Johnson doing well in APR
In a study conducted by AOL Fanhouse that looked at Academic Progress Rate (APR) averages for players under of 107 of the 120 Division I coaches from 2003-04 to 2008-09 school years (including APR averages for those coaches even if they were at multiple schools in that span), Tech coach Paul Johnson’s teams’ average rank of 980 was No. 5 in the nation.
The top four are Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald (985), Air Force’s Troy Calhoun (985), Clemson’s Dabo Swinney (982) and Greg Schiano at Rutgers (981).
As a conference, the ACC ranked No. 1 in APR average (964) ahead of the Big 10 (956).
“You go into homes and promise parents you’re going to treat kids like your own,” Johnson said. “I want them to go to school so we try to make sure they go to school. You have to check . . . kids will miss class wherever you are. They don’t go to class here they’re not going to pass. Same way at Navy; you won’t last long if you don’t go to class.”
Days does body double
Freshman quarterback Synjyn Days has been scout team quarterback, mimicking N.C. State’s elusive Russell Wilson. It’s not a foreign role. Days – who is on track to redshirt – can move quite a bit himself.
“He runs a lot, and N.C. State recruited me and I almost went there so I’m pretty familiar with the offense,” Days said. “I just try to incorporate some of my skills into the offense, and give the defense a look because I know Russell Wilson scrambles a lot.”
Pumping up punt returns
There have been some personnel changes on the punt return unit, but they have not been disclosed.
The Jackets are averaging 4.4 yards per punt return having returned five. Opponents have returned just two against Tech for a total of 7 yards.
The goal is to spring Jerrard Tarrant, who last season averaged 13.4 yards per return (14th in the nation) and returned two punts for touchdowns. To date, he’s return four for a total of 11 yards. Daniel McKayhan has returned one for 11 yards.
“Both times [this season] where we felt like we had good returns . . . we just had to get one guy,” Kelly said. “It’s not a nine-person breakdown. It’s usually one. We’ve made some adjustments.”
Ticket talk
Tech officials say about 46,000 tickets have been sold and distributed for Saturday’s game, whose kickoff will be at 12:01 p.m. – several minutes earlier than many “noon” kickoffs. . . . With several events scheduled downtown Saturday, fans are advised to plan accordingly for potential traffic glitches.
– Matt Winkeljohn, for the AJC
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55 comments Add your comment
DiamondJim
September 23rd, 2010
5:45 am
Go GT Beat NC State
Scholar
September 23rd, 2010
6:46 am
WOW!!!
The ACC ranked first, and that is with having to carry Carolina, the new home of academic fraud!
CarolinaJacket
September 23rd, 2010
8:19 am
Wherever Butch Davis goes ……………..
John
September 23rd, 2010
9:39 am
Best of breed football conferences and academics and lack of (bad) publicity are often inversely related. No doubt that the SEC is better (semi pro) football.
Tech needs to win sat and roll through wake the following week.
dagnabit
September 23rd, 2010
10:24 am
Let’s not look past NC State. The wolfpack are tough.
UGAX
September 23rd, 2010
10:34 am
Not a Tech fan by any means, but you have to admire Johnson’s commitment to academics and discipline for his players. We could use some of that in Athens theses days…..
UGAX
September 23rd, 2010
10:34 am
Should say ‘these’….
joeygt
September 23rd, 2010
10:49 am
just heard nc state is going to wear white what a holes,,coach pj and gt players will take this as a sign of disrespect and they will not let off the gas when they are dominating nc state i say this just added a little more fuel to their fire..
tech wins 45-21
Ralph
September 23rd, 2010
11:11 am
The ACC is more interested in academics for their college students than being minor league sports venues recruiting thugs. Tech epitomizes that, while the dwags represent SEC priorities well.
j
September 23rd, 2010
11:14 am
46,000 tickets sold? CPJ can’t sell college football in the largest city in the South.
w
September 23rd, 2010
11:15 am
Enter your comments here
War Eagle
September 23rd, 2010
11:19 am
I am glad Yabba Dabba Dabo was near the top in this area cause he sure does get out coached on the field when it comes to football. He needs to become a head coach and manage the game. Clemson has the horses, they just need to be pointed in the right direction.
