Breaking down Tech o-line
Greetings
A few spring practice notes, from an interview with offensive line coach Mike Sewak:
1. I’ve noted this before, but injuries have been a negative/positive this spring. Having Omoregie Uzzi and Will Jackson out has given players like Nick McRae and J.C. Lanier more reps than they would have gotten otherwise, but it has also forced coach Mike Sewak to shuffle players more than he probably would like.
Injuries to Lanier and Shaquille Mason in Saturday’s scrimmage left the line with seven of the 12 scholarship offensive linemen in the scrimmage.
2. Tackle Morgan Bailey, until an injury last week, was shaping up as one of the most improved players on the team. Bailey, a rising redshirt sophomore, has plus athletic ability but has had injury challenges since he arrived at Tech. He was putting things together this spring. Not sure if he’ll be able to come back this week.
“He seems to be enjoying the playing time and seems to be enjoying the camaraderie and seems to be enjoying the leadership role he’s taking in that meeting room now, because I can point to him and say, ‘That’s how it’s supposed to be done,’” Sewak said.
3. Bailey’s health could be a crucial factor this fall. Sewak wants three dependable players at that position; you’ll remember there was a three-tackle rotation last season. Tech has two returning starters in Ray Beno and Tyler Kidney, but after that are rising redshirt freshmen Bryan Chamberlain and Errin Joe, who haven’t made the progress Sewak was hoping for this spring. The loss of Phil Smith was not insignificant, obviously.
4. Guard is the most secure position as spring ends, with returning starters Uzzi and Jackson and rising sophomore Mason, who ended the season splitting snaps with Jackson and acquitting himself well. Trey Braun is coming on.
5. The project to make Catlin Alford a center continues. There were more center-quarterback exchange snafus on Saturday, although it’s hard to pin on one player or position. To a degree, it’s a function of different players at both positions rotating in and out.
McRae, you may remember, was the backup last season at center and started against Clemson in place of Jay Finch.
“I’d like to see [McRae] continue to develop there, too, but Catlin Alford is too good of an athlete not to be playing,” Sewak said.
Sewak wants a little more from Finch.
“I’ve been pleased with his effort at times,” he said. “Obviously, his off-the-field willingness to put the extra time, to understand it, I think has benefited him.”
6. The Tech defense is working on some different things, which has been a benefit to the offense when th e units have gone against each other.
“We are getting a bunch of twists and blitzes, which helps us,” Sewak said. “We are getting some even front (4-4), which helps us, too, because we see a lot of even front in the fall.”
Notably, Virginia Tech is one of the teams that typically plays an even front against Tech.
In case you missed it, a couple stories I wrote for the weekend, one on Tech’s internship program for its athletes and the notebook from Saturday’s scrimmage. Both are longer than the print version. Thanks for reading.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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616 comments Add your comment
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
2:41 pm
LOL @ Super…maybe he’ll sssshine up Precious real good and bring it Fri
George Stein
April 16th, 2012
2:41 pm
The fact is the NCAA does not require individual schools to even have a testing & enforcement policy. They only mandate that if the school institutes a policy, they follow it.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
2:42 pm
! 4 GT…Gollum a defense attorney? But then he’d have to quit his job as fry cook/toilet scrubber…..
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
2:51 pm
LMAO @ GT Lee
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
2:52 pm
George, are you coming Friday night? I don’t have your email address, so I couldn’t send you my proposed means of meeting up.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
3:01 pm
On topic, I believe the O-line will be fine come Fall….O-line and backs are probably our deepest positions….I do wonder about WR play and the passing game in general, though……but overall, as echoed many times, it’s the defense that concerns me most. I think we’ll put up plenty of points-can er stop anyone?
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
3:01 pm
can WE stop anyone
Ken Sugiura
April 16th, 2012
3:02 pm
thanks for the comments. a few answers, as best i can attempt.
I don’t know if Johnson and Smith still keep in touch. i’m speculating, but i’d think as long as chan gailey is with buffalo, smith is not going anywhere.
george – the defense has been changing things up, going from a two-gap defense where the defensive linemen “hold the point” to let linebackers run free to a one-gap style where the linemen are also in a playmaking capacity, as was mentioned.
i don’t know concretely the reason for the shotgun stuff, but i’d think it was partly having offensive linemen back and also two quarterbacks (synjyn days and vad lee) who have skills that can use it well. (not to say that tevin washington can’t.
high tech – at this point, i’d think it’d be godhigh and smith. i don’t know the degree of separation bewteen godhigh and guys like deon hill or b.j. bostic, but i imagine it’d be hard for them to match godhigh’s consistency.
