A look at Georgia Tech’s running backs
I felt bad leaving you without a blog for two weeks, so I cobbled this together, using colleague Tim Tucker’s capsule on the Georgia blog. A few more will be coming.
THE RUNNING BACKS
- Returning starters: Anthony Allen, Embry Peeples, Roddy Jones.
- Others to watch: So many to choose from here: Many new A-backs will see time this season including Orwin Smith (will see more time here than he did last year), Robby Godhigh and B.J. Bostic notably, along with returning vets such as Marcus Wright. At B-back, Lucas Cox was a bowling ball during the spring practice, and Richard Watson looked tough to bring down as well.
- Key losses: The big one was B-back Jonathan Dwyer, who rushed for 1,395 yards last season and is now with the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Key fact: The Jackets averaged 5.2 yards per attempt rushing last season. As coach Paul Johnson says, if he wants 5 yards he’ll just run the ball.
- Key fact II: The Jackets had 36 runs of least 20 yards last season.
- Key question: Will Allen be able to fill Dwyer’s role as a between-the-tackles runner? He’s as big as Dwyer, and his speed is such that he should be able to get extra yards when he gets into the secondary.
- Key question 2: With Allen now at B-back, who will be the home-run threat coming off the edge on option and/or pitch plays? Jones had three 20+ runs last season and Marcus Wright had one.
- Key question 3: Will the A-backs block better than they did last season? Johnson recently said the team left a lot of yards on the ground and said the A-backs need to hold their blocks better on the perimeter.
- Outlook: Should be fine. Johnson has said he’ll be surprised if Allen doesn’t get 1,000 yards this season.
- Your turn: What say you about the running backs?
For a look at the offensive line, go here
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300 comments Add your comment
What about the O lineman that um, ah
June 18th, 2010
3:54 pm
What about the BEST GT O lineman that um, ah SKIPPED and went to Georgia State for crying out loud? He knew that tech was soon to be the third or fourth best team in Georgia. He QUIT !!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
kb
June 18th, 2010
3:56 pm
Gtax there isn’t an Elite 11 qb that would even consider playing in Johnsons offense
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
3:56 pm
GTax
I also enjoyed watching two middle of the road SEC teams beat the two division ACC chumps then drop the ball in front of 50 TV viewers for the Orange Bowl against a powerhouse, football tradition rich IOWA team
You got beat by a 5th yr senior playing his only year
A top WR hurt on the sidelines
And a joke for a defensive coordinator
What a joke of a conference
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
3:58 pm
Funny how when UGa fans talk about last years game they just run all over tech and it was such a great win and it will spring-board them to the nat. title this yr. But bring up the 08 game and tech got lucky UGA laid down the pressure of the preseason #1 ranking was too much etc. Keep making excuses tools, Tech will keep winning , keep getting better and keep winning championships.
one tech fan not drinking the kool aid
June 18th, 2010
4:00 pm
GTax , quality depth, not there.
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:02 pm
Once again reality shows his football ignorance. Little fella Iowa has a pretty good football program and tradition. I will give you this Tech must start winning its bowl games to take that next step to being a great program. That being said tech was in the ORANGE BOWL on nat. tv. UGA was where??? Oh yeah , Shriveport!! Wasn’t your bowl game televised on like ESPN-8???? The ohcho!!!
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:03 pm
Koolaid, quality college football knowlege, you don’t have it.
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:07 pm
GTax
Im the idiot number 1 I know Johnson played for Gailey
2 Reggie Ball is the same style of QB and dont say he wasnt
Again Im the idiot you keep looking past the Murry’s of the world and your program will keep losing trust me
Navigator
June 18th, 2010
4:08 pm
The blog was about Tech running backs, but illiterate Dawg fans have something to say about ex-Tech players being arrested for a delinquent drivers license, and another player suspended (probably forever) for female abuse. It’s not a bragging right or something to laugh about, as these are human beings making bad decisions in their life. Too many people hang their shingle of life on football games and smack talking, when real life is painful and lives are ruined by personal attitudes and actions. I don’t take pride in pointing out any schools problem players, sad and regretful, but nothing to brag about.
Delbert D.
June 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
That depth chart from the posted link is very inaccurate.
