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
Delbert D.
April 17th, 2012
12:09 am
Super – Thanks, may be okay by Fall.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:09 am
At least you guys have sports shows to listen to in Atlanta, even if they aren’t good. We get NOTHING in Augusta. We’re not even getting any coverage here for the T-Night game on the number one TV station here. I had a long go-around with them today on Facebook, and they won’t have but one person on their sports staff working Friday night, and he has to be there for the 11PM telecast. They had coverage of the UGA, USC, and Clemson spring games last Saturday, but nothing for Tech. It’s not like this was a secret; it’s been known and publicized for months. They COULD have planned ahead, but did they? Hell, no !!!
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:11 am
Delbert, I sure hope you’re ok by the Fall. If you have any problems getting around then, let me know. Like I said, I have pushed a wheelchair all over that campus before. If you need one then and need somebody to push it for you, I’ll do it
Delbert D.
April 17th, 2012
12:17 am
I was channel surfing on Concast, and the S.C. game was on the menu. I switched over to watch it, and it was FSU. I watched about 5 minutes of halftime and saw the one highlight, where somebody scored a TD. Did y’all know that they were the #4 ranked defense last year? That was news to me. Maybe they will get a QB and a couple of RBs some day. I thought Jimbo Fisher was to be a big-time recruiter.
Delbert D.
April 17th, 2012
12:19 am
Hey, I’ve got to get out of here. I have to get up with the birds tomorrow and let the dog out. Good night to all.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:21 am
Night, Delbert
headley lamar
April 17th, 2012
8:22 am
“The one thing that took away from Georgia Tech was that I was not a big fan of the option. So once that kind of came into play, Georgia Tech kind of came in third.” Kenyan Blake
And that in a nutshell is why Tech will never be able to compete with CPJ.
FL Jacket
April 17th, 2012
8:33 am
HAHA Headley…
Aside from Miami and the 2nd half against UGA, we were in all of our ballgames. Try another avenue of criticism instead of regurgitating a 17-year old’s attitude. One awfully influenced by Kirby Smart, who obviously convinced this kid that Mark Richt was going to have another bad season and be fired. He’ll be crawling back to Tech or UGA (like Chris Jackson) once Yeldon, Tenpenney, and the other 5 RBs on the roster pass him on the depth chart.
BigTimeTechFan
April 17th, 2012
9:26 am
@headley lamar
But sometimes it gives Tech advantage, GT got 4* QB last year because Tech offense.
Plus the one commit Tech has this year is a RB, plus it help with Marcus Allen.
But yea it can be disadvantage if the kid does not like the option. Tech has been able to bring in nice RB’s so it all evens out in the end.
BigTimeTechFan
April 17th, 2012
9:27 am
SuperSized, thanks, I got the info
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
9:29 am
@ BTTR…..GREAT…..I hope you’ll be able to meet up with us at some point……dinner or later
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
9:29 am
oops, sorry…..that was for BTTF, not BTTR, whoever that might be…..LOL
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
9:39 am
@ BTTF, if you’re still here…..got your email and responded. But it’s NOT the LIBRARY, it’s the BOOKSTORE (Barnes and Noble) on 5th Street
Freddie Blassie
April 17th, 2012
10:25 am
A couple of cheery observations: Tenuta is a jerk and he is toxic to any program and like Toad Grantham, he is a loud mouth bully who is a coward when confronted by anyone who is not a kicker.
The stars next to recruits’ names mean very little. More stars mean that more schools are recruiting them.
Pro rasslin is real.
BigTimeTechFan
April 17th, 2012
10:31 am
SuperSize,
Got it, my bad, I don’t know where I got Library from.
GTfan 2012
April 17th, 2012
11:27 am
headley lamar
April 17th, 2012
8:22 am
“The one thing that took away from Georgia Tech was that I was not a big fan of the option. So once that kind of came into play, Georgia Tech kind of came in third.” Kenyan Blake
And that in a nutshell is why Tech will never be able to compete with CPJ.