Go Jackets, Beat NC State
macrotech
September 23rd, 2010
11:26 am
j, it’s the difference between Atlanta and Athens….the first, you have MANY options competing for your attention and second, has ONLY cow tipping as an option. Hope that helps!
j
September 23rd, 2010
11:34 am
macrotech, Nice try, but most of the people at the Ga. games left metro Atlanta to get there.
michael
September 23rd, 2010
11:42 am
honeymoons’ are over. either we (GT) put-up or shut-up. uga simply PUTS-OUT!
d1reality
September 23rd, 2010
11:44 am
From what I’ve experienced, most folks at Sanford are right off the farm – not that there is anything wrong with that, but I don’t see them types in metro ATL.
dawg fan
September 23rd, 2010
11:54 am
is that cookies i smell?
Bob
September 23rd, 2010
12:13 pm
PJ is a smart coach.He knows the defensive staff is not getting it done.He will make changes at seasons end and bring in intense tcoaches who can recruit DL guys and build a great defense.
ALAN
September 23rd, 2010
12:15 pm
SO TIRED OF OUR MICKEY MOUSE DEFENSE!!!!HIRE COACHES WHO CAN COACH AND RECRUIT.TOO MANY POLITICAL HIRES FOR TECH ON DEFENSIVE SIDE OF BAL!!!!
John
September 23rd, 2010
12:17 pm
uga fans love the attendance thing- based on its number of students and alum uga would need 500k plus at their stadium. let me do it for you- but tech is in atlanta- yeah, with 100’s of thousands of worthless uga alum. but moronic bloggers ga state would need to have a million plus fans
enjoy starkville and a 1-3 record
agt45
September 23rd, 2010
12:24 pm
Odds that Plil, Larry, and John are all the same poster who has some kind of personal axe to grind? Your use of CAPS and punctuation give you away. Tech fans are smarter than that.
CarolinaJacket
September 23rd, 2010
12:44 pm
I know it is well known, but I missed it. Why did Joseph Gilbert quit the team? He was a starter all last year. Thanks for an answer.
Cobby Box
September 23rd, 2010
12:47 pm
Well spoken, John. What’s the good word??
coincidence...I think not!
September 23rd, 2010
12:57 pm
0 and 3 in the SEC…..has a nice rhyme to it doesn’t it?
Doug Roberson
September 23rd, 2010
1:12 pm
Gilbert wasn’t accepted into graduate school at tech; he is at ga. state
Mark
September 23rd, 2010
1:26 pm
I do agree we have to do a much better job recruiting defensive lineman.We are miserably failing in that area.I am also not sold on our defensive coaches and agree with most of what Phil,John,and Larry are saying.They do make some vaild points like it our not.Lets not spin the truth.
ramblinman
September 23rd, 2010
1:34 pm
j…the attendance thing is really old. Come up with something new. It’s amazing that a school like Tech which is half the size of UGA, has a much smaller fan base, etc still gets under your skin. Our academics are solid as are our athletics and all you have to talk about is attendance? Return to your own blogs…you have enough to worry about without coming over here.
misterwax
September 23rd, 2010
1:58 pm
well, as far as ticker sales go… the loss to Kansas makes all the difference.. with 3-0 we’d be in the top 10 by now and on a roll…. poor tackling makes the difference in many wins and losses… sellouts will come when we stay undefeated until deep into the season.
mts315
September 23rd, 2010
2:00 pm
To those complaining about the D coaching staff…
Give it some time. I am not sure if you are aware of this but we have three new D coaches and we are installing a new defensive scheme. Did anyone actually expect new coaches to come in, use the same players as last year minus two NFL drafts picks, and have the #1 D in the country. The only fan base that is delusional enough to believe that is UGA’s.
Give the coaches time to teach and the players time to learn before you go throwing them under the bus.
Bama Rules
September 23rd, 2010
2:08 pm
In a more important ranking, the AP, shows 6 SEC teams and 1 ACC.
GT+CPJ=SUCCESS
September 23rd, 2010
2:32 pm
bama rules,
Funny how some of those same teams struggle in the other rankings. I would also venture to say that 2 of those teams will fall right out when they actually face a team or decide not to play like GT did with Kansas.
PACKBACKER
September 23rd, 2010
2:57 pm
I hope the GT players come out with the same pompous, almighty attitude as some of you Tech supporters. That’s right this will be an easy game. You guys should win big! In fact, you probably don’t even need to show up. — As for wearing white… Why wouldn’t we? It’s called psyche, genius.
juvenal
September 23rd, 2010
3:37 pm
17-9….tickets will go up soon, experts say recession ended 6/09….hope NCSU sold their allotment of tix, unlike everyone else in the acc noth of CU…
How bout them BEES!!!
