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
4:53 pm
Southern Pit
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:55 pm
Harold’s is pretty good too (Confederate Ave)
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:57 pm
ooops my bad…Harold’s is on McDonough St, not Confederate Ave
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
4:57 pm
what’s your list look like FLJ ?
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
4:58 pm
FLJ—actually I think true Southerners scoff at brown gravy with CFS. True country fried steak prepared by my Mama and all Southern ladies that ever served that dish to me started at the meat counter in their local grocery store–a nice piece of round steak, enough for the men to have 2 helpings and the ladies and young’uns to have a nice portion as well–cut into generous portions–soak it in “sweet” milk or buttermilk–salt & pepper–generous coating of flour–fry it up in a hot black iron skillet with about 1/4 inch oil–make sawmill gravy from the cracklings with flour, milk & water to thickness desired–it’s kinda tan in color–I left out asking the butcher to run you meat selection thru a cubing machine–if it is fixed properly, you won’t need a knife–big pan full of hot buttermilk biscuits–HMMM
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:02 pm
Harold’s down by the federal pen & the Chevy plant—–Williamsom Bros.in Marietta 1 mile east of the Big Chicken—big meaty beef ribs-best I ever had–porek ribs are good too
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:05 pm
I recall someone saying there is still 1 Old Hickory House in metro area——–It was really good 40 years ago, but————if there is one left, I would like to know where
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:05 pm
1 4 GT- I was not impressed with Williamson Bros-portions were WAY too small (Canton store)
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:07 pm
Do ya’ll know the wall around the old federal pen was the world’s largest concrete structure before Hoover Dam was poured?
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
5:07 pm
Beef ribs – One Star Rib Ranch in Buckhead (of all places)
Pork ribs – Turner’s Country Store in Austell.
Been trying to find a place that makes good chopped pork
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:08 pm
1 4 GT Old Hickory House was pretty good. Haven’t been to either of the 2 left in ATL-Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd in Dunwoody, Northlake Pkwy in Tucker
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
5:08 pm
You guys know what I mean by Eastern Carolina chopped pork right?
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:09 pm
JD’s in Woodstock has awesome chopped pork FLJ
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:09 pm
GTLee–didn’t know there was but the one in Marietta. It’s kinda high, like everything else.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:10 pm
isn’t that served with vinegar-based sauce?
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
5:11 pm
It’s chopped and mixed with vinegar and hot sauce…
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:11 pm
1 4 GT- there are actually 4 or 5
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:12 pm
1 4 GT-where are you located?
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:13 pm
FLJ I had some when I was in the Raleigh are (actually Wilson NC) didn’t care for it
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:14 pm
FLJ–yeah, I know eastern Carolina bbq–if you mean that vinegar based sauce–no thanks–don’t care for the western Carolina mustard based sauce either.
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
5:14 pm
Too strong?
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:15 pm
BBQ Rib Ranch in North Marietta has good beef ribs-1 rib is like a pot roast on a rib bone….and BBQ Kitchen in Hapeville is real good too
BLT
April 16th, 2012
5:15 pm
FLJacket, I was going to mention Turners but believed no one would know of it. Little old building, not much to look at but some of the best BBQ I’ve ever had. Never ate anything there that was not excellent. Damn good biscuits too.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:16 pm
not too strong-just not as good as tomato-based BBQ sauce
WnE
April 16th, 2012
5:17 pm
re:
Tenuta did a great job? Are you serious? Tenuta did a great job one week, then the next we gave up 40 points. There was nothing consistent about John Tenuta.
______________
FLJ:
You are damaging your own credibility when you criticize the job that Tenuta did at GT.
Our offense has some horrible game turnover-wise and thus the bad blowouts vs. Va. Tech & UGA, but the rest of the time our defense kept us in games.
Many GT fans like to point out that Tenuta was “torched by Matt Ryan & BC”, but they won’t say that BC only scored 24 points that night; under CPJ nad his crappy choices for DC out GT defense has been giving up 24 points or MORE to guys like Jacory Harris & Joe Cox.
You’re way off base criticize the job Tenuta did at GT.
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:18 pm
GTLee–I now live outside Eatonton on Lake Sinclair, but lived in Marietta/Cobb Co. from 1 & 1/2 years old to 10 years ago. My brother is in Kennesaw and we will go to Williamson Bros once or twice a year.
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
5:18 pm
Yup BLT…their breakfast is amazing. Before I moved back to FL, I supported 6 warehouses in the Atlanta area for my company and one of them was right off Thornton and I-20…I often invented reasons to work out of that warehouse just because of that place.
BLT
April 16th, 2012
5:19 pm
I’ve had some of the Carolina BBQ versions. Some was OK, but not great. Few years ago went to “Smithfield’s” with a group of people from NC that claimed it was excellent. I told them it was “dishwasher safe”. LOL
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:24 pm
Google shows 3 Williamson Bros in Marietta. Like I said, I only knew of the one. The 2 brothers took their huge mobile cooker, a big reefer trailer full of food stuffs and some staff and cooked and served the workers at the Pentagon for 3 days after 9/11.
FL Jacket
April 16th, 2012
5:25 pm
“Our offense has some horrible game turnover-wise and thus the bad blowouts vs. Va. Tech & UGA, but the rest of the time our defense kept us in games.”
WnE…
Surely you don’t mean this year?
As for Tenuta, his schemes worked against bad QB’s but not good ones who could recognize a blitz. I got pretty sick of all the RB dump-offs that went for 30 yards because he dropped 8 guys back…or the screen passes that went for 50 yards because he sent 7 guys on the blitz.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:25 pm
FLJ, there IS no best barbeque in Atlanta. You need to get way outside of Atlanta to get good southern pit-cooked barbeque. We have some AWESOME barbeque places in Augusta, and the dumpy looking holes in the wall are by far the best.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:26 pm
BTTF, if you’re still here, I got your email and responded from my REAL email account. Check your email.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:27 pm
1 4 GT There is also wb’s in Canton & Douglasville. My friend asked for an order of onion rings- they gave him 2; 2 frickin onion rings!!!!!!!! This was in Canton.
