out "The Diesel" has not exactly been keen on the amount of fan loyalty exhibited at recent Georgia Tech home football games. Thus has he been compelled to pontificate on the subject among his esteemed peers:

Jon DwyerIts a shame bc no matter wat UGA tennesse or anybodies record they have a packed out game no matter wat bc they are loyal fans came to games last yr bc we where winning..that shoes more and more how hypocritical ppl are and just like kyle jackson until we get pack out games u can kiss the fact of being on college gamed...ay and receiving big time recruits goodbye..it also has the effects on the players

Jon Dwyeri really hope georgia tech fans get themselves together

Jon Dwyerscoob its sick man..like why cant yall be loyal..we bust are bodies week and week out to come to play and we barely see anybody in the stands..but UGA or whoever it is can be 3-6 and that stadium is rockin bc they care about there guys man and players respond to that

And while the fickleness of Tech fans is hardly a well-kept secret, and some might even consider Dwyer a touch conceited, it's difficult to blame the young rookie for lashing out. If I'd spent half my college career slamming my body into the line without the football, only to witness the evisceration of my draft prospects via Paul Johnson's offense, I'd probably be bitter about Georgia Tech too.