New TE commit Ben Postma opens up about his decision, the timing, much more

It is an unlikely pipeline, many would say. Georgia Tech earlier this week added their second player from the Houston area in as many cycles.

Cypress Ranch TE Ben Postma chose to commit to Georgia Tech, choosing them over a handful of Power Five options as well as SMU.

Moments after committing, rather than doing a barrage of interviews, he chose to take about 24 hours and let everything soak in. He wanted to enjoy the moment with his family, and celebrate the fact that his recruitment is over.

On Wednesday he caught up with JOL, in an extensive interview.

ON THE REACTION WHEN HE GAVE THE STAFF THE NEWS LAST WEEK: "It was on a Zoom call, with Coach Collins, Coach (Kerry) Dixon, and Coach (Chris) Wiesehan. I told them that I was ready to be a part of the family, and man, were they hyped up on the call.

They were jumping around, and were giving the woo's and everything. It was awesome. That was pretty fun to see. At that moment, I pretty much felt like I was already part of the family."

ON RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE STAFF: "I would have to say that I have built up a really good relationship already with Wiesehan, which is important because he is going to be the one coaching me.

I also built up a really strong relationship with Dixon. I like Dixon a lot. He's the main recruiter for them in the Houston area, and he knows the ins and outs of everything here. He knows where the talent is, and I built a good relationship with him to the point where we get on FaceTime at random times just to check in on me. We had good conversations about recruiting, about life, and we talked several times about the possibility of me ending up at Tech.

I also was able to get the offensive coordinator, Dave Patenaude on a couple of Zoom calls. He was able to show me my role in the offense and how they would use me in it. He also showed how high they were on me, and how they wanted me to be a part of what they are building in Atlanta. I think this program is going to do big things in the future."

ON COMMITTING SIGHT UNSEEN: "We're really excited to get out there during the season to try to take an official visit, once this whole COVID-19 allows us to. Me and my family, we were really comfortable with the decision, though.

My mom's side of the family, her parents and her brother, they actually grew up in Tucker. They were right outside the city. Her dad went to school to major in theology (his granddad is a Pastor) and spent time teaching at Emory University. They're really familiar with the city, and they also understand what Georgia Tech brings to the table academically. That's what really helped me as well, because I know I want to either be in the business field, or the engineering field. I know that the University there is top class, and has top programs for both of those majors.

It ended up just being me holding myself back (from committing sooner) but I told myself that this is a no-brainer. I have to take this."

THE HOUSTON->ATLANTA CONNECTION: "Coach Dixon talks a lot about at Georgia Tech, in the Houston area, a degree from GT is highly respected. There's a potential situation that after I graduate college, if I don't make it to the NFL (only 1% of college players do) that I would have a great education to lean on. If I decide to possibly move back to Texas, the degree would travel with me.

Also, on the recruiting side of things, I believe that the Houston area and the Atlanta area are very similar. In my opinion, I believe that if you live in Texas, in Houston or Dallas for example, you will feel the same atmosphere that you do there in Atlanta. It may feel a little bit far from home being so far away from Texas, but it really won't feel like you left that much of your life there. (in Texas)

ON THE WHIRLWIND 24 HOURS FOLLOWING HIS DECISION: "My phone would just buzz like every two or three seconds. I would hear it ding, and then that'd be followed up by another. There was non-stop vibrating for about 15 minutes. After that it died down a little bit, but every time I would log onto Twitter, I'd have a ton of notifications to go through.

It was really cool to see how when I displayed my commitment (to the world) how my friends were all congratulating me, and telling me how proud of me they were. This is a goal that I have wanted for a long time. I'm just blessed to be able to call Georgia Tech home."

ON WORKOUTS, DRILLS, PLAYING WEIGHT, AND MORE: "My most recent height and weight is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. I have been working out everyday during the week. I train with Footwork King to make sure that I'm working on my route running and my blocking technique, and then I also have a weight trainer that I work with in Cypress. I go there with them 3-4 times a week. I've been gaining muscle and I have been putting on weight. Some days by the end of the night, after a full day of eating, I'm weighing in at 230. The next morning, though, I weigh 225 again."

ON FOOTWORK KING"S POSSIBLE IMPACT ON HIS RECRUITMENT: "I feel like I understand the idea of having talent, but having to work hard to get through the situation I was in, all of the hard work I put in paid off.

The one thing that I would say about Rashad (Footwork King) and about working with him, is that if you buy into what he's doing, he's all-in on you. He will be hard on you, and it'll be tough love, but he wants to see you be successful.

Another thing about him, is that a whole bunch of college coaches follow him on social media. Whenever he puts one of his athletes out on social media, it displays them to the whole world. The quality videos show the athletes using the correct techniques, and the training that he has taught them. That's when coaches see that, and they realize that what he is teaching truly helps the athletes improve. It helps them get quicker speed running routes, helps get DB's off of them on the release.

He has helped me understand how to run crisper routes, how to get separation from the safeties and linebackers, and also helped me work on getting batter with hand-fighting off the line when either a linebacker or a nickel is trying to press me."

ON HIS ROLE IN THE CYPRESS RANCH OFFENSE IN THE PAST: "Last year, our coaching staff came in late. As a result, they had to put together the offensive group quickly. I had a senior, Drake Dabney (former Arizona commit that is now at Baylor) ahead of me.

I swapped reps with him throughout the games. It is really weird to have two highly ranked players at that position on the same offense. The coaches rotated us well. Sometimes Drake would play more in the close-type games, when they really needed the starting offense out there.

When they would put me in, I had fresh legs, and was ready to do damage on the defense when given the chance.

I understand that I didn't have a good opportunity last year, and though I did have some highlights, I didn't have as much as I wanted.This (upcoming) year is where I've got the chance to show everyone the type of player I am."

ON HIS ROLE IN THEIR OFFENSE THIS COMING SEASON: "I will be the starting TE. They'll be utilizing me in-line, in the backfield, as well as out wide and in the slot.

ON CHAYDEN PEERY'S ROLE IN HIS DECISION: "What kind of put the cherry on top for me was Chayden (Peery). He followed me on Twitter, and then DM'd me. He told me that he's going to need a tight end like me in the offense, one that can be utilized out wide, inside, blocking, like a swiss-army type of player at TE."

IS THIS THE END OF HIS RECRUITMENT? "I believe that Georgia Tech is the place for me. I believe that out of all the schools that have talked to me and recruited me, that they were the ones talking to me non-stop, and it helped show me how much they wanted me.

This is a place for me where I will be welcomed in as family. I won't just be another piece of the puzzle there. It is a blessing to find a place where I feel most wanted.