Tech spring practice No. 10
Greetings, all-
Some notes from Tech’s Wednesday afternoon practice at Bobby Dodd. I’ll have more Thursday….
Perhaps it would be more noteworthy if Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson were satisfied with the offensive line’s play in spring practice and not displeased. Regardless, the play of the line in Wednesday’s practice left Johnson in an unsparing mood.
“There’s 10 offensive linemen out there,” Johnson said, answering a question about the team’s injury status, before clarifying. “There’s 10 bodies.”
The Jackets return three starters on the line from last season’s unit that helped Tech lead the nation in rushing — guards Omoregie Uzzi and Will Jackson and tackle Phil Smith. Regardless, the line has been a weak spot throughout the spring. Asked about the competition at B-back, Johnson said it was difficult to discern, implying the blame lay with the line.
The B-backs “don’t really have much of a chance, if you want to know the truth,” he said. “It’s hard to tell.”
Johnson evidently has found the drive of the linemen wanting. A question was posed to Johnson about whether the four incoming offensive linemen will push the 13 on the roster.
“If you want to play,” it will be a motivation, he said. “If you don’t want to play, it won’t matter.”
In the backfield
Quarterbacks Tevin Washington and Synjyn Days continue to take the majority of repetitions at that position. Days has shown flashes of ability, but has struggled with ballhandling and turnovers. Washington, who started four games at the end of the 2010 season after Joshua Nesbitt’s season-ending broken arm, has become better in fundamentals such as handling the ball, making reads and passing, but needs to be more efficient.
“You don’t have to be a hero,” quarterbacks and B-backs coach Brian Bohannon said. “Just run the offense.”
David Sims, who moved from quarterback to B-back before the spring, has remained there.
“I thought my transition would have been a little bit smoother, but it hasn’t,” Sims said. “I still have to work on things like blocking and pad level, things of that nature.”
Secondary work
Secondary coach Charles Kelly is not declaring any winners, or even leaders, in the competition to fill all four jobs in the defensive backfield.
Fred Holton, Rashaad Reid and Isaiah Johnson are competing at safety, and Louis Young, Ryan Ayers, Michael Peterson and Rod Sweeting likely are in the hunt for a starting cornerback job. Jemea Thomas is practicing at safety and corner.
Kelly has emphasized physical play from all the positions and is trying to develop versatility. Besides Thomas working at safety and corner, Peterson and Young have practiced at cornerback and nickel back.
Kelly said Thomas has been the most productive player in the two scrimmages, but noted that Sweeting, Young and Johnson have had strong practices, too.
Said Kelly, “Nobody’s just jumped up and just run away [with a starting job].”
Etc.
Tech has four practices remaining, including the April 23 spring game. Saturday’s 9 a.m. practice at Bobby Dodd Stadium is open to the public with no admission charge. … Former offensive tackle Nick Claytor, who declared for the NFL draft in January following his junior season, briefly stopped by practice.
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61 comments Add your comment
757 hokie
April 14th, 2011
5:02 pm
Dont worry guys PJ will have them chop blockin in no time!!!!!!!!!!!
techengineer
April 14th, 2011
5:03 pm
I thought Washington did a fair job filling in last year but I question his potential.. I want to see a steady leader at QB like Navy and AF has had over the years. I’ve been waiting on edge to hear something good about the QB battle and what I’m hearing now is not giving me any confidence.
I mean it’s the difference between a 7-8 win season and 9-10 season. The D will be much better. They improved all year last year. The O line will come along. We need a QB!!!!!
Stumpknocker
April 14th, 2011
10:28 pm
@757 Hokie; Guess you, like “Screamer Beamer” are already whinning about illegal blocks……get over it they’re not illegal. Often used in college and in the pros, officials watch it closely and rarely flag it.
FullMetalJacket
April 15th, 2011
12:04 pm
I don’t want to play devil’s advocate, but it is hard to get fired up about next year when the O-line and QB positions seem to be floundering. I know CPJ can rival Larry Munson in deliberately painting a bleak picture for motivational purposes, but having watched a couple of practices and hearing the buzz around the team, it appears we have some o-problems. The defense will be improved, but maybe not as much as the positive press indicates. We still need a QB who understands how important it is to hold onto the ball, literally and figuratively. Turnovers and bad passing are giving me flashbacks to the Reggie Ball era, and CPJ’s first year and last year. There is nothing more frustrating than turning over the ball and being unable to pass when necessary.
