6 Tech spring practice observations
Greetings-
Hope you were able to make the spring game Friday night. It was a strong turnout and it wouldn’t surprise me if the GTAA stays with Friday, or at least re-visits it, in years to come. Some thoughts from spring practice.
1. No change at quarterback spot
It was a much anticipated competition between Synjyn Days and Vad Lee, but it doesn’t appear that much changed in the pecking order. Both improved over the course of the spring and shrunk their flaws, but neither made an unimpeachable case to be the No. 2 behind Tevin Washington, let alone a challenger to the top spot.
“The other guys are both very talented and good at certain things,” coach Paul Johnson said. “As I said, they’ve got to get better at what their weak spots are.”
In this offense, and probably any other, limiting mistakes and turnovers is crucial, no matter what a quarterback’s big-play potential is. That is where Washington’s advantage is, developed over four years in the system, a season and a half of starts and tireless work to hone his game.
After the spring game, Johnson said that if the season started today, Washington would be the starter and saw Lee and Days as situational-type quarterbacks.
“The goal is to make them not situational players and to be able to do the whole thing,” he said.
2. Defense should be better
As with all projections, it’s hard to know for certain until the fall, but tweaks to the scheme and the development of the defensive line should make this unit better. Ends Izaan Cross, Euclid Cummings and Emmanuel Dieke look capable and nose tackle T.J. Barnes may be ready to realize his potential in his final season. Perhaps the biggest question of the summer, literally and figurative, will be how much conditioning work Barnes and backup Shawn Green put in in order to be ready for the season.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” defensive line coach Andy McCollum said. “We’ve got to have a great offseason. We’ve got to have a great summer. T.J. has done some things that we hadn’t done in the past that I’m excited about.”
(Note: You’ve probably heard all of that before. For whatever it’s worth, and I’ve written this before, Al Groh’s defense made a much bigger statistical jump Year 2 to Year 3 at Virginia than Year 1 to Year 2.)
3. The secondary is a strength
This looks like the best unit on the team. Four of the top five players back, with Fred Holton returning from injury. Further, cornerback Jamal Golden made more than his share of plays in the spring. There is the matter that the secondary spent the spring lined up against one of the least experienced units on the team, so it was easier to stand out, but the talent in this group is hard to deny.
“I think those guys are a lot hungrier this year, more physical with our receivers,” Washington said. “They come out and just compete every day, try to make plays on the ball, put the defense in a position where they feel like nobody can come out and thrown on them.”
4. Special teams still wobbly
I would guess that new special-teams coordinator Dave Walkosky will make a difference on the return teams most quickly. Where he’ll earn his money is his development of punter Sean Poole and kicker Justin Moore into consistent performers. As I think I’ve written before (and will probably write again), both have the capability but the juniors have yet to prove themselves as routinely dependable.
Poole has said the team’s goal is to lead the nation in net punting, which would be quite a leap from 54th last season. That said, he’s got the leg to do it. Doing it each punt is the trick. Walk-on Michael McDonald and signee Ryan Rodwell will give him competition.
5. Wide receivers a waiting game
It didn’t appear that any of the four returners – Jeff Greene, Chris Jackson and Jeremy Moore and Darren Waller – made heads turn this spring. Moore probably made the biggest gain, and I think Johnson likes the group, but wants a little more. I’d say that in the same way that it was tough on Stephen Hill in 2010 to feel a burden to replace Demaryius Thomas, and probably unfair, so the same holds for these four.
That said, the signees – Micheal Summers and Travin Henry and possibly Anthony Autry – will get an opportunity to play this fall.
“You’d like to see some guys make plays on some deep balls,” Johnson said, “but you’ve also got to throw ’em inbounds and give ’em a chance to make a play.”
6. A-backs bear watching
This might be the most intriguing bunch on the team. Orwin Smith is a proven commodity and it appears Robert Godhigh will be dependable and there’s a crop of younger players with playmaking ability but not much experience after that. The A-back rotation usually goes three or four deep, so one or two out of B.J. Bostic, Deon Hill and Tony Zenon will have to prove themselves consistent enough to warrant heavy snaps.