Juvenal – i’ve heard your shotgun pleas. i’ve been wondering where you’ve been.
thanks for all the kind words. it’s trite to say, but it means a lot and is encouraging.
as for “redneck,” i’ll be honest with you. i put that word and “nerd” into the list of words that get caught in the filter last november because, and i realize this is painting with a broad brush, it’s generally not adding to the discussion. if you’ve got a problem with it, let me have it. i’m sure you can point out all kinds of inconsistencies in the way i monitor the blog.
BigTimeTechFan
April 16th, 2012
3:03 pm
Super, I’m 95% going, but not sure how early I can make it, maybe right at game time before I get there.
Working then gotta drive from Alpharetta area.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
3:04 pm
Ken, if you get a chance can you find out if the plan is to redshirt Kallon, Gotsis, Gamble. etc or are they playing it by ear, so to spaeak? (only use these guys if nec)….and thanks for the coverage!
BigTimeTechFan
April 16th, 2012
3:05 pm
I’ll be the one starting the “Ken Sugiura” cheers.
BigTimeTechFan
April 16th, 2012
3:07 pm
GT Lee: won’t know about Kallon, Gotsis, Gamble till late fall, they are not even in school yet.
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
3:10 pm
GTLee…
In the case of Kallon and Gotsis, you have to figure that he’ll be better as a 5th year senior than a true freshman. I would think that either Gamble or Chungong have a great shot at cracking the 2-deep in the Fall.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
3:15 pm
Ken, I guess I see your point on red neck and nurd, but the n word still gets through, doesn’t it? Seems like I still see it a lot from the dwag fans. But what’s the deal with yestahday? Why is that one blocked.
BTW, I emailed you about some of us getting together Friday night. Would be nice if you could join us or at least stop by wherever we might be.
Tokyo jacket
April 16th, 2012
3:16 pm
@FL Jacket, don’t forget they have to replace two offensive tackles, and three out of the top four WRs, not just Coale. More new faces than experienced ones in Blacksburg. I’m convinced that while half of college football is physical, the other 99% is mental (how else can you explain us losing to UGA when we’ve got a better team and UGA losing to UF when they’ve got the better team?). IF (big word) we beat VT, I see no one on our schedule that we can’t beat; not saying we won’t lose, just that we would have to be the favorite in the ACCC. Don’t take my word for it, history has shown that the winner of the GT/VT game represents the ACCC every time!
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
3:16 pm
BTTF, email me at supersizeorder@yahoo.com, and I will let you know how to find us Friday night.
Tokyo jacket
April 16th, 2012
3:22 pm
Sorry, top two WRs, top RB, to TE, top two Ts, and a G; in case you’re counting that’s 6 of the 8 folks lined up at the line of scrimmage. If we can’t get pass pressure against VT, we need to quit now!
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
3:22 pm
red neck & ne rd just part of “Clean Old Fashioned Hate”. When a dwag calls MOI a nred, I take it as a complement. As in, goollllleeeeeeeeee, ain’t he smart. Shazam!!
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
3:25 pm
@ 1 4 GT…….ne rd’s rule, right? lol
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
3:26 pm
later, guys…..GTG
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
3:26 pm
righto SS
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
3:27 pm
Fun fact…Chip Towers banned the term “heg lumper” on his site…
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
3:29 pm
Tokyo…
Absolutely right, if they convert those 3rd downs without the least amount of pressure on Logan Thomas…could be a long evening in Blacksburg.
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
3:39 pm
If Ken is still here, you’ve got a tough row to hoe. I recall you visiting your Father in Chicago, so I guess that area is “home”. For a Yankee (all from north of the Mason/Dixon line qualify for that “title”) from the midwest to understand the idiosyncrasies of the southern male, rendeck or nred alike, is not easy. A “furiner” could die trying. Anyway, we enjoy your work and appreciate your efforts. Thanks!
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
3:46 pm
1 4…
The Mason-Dixon line isn’t really what separates North from South. That line really is the 36′30″ parallel…which separates NC from VA, TN from KY, and AR from MO.
Of course, I have boiled it down that the true delineation of North and South is a fictitious line called the “Sweet Tea line”…which isn’t a line per se, but more of a curvy snaking line. For example, I found out thru my travels that they stop serving good honest “sweet tea” north of Richmond, VA…and to the south they stop serving it here below Gainesville, FL.
