Updating Georgia Tech position competitions

Greetings-

Sorry for the delay. I encountered laptop trouble Tuesday, got it fixed Wednesday morning and then spent most of the rest of the day on the notebook that ran in Thursday’s paper. If you’re wondering, and I know you’re not, it had something to do with the security software locking me out of my laptop.

Anyway, onto some notes.

1. Center Jay Finch said his knee is 100 percent after suffering an injury in the Miami game last year that forced him out of the Clemson game. One of his goals for the spring and summer is to add about 10 pounds of muscle. Coaches had previously set a weight limit of 280 for him, but his cap was raised to 290. He said that at the end of last season, because of a sickness, he got down close to 250 pounds.

Finch also knew the exact number of days to the Virginia Tech game.

2. As I mentioned in the notebook, offensive line coach Mike Sewak is moving guys around a good bit, cross-training and trying to develop depth. Right now, it looks like Ray Beno, Tyler Kidney and Morgan Bailey are the top three tackles. Bryan Chamberlain and Errin Joe, both true freshmen last year, got work this week at tackle. Bailey’s big challenge has been staying healthy.

“That’s been the big knock on him,” Sewak said. “His footwork’s improved, he’s physical and that’s the nice about part about Bailey.”

At guard, Omoregie Uzzi is out for spring, recovering from surgery, and Will Jackson suffered a high-ankle sprain last Saturday that may keep him out for the remainder of spring. In their place are Trey Braun and Shaquille Mason.

3. Wide receivers coach Buzz Preston on Jeff Greene: “He’s coming along. He’s got a long way to go. He’s got to pick up the level of his play and he knows it.”

On Chris Jackson: “He’s had a year of being in it and I think some of [his motivation is because] he knows that it’s the time for him. There’s no tomorrow. I think things are starting to feel a lot more comfortable. Sometimes it takes a year just to feel comfortable because he’d never been a receiver before.”

On Jackson’s transferring and then being dismissed from the team before being allowed back last summer: “I think it’s helped him grow, helped him become more appreciative of everything that is in front of him and realize that, Hey, you’ve got to stay focused on what you want and don’t get lost in the shuffle.”

4. Jackson’s goal for spring: “Going into the summer, I want to know the offense like the back of my hand.

Regarding coaches wanting him to improve his effort, Greene said that when he gets tired, “sometimes on one play, you always want to take that one play off, but you’ve just got to realize you can’t. You’ve got to keep pushing through it and that’ll better you for the next play and the next day.”

5. A-back Orwin Smith has been spending part of the spring practice workouts training with the strength and conditioning staff and the other part staying with the A-backs during their drills, A-backs coach Lamar Owens said.

As mentioned in the notebook, Robert Godhigh is leading the pack, ahead of B.J. Bostic, Deon Hill, Broderick Snoddy and Tony Zenon.

“I’m not as concerned right now with who’s in there with the ones, who’s in there with the twos,” Owens said, referring to the first and second strings. “I’m concerned with who’s doing their job correctly, who’s playing fast, who’s playing like they have a chip on their shoulder, no matter if you’re in the one huddle or the two huddle.”

On Snoddy:

“He’s working extremely hard. I don’t think there’s many people out there that’s going to work as hard as him. I think the learning curve right now for him, it’s decreased a little bit since August, but we still have a ways to go with Broderick. He’s coming along. I told him, my goal for him will be that we can have a space for him where we feel good about getting him in the game because he definitely has some skills that can help this offense.”

Thanks for reading.

Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog