Four observations from Pinehurst
Greetings-
Hope you’re well. I’m headed back home from Pinehurst after two days of interviews at the ACC football kickoff. There’s a lot to sort through, though you’ll be surprised to know that every coach and player is excited about the season and believes his team has a chance to compete for an ACC title.
The focus Monday was the hour that Georgia Tech Paul Johnson spent talking to print media. While most of the time was spent answering football questions, he answered plenty about the recent NCAA ruling, and became a bit impatient with the questions.
I wrote about it for Tuesday’s paper. I don’t know how interested you are in hearing more about it. He talked a lot more about the upcoming season than the NCAA investigation and sanctions, which I’m guessing you’d like to hear more about. So, four things I learned from Johnson.
1. He has considerable hope for the offensive line. I wrote about this previously, that his outlook has improved since the spring, but he shed a little more light on it Monday. He acknowledged the youth – two new starters, four second-string players who are sophomores or freshmen and have played a four three games – but said “We’ve got some guys who can do what we want them to do.”
It bears noting that all of the linemen in the two-deep are players that Johnson recruited. He pointed out that the group he expects to start didn’t get a lot of time together in spring practice because of injuries, but he said he was encouraged by the group’s athletic ability and potential, players like Jay Finch and Morgan Bailey, among others.
“I’m actually excited about our offensive line,” he said.
2. Vad Lee might have a little more chance to play this fall than I previously thought. My take on the incoming freshman quarterback was that he would almost certainly be redshirted given the short time he would have to digest the offense. Comments from Johnson at different times downplayed the possibility. However, Johnson said coaches will “take a good, long look at Vad in fall camp. If we feel like he gives us the best chance to win, we’ll either play him or have a package for him or have something that he can do.”
It’s probably parsing, but to me Johnson left the door open a little more to the possibility of Lee playing.
3. Johnson likes the personality of the team. Plenty has been written about the team being more dedicated and so forth after going 6-7 last season, but Johnson shed a little more light on what he’s seen.
“This is a fun group to be around,” he said.
Players are often hanging out in the football offices talking with coaches, he said, which is a little different than the past. He allowed that it might have something to do with the fact that the team is largely made up of players he recruited. That’s probably true to an extent, but it’s also true that many of the team leaders were recruited by Chan Gailey, players like Roddy Jones, Logan Walls, Jason Peters and Steven Sylvester.
“Sometimes when you don’t do as well, it kind of draws everybody together, too,” Johnson said. “You find out who your friends are and who your enemies are.”
4. Cornerback Ryan Ayers is transferring to Liberty, as I mentioned it in the notes. Ayers turned down offers from Georgia, Alabama and Auburn coming out of South Paulding High and was going to compete for a spot in the lineup, behind Rod Sweeting on the pre-camp depth chart. Johnson said a member of Liberty’s strength and conditioning staff is someone he grew up with and considers a brother, and “from a personal standpoint, he felt like that would be something he needed to do.” Johnson also said Liberty offered a major that Ayers was interested in.
Johnson granted the release. “I think that might be a good move for him,” he said.
5. Tech has a new poster boy in Albert Rocker. The former linebacker had a year of eligibility remaining but had graduated, and was offered a job with Microsoft. Johnson said Rocker would have helped the team this season, but Johnson thought the choice was obvious.
Said Johnson, “I’m like, that’s what you came to Georgia Tech for. Here’s your opportunity.”
Johnson liked the idea of using Rocker as part of his recruiting pitch, putting a picture of Rocker next to those of NFL players Calvin Johnson or Demaryius Thomas in recruiting send-outs.
“I’m just as proud of him as the guys who are in the NFL,” Johnson said.
My buddy Matt Winkeljohn wrote a piece on him worth reading last week.
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95 comments Add your comment
reebok
July 26th, 2011
12:45 pm
We start off with a soft schedule and should be able to rack up 5 to 7 wins early on. I think this is the year we see how CPJ is really going to do…his own players, recruited for his own system. I see virtually sure losses to Miami and V-Tech, but we have a solid chance in every other game, including Clemson and UGA. Looking forward to a great season!
Nesbitt For Heisman!!!!
July 26th, 2011
12:57 pm
UGA fans are “arrogant” yet tool fans annually predict beating the dawgs in one of the most lopsided rivalries in the nation? Gotta love tool hypocrisy!!
JACKETS
July 26th, 2011
12:59 pm
anyone got a netflix account, take a look at this old movie at the 31:31 mark. Guess what song the actor Gregory Peck is singing out of the blue, too funny, had no idea that was coming, GO GET EM JACKETS
http://movies.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70036057&trkid=4364085
Ramblin Man
July 26th, 2011
1:22 pm
Hope everything works out okay for Ayers, hate to loss him as he looked like a potentiol future threat as a DB. 36 more days can’t wait.
DeKalb Canes Alumni
July 26th, 2011
2:16 pm
The rest of us in the ACC with great lines will worry about GA Tech when they start passing the ball
dawgmatic
July 26th, 2011
2:27 pm
Looks like 5 things, but teck quarterbacks aren’t great at counting.