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
3:49 pm
1 4…
Think of it more like a “Sweet Tea zone”. They serve it as a staple beverage as far west as Texas, as far north as the Ohio River (includes Kentucky) as well as WV and Richmond, VA, as far south as North Florida…and of course all the way to the Atlantic on the east side.
GTfan 2012
April 16th, 2012
3:49 pm
FL Jacket, I’ve always preferred the “Sweet Tea” line to measure the true south. You know when the Mason Dixson line includes Maryland in the South that something is horribly wrong.
BigTimeTechFan
April 16th, 2012
3:53 pm
Supersize, email sent.
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
3:54 pm
2012…
There is a fantastic song about Mason and Dixon by James Taylor and Mark Knopfler…forgot the name although I think it’s called “Sailing to Philadelphia”.
Anyway, they were hired in the 1700’s to settle colonial boundary disputes between the rich landowning families of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:08 pm
Fl Jacket-you ever get a chance to listen to hardradio.com or James Murphy?
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
4:09 pm
GTLee..not yet. Writing it down…I’ll sample it on ITunes on my way home
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:12 pm
it’s also on youtube (Murphy)
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
4:15 pm
GTLee…Are you going to the T-Game Friday night? The last Spring game I went to was in 2008…which was the first for CPJ. Man, what a painful afternoon that was…
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
4:21 pm
FLJ–I know & understand both lines/zones. As for sweet tea, you are basically correct, just don’t expect sweet tea too far into Texas. The further west you go in Texas, the harder it is to get sweet tea served. And iced tea—the same zone generally applies here too. You are lucky to get one inch of ice in a large glass. The southern definition of tea (dinner on the grounds style like my Mama made)—-tea so strong & dark a sunbeam has to go around the pitcher—so sweet it’s a hell of a death for a slice of lemon—enough ice to just barely qualify as unfrozen.
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
4:23 pm
FLJ—-Your history is correct. Most people think their survey delineated north from South, though.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:23 pm
FL Jacket I’m hoping to go Fri
Ken Sugiura
April 16th, 2012
4:24 pm
i did indeed grow up outside of chicago, and i know i have a lot to learn, and i know that there’s various ways to use “redneck.” and “nerd,” matter. being married to a georgian and being a brother and brother-in-law of stanford alumni, i’ve happily got plenty of both in my extended family. but in the space of this blog, both are typically used for name calling, which, as i said, doesn’t advance discussion much.
Jesse Adams
April 16th, 2012
4:24 pm
14-12 the past two seasons and people still act like things are great. Of those 14 wins, 2 came against duke, 2 against middle tennessee, one against western carolina and another against sc state. 6 of the 14 wins were against terrible creampuffs. Amazing how excited some of you are with these facts.
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
4:25 pm
1 4…I though the beverage of choice with a Texas country-fried steak and white gravy was sweet tea?
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:26 pm
troll hard, jesse
BLT
April 16th, 2012
4:27 pm
Testing, testing…1, 2, 3
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
4:27 pm
“14-12 the past two seasons and people still act like things are great”
FIRE THE COACH! We aren’t 11-1 every year against SEC competition!
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
4:30 pm
NO Jesse Adams, WE don’t live in the past. We simply have an optimistic outlook for a better future. With a tiny grain of salt thrown in to leaven the mix. Why do you live in the past scratching around like a cat in his litter box over what can’t be undone????
BLT
April 16th, 2012
4:33 pm
That’s a strange dog to be scratching around in a litter box…
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
4:35 pm
FLJ—you can outwest that preference. Now if you want country fried steak and sawmill gravy, go to Mary Mac’s on Ponce de Leon. Get that, collard greens and mashed potatoes with the “house wine”. Oh yeah, don’t forget the pot liquor & cornbread.
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
4:36 pm
It’s working BLT!!
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
4:40 pm
1 4…
Mary Mac’s has gotten plenty of my business over the years, and I have a broken windshield (from a break-in) to show for it. I prefer white gravy to the brown gravy on my chicken-fried steak, which probably doesn’t make me Southern…but hey I grew up in Ft Lauderdale so what do i know?
They serve quite possibly the greatest side dish ever invented…tomato pie. Canned tomatos, cream, cheese, and baked with Ritz crackers on top! Pot liquor is great stuff…and that basket of rolls!
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:44 pm
The Colonnade on Cheshire Bridge is pretty good too
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
4:45 pm
Curious from those of you in Atlanta…Best BBQ in Atlanta?
I have my list…just curious.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:53 pm
JD’s in Woodstock and Souther Pit im Hampton are my fave’s