WR Blocking & Run Drills

The Coach

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Al “Buzz” Preston, who has coached in every American time zone and enjoyed success from Atlanta to Honolulu, is in his 11th season as wide receivers coach at Georgia Tech.

Preston has played a large role in Georgia Tech being named college football’s “Best Wide Receiver Factory” by ESPN, as he has developed six NFL wideouts in his first 10 seasons on The Flats — Demaryius Thomas (Denver Broncos), Stephen Hill (New York Jets, Carolina Panthers), DeAndre Smelter (San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars), Darren Waller (Baltimore Ravens), Kevin Cone (Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns) and Ricky Jeune (Los Angeles Rams).

Four of the six (Thomas, Hill, Smelter and Waller) were selected in the NFL Draft, headlined by Thomas, who was picked by the Denver Broncos in the first round (22nd overall) in 2010 and has amassed 629 receptions for 8,653 yards and 57 touchdowns in eight pro seasons. Thomas, a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos in 2016.

Under Preston’s tutelage at Tech, Thomas caught 46 passes for 1,154 yards, good for a remarkable 25.1 yards per reception, and was named first-team all-ACC as a junior in 2009.

Hill collected more than 1,200 career receiving yards to go with nine touchdown receptions at Georgia Tech and led the nation in yards per reception (29.3) as a junior in 2011. He was selected in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Jets.

Preston also mentored both Smelter and Waller who were selected in the fourth and sixth rounds of the 2015 NFL Draft, respectively. Under Preston’s watch, Smelter became the 21st 1,000-yard receiver in school history in 2014, opposite of Waller, who also had a breakout year as a senior in ‘14 (17.0 yards per catch, six touchdowns).

Most recently, Jeune caught 74 passes for 1,492 yards and 11 touchdowns under Preston’s tutelage from 2015-17. Jeune’s 21.8 yards per reception as a senior in 2017 led the ACC and ranked seventh nationally.