FullMetalJacket
April 15th, 2011
12:12 pm
To paraphrase the old adage, if you have more than one good quarterback, you don’t really have even one. And let’s face it, every QB in the CPJ system has had ample opportunity to know the system, even the redshirt frosh. The importance of reps is not lost on me, but I am very disappointed in the sloppiness and lack of discipline and fundamentals in the QB position. The timing will improve, but attitude and talent are my big worries at the QB position. (And it’s not just a post-Nesbitt vacuum that we’re dealing with; Josh’s passing and the team receiving was horrendous last year BEFORE he was injured.) We need a leader at QB who IS a QB first, and an Option QB second.
FullMetalJacket
April 15th, 2011
12:18 pm
Despite my concerns, I look forward to September and football season. I remain confident that CPJ will find some fixes, and I take some comfort in the improvement his first-year team made between Spring and Fall. I hope everyone understands that this fourth season is a VERY BIG season for Tech and for CPJ. With so much attention on UGA/Richt (as usual), there isn’t much press about the sense of urgency we should be feeling on the Flats. Like the ol’ rental car ad: We’re No. 2, we try harder….and we can’t afford even a couple of down years in a row if we continue to aspire to be No. 1.
Jack Daniels Terrier
April 15th, 2011
12:23 pm
Amen, brother, FMJ. We’re all behind the Jackets, but I share some of you worries about the offense. A lot of attrition at the quality skill positions and o-line the last year or two, and even with Nesbitt we did not respond well last year. In a Coach Johnson offense and especially in an option offense, chemistry and team cohesion/coordination is exponentially more vital. We definitely need leaders on the field, and we did not have it last year. I’m certain that Coach will find a way to convince the players to “get their minds right.” Go Jackets!!!
Blahblahblah
April 15th, 2011
12:25 pm
It’s springtime. Chill, bros. Well be OK.
Blahblahblah
April 15th, 2011
12:27 pm
Beamer’s teams are the dirtiest in the league since the old Miami. Any turkey crying foul (fowl? grins) is a hypocrite.
GDBurdell
April 16th, 2011
8:46 am
PJ won’t see a better season than last year, its the same dam system with no changes and with new people. Until all of the newbs learn, I mean really learn how to chop block with getting called then tek has zero chance and lets not forget they are in the ACC-
It should be called a tek block instead of a chop block!
threetrone
April 18th, 2011
9:30 am
Tech, my alma mater, does not have consistency. They come out on the field wearing black in various ways other than benign pinstripes. Auburn is the epitome of consistency. Their uniforms have not changed since the 70’s. This consisterncy last year culminated in their win over Oregon. Tech had consistency during the Dodd years with the same white and gold uniforms always worn year after year. They won year after year. There must be a direct correlation between consistency and winning. Tech also refuses to adopt the principle of “if you can’t beat them, join them” by refusing to adopt the shotgun offense. Both Auburn and Oregon used it against each other in an attempt to win the national championship. NC State used it in Atl last year demonstrating a clinic on how to use it to the Tech coaching staff on the sidelines. If Tech is unwilling to develop consistency and a shotgun to use every now and then in addition to the triple option, then I’m gonna have to not watch them struggle to field a team representative of consistent, winning Tech years. They play in BD stadium, yet they inconsistently discontinued the yellow jacket that was on the T-Club jackets during the Dodd and Carson years, switching to the Buzz. Who in the Hell ever came up with that idea, unless there’s been a break with the new Tech generations, perhaps over race? All I know is the black cube(qb, or die, as in roll a die in Finite Math at Tech) when I was there, Eddie McAshan, would have worn a T-Club jacket with the original yj on it and not Buzz. Therefore why break with tradition, and still desire to play in traditional BD stadium? That doesn’t make sense, and is upstart arrogant on the part of the younger Tech people, as if they’re saying “we only want academics, not athletics also”. I believe in the power of Heisman, who was of course also at Auburn and Clemson. Maybe the orange of Auburn they wanted to represent Clemson having Heisman. Perhaps Auburn’s white represents Tech, and we don’t know that, it’s a secret. Maybe Auburn wants to share Heisnman with Tech and Clemson. Then Tech should share their shotgun offense. There will be alot of pressure on CPJ this Fall to wake up and heed everybody’s criticisms.