Thanks for reading.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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948 comments Add your comment
Gorilla Biscuit
April 23rd, 2012
1:09 pm
1. “It was a much anticipated competition between Synjyn Days and Vad Lee, but it doesn’t appear that much changed in the pecking order.”
That will have to change for you guys to improve. Tevin Washington is not the answer.
2. “Defense should be better”
Of course it should be the third year in the system, but for the 3-4 to be effective, you’ve got to have a dominating nose tackle, and I don’t see it. None of the names at end jump out either, but they have some experience.
3. “The secondary is a strength”
No arguement, but they better be ready to tackle.
4. “Special teams still wobbly”
At least Coach Fishfry realized the value of a special teams coach. Wish Coach Richt would.
5. “Wide receivers a waiting game”
You guys had a “maybe” 1st round draft choice who was heavily under-utilized last season. See number one. And Coach Fishfry needs to gameplan some passing.
6. “A-backs bear watching”
I think the B-backs need more watching. Ya’ll need a consistent bruiser at this spot.
George Stein
April 23rd, 2012
1:10 pm
Isn’t that the truth, FLJ. NFL scouts are notorious idiots. Has playing in Meyer’s offense done anything to damage Percy Harvin or Aaron Hernandez?
5150 UOAD
April 23rd, 2012
1:11 pm
Bi Cri 75 I am going to have to laugh at you calling BAMA and Academic First college. Now you know better than that. LOL
AugustaJacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:11 pm
@ Supersize: I registered at a table on the West concourse. They drew and announced the winner (me) over the PA at half-time.
I am wondering how different Vad’s passing stats would have looked behind a real O-Line. Friday nights game I feel was a poor indicator for the progress of the passing game as the O-Line was minus its starting core…
Big Crimson 75
April 23rd, 2012
1:11 pm
George Stein
April 23rd, 2012
1:12 pm
Not sure I disagree about 1, 2, 3, & 4, Gorilla Biscuit.
I think the other two are questionable, though. Reasonable minds can certainly disagree.
FL Jacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:13 pm
Crimson is right…
It’s extremely tough to have an excellent academic institution (you know, one that is nationally ranked and produces sought-after degrees) and competitive athletic programs. What a great job by Saban to make everyone forget what the University of Alabama is really supposed to be doing the other 358 days of the year that there are no football games in Tuscaloosa.
5150 UOAD
April 23rd, 2012
1:13 pm
Bama is now the HARVARD of the South I guess.
Delbert D.
April 23rd, 2012
1:14 pm
Let’s clear this up:
“…what about CPJ suspending Drummonds for JUST 1.5 games for being a stupid college student (as he got into Drummond’s face and asked him if he was stupid or something, just as he did trht other player on national TV a couple of years ago)…that is what he asks when Richt suspends players for being stupid college kids… ”
That “other player on national TV” was Phil Smith. He was suspended from the bowl game, and he subsequently quit the team. Also, as you *won’t* remember, Drummond was suspended for an entire year previously.
Anyone who criticizes Paul Johnson’s discipline had better get some basic facts straight.
FL Jacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:16 pm
“5. “Wide receivers a waiting game”
You guys had a “maybe” 1st round draft choice who was heavily under-utilized last season. See number one. And Coach Fishfry needs to gameplan some passing.”
Gorilla, this backhanded compliment is confusing. Is Stephen Hill a great player or isn’t he? And how is leading the nation is YPC but still underutilized?
5150 UOAD
April 23rd, 2012
1:16 pm
Does that mean AUBURN is not the M.I.T of the South too? LMMFAO
jarvis
April 23rd, 2012
1:16 pm
First of all George, that was 5 different scouting reports so you’ll have to determine which one was the most “simplistic”.
Secondly, Kris Durham was a 7th round pick that finished his college career with 4 TD’s and was the second receiver taken from his college team . Poor comparison.