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:27 pm
BBQ Rib Ranch has been around a long time if it’s the one I knew. On old hwy 5 at the original connector & hwy 5 junction. Beef ribs at Williamson Bros much the same.
BLT
April 16th, 2012
5:27 pm
WnE, do you ever have anything nice to say? I hope you are having a nice day and all is well with you and yours. It’s really not hard. We all know you hate CPJ and CAG and the offense, defense, special teams, recruiting, etc. The reality is if CPJ does not succeed Tech will find a new coach. Regardless of your opinions Tech will still field a team this year and years to come. You should try and be a little positive once in a while. Blessings to you and may you find some peace.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:29 pm
@ WnE…….are you serious? Can you honestly say that Tenuta coached good defense against UVA ANY YEAR we played them. Do you remember the SURE win we had in C’ville, having taken the game in charge, only for his lousy, unmotivated defense to collapse and TOTALLY BLOW it in the 4th quarter? You are more stupid a putz than I realized if you think Tenuta EVER coached a CONSISTENTLY PERFORMING defense.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:30 pm
WnE GO GET LAID, for cryin out loud
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:31 pm
BLT, have you decided yet whether you are going Friday night? Don’t forget to email me if you want to try to meet up with some of us……supersizeorder@yahoo.com.
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:31 pm
1 4 GT same BBQ Rib Ranch
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:34 pm
Hey, 1 4 GT, if I don’t hear back from anybody else about eating near the campus, maybe we should stop at Mary Mac’s. I had completely forgotten about that place. And FLJ, I also prefer white gravy on my fried steak, and I am as southern as they come. LOL
WnE
April 16th, 2012
5:36 pm
re:
FLJ
Surely you don’t mean this year?
As for Tenuta, his schemes worked against bad QB’s but not good ones who could recognize a blitz. I got pretty sick of all the RB dump-offs that went for 30 yards because he dropped 8 guys back…or the screen passes that went for 50 yards because he sent 7 guys on the blitz.
______________
I was talking about the 51 point blowouts during the Tenuta era to UGA & VT.
Check the NCAA defensive rankings during Tenuta’s tenure when GT player tougher schedules and the ACC was a tougher conference also.
Tenuta went up a against 1st round NFL QBs like Matt Stafford, Brady Quinn, Philip Rivers, and other future NFL QBs like Whitehurst at Clemson, imagine a CPJ team playing defense against that level of College QB.
The comparison between Tenuta and the DCs that CPJ has brought in is not even close.
What has happened is that many GT fans in an effort to show support for CPJ have denigrated Tenuta’s legacy as GT’s DC in order to make it seem as if CPJ did not make a BAD decision in not keeping Tenuta around, in their eyes since CPJ did not retain Tenuta then he must not have been a good at GT.
Not keeping Tenuta around will probably end up shortening CPJ ’s GT coaching career.
WnE
April 16th, 2012
5:36 pm
re:
FLJ
Surely you don’t mean this year?
As for Tenuta, his schemes worked against bad QB’s but not good ones who could recognize a blitz. I got pretty sick of all the RB dump-offs that went for 30 yards because he dropped 8 guys back…or the screen passes that went for 50 yards because he sent 7 guys on the blitz.
______________
I was talking about the 51 point blowouts during the Tenuta era to UGA & VT.
Check the NCAA defensive rankings during Tenuta’s tenure when GT player tougher schedules and the ACC was a tougher conference also.
Tenuta went up a against 1st round NFL QBs like Matt Stafford, Brady Quinn, Philip Rivers, and other future NFL QBs like Whitehurst at Clemson, imagine a CPJ team playing defense against that level of College QB.
The comparison between Tenuta and the DCs that CPJ has brought in is not even close.
What has happened is that many GT fans in an effort to show support for CPJ have denigrated Tenuta’s legacy as GT’s DC in order to make it seem as if CPJ did not make a BAD decision in not keeping Tenuta around, in their eyes since CPJ did not retain Tenuta then he must not have been a good at GT.
Not keeping Tenuta around will probably end up shortening CPJ ’s GT coaching career.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:39 pm
@ WnE, I wanted Tenuta gone long before Johnson was ever hired. He had all the personality of a cardboard box, and his defenses were totally unmotivated and undisciplined. Did UVA have one of those first-round draft picks at QB? HELL, NO, and yet he still managed to lose the majority of the games Tech played against the Cavaliers while he was at Tech.
1 4 GT
April 16th, 2012
5:42 pm
Gollum–if you can’t read, we are having a nice, pleasant discussion about BarBeQue. Since we’ve never seen Gollum eat anything in your movies, and we don’t know how to cook bugs or worms or lizards, why don’t you go polish your preciooouuuccceeessssss some more and leave us alone?
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:44 pm
LMFAO at 1 4 GT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By the way BLT that was a pretty classy comment to the Troll
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:44 pm
LMAO @ 1 4 GT !!!!!!
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:45 pm
tad you’re it super
GT Lee
April 16th, 2012
5:45 pm
tag tag tag dammit
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:46 pm
Lee, I’ll have to re-tag you. I have a meeting at 7PM, and I have to hit the shower now and then eat. Keep up the good work
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2012
5:48 pm
Cheer up, guys, even the Dark Lord got tired of Gollum. He will get his in the end…….of course he probably already takes it in the end on a regular basis from dwagfan. LOL