September 23rd, 2010
3:49 pm
PACKBACKER, Y’all may have psyched yourselves into an A** kicking.
How bout them BEES!!!
September 23rd, 2010
3:50 pm
genius
PACKBACKER
September 23rd, 2010
4:05 pm
Yep, I am hoping for the KANSAS kind!!! Boy, you guys really put it on them! It took North Dakota State to finally slow down that HOT team. I don’t know how we could ever keep up with the likes of you guys. Thank you for giving us the honor of playing in your gorgeous, well-planned stadium.
GT Sambo
September 23rd, 2010
4:10 pm
PACKBACKER,
I think you meant psych not psyche. And if we play the way we did against Kansas, we will lose. And if you play the way you did against UCF (a game you won), you will lose becuase we are not UCF! Wilson was 10-30 that game and he actually doesn’t have a very good history in road games. So neither one of us can be supremely confident going into this game based on our track records.
PACKBACKER
September 23rd, 2010
4:14 pm
GT Sambo,
I would have to agree with your post. Although, Wilson’s weak play at UCF was more attributed to his summer of playing major league baseball than the location of the game. Actually, I did mean psyche. Regardless, your point is well taken and it is nice to see that there are some fans that are approaching the game with a logical and respectful mindset.
GT Sambo
September 23rd, 2010
4:45 pm
PACKBACKER,
That explanation might make sense, except that was your 2nd game of the season, not your 1st, so that really doesn’t hold water. He played well against W. Carolina in the first game at home, so I don’t think he was “rusty”.
GT VET
September 23rd, 2010
4:45 pm
LOL… you want respect then show some respect…last I checked this was a GT blog…as far as our Stadium goes.(not dismissing your lack of respect there)its the OLDEST on campus stadium in the US..When it was “planned out” many years ago it was done so to meet the needs of GT.,NOT NC St…My “guess” for the game Sat/ is GT 42…NCSt. 17..I think your QB will play good football the 1st two Qts..then its over…but then again thats just my guess…enjoy the game Packbacker!!
GSU Jack
September 23rd, 2010
4:46 pm
for the size of its school, tech represents itself well in gameday attendance
I for one wish uga fans would stop cheapening my beloved State using our first season as a chance to sling insults to Tech.
PACKBACKER
September 23rd, 2010
4:58 pm
GT VET
Are you suggesting that GT will suddenly improve their defense in the 2nd half?
As far as respect, I am at least sane enough to believe that the game will be competitive. 42-17… get real. Have you guys held any team under 20 yet? What insight tells you that it will happen this week?
PACKBACKER
September 23rd, 2010
5:05 pm
GT VET
My apologies… I see now that you guys were able to hold South Carolina State to 10. Good job!
juvenal
September 23rd, 2010
5:15 pm
‘BACKER, y’all a lot like us,blue collar kids that wanted to get ahead, we are the defending acc football champs, save your scorn for the sec fans that truly believe the most important thing a skule can do is play football-maybe when the chinese own this country, the bosses that are NCSU & GT eng’r grads will let us off Sat. for games…as for the game, hope everyone plays their best, the best team wins, nobody’s hurt, & you bring 4,999 with you…
PACKBACKER
September 23rd, 2010
5:28 pm
juvenal
You are 100% right. I too hope for a safe, competitive game. In truth, I am just pumped up for some good football. I hope both schools bring their A games. You’re right about the blue collar business. It’s kinda nice to see a throw down between two schools that actually build and create rather than training the future politicians and sleeze balls. I tried to get the swarm fired up, but if you look back its been a while since we could say we were defending champs. This will be a statement game for either team. (I just hope we make the statement.
) Enjoy the game juvenal
juvenal
September 23rd, 2010
5:28 pm
vandy, the sec’s token school with academic integrity, the only one i root for every game except playing us…
GT VET
September 23rd, 2010
5:35 pm
Yes the GT D is improved..NO..NC St.cant stop GT..good luck!!
saban
September 23rd, 2010
5:36 pm
Heard the dawgs were emptying out the Clarke County Jail to get players for Mississippi State.
Technophobia
September 23rd, 2010
6:00 pm
Top academic school in the top academic conference. Good job Coach!
5150 P.O.A.D.
September 23rd, 2010
6:13 pm
Richt is trying to make UGA the Southern Baptist version of Notre Dame. Go Mark Richt and keep up the prayers.