When Georgia Tech defensive end Sylvain Yondjouen was a prep recruit, one who had committed to Arizona, he received a call from Geoff Collins. Collins, who previously tried to court Yondjouen to play for Temple, was the newly hired coach at Georgia Tech and offered a Yondjouen a chance to play in Atlanta for the Yellow Jackets.
Now a senior defensive end for the Jackets, Yondjouen signed with Tech ahead of the 2019 season, Collins’ first with Tech.
There are similar stories like that one up and down Tech’s roster, a roster still littered with key players who came to Atlanta as Collins recruits — guys like safety LaMiles Brooks, defensive linemen Joshua Robinson and Zeek Biggers, tight end Avery Boyd, linebacker Trenilyas Tatum, defensive backs Rodney Shelley and Clayton Powell-Lee, punter David Shanahan, center Weston Franklin, wide receiver Malik Rutherford and running back Jamal Haynes, just to name a few.
Collins also hired Brent Key in 2019 to be Tech’s offensive line coach and Chris Weinke in 2022 to be Tech’s quarterback’s coach. Key, of course, succeeded Collins as the program’s coach in 2022, and Weinke has remained on staff.
They all will meet again for the first time at noon Saturday when Tech (4-2, 2-2 ACC) visits North Carolina (3-3, 0-2 ACC), where Collins is the defensive coordinator.
“I made a big deal with the defense (Sunday) night, this isn’t about me,” Collins said Monday in Chapel Hill during his weekly news conference. “I do have deep, personal relationships with a lot of the players on the team. Very proud of ‘em. When I see them play really well, I’m excited for them because I care about them, care about their families.
“But this week is trying to be about the best defense we can be, coach our guys to play at a high level. They (Tech) got a bunch of really good weapons, they’re doing a really good job with the offense. Complete focus on what we have to do to play really well on Saturday schematically, motivationally, all those kind of things. But this week is not about me, at all.”
Collins was fired by Tech in September 2022 after starting that season 1-3 and going 10-28 in 38 games with the Jackets. His efforts to continue the success enjoyed by the program under coach Paul Johnson ultimately failed in a major way.
Collins also went 7-19 in ACC play and 7-15 in home games. The Jackets lost six games in a row to end the 2021 season and finished the season with a 55-0 loss at Notre Dame and then a 45-0 loss to Georgia.
Key was named the interim coach shortly after Collins’ dismissal, following Tech’s 27-10 loss at Central Florida, and then named the program’s full-time coach later that year.
“I wish nothing but the best for (Collins), except for this Saturday,” Key said Monday. “Good football coach; he’s on a staff with good football coaches. This isn’t the first time we’ve gone up against someone that we’ve worked with before.”
Saturday’s game won’t be the first time Collins has faced his former team. On Sept. 28, 2019, Tech went to Temple and lost 24-2. Collins had coached Temple for two seasons before taking the job at Tech.
He said Monday that the experience then was indeed difficult, but it has helped this week in knowing how to approach Saturday’s matchup. Collins also was a graduate assistant for Tech from 1999-2001 (during part of Key’s time as a player) and the program’s recruiting coordinator for the 2006 team.
“Here’s how I’ve been lucky: I’ve had two years to process everything. And I’ve come to peace with everything that happened: what we walked into, the efforts that we made, and then, what happened at the end,” Collins said. “I’ve come at peace and been really self-reflective of how I could have done better and what I would do the next time in similar circumstances.
“In that pace there’s zero ill will towards anybody on the administration, fan base, any of those things. I’m at complete peace, and there’s zero ill will. I just wanna be a really good coach for this group of guys.”
About the Author
