Last week, I concluded a 14-day trip to visit with coaches at ten different colleges.

The Vols have a full-service modern nutrition bar inside their football strength center

My trip included stops at Georgia Tech, Georgia, Clemson, UNC, NC State, Duke, Elon, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Tennessee.

Over the weekend, I wrote about my single biggest takeaway from the trip.

Here are some other news and notes of the trip:

Georgia Tech isn’t what you may think:

Though located in the heart of Atlanta, the Georgia Tech campus is uniquely isolated from the big city environment and traffic that goes along with Atlanta. It is a true college campus that includes a student recreation center that would rival any in America. At lunchtime on Wednesday, I left Paul Johnson’s office, walked two blocks to my car which was parked adjacent to a frat house where 12-15 frat brothers were shirtless and shades, turning the front yard into a beach and blasting “Wagon Wheel” loud enough to think it could be Saturday already. I really liked the college feel on campus at Georgia Tech.

In two years, Butch Jones has completely changed the Tennessee football facility.

I visited Knoxville shortly after Butch Jones accepted the job two years ago and I left hardly impressed by the décor and interior design of the football facility. In fact, though some parts of the new facility were not yet finished at the time, parts that were completed left much to be desired. Last week, I was unbelievably impressed. There is a ‘wow’ factor everywhere you turn in the facility. Tennessee director of football operations Chris Spognardi, an extremely sharp individual who has worked alongside Butch Jones for the last seven years, said that Jones never stops thinking about facility enhancements that appeal to high school recruits. Even more importantly, he wants the UT football facility to be different. I agree: You can’t just do what everyone else is doing and try to do a little bit better. That’s wasting time. The latest project is coming this summer when a “Rockefeller Center” type of media center is constructed inside the Tennessee football facility.

A head coach makes an interesting observation about Johnny Manziel:

While visiting with one head coach, our conversation led to the NFL Draft. We talked briefly about Johnny Manziel. His thoughts: “Pete, have you ever noticed in all of these photos you see of Manziel at pro games, parties or big events that he’s never with any of his Texas A&M teammates? That’s the one thing that really bothers me; those are supposed to be your guys.”

My entrance at “X” compared to my entrance at Clemson:

At the entrance of one football facility, I opened the door and was interrogated: Are you here to see someone? [Yes] Does he know you’re coming? [Yes] Did you have a specific appointment time? [Not exactly, but I texted him about 30 minutes ago and he knows I’m coming.] Where did you park? [On the side of the building.] In the permit required lot? [I don’t think so; I didn’t see a sign] Let me give you a parking pass, so you can pull up to our front lot and I’ll call Sandra to let her know that you’re here to see Tim.

I almost asked if I needed to be frisked. It seemed like there were nine barriers just to see director of football operations. At Clemson, however, I literally parked right outside and walked all the way in to the coaches’ offices like it was my house. In fact, it felt like an open house. As in, “our doors our open, so just come stop in and see us.” That’s the type of ease that makes an impression on recruits. At least I imagine it would. First impressions matter.

The campus at Virginia Tech is phenomenal.

I arrived in Blacksburg late Tuesday afternoon, checked in to The Inn at Virginia Tech, and went for a jog through campus. I had been to Virginia Tech once before, but it was snowing and I didn’t have a chance to go through campus. In short, Virginia Tech has one of the most beautiful college campuses in America. The architecture, horticulture, and layout of campus are a real treat. I asked Hokies running backs coach Shane Beamer if he just allows a recruit to stand in the middle of campus to soak up the beauty of what he’s seeing. Beamer admitted that so many of the Virginia Tech coaches have toured campus for over a decade that maybe they take it for granted a little bit. As an Ole Miss alum, I’d still rank Ole Miss as my favorite college campus (come on, the place is beautiful), but Virginia Tech isn’t far behind.

Favorite restaurant: Cabo Fish Taco (Blacksburg) or Brioso (Clemson)

Favorite position meeting rooms: Georgia

Best team meeting room: Georgia Tech

Number of times Jeremy Pruitt said “A’ight” in 5-minute motivational talk to the defense: At least 58

Best office: UNC head coach Larry Fedora

Best overall guy I met: Tracy Swinney (Dabo's brother)

Very underrated football facility: Duke

One of the most valuable guys in college football nobody knows: Wesley Goodwin (Clemson defensive quality control)

Best indoor practice facility: Georgia Tech

Don’t be surprised if he’s a head coach sooner than later: Mike Bobo and Chad Morris

Best event attended: Dabo's All-In Ball (raised over $330,000 in three hours for breast cancer awareness)

Did I run down the hill at Clemson? Absolutely

Did that really just happen? Butch Jones greets me by saying, “Pete, I’m Butch Jones. Really glad you’re here. I love your website, check it all the time. I love what you do and what you stand for.” It’s amazing how the smallest things go a long way. In addition, I sat with Jones in his office for 35-40 minutes, pardon the interruption by Dave Hart to introduce Jones to the Vols new head basketball coach Donnie Tyndall, and Jones proceeded to ask me 8-10 questions about my perspective from covering coaches and walking through facilities over the last six years. In doing so, he took two pages of notes. For me, it was an honor. But what got me really fired up was that just as any great leader, Jones was thirsty for information, anything to gain a competitive edge for Tennessee. Sleep easy, Knoxville. You’ve got a real leader now.