F.S.U. Recruiting Coordinator John Lilly Hired to Coach Georgia Tight Ends

by T Kyle King on Jan 21, 2008 8:27 PM EST in Football Comment 11 comments

Once again, I am indebted to an alert Dawg Sports reader---in this instance, the credit goes to Watson---for directing us to a news report that Florida State tight ends coach John Lilly will be joining Mark Richt's staff as the successor to David Johnson, who was hired as the offensive line coach at West Virginia.

Coach Lilly, who worked with Coach Richt during the Georgia head coach's tenure as offensive coordinator for the Seminoles, also serves as F.S.U.'s recruiting coordinator, which cannot help but bolster the Bulldogs' already impressive efforts to persuade prep players to sign letters of intent with the Red and Black. Coach Lilly has led Florida State's recruiting efforts for the last decade.

Like so many other members of his profession, Coach Lilly sprang from the fertile coaching soil of West Virginia, joining the Seminole staff as a videographer in 1995 after four seasons as an assistant coach at Northwest Guilford High School in Greensboro, N.C. Coach Lilly was a graduate assistant before becoming a full-fledged member of Bobby Bowden's coaching staff in 1998.

It is hard to gauge the performance of an F.S.U. offensive coach in the post-Mark Richt era, but, if Coach Lilly has spent the last ten years hauling in blue-chip recruits for the Seminoles and has worked with Coach Richt in the past, it is not difficult to view this as a quality hire for the Red and Black. We welcome Coach Lilly to Bulldog Nation.

As always, keep your eye on the Dawg Bone and the Georgia Sports Blog for ongoing developments. For the Florida State fan reaction, be sure to check out Tomahawk Nation.

Go 'Dawgs!

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It's also worth noting

That FSU TEs had two of the best seasons in school history the last two years under Lilly. And the only time in school history TE's have had back to back 30 catch seasons as a position.

I believe his coaching skills will flourish between the hedges.

by peacedog on Jan 22, 2008 7:32 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

good choice

I doubt there are many "stud" TE coaches out there, since TE would probably be viewed as a precursor to OL or WR coach, so I think this is a really good hire on several fronts.

He has a rapport with CMR
He has a rapport with Allen since he was recruiting him for FSU
As mentioned above, FSU did have success throwing to the TE (after neglecting them for years)
If Rodney G ever leaves for a great job, we have backup for recruiting

Now if we can just hiring a top-notch player monitor to keep these kids from getting in trouble with alcohol.

by fotodog on Jan 22, 2008 9:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tripp cant Catch

i hope this new coach and can pick a player to start that CAN catch.. it was depressing watching tripp suffer last year.. i hope he either learns HOW to catch.. or gains some weight to atleast play O-Line

by dawgfan1986 on Jan 22, 2008 9:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

In Chandler's defense . . .

. . . he made definite progress over the course of the season.

He's no Leonard Pope, but, hey, when you're Bill Brassky and a world religious leader, you leave some pretty big shoes to fill!

Tripp'll be all right. He had a terrible start, but he clearly got better.

by T Kyle King on Jan 22, 2008 10:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Tripp had a horrible start, but improved and made some key catches down the stretch.

by fotodog on Jan 22, 2008 10:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Tripp

Maybe it's because I started rooting for him after the embarrassing boos he got (c'm'on, guys -- offer some disdainful glares if not verbal reproval to folks who provide such an unbecoming show of disapproval), or maybe it's because there's some chance that he and I are related (his surname is the same as my middle name and my mother's father's mother's maiden name), but it seemed to me that he became a key player in our second half, from Vandy forward. I have confidence he will acquit himself well in the coming season.

And as far as I know, he hasn't gotten caught for underage drinking, so he gets points for that.

by NCT on Jan 23, 2008 10:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Chandler

Tripp's season was not unlike Milner's last. Some high profile drops early, but steady play down the stretch. We didn't use the TE's as much, and he didn't have any truly defining moment (like Martrez), in part because we were taking people to the shed to varying degrees. And in part due to the presence of other playmakers on the offense.

by peacedog on Jan 23, 2008 8:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tripp cant catch

First of all, tripp has got arrested for underage drinking twice, once in high school and again in college. Remember he did not play against ok state or the 1st half of the 2nd game. i agree with dawgfan1986, he cant catch hard thrown balls by matt . But its his senior year so maybe he can prove all the haters wrong and have a hell of a season.

by lsuUkfan21 on Jan 23, 2008 12:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs