RSW: Choice heads west, Mason & Oliver to NFL, Griffin brothers make moves
RB coach Tashard Choice leaves for USC
Tashard Choice, running backs coach and former standout Tech running back, is leaving the Flats to join Lincoln Riley’s staff at USC. He’ll serve in the same capacity under Riley.
[tweet https://twitter.com/RivalsJohnson/status/1470038228313022473]
Mason and Oliver set sights on NFL
Running back Jordan Mason, the Jackets’ second-leading rusher with 439 yards, announced via Twitter last Thursday that he’s headed to the NFL draft. Fellow classmate and redshirt junior Tobias Oliver made a similar announcement one day later.
Both Mason and Oliver came to the Flats back in 2017, redshirting during a 5-6 campaign under then-coach Paul Johnson. They saw action in every game the following year, a 7-6 season to end the Johnson era.
Three seasons (and just nine wins) later, having played through a regime change and a pandemic, both are aiming to carve out careers in the NFL.
Mason’s 2019-20 effort was his best year on the stat sheet, as he put up a team-leading 899 yards and seven touchdowns. His production dropped the following year, as he only appeared in six games (with just two starts) due to injury.
Jordan Mason declares for the draft — twitter.com
“…I will always be a Tech man. With that being said, I have chosen to enter the 2022 NFL Draft as the next step of my journey”
Oliver made a name for himself early in his tenure, rushing for 215 yards and three touchdowns en route to a nationally televised victory at Virginia Tech in 2018. It was his only start, but he made it count. Mason also had three touchdowns in the game, a 49-28 blowout win that feels very recent, yet very out-of-reach.
After two more starts at QB in 2019, Oliver moved to wide receiver under Geoff Collins. He then transitioned to defensive back, getting time on special teams as well.
Tobias Oliver declares for the draft — twitter.com
“After lots of prayers, and guidance, I have decided to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft. I will forever be a TECH MAN”
The Griffin brothers make moves
(in opposite directions)
Defensive lineman Ja’Quon Griffin announced his entry into the transfer portal last Friday via Twitter. This came four days after his brother, running back Jamious Griffin, announced that he would be transferring (and five days before Jamious subsequently withdrew).
DL Ja'Quon Griffin enters the transfer portal — twitter.com
“I will miss my family here at Georgia Tech, but I must do what’s best for me and my future”
Jamious, on the other hand, is exiting the portal. Just nine days after announcing his intention to transfer, he took to Twitter to reverse field (pun intended).
RB Jamious Griffin exits portal, decides to stay — twitter.com
“After talking it over with family and coaches, I have decided to return to the Institute and finish what I started.”
According to sources close to the team, the sudden switch by Jamious has nothing to do with his transfer prospects. Instead, there appears to have been a disagreement within the family as to whether he should transfer, with Jamious wanting to stay.
A recent tweet by his father, Tyrone Griffin, appears to corroborate this line of reasoning, with Tyrone quoting the retraction stating it was “not [their] plan”:
[tweet https://twitter.com/Tyrone_Griffin1/status/1471132446267748353]
Regardless of the motivation behind the change, Tech fans are elated to have Griffin sticking around. With Gibbs and Mason gone, Griffin could see significant time in the backfield for the new-look Jackets’ offense under Chip Long.
Another QB enters the portal
Hot off the press! Freshman quarterback Chayden Peery announced today that he’ll be entering the transfer portal. As the AJC’s Ken Sugiura points out, Peery’s departure leaves Tech with three scholarship quarterbacks:
[tweet https://twitter.com/ksugiuraajc/status/1471158746994954241]