___________________________________________________
headley lamar,
Like so many of your posts, this one is devoid of any intelligent thought. First, his name is Kenyan DRAKE. Second, he will not be playing RB at Alabama, he will be a slot WR and he will probably never catch more than 20 or 30 balls in a season. Unfortunately like so many 18 year olds, Kenyan Drake didn’t have the vision to see what he could have been in the GT offense. He could have been a star running and catching the ball at A-back in the GT offense. A-backs haven’t traditionally gotten large amounts of touches in the GT offense, but there has also never been a player quite like Kenyan Drake (who has a very similar skill set to CJ Spiller) to play the A-back position.
HighTech
April 17th, 2012
11:52 am
And that in a nutshell is why Tech will never be able to compete with CPJ.
——————————————-
Compete for what? A MNC? The record shows that CPJ coached Tech teams are very competitive, including winning a conference championship (since relinquished).
FL Jacket
April 17th, 2012
11:55 am
” including winning a conference championship (since relinquished).”
HT…nothing was relinquished
HighTech
April 17th, 2012
11:58 am
Good point Fl Jacket. My bad.
GT fan
April 17th, 2012
12:00 pm
Wow! B/c GT was dropped from a recruit’s list, now GT can’t compete.
Thanks for the heads-up, Head-ly.
I guess every game GT loses over the next 4-5 seasons will be b/c they didn’t get Kenyan Drake??
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:07 pm
And that in a nutshell is why Headley only has a correspondence degree from Troy
FL Jacket
April 17th, 2012
12:08 pm
GTFan…boggles the mind sometimes. Just stick to their script…
“CPJ can’t recruit or win big games because of his gimmicky high-school offense…”
FL Jacket
April 17th, 2012
12:09 pm
Super…The “real” Troy in Alabama, or the rinky-dink downtown Atlanta version?
GT Lee
April 17th, 2012
12:10 pm
Heady Lamar = Troll
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:13 pm
@ FLJ……he never said which, but since he has NEVER disputed my claim that it was the downtown Atlanta version, then I assume that’s the one he has a degree from……and that’s why I say a correspondence degree
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:14 pm
@ GT Lee…..ya think? lol
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:15 pm
Hell, we even have a Troy “campus” in Augusta. There’s no telling which one he got his degree from.
GT Lee
April 17th, 2012
12:16 pm
Super. yep I do, and we should hammer him like we do Gollum
GT Lee
April 17th, 2012
12:18 pm
FL Jacket I thought the ‘real’ Troy was an ancient city in Greece….
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:20 pm
@ GT Lee, actually, Troy was in what is now Turkey
GT Lee
April 17th, 2012
12:23 pm
ooops, my bad, Super you’re right it was Turkey
GT Lee
April 17th, 2012
12:29 pm
makes sense Heady would have a “degree” from someplace called Troy, what with him being a horse’s ass (Trojan horse reference)
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:31 pm
LOL @ Lee
Maybe he has a correspondence relationship with Helen of Troy too
GT Lee
April 17th, 2012
12:32 pm
would almost HAVE to be-I doubt she’d go for a physical one!!!
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:35 pm
I hear he likes rasslin’ with big Greeks though
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
12:36 pm
And how appropriate that the poet HOMER wrote about it all, since Headley is definitely a homer
OldGold - 1964
April 17th, 2012
12:56 pm
Sidenote: did y’all catch Calvin Johnson on ESPN today? Truly a great representative of Georgia Tech. Well spoken, well versed, well educated. Well dressed. Well behaved. He even said “yes, sire” and “no, sir” with his responses.
The man deserves every good thing that comes his way!!!!!!
OldGold - 1964
April 17th, 2012
12:58 pm
Oops, correction: Obviously, that should have been “yes, sir” (and not ’sire’) above.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
1:13 pm
@ OldGold, why was he on ESPN today and do you know if it will be rebroadcast?