Gotta love those NERDS!!
RambleOn84
July 26th, 2011
2:36 pm
Miami wins 2 in a row and suddenly they don’t worry about Tech. Newsflash: Golden has done NOTHING…he made Temple decent in the worst conference in the country but to hear Miami fans tell it, he won a MNC
Red&Black
July 26th, 2011
2:55 pm
Hard to say this as a UGA alum…but Tech certainly is much more likely to prepare student athletes for life after sports. Luckily for us most of our top athletes are short sided enough to attend our school even if they end up with a much less promising career in the end. We have our success stories as well…just less frequently.
North Ave Killer Beez
July 26th, 2011
4:04 pm
What happened to Ayers? Anyone know why he is transferring?
threetrone
July 26th, 2011
4:12 pm
CPJ said the football camp opens Aug. 2. Why is the d end kid from England going to the Bama camp if Aug. 2 is Tuesday of next week? That;s going to football camp bassackwards.
headley lamar
July 26th, 2011
4:20 pm
The ACC is 12-22 in the past five years in bowl games against schools from automatic-qualifier conferences. Since 2000, ACC teams are 34-85 against non-conference opponents ranked in the top 25. The league last played for the national title when Florida State lost to Oklahoma in the 2001 Orange Bowl.
Sad.
RambleOn84
July 26th, 2011
4:41 pm
Notice how UGA fans talk about conferences a lot? Maybe because their conference is all they have to brag about…now go back to chanting “SEC!”
Nate the Great
July 26th, 2011
4:48 pm
To all Tech fans regarding Reggie Ball:
1) If your next QB is anything like Reggie Ball, then thank you, thank you, thank you!! The best weapon we had agianst you was Reggie Ball. Do you remember him throwing the ball away on forth down? Well at least he won’t throw it away since CPJ has no concept of the forward pass (not like you guys have a reciever to catch it anyways).
2) Reggie Ball would be All-ACC under CPJ…really? He was a terrible QB and I don’t care about the system or HC. You can’t correct stupidity!!
George Stein
July 26th, 2011
5:07 pm
Shocker! Headley’s back with facts ripped from another report.
Unfortunately, the statistics mean nothing without context. Wake us all up when SEC schools go out an play the non-conference schedules ACC schools play.
George Stein
July 26th, 2011
5:09 pm
We’re all really impressed with you Nate. Those were some brutal digs and insightful comments there.
Tell us more! We’re all on the edge of our seat.
tim
July 26th, 2011
5:14 pm
Hey Ramble, why do you tools only talk about other team’s titles from 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago that you try to claim as your own, along with UF? Strange you losers want to talk about everything but your record against UGA. Why is that?
George Stein
July 26th, 2011
5:24 pm
Why do you chant SEC at a bowl games, tim?
noodles
July 26th, 2011
5:26 pm
@ George Stein –
The SEC has been shaming the ACC in OOC games for decades. Why dont you wake us up when GT plays someone other than Kansas, you douche.
Peachtree St.
July 26th, 2011
5:38 pm
The SEC owns the bowls. Why not brag? Jealous?
George Stein
July 26th, 2011
5:44 pm
Ha. That’s funny, noodles. Calling me a douche? Creative! Ironically, you can’t spell douche bag without u-g-a.
Over the past decade, Tech has played Notre Dame, Auburn, BYU, UGA, Miss St, Kansas (which, by the way, was better than Colorado last year), and has games scheduled against Bama, Auburn, UGA, South Carolina, BYU, and Syracuse. This does not include the home and home we had scheduled with Ole Miss that they chickened out of. I don’t think our non-conference schedule takes a back seat to anyone’s except maybe Miami and FSU.
George Stein
July 26th, 2011
5:46 pm
Not against the ACC they don’t, Peachtree St. Last I checked, the ACC was struggling along to a 4-0 record the past two years and leads the Peach Bowl all time record. But let’s not concern ourselves with facts.
RambleOn84
July 26th, 2011
6:13 pm
te
RambleOn84
July 26th, 2011
6:14 pm
Whoops…meant to say don’t confuse them with facts, George. These highly intelligent dog fans who come over here and rip on our program can’t be concerned with facts. They are thinking on a higher level.
Stinger 2
July 26th, 2011
6:32 pm
Glad to hear that CPJ is saying some good words about the upcoming season. It will be interesting to see how the QB situation shakes out. I hope the special teams show a lot of very much needed improvement.
anybody have the over/under on...
July 26th, 2011
7:52 pm
the number of games the dawgs will play before they start pointing to the gt game yet again as the season saving game?
my guess is 7.
buehler?
now that is tooooo funny. the no 2 team in the entire country wrt recruiting has had only the gt game to point to over the last 4-5 years. no championship games. lotsa blowouts (see tenn or c).
all they can bark about is beating tech.
that is about to change…….
tooooo funny!
btw the dawg that boldly predicted 45-17 uga over gt. ill take some of that action. or are you all talk?