Every “RS, HS” on that site’s list were redshirts last year or played last year except for BJ Bostic, who enrolled in January and went through spring training, and Orwin Smith played A-back as a FR last year and returned kickoffs.
Lucas Cox is listed as #2 B-back. He played A-back last year, B-back in 2008.
Preston Lyons is #2 B-Back, not #4.
Phil Smith is listed as #3 OT. He’s a starter.
The LB depth chart is all messed up.
Cooper Taylor is a starting safety, and a junior.
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
mwh6767
“Little fella IOWA has a pretty good program and football tradition”
Seriously did you just say that, I mean please tell me you didnt just say that
I really do not need to say any more
But I will, you my friend are a complete idiot.
Do me a favor go to your local sports bar put on an IOWA shirt and tell everyone in there what you just said.
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:14 pm
Reality , yes you are the idiot, Nesbitt came out of high school as a dual threat qb, Ball was not a true dual threat qb, yes he was small and moved in the pocket but that was bc he was so small he couldn’t see over the offensive line! He wasn’t a true threat to run! Big difference! And on top of that the offense was COMPLETELY different. Ive have nothing against Murray think he can be a good qb but he wouldn’t see the field at Tech. He couldn’t take the hits and isn’t quick enough to run the option. Not a knock just the way it is. And if continue to lose you men win conf. titles and go to BCS bowls um ok, ill take it. Maybe you should go to the uga blog and talk uga football but you prob. know less about your own football program.
Ghost of UGA VII
June 18th, 2010
4:17 pm
So far only one dog fan pick up my error (on purpose) thanks LOL, you must be in graduate school to have picked that one up, he’s the only one. He might be a freshman so go ahead and hand him his degree, I think that qualifies him.
Better here than in Athens, kick a dog when he’s down!!
Ghost of UGA VII
June 18th, 2010
4:19 pm
oh sorry “picked up my error” so you’ll know I’m not picking on you dumb ass dog fans
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:20 pm
mwh6767
Seriously friend the comment you made about IOWA shows your ignorance of college football
Oh and let me give you some reality, what team in the last 30 years has won a NC using that style of offense uh no-one
Enjoy your day
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:21 pm
Reality you are truely a typical idiot uga fan. The world doesn’t end at the athens city limits like your mom told you. Iowa has won a nat. title , they have a heisman winner , they have several hall of fame coaches , they have played football for over 100 years. You sir are ignorant.
Jacket Backer
June 18th, 2010
4:22 pm
Reality,
What team has won a national title in the last thirty years with a big g on it’s helmet? Thirty years of frustration showing your posts.
superDawg
June 18th, 2010
4:23 pm
If gt wants respect they should move their campus to pluto.
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:24 pm
Jacket Backer
Win a NC without the help of your old friend UPI
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:28 pm
um ever heard of Nebraska you moron. They won 5 nat. titles running the triple option under tom osborne. The last coming in 97 when they won the coaches poll and Michigan took the writers poll. Maybe you should do some research before you run your mouth.
Jacket Backer
June 18th, 2010
4:29 pm
More conspiracy Reality? We earned that NC. Colorado was the program that got the gift. The entire football world outside of Athens recognizes that.
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:30 pm
IOWA has a claimed national title like TECH’s 4
LSU was undefeated that year IOWA was not but the voting before a bowl game crap that gave them the championship doesnt happen anymore so technically they didnt win one
IOWA football is a joke just because someone plays 100 years doesnt mean that they are loaded with tradition
Again go to your bar and do what I said
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:32 pm
Reality showing you ignorance again is see. History lesson for you. The Upi poll was the coaches poll in 90, Tech has the crystal ball trophy that is given to the bcs champ in its trophy room. You know the crystal ball trophy that will never be in athens. Keep posting crap and I will keep correcting you with the facts moron. Oh and by the way your great Vince Dooley voted for tech in the final 90 upi poll so if the poll was so fake I guess that makes Dooley a fraud then too huh?
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:33 pm
Jacket Backer
My point exactly Colorado got the gift why
Because no one truly thinks Tech’s football program was and is worthy of any National Championship
Thanks for clarifying that for us
Reality Stinks doesnt it
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:34 pm
Sure I will go out with an Iowa shirt on and people will say hey didn’t Iowa play in the Orange Bowl this year? I wear a UGA shirt and people would say hey did they play in a bowl this year? I didn’t see them in one!
