Tech scrimmage report
Greetings-
Still working on the notebook for Sunday’s paper off of Saturday’s scrimmage. Here’s the start.
1. The first public competition between Georgia Tech backup quarterbacks Synjyn Days and Vad Lee provided evidence of both players’ potential. It also showed there’s still distance between them and starter Tevin Washington.
“He’s in a place where he makes pretty good decisions, and that’s where I’d like to get the next two, in that same spot,” quarterbacks and B-backs coach Brian Bohannon said of Washington following the Yellow Jackets’ Saturday morning scrimmage at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Washington opened the scrimmage by leading the first-team offense on a 10-play, 70-yard drive against the first-string defense, punctuated by A-back Robert Godhigh’s 8-yard touchdown run. As planned, he played sparingly for the remainder of the roughly 100-play scrimmage. Days and Lee split about 70 of the snaps.
Days showed toughness running for hard yards, generally made good decisions when protection broke down and avoided ball-security problems that have been his undoing in the past. However, several botched center-quarterback exchanges plagued him and center Catlin Alford, who is at the position for the first time. He led the offense to one score and a missed field-goal try.
His highlights included a 25-yard pass to Godhigh and a 27-yard keeper out of the shotgun. Tech coach Paul Johnson said he thought Days improved from the first scrimmage last Saturday, particularly with his decision-making.
“I think I did pretty good outside of the center-QB (exchanges),” Days said. “That’s something we can work on.”
Lee led the offense to two touchdowns. He showed command on his final possession, a six-play, 70-yard drive run out of the shotgun that he finished with a 47-yard tackle-breaking run down the sideline. The play before, he threw a catchable deep ball to wide receiver Jeff Greene that he couldn’t secure.
“You could see at the end when he ran with the [first string] there, he’s got a lot of ability, and he did some things, but he had the ball on the ground way too much,” Johnson said. “He’s still getting the nuts and bolts of the running game.”
2. The offense sprinkled in some plays out of the shotgun and went to it exclusively for the final two possessions, one each for Days and Lee. The team had prepared it for the Sun Bowl, but didn’t use it, and has continued working on it this spring.
“It’s probably a little easier to throw the ball maybe,” Johnson said. “It’s also a lot harder to run the ball. What you gain, you may give away.”
Days said he likes the open space and the vision of the defense provided by the shotgun, in which the B-back lines up behind the quarterback.
“It’s fun, it’s different,” said center Jay Finch, who handled the snaps without problem. “Sometimes it catches the defense off-guard.”
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137 comments Add your comment
dawgfan
April 8th, 2012
3:14 pm
“have fun with your wins over the . . . OOC pushovers you always play.”
Thanks. I will. The last one of the year is always the most fun. 10 of 11 and counting. Pushover indeed.
HighTech
April 8th, 2012
3:29 pm
Supersize…I believe it is the Meebo toolbar causing glitches.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 8th, 2012
3:35 pm
HT, I think you are right. I reported that in an email during the week, but they still haven’t done anything about it.
HighTech
April 8th, 2012
3:41 pm
I don’t think they will do anything about it. “Today’s Deal!” has a dollar sign next to it. We should tell them we are not having “Easter Fun in Atlanta!” and will boycott “Today’s Deal!”. We’ll never drive a Volvo or go to Disney either! Do you think that will work? lol.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 8th, 2012
3:43 pm
if it affects the number of hits on a blog, I think they will do something about it.
HighTech
April 8th, 2012
3:52 pm
WnE
April 7th, 2012
4:42 pm
Is Chris Conley hurt?
Any update on Mitchell at CB/DB from this last scrimmage?
I haven’t see any stats from him in the last 2 scrimmages.
I like to keep up with what the Metro Atl. Area players are doing, especially the ones that also had offers from GT and had the Academics for GT.
Good to Scott-Wesley play well again, that RS yr seemed to help him out a lot.
CPJ tried to Recruit him to GT with a spiel that went something like this:
“If you sign with GT to play A-Back I promise to throw the ball more after you sign”
Scott-Wesley’s reply:
“It looks to me that position is more like RB than it is WR, I think I’ll look elsewhere”
Well, here’s to hoping that BOTH TEAMS are 11-0 when the last Saturday in November rolls around this year.
—————————————–
More invented dialogue from Gollum. Funny how the UGA folks ignore him but he doesn’t go away. Nothing seems to work except for direct questioning about Vad Lee. He is one determined troll.
BLT
April 8th, 2012
4:20 pm
Super, I assume you’ve clicked the icon at the right bottom by the ad scroll. It allows for minimizing.
HighTech, I read that too. No one responded on the other blog. Funny!
BLT
April 8th, 2012
4:21 pm
“spiel” classic!
GT fan
April 8th, 2012
4:27 pm
From what I’ve just read, and what I’ve witnessed at last Spring/Summer scrimmages & 2011 games, IMO, Days needs to be moved to A-back, he’s a very good runner.
Sounds as if Lee could be a good one @ QB with a promising youngster (Andrews) in the wings.