Thirdly, and most-importantly, I said nothing of early success. I was talking draft. I think Hill will be a good pro eventually (much better than Kris Durham). But there is no arguing that a 6.4 receiver with blazing speed would have been better served at a program that would have given him more than 28 receptions as their #1 receiver. Arguing anything else is blind program loyalty.
FL Jacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:20 pm
“Thirdly, and most-importantly, I said nothing of early success. I was talking draft. I think Hill will be a good pro eventually (much better than Kris Durham). But there is no arguing that a 6.4 receiver with blazing speed would have been better served at a program that would have given him more than 28 receptions as their #1 receiver. Arguing anything else is blind program loyalty.”
jarvis…
Any other stale rhetoric you’d like to regurgitate? I guess the draft grades by Mel Kiper Jr (who had to eat his words from his initial draft grade) and Mike Mayock are completely meaningless when your narrative is already written.
FL Jacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:23 pm
jarvis…
It’s awfully scary when you can’t explain something…so you think like the herd and assume that CPJ had nothing to do with making Stephen Hill a great football player?
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:23 pm
@ gorilla……that would have been a very good post had you not resorted to name-calling. Why the continued use of the “fishfry” name? You obviously know football and at times have very cogent posts, so why stoop to the level of WnE by doing the name calling. I thought you were better than that.
5150 UOAD
April 23rd, 2012
1:26 pm
WnE went back into hiding.
Did somebody hurt WnE’s feelings?
Gorilla Biscuit
April 23rd, 2012
1:26 pm
FL Jacket, if Hill is a first round talent, then Coach Fishfry should have gotten him the ball 50-60 times. YPC can be misleading if you hardly ever throw to the guy. And usually he only had single coverage as the extra safety was needed to support the run.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:27 pm
I only know what I have heard and have no “official” documentation of this, but I heard that Mohammed Massaquoi has been working out at Tech this spring and has said that he was very impressed with the facilities, and everything else that he has encountered on campus. And he apparently also even said that he wishes he had gone to Tech. Assuming that is true, what do the dwags AND WnE have to say about that?
George Stein
April 23rd, 2012
1:28 pm
“Secondly, Kris Durham was a 7th round pick that finished his college career with 4 TD’s and was the second receiver taken from his college team . Poor comparison.”
He was a fourth round pick with comparable measurables to Hill. TDs are a useless metric by which to judge player performance. Perhaps you’d also like to tell me how many RBIs a baseball player has. You’ll need to delineate the respective scouting reports if you want me to critique each one.
” But there is no arguing that a 6.4 receiver with blazing speed would have been better served at a program that would have given him more than 28 receptions as their #1 receiver.”
Any NFL team drafting on collegiate statistics will find itself losing a lot of games in the near future.
Gorilla Biscuit
April 23rd, 2012
1:29 pm
Coach Fishfry, Coach SunTan, Coach Helen Hunt, etc., etc.,
DawginLex
April 23rd, 2012
1:30 pm
You guys hearing this?
Beamer to Ark
Foster takes over Vt
Presser at 4 today
Gorilla Biscuit
April 23rd, 2012
1:30 pm
Clean Old Fashioned Hate. No malice intended.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:30 pm
Helen Hunt???? It’s CMR who looks like Helen Hunt without the long blonde hair
Regardless, Gorilla, you are a better man than that……at least I THOUGHT you were.
BigTimeTECHFan
April 23rd, 2012
1:30 pm
Spring game awesome
I think defense will be real good this year.
Neally and Attaochu Def MVP, Vad Lee offensive MVP
J Thomas and L Young will be nice CB’s
Best play was TD from V Lee to C Jackson, that was sweet
Met OleYeller, Supersize, GT Lee, UOAD, GT 14, at the game.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:31 pm
Beamer to Ark??? Why the hell would he leave VT after all these years to step into that mess at Ark?
dawgfan
April 23rd, 2012
1:31 pm
“I only know what I have heard and have no “official” documentation of this, but I heard that Mohammed Massaquoi has been working out at Tech this spring and has said that he was very impressed with the facilities, and everything else that he has encountered on campus. And he apparently also even said that he wishes he had gone to Tech. ASSUMING THAT IS TRUE, what do the dwags AND WnE have to say about that?”