Jacket Backer
June 18th, 2010
4:35 pm
mwh6767,
I appreciate your efforts with Reality stinks, but a quick review of the last 8 hours of these postings will reveal that you are dealing with a special breed of idiot. Facts and logic have no place in his world. As I posted earlier, 30 years is a long time.
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:37 pm
You have nothing Reality, you don’t even know the facts of which you try to speak of. Come back when UGA wins a nat. title. Wait that will never happen again Reality stinks doesn’t it.
Jacket Backer
June 18th, 2010
4:37 pm
You are truly a world class idiot Reality. What other conspiracy theories do you have for us?
I was a Liberal Arts major with BA
June 18th, 2010
4:38 pm
Here is some literacy and command of numbers for you Jackets ……………GT has been to two ( this is 2 or Dos in Espanol ) major bowls since 1967. The Urange Bowl in 1967, in a humiliating LOSS to SEC’s Florida for Bobby Dodd. Florida that year was 4th or 5th best team in the old SEC. It was DOUBLY a humiliating defeat at the hands of Bobby Dodd Jr’s Alma Mater Florida. Yes, Dodd’s son played at Florida ………although he was 3rd or 4th string QB. Even Dodd Jr AVOIDED PLAYING for the jackets. Sad, that GT history lesson is.
The NEXT major bowl for Tech was the Urange Bowl in 2009 ……………. an another humiliating defeat to Iowa …………big, slow farm boys from the mid west ………..BIG,SLOW are the key words. Did I mention the word ……………s-l-o-w?? You know what I mean.
When tech defeated Nebraska in the old Citrus in 90, it was about the 5th or 6th best bowl behind the Gator and the old Peach and the Bluebonnet and the Liberty and the Cotton and Sugar and about 3 other majors. Tech did get ONE API? vote as NC along with Notre Dame and Colorado and Miami, depending on what newspaper that you read or where you read it.
How is that for recalling tech’s glory over the last 43 years?? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm??
Oh, um, I will not mention the fists of rage over the last weekend and that little girl. That reference would be improper.
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:38 pm
mwh6767
Go to the Butts Mehre building this yr at the Tech game and you will see the Crystal ball trophy sitting there as well. Take a picture of it with your friends and tell them UGA outright won it in a BCS bowl game that your team was not invited to the year they paid someone off to get. You know the Citrus Bowl
I will give it to you though you must have won at the poker table to win a National Title after playing in the Citrus Bowl
And Nebraska did not run the same offense as Tech some of the schemes were similar
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:39 pm
Jacketbacker , Oh i understand, typical UGA fan. The world revolves around Athens, they win the nat. title every yr. according to them. Just tired of not being able to talk real football bc morons like reality can’t shut their mouths.
Delbert D.
June 18th, 2010
4:41 pm
Little GT back from Mobile? Nope, not on the roster, nor on the list of incoming freshmen.
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:42 pm
mwh6767 and Jacket Backer
Just re-read and re-read the (I was a Liberal Arts major with BA) post 20 times and let Reality sink in
Reality Stinks doesnt it
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:44 pm
Wow Reality you are a Moron. there is no crystal football trophy at UGA little fella no matter what your mom told you. You can’t even bring any twisted facts to support yourself anymore! And the triple option is the triple option you fool everybody runs their offense with different wrikles to it.
Jacket Backer
June 18th, 2010
4:49 pm
Paid someone off? Poker table deals? You are amazing Reality. Thrashing about in frustration trying to make up for 30 years of futility. All those major bowls and nothing to show for it in 30 years. Liberal arts made some decent points, but the fact remains, we have a NC from 1990. Everyone agrees with that, even your sainted Vince Dooley. What seat did he have at this poker table you speak of? More conspiracy crap to support you nonsense. And I see you have yet to respond to being called out earlier re hidden GT arrests. What’s up with that?
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:50 pm
mwh6767
Stupid Take a drive to Athens go to the Butts Mehre building its the all Black glass building where the track and field is
Walk in, go straight to the back and you will see the trophy with the crystal ball on it.