230gr Full Metal Jacket
July 26th, 2011
8:29 pm
Is there a list of terms/words that cannot be used on these blogs??? If so, would someone please publish it, because I am getting EXTREMELY sick of almost every post I type getting blocked/deleted even when there is NOTHING questionable in the post!!!!! I mean, I know the obvious words, but seriously, I have spent a lot of time organizing my thoughts and typing them out in a clean and acceptable (G-Rated) manner because I realize that their ARE some children who lurk here too (as is demonstrated by some of the posts, but I digress…..). And they STILL get blocked!!!!! I have no problem with following the AJC’s rules on this — as long as ya’ll let us know what the rules are!!!!
You oughta know...
July 27th, 2011
8:19 am
I think it’s a shame the way Tech fans pick on the Bulldogs. After all, it was a Georgia alumnus who invented the toilet seat.
…of course a Georgia Tech engineer stole the design and cut a hole in the middle.
Burma Shave
July 27th, 2011
8:23 am
It’s time for Richt
To get out of town
Not much longer
For this clown
BURMA SHAVE
hahahaha!!!
July 27th, 2011
9:11 am
@ George,
Last I checked, UGA has as many BCS bowl wins as the entire ACC combined. How does that grab ya? LOL, the Peach Bowl? Seriously? You made everyone’s point for them with your moronic comments. Thanks for the laugh.
James
July 27th, 2011
9:13 am
GT fans are the most delusional fan base I have ever heard of. How does a team that OWNS you by at least 26 victories head-to-head point to the game as a “season saving” contest? I don’t believe UGA made bubble gum “state championship” rings the last time they defeated the bugs, now did they?
Ken Sugiura
July 27th, 2011
9:49 am
230 gr – i’ll look into it. the filter can be kind of funny sometimes.
Hayseed Dixie
July 27th, 2011
10:12 am
Ken, great coverage. And August camp, never mind the season, hasn’t even started yet.
Can’t wait to see what you’ll do during the season.
Hayseed Dixie
July 27th, 2011
10:13 am
For the rest of my life, the smell of cut grass in August immediately takes me back to football practice.
I feel like I’m on the sleds with coach yelling for more effort.
Anyone else have that memory/connection?
Tech '10
July 27th, 2011
11:03 am
I am constantly reminded everyday how lucky I am to not be a uga grad or fan. Judging from the comments left on the Tech blogs, I would say that all uga fans have to look forward to is football. I do not envy them one bit, in fact I pity them. Poor little fellas, thinking that the universe revolves around sec football. Based on the amount of ranting and raving I see in extremely poor english, I would say what degree they did get has been next to useless. I am glad that you all have found the caps lock key though, I was getting worried for a minute. College football doesn’t pay my bills, but I still look forward to it each and every year. And while we may not win as many games or play as many high school teams as uga does, I can take pride in the fact that after having only been in the work force for about 6 months now, I already have a UGA GRAD ANSWERING TO ME! Be-yah.
ACC Forever & FSU Rules
July 27th, 2011
11:31 am
“The fact that the team is largely made up of players he recruited.” This is the likely the kiss of death for this team. You Techies need to realize the ACC ain’t Service Academy Ball.
JTK
July 27th, 2011
11:45 am
My thoughts on the UGA comments about their pleasure at seeing the ACC Championship being pulled from Tech are this: 1. Tech won it on the field – what can Georgia claim as any kind of title? 2. Gee, just how far back would the NCAA have to go to find a title to pull from UGA?
Old Blind Dawg
July 27th, 2011
11:51 am
JTK you can save me some typing time by visiting this site
http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/geo-football-history.html
GIVE ME A BREAK
July 27th, 2011
12:32 pm
UGA is loaded with 5 star players yet is still worried about GEORGIA TECH. Richt coaches them down for another year. ” BRACE FOR IMPACT “
Chris Matthews
July 27th, 2011
1:15 pm
Tech can’t sell out any games! That says it all !!
Jones
July 27th, 2011
1:35 pm
I hear that Isiah enjoys his hookah
Tom
July 27th, 2011
2:41 pm
So, Microsoft is going to give Rocker the chance to work in the post office instead of on a garbage truck?
Oh, wait…..I’m thinking of another program…..
Nevermind.
ARdawg
July 27th, 2011
4:55 pm
Ken Sugiura
Good reading sans your opening paragraph.
CAN'T SPELL CHEAT WITHOUT "T-E-C-H!!!'
July 28th, 2011
8:16 am
More nerd cheating!!! LOL, unbelievable!!! Now a dirty assistant coach is busted!!! Disgusting!!
Flatulent Old Dawg
July 28th, 2011
8:52 am
Your Cheating Heart…er I mean Coach……….
Tech’s appeal, NFL signees and more | Georgia Tech
July 29th, 2011
9:04 am
[...] evening for a story that is scheduled to run in Sunday’s paper. Rocker, as I mentioned in a previous blog, decided to forego his senior season to take a job with Microsoft. This is not entirely related to [...]