I have more faith in the existence of the Tooth Fairy than I do the veracity of your statement, but I’ll play along. Assuming Mohammed made those statements my response is simple: I could give a flying rat’s azz.
Any more questions?
George Stein
April 23rd, 2012
1:31 pm
GET OUT, LEX!!! Are you joking???
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:31 pm
@ BTTF…..and it was GREAT meeting you too
CJGaTechalumnus
April 23rd, 2012
1:31 pm
If secondary is strong, there will be need for lbs next, b/c can’t have secondary always running to cover receivers and make the plays. The lbs could not tackle Logan Thomas, not even gang tackling him. So the big need is for lbs. There’s a need for des to rush in from the outside to tackle qbs, which they aren’t doing enough. Maybe Chongdong can do this on one side of d line. Opposing teams will pass like crazy to gamble letting the ball go in the air and not completing it, taking the concept of gambling directly to Tech and the “gambling helluva engineers”. They always do, particularly out of the shotgun. The d line need another Rock Perdoni. He was at Tech when I was. Just his strength is why he was so good. Strength is why Nez was so good, as evidenced when he stole the ball from the FSU ball carrier. If Nez benched 375, that’s strong for a qb. So strength is what wins games for Tech, and is what Tech needs always, either from recruits, or there while at Tech.
George Stein
April 23rd, 2012
1:33 pm
It is a fact that he has been working out at Tech, dawgfan. The comments I cannot verify.
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-blog/2012/04/11/georgia-techs-stephen-hill-has-been-busy/
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:34 pm
dwagfan, like I said, I haven’t seen it in print, but that’s what some people who SHOULD be in a position to know have said. I can’t verify it, and I made that clear to begin with. BUT, you probably SHOULD care, because if any kids leaning away from Tech were to hear that, it COULD change their minds and in so doing negatively affect UGA.
DawginLex
April 23rd, 2012
1:35 pm
It’s all over the Arkansas boards
I’m trying to find some link about the presser
could be they are firing Seth Greenberg(b-ball coach)??
One guy said foster to Ark
Beamer makes more sense to me if you want credibility.
FL Jacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:36 pm
“FL Jacket, if Hill is a first round talent, then Coach Fishfry should have gotten him the ball 50-60 times. YPC can be misleading if you hardly ever throw to the guy. And usually he only had single coverage as the extra safety was needed to support the run.”
Gorilla…
When you are trying to keep the game to 10-12 possessions, and attempting to control 30-40 minutes of clock per game…you don’t throw it 50-60 times to 1 player because they might be a 1st round NFL pick. With our current QB, that strategy would have lost us more games than won us.
DawginLex
April 23rd, 2012
1:36 pm
If you think about it, Beamer will never win a BCS title at VT but this year, he has a real shot in Fayetteville
They have talent galore
dawgfan
April 23rd, 2012
1:37 pm
LOL. Really Supersize? Some off hand comment that no one can verify is going to sway recruits to Georgia Tech?!?!?!? Yeah, I’m really concerned. You guys might crack the top 80 in recruiting for once. Duke is shaking in their boots.
Hilarious.
FL Jacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:38 pm
DawginLex…
Why would Beamer leave what he has? Foster to Arky makes more sense to me…
dawgfan
April 23rd, 2012
1:39 pm
Beamer has had numerous opportunities to leave VT and it has never happened. Why would he leave for Arkansas of all freaking places? Arkansas fans are about as delusional as they come. They are dreaming this up because they are wishful thinking homers. Get real.
FL Jacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:41 pm
“You guys might crack the top 80 in recruiting for once.”
Coming from someone who thinks this actually matters when the team he roots for has EXACTLY as many wins as this inferior-ly recruited team…
Delbert D.