Seems like we forgot about Bostic … IMO, his ceiling is much higher than Roddy’s or Embry’s. Sounds like Godhigh is a good one too. Add Snoddy, Zenon, Smith, (and Days), and that’s deep talent at the A-back spot.
How bout some D news? O’s gonna be fine … D is where improvement is needed.
OldSchoolGold-1964
April 8th, 2012
4:47 pm
Emotions in check: yes, it is just a scrimmage. Optimism allowed: this team has great protential, offensively and defensively.
Come actual game time, work hard, believe in what you do and can do; and don’t get carried away reading your own press covereage. (Time for glad-handing after accomplishments.)
Supersize that order, mutt
April 8th, 2012
5:48 pm
BLT, I gave up and walked away for a while, hence my delay in answering your question. The icon to minimize does not work on my system using the Firefox browser, which is my default browser. It does work if I use Explorer, but response/refresh time using Explorer is no better than it is with Firefox.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 8th, 2012
5:48 pm
Seems to be faster now
Supersize that order, mutt
April 8th, 2012
6:06 pm
Kuch is TIED FOR THE LEAD here in Augusta. GO YELLOW JACKET !!!!
Dawg48
April 8th, 2012
7:04 pm
Let’s goooooooooo Bubba!
Dawg48
April 8th, 2012
7:36 pm
Congrtats Bubba! DGD!
Birmingham Jacket
April 8th, 2012
7:59 pm
Roster is weak, weak, weak.
Poor recruiting= Poor Performance.
GT fan
April 8th, 2012
8:23 pm
B’ham …. with a pourous D, YOUNG O-line, and a BAD year from the #1 B-back (maybe due to OL youth?) GT still won 8 games. Add poor ST & kicking (1-4 FGs in the bowl game) and 8 Ws was good.
I seriously doubt all those things are going to be the same in 2012.
TW will be a SR with lots of experience, and it doesn’t seem like there’d be a huge drop-off at QB should he get injured.
IMO, the A-backs are much more explosive without Roddy & Embry. Roddy was more than solid, but didn’t have “homerun speed”. Embry had the speed, but just didn’t have elusiveness.
And it’s practically impossible for the #1 B-back to perform as bad as 2011 (698 yds).
The D was young as well in 2011, and SHOULD improve. Even if the D doesn’t improve, I see GT winning 8+ again in 2012. It’ll just mean 2013 will be PJ’s 3rd D-coord.
BLT
April 8th, 2012
8:30 pm
Congrats to Bubba!
BLT
April 8th, 2012
8:33 pm
I like Tech’s roster! Go Jackets!
FL Jacket
April 8th, 2012
8:52 pm
Birmingham Jacket = Not a Tech fan
BigTimeTECHFan
April 8th, 2012
9:11 pm
Bubba pulled it out, great job.
Kuch played geat
Ole Yeller
April 8th, 2012
10:32 pm
Great job, both you Ga. boys Bubba, and Kuch.
GT
April 9th, 2012
7:29 am
Lee was better hands down. Days still fumbles the ball way too much. And tw has reached his ceiling. Vad will only get better.
gt4ever
April 9th, 2012
9:55 am
I wonder…. Why is it if you say something that is critical in any way towards the football team, you are considered a dawg fan or your not a GT fan…. It’s really kinda sad the number of people that have excepted mediocrity…. I’m reminded the late great AD Braine, when he said, we shouldn’t expect to win anymore than we do because of academic restrictions… As if we are the only school in the country that has football players attending class… It’s simply ABSURD, how we have given up, and continue to validate a good season by winning 8 games against the sisters of the poor…
AT A BOY
April 9th, 2012
10:08 am
STILL LOVING THE KUCH
DawginLex
April 9th, 2012
10:14 am
UGA and GT QB situation is not too different.
The #1 QB has a lot to prove to the fanbase to be embraced as the starter hands down.
Tech has Lee and UGA has Mason and Lemay.
I think Murray has great ability but his decison making and trying to do too much against the better teams leads to mistakes.
I just think TW has hit his high water mark. Great leader and well respected but the Lee kid looks the part, but just does not have the experience.
In my book Lee energizes the fanbase. I’d give him the start and would be comfortable knowing I have a solid experienced backup in TW.
My $.02
FL Jacket
April 9th, 2012
10:17 am
gt4ever…
Is your concern more rhetorical or is it rooted in some form of factual information?
FL Jacket
April 9th, 2012
10:23 am
DawginLex…
I think your are pretty much correct. However, nothing would unravel a team more than “giving” anyone a starting position without earning it…
George Stein
April 9th, 2012
10:25 am
Is there anything sadder than dawfan and WnE spending a beautiful Easter weekend trolling a GT football blog? I’d say they have helped me move beyond annoyance to pity.
Fair point, Lex. I think that’s the issue for us – is the risk of turnovers and other mistakes worth the reward of tremendous upside?
It’s about the tone of the criticism, gt4ever. You can be critical, but at least make it based in fact.
