Respected Georgia Tech assistant Al ‘Buzz’ Preston stands out in the crowd at football conference

Al “Buzz” Preston attended an informal meet and greet session Thursday night at the Minority Coaches Association of Georgia football conference.

The Georgia Tech wide receivers coach spent most of his time swapping stories with youth and high school coaches from across the region, but had no problem answering questions about his chosen profession when conversation turned serious.

“The question always comes up, how did you get there?” Preston said. “The main thing is doing a good job where you are at and hopefully that will give you a chance to be where you want to be. It’s hard with so many guys trying to get there.”

With more than two decades of experience at the Division 1 level, it wasn’t surprising attendees sought out the longtime assistant coach in the crowd to pick his brain.

Preston started out as a graduate assistant in the early ‘80’s at Hawaii. He coached at power five programs including Notre Dame and Stanford before landing at Georgia Tech in 2008. The coach’s bio on the Yellow Jackets website proudly states he’s coached in every American time zone.

“You better have players,” Preston said of his longevity. “You just need to be happy where you are at and do the best job you can. You can’t worry about what is happening elsewhere. Do the best with what you have.”

Preston has witnessed dramatic changes to the college football landscape from the radical shift in offenses to recruiting developing into its own industry.

“It’s ironic, I was watching a quick ESPN thing, they were talking about how the big man is gone,” Preston said. “It’s the same thing in college football. It used to be the run game, but it’s spread out so much more. You got to have guys that can be real athletic and to a certain extend be hybrid at positions, but so many things have changed.”

Preston has adapted accordingly while maintaining his ability to identify top talent regardless of the system his team runs.

In eight seasons at Georgia Tech, Preston has coached five receivers that went on to the NFL including former first-round pick Demaryius Thomas.

“The number one thing is they have faith and by that I mean they have faith they are going to make it, so they are going to do the things they need to do to get there,” Preston said. “A lot of guys say they want to do it, but don’t want to do the things that are necessary – sacrifices and give. A lot of guys worry about their stats and don’t want to give to their team.”

Attendees at the conference will get a chance to further their professional development on Friday with a guest list that includes Georgia’s Kirby Smart and North Carolina’s Larry Fedora.

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 3:58 AM with the headline "Respected Georgia Tech assistant Al ‘Buzz’ Preston stands out in the crowd at football conference."