April 23rd, 2012
1:41 pm
Beamer, no. Foster, yes, if he expects Beamer to stay on at VT for a few more years.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:41 pm
dwagfan, all I am saying is that with all the NEGATIVE recruiting AGAINST Tech that UGA has ALWAYS done, the fact that a well-known former UGA FB playeris saying good things about Tech could very easily make some kids take notice. And if you are going to sit there and claim that a former Tech FB player saying good things about the facilities, etc in Athens wouldn’t be considered a plus for the dwags in recruiting, then you are an effin’ liar. You know damn well, you would be quoting what you had heard in a situation like that, just like I am doing in this case.
AugustaJacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:43 pm
BigTimeTechFan: Met OleYeller, Supersize, GT Lee, UOAD, GT 14, at the game.
Any of you guys planning on going to the Miami game?
dawgfan
April 23rd, 2012
1:44 pm
“Coming from someone who thinks this actually matters when the team he roots for has EXACTLY as many wins as this inferior-ly recruited team…”
You’re right. It only means something after we wax that Techie azz and you need an excuse. Then we’re a “Football Factory” that cheats because all of our 5 star recruits can’t read and major in Crayons.
Tech fans=JOKE
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:45 pm
@ Augusta…..I go to all the home games, and 1 4 GT managed to get a season ticket next to me. UOAD and ole yeller have season tickets, but ole yeller MAY be moving out of state. BTTF, and GT Lee, don’t have season tickets, but we’re going to figure out some way to get them to the games.
DawginLex
April 23rd, 2012
1:46 pm
This is all I could find. No one knows what the presser is about.
http://www.wdbj7.com/sports/wdbj7-virginia-tech-athletic-department-holding-4-pm-news-conference-20120423,0,3524228.story
Supersize that order, mutt
April 23rd, 2012
1:47 pm
Tell us, dwagfan, why are you so obsessed with all things Tech that you come on our blogs on a daily basis posting what, for the most part, is total garbage?
dawgfan
April 23rd, 2012
1:48 pm
“the FACT that a well-known former UGA FB playeris saying good things about Tech…”
There you go trying to pass it off as fact. It was only a matter of time but I’m surprised you thought you could get away with it that quickly.
“could very easily make some kids take notice.”
Or it could very easily not. See how easy it is to type stuff on the internet? Anyone can do it.
FL Jacket
April 23rd, 2012
1:48 pm
“You’re right. It only means something after we wax that Techie azz and you need an excuse. ”
And you’re right after Florida completes it’s yearly drubbing of Georgia in Jacksonville…because according to your logic, that would make “Georgia Football=JOKE”
Big Crimson 75
April 23rd, 2012
1:48 pm
51….. I prefer Oxford of the USofA!!
Nate dawg
April 23rd, 2012
1:49 pm
14-12 the past two seasons against weak competition. That says it all. If you played in the sec, the record would be 9-17
CJGaTechalumnus
April 23rd, 2012
1:49 pm
The idea to use Lee as a situational, and also Days, fails to consider how players “warm up” during the first quarter while playing, usually not warmed up until the first score. If some passes are needed, ideally Lee could trot out, but he might need warming up, and not on the sideline. Or, maybe he and Days could alternate with Tev, as sometimes players do to keep them physically fresh. Nowadays they have those air con fans and stuff, which also helps fatigue, and maybe some kind of energy drink such as gatorade or powerade, or maybe just mineral water. Maybe go up to North Georgia mtns to waterfalls and gather up water and bring back to Tech Chemistry Dept. and have them purify it w/titration, use for Tech football players during games. If shotgun, trip opt, rotation of qbs, that’s pretty complex, like Oregon’s complexity on o. Tech needs more complexity on o, b/c the trip opt can be figured out like Iowa did, and fools nobody. It’s just the physically inferior ability teams that can’t defend against it. It’s all a matter of strength, like the strong Iowa tackle that kept tacklin’ Nez at the line like Perdoni used to do.