BigTimeTechFan
April 17th, 2012
1:20 pm
spotted Mohamed Massaquoi working out at GT, he said man this place is awesome and wished he would have played at here. He said he had a habit of picking up litter if he sees it and had back issues at UGA from picking up all the trash. Working out at GT to rest his back.
Al Bundy
April 17th, 2012
1:32 pm
Under the current coaching staff I can’t see how GT football will ever be a BCS contender. 1. CPJ will always blame the team for any loss. He is never out coached and never makes a mistake. 2. Our defense is always one or two players or a year or two away from being really good. Our defense can’t put pressure on the quarterback. 3. Our defense can’t tackle, particularly in the secondary. Just go back and watch the VT game again. VT running backs ran all over our secondary because our defensive front got man handled and our secondary tries to knock people down instead of wrapping them up with good tackling technique. 4. GT can’t recuit anything better than the middle of the pack players. 5. We can’t even fill up Bobby Dodd/Grant Field to support our team.
George Stein
April 17th, 2012
2:01 pm
How ’bout some suggestions, Al? Instead of complaining all the time, why don’t you put forth some new ideas?
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
2:20 pm
Al, you complain that CPJ blames the team for losing games, and then you turn around and do the very same thing. Obviously, you are correct in laying the blame on the players on the field, so why shouldn’t CPJ do the same thing when it IS their fault for missing plays. Now if it’s a matter of him calling the wrong play or screwing up in some way himself (or one of his assistants), then perhaps he should address that more directly, but can you name me a coach in the country who has the humility to take all the blame on himself? I can’t think of any, right off hand. When a defensive player fails to make a tackle, is CPJ supposed to say, “dammit, I missed that tackle.” Of course not. Sometimes he yells at players on the sidelines if they pull a boner, but, lest you forget, SO DID O’LEARY. And, in fact, I can remember one Maryland game when O’Leary was HC that he pretty much PUBLICLY blamed the whole game on ONE Tech player. CPJ also praises a player to the hilt when he makes a big play. Tech’s recruiting is no worse, and no better, than it ever has been. Even Dodd had to struggle to get the best, and because of recruiting tactics used by Bama and a few other SEC schools, that caused him, at least in part, to pull us out of the SEC. I agree that it sucks that we don’t fill up the stadium anymore. I don’t have the answer for that, other than lousy schedules every other year. Do you have the answer for it? We didn’t fill it up consistently under Ross, Gailey, or O’Leary either.
Peggy Bundy
April 17th, 2012
2:42 pm
Al, come to bed honey….I want 2 minutes of pleasure!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HighTech
April 17th, 2012
2:52 pm
5. We can’t even fill up Bobby Dodd/Grant Field to support our team
Just for comparison’s sake, Sanford Stadium is not full because the students do not fill up the student section. Should BDS be full? Yes it should. Is not having a full stadium a problem unique to Georgia Tech? No it is not.
BLT
April 17th, 2012
4:47 pm
Heady copied and pasted the same thing on the week old basketball recruiting blog. I guess he can’t read. Troy can only do so much for an idiot. Keep trolling Heady.
BLT
April 17th, 2012
4:50 pm
Wrexie posting at 4am is also an indication of a serious problem. Do you set your clock for that Wrexie? The more you post the more convinced I am that you have serious mental health issues. Stay classy Wrexie!
GT Lee
April 17th, 2012
4:55 pm
lol @ BLT
Supersize that order, mutt
April 17th, 2012
5:02 pm
BLT, sure wish you would try to look us up Friday night; would be great to meet you too. It’s cool that you are planning to bring your nephews, but don’t worry; we wouldn’t cause you any embarrassment. I have no idea where we will be at the stadium, but right now it looks like at least 4 of us will be meeting for dinner and sitting together at the game. Would love to hook up with a few more too.
GT Lee
April 17th, 2012
5:02 pm
@BLT you know why Gollum was posting at 4 am right? dwagfan woke him up to get some lovin……