DawginLex
April 9th, 2012
10:42 am
I agree. If the difference in performance didn’t warrant it, then I’d say no.
Didn’t see the scrimmage but it sounds like Lee made some plays.
I am just looking big picture from what I saw a year ago. TW just did not impress me. We destroyed him. Miami destroyed him. I just don’t see Lee not playing a whole lot this year in order for Tech to go up a notch.
The defense is still the key to going to the ACC title game
FL Jacket
April 9th, 2012
10:52 am
DawginLex…
The Miami and UGA games exposed, IMHO, Tevin’s inability to consistently throw an intermediate passing game. The throws the heck out of the sideline pass and the fly route…but when you ask him to throw crossers, read a defense, and feel a pass rush he’s extremely vulnerable. This is where I can agree not having as many passing reps can hurt.
But at the same time, it’s not like we ran the ball that effectively in those games either. In the Miami game, we couldn’t block on the interior to get David Sims going, and certainly couldn’t block Sean Spence from running the pitch down from the backside. Tevin isn’t athletic enough (like Nesbitt was) to make poor reads but still gain positive yardage.
gt4ever
April 9th, 2012
11:23 am
FL Jacket…
It is FACT that our previous AD made this kind of ABSURD statement….
FL Jacket
April 9th, 2012
12:04 pm
“It is FACT that our previous AD made this kind of ABSURD statement….”
gt4ever…
Which is why, among other dumb contractual decisions, is why he’s the “previous” AD. However, you have to agree on this point. Either Tech was going to continue down the destructive path of recruiting the same kids as everybody else and either…
1) Live with sub-standard APR scores that would continue to land us on probation or cost us scholarships.
2) Implement some out of the box thinking that would allow the school to be competitive on the field and in the classroom. This has pretty much happened on offense. On defense, however, we’re not winning recruiting battles for kids who could come here and decide not to.
I realize we aren’t in “expect 10 wins or more every season” territory yet, but what we certainly don’t need to do is expect that level of standard without really reaching it yet. Especially when we’ve got a HC who has the best winning% since Bobby Dodd and a program headed in the right direction.
bittter----DUH!
April 9th, 2012
12:48 pm
jackets win ACC——————————————–?
GTfan 2012
April 9th, 2012
1:37 pm
gt4ever…
My problem with Braine was that he said something like that publicly. That’s a total copout on being a successful athletic director. If your team is consistently underperforming, then you fire the coach, you don’t make excuses. BUT, you also have to define underperform. I happen to think winning 6 games in one season and then 8 games the next is not “consistently underperforming” at GT. However, winning 6 games in 2012 could be. Winning 7 games could be. Winning 8 or more in 2012, probably is enough to stay off the hot seat. Winning 10 games would probably get CPJ another raise. You may have a different definition and I’d love to hear it.
gt4ever
April 9th, 2012
4:02 pm
@GTfan 2012,
My take on Braine…. He was frustrated and trying to protect his friend… Chan Gailey… People say stupid things out of frustration… It may have been a stupid statement, but I am constantly surprised by how many people buy into the fact that we are handicapped by academics….
As far this teams performance… IMHO, we have underperformed… I make this assessment based on our scheduling from year to year, and who we beat. I don’t think any rational person can seriously say that we have played a very hard schedule for the past two years, maybe longer…. and beat anybody of substance… This year will be very interesting, and even with the very easy schedule this coach will probably not win more than 8 games…. If he does, then I will be the first to say I was wrong… But, with the very young Defense we have coming back, it’s very hard to figure where those wins will indeed come from…
Supersize that order, mutt
April 9th, 2012
5:00 pm
gt4ever, I DO think academics at Tech play a role in recruiting. HOWEVER, I don’t think that is the defining factor in recruiting, or failure in recruiting. One thing that has ALWAYS been the case at Tech is that whether the mention of academics is a fair INTERNAL assessment of Tech, opposing schools ALWAYS use Tech’s academics as a negative recruiting tool against Tech. It was done under Alexander, Dodd, Ross, O’Leary, and every other coach we have had. It is ironic that the fans of those other schools downplay Tech academics, and even laugh at it, but the recruiters for those schools love to use that to attempt to convince kids not to consider Tech. The most flagrant example of that tactic that always comes to my mind is when Tech was recruiting, and eventually signed, Mackel Harris way back in 1976. Fortunately for Tech, he was smart enough to see through all that crap and still sign with Tech, and he was good too. And he went public with the tactics that those other schools used. That’s just one example that I remember; there have been many many others. I agree that we underperformed last year, but I don’t think it was so much a case of poor recruiting overall as it was the fact that we really didn’t have a team leader. Nesbitt was far more of a team leader than TW is, although even Josh let it slide against Kansas in 2010. I firmly believe that had he not gotten injured against VT, Tech would have ended up winning that game and beating the mutts too. Do we have a team leader now? Time will tell, but I’m afraid we still don’t have one on defense; but then when HAVE we had a true leader on defense?