Archive for March, 2009

Good morning-

I talked recently with long snapper Bret White about his preparations for Tech’s pro day, which is next Monday. I think I’m going to write about it for the paper, so I don’t want to give away all of it, but I’ll share some of what he talked about.

He’s been working out with strength and conditioning coach Eric Ciano since Jan. 2 to get his body in better shape for the drills he’ll have to do at the pro day. He realizes that no one is going to give him a shot because he runs a blazing 40 or has an off-the-charts vertical, but better an average 40 than a slow 40. He’s been getting help from former Tech punter Durant Brooks, who is now with the Packers. Brooks finished the season on their practice squad and and was signed to their offseason roster.

White said Brooks has helped him with learning the different footwork required for NFL snappers. (The roles are slightly different, he explained, because linemen can run downfield right after the snap in college but have …

Continue reading The Bret White draft update »

Good morning, all-

Hope you got to read today’s story about the football team’s conditioning drills that started Monday afternoon. AJC photog Johnny Crawford was out there also and we’ve got an online gallery to look at, also.

The players were working pretty hard. When they were resting, they were gasping, hands on their heads, sweat pouring off their faces. Towards the end, during drills when they were supposed to be sprinting, it was almost all some of them could do just to keep shuffling forward, particularly the bigger guys.

A noteworthy thing, though, is that none of the players dropped out. Last year, in Paul Johnson’s first “coaches’ run,” as he calls them, he said a few players fell out and it sounds like on the whole the team did a lot worse.

Bret White, the former long snapper who is prepping for Tech’s pro day March 9, was watching the proceedings from a lawn chair. He said that the players had to repeat drills (the penalty for not doing it correctly, or with enough …

Continue reading Building depth at d-line »

Good morning, hope everyone had a safe weekend.

A few thoughts on my trip to Chapel Hill:

Lewis Clinch picked a bad time for his hot streak. In the last three games — losses to No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 12 Clemson and No. 4 UNC — he’s made 18 of 37 threes. If only Clinch had gotten hot when Tech was playing the likes of N.C. State, Maryland and UVA….

Iman Shumpert appears to have hit a wall. The freshman is 2-for-13 in the last two games, with 13 turnovers against 9 assists.

Gani Lawal still leads the ACC in rebounding (9.8), but his scoring has tailed off. ESPN.com’s Chad Ford included Lawal in his latest edition of “Draft Watch: Who’s hot, who’s not?”

With Tech clinching last place in the ACC, we know the Jackets will be playing Thursday afternoon, March 12 at about 2:30 in the Georgia Dome. They’ll face the No. 5 seed. Right now Clemson and Boston College are tied for fifth at 8-6, with the Tigers holding the tiebreaker. Clemson swept Tech. The Jackets lost at home in OT to …

Continue reading On hoops, the ACC tourney and Russell Athletic »