Sorry little fellow but its there, hate to bust your bubble
So just keep posting those statements like that and IOWA is a great football program and your Tech buddies might decide to kick you out since your to ignorant to meet your academic standards TARD.
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:51 pm
Liberal , im glad you went into the liberal arts program instead of being a math major. You would have failed miserably! Tech finished second yes second or dos as you like to say in final 90 ap poll with 20 votes. So how does that mean tech finished with one vote??? Another UGA fan not checking their facts before running off at the mouth. The citrus bowl in 90 was only second in stature to the big for bowls rose, orange , sugar and cotton. It was on the same plain with the fiesta at the time. There was no bowl ties then and bowls got to choose there teams. You guys really need to check your facts before posting.
Delbert D.
June 18th, 2010
4:53 pm
The coaches’ poll did vote Colorado 2nd in the 1990 season, give the Buffaloes credit for that. Their TD as time expired on 5th down to beat Missouri is an all-timer for referees’ ineptitude.
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
4:54 pm
Yeah its a crystal ball that uga prays to to help them become relevant in college football again!! Reality stinks doesn’t it!
Jacket Backer
June 18th, 2010
4:57 pm
Delbert D. The fifth down play is an all time blooper, everywhere except Athens. Apparently it is really a part of some sort of vast conspiracy to give Tech the national championship without actually letting them own it outright. I believe that was supposed to make college football look bad that such an inept team could win the NC. Or some sort of nonsense like that. Check with Reality, he’s made up all the facts he needs.
Reality Stinks
June 18th, 2010
4:57 pm
Jacket Backer
1990 was a great year for Miami, GT, Notre Dame wasnt it
Go win an outright championship in a real bowl game
And like I stated the Fulton Sheriffs Department overlook the illegal stuff that goes on at Tech because they are two busy taking care of the crime that surrounds North AVe
Trophy????
June 18th, 2010
4:58 pm
I thought Herschel took his NC trophy with him when he fled to New Jersey? Does he let you guys look at it when he comes back to dumptown.
Jacket Backer
June 18th, 2010
4:59 pm
I see where you have been stating that all day. Any facts or just the delusion from your own mind?
mwh6767
June 18th, 2010
5:02 pm
Wow now Reality is saying that the FCPD is covering stuff up at Tech! Dude you need to get off the drugs! What’s next you gonna blame the JFK shooting on a Tech athlete?!?! I apologize to you reality I thought I was just dealing with an ignorant UGA fan, it is now clear that you are one of those shall we say um… special people… of the short bus variety. I am sorry for picking you little guy. Stay strong!!!
Delbert D.
June 18th, 2010
5:02 pm
Speaking of Georgia Tech running backs, the topic of this blog, 2687 yards and 33 TDs rushing return for 2010.
kb
June 18th, 2010
5:06 pm
mwh6767 , Richt would have loved Nesbitt to come to UGA, but not as a QB, ?not a knock on him he is a very good college football player.
wesleywhatwhat
June 18th, 2010
5:06 pm
to the lame*ss georgia fans posting about georgia tech players being arrested – morgan was arrested for driving on a suspended license and speeding 91 in a 70 mph zone.
the obvious question is – so what?
who on this board hasn’t sped 21 mphs over the posted speed limit at some point before? morgan needs to pay his fine, straighten out his suspended license and move on to his next job.
as for the article itself – georgia tech has a plethora of talented running backs on the roster. compared to the short list of healthy and talented running backs at other state school, maybe georgia tech is the new “tailback u”?
wesleywhatwhat
June 18th, 2010
5:09 pm
after reading a couple of the comments, all i can add is that once again “reality stink” shows how out of touch the kid is with reality. sad…
kb
June 18th, 2010
5:11 pm
mwh6767, you are incorrect about the bowl tie ins in 1990, the sec champ automatically went to sugar, Big 8 champ auto to Orange, big 10 and pac 10 the rose, I may be wrong but I think the Citrus bowl took the ACC champs
superDawg
June 18th, 2010
5:14 pm
mwh6767 check your history and see how many concensus NC gt has if you do then UGA has just as many +1 concensus NC.