Tech’s T.J. Barnes kicking it into gear
Of all the testimonials given to Georgia Tech nose tackle T.J. Barnes’ improvement, perhaps none carries more credence than one from a teammate who has spent much of the past two weeks colliding with him.
“T.J., he used to not be much of a threat to rush the passer,” guard Will Jackson said, “but now he’s getting back there and he’s a lot quicker and a lot more explosive off the ball.”
The wait for Barnes, blessed with an easy laugh, quiet personality and immense size, to measure up to his potential may be over. This much is certain – now heading into his senior season, he can’t wait much longer.
“I think he realizes right now he’s got 12 games he’s guaranteed to play,” strength and conditioning coach John Sisk said.
The hoopla over Barnes began soon after his arrival from Enterprise, Ala. He was a terror on the scout team in his redshirt season. It led coaches and fans to imagine what he could do against actual opponents.
“He’s got the ability to one day be a great player,” former defensive line coach Giff Smith said during Tech’s 2009 spring practice, Barnes’ first. “How quick he gets there will be determined by how hard he continues to work.”
The fervor grew when coach Paul Johnson hired Al Groh as his defensive coordinator following the 2009 season. Barnes, 6-foot-7 with weight that hovered around 340 pounds, seemed an ideal fit to be an anchoring nose tackle in Groh’s 3-4 defense. However, in his first three seasons, Barnes’ most estimable opponents were not Georgia or Virginia Tech, but his stamina and weight. He missed only one game in his first three seasons, but made the starting lineup only three times.
Logan Walls has graduated and Barnes’ backup, Shawn Green, is promising, but has only played four games. Tech, it appears, has no choice but to start Barnes, who has in turn shown teammates and coaches that he is ready to accept the challenge.
“T.J. wants to do very well,” Groh said. “He’s got a very strong want-to.”
In the summer, following the team’s morning strength and conditioning workouts, Barnes voluntarily returned in the afternoon three to four times a week for extra training with Sisk. Barnes used the time for stretching, elliptical machine, core-strength work and kettle-bell exercises. When the team had a week off at the end of the summer term before the start of fall camp, Barnes did two more workouts on his own.
Said Sisk, “I think he took ownership of his work ethic this summer.”
Teammates noticed his work in the morning workouts. Just before the start of fall camp, inside linebacker Quayshawn Nealy gave Barnes credit for his conditioning work, for managing his weight and for keeping up with smaller teammates in speed drills.
Barnes “kicked it into gear,” Nealy said. “I can’t honestly say what made him kick it into gear, but I’m just glad that he did.”
Asked that question, Barnes pointed at a finger at Nealy and other teammates.
“You’re just looking to your left and to your right and behind you,” Barnes said. “You’re fighting for those guys.”
Another is Julian Burnett, whose neck injury in the Sun Bowl ended his career.
“You don’t want to let them down, especially since we lost ‘Rambo,’” Barnes said. “He’s still counting on us. Being a senior, you have to be able to push through.”
A superior season from Barnes could shape Tech’s route to an ACC championship as perhaps any player. As a nose tackle, Barnes’ responsibility is to stalemate centers and guards and disrupt offenses. Groh has described the position as being “the pillar or the rock in the middle.”
“There’s nothing better than having somebody who can just stuff the middle every time,” defensive end Izaan Cross said. “Just eliminating that from the game plan is awesome.”
At last check, Barnes’ weight was a manageable 342 pounds and his summer labors appeared to have had the desired effect on his endurance and flexibility. Tech will start the season Sept. 3 against Virginia Tech.
Will Jackson can hardly wait.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech notes
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326 comments Add your comment
Supersize that order, mutt
August 19th, 2012
2:41 pm
As bad as WnE is, at least he is not stupid—–just overwhelmingly biased and full of hatred. Mock 1 is actually stupid.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
2:42 pm
depends on the position george. I would def do it for a hocket goalie. If i see a team is 1-15, im gonna assume and be right that they are getting scored on A LOT.
Baseball you are absolutely right Football is in the middle. A bad qb can make a good team bad. Or a great team can make a bad qb appear good. See the ravens years ago.
GT fan
August 19th, 2012
2:42 pm
See there Stein, he just said it again!
Dumber and dumber and dumber! He’s probably likes watching water boil
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
2:43 pm
Agree, SS. Think back to that pick six Tracy Porter had in the Super Bowl against the Colts. Manning got blamed, but Reggie Wayne ran a lazy route.
Supersize that order, mutt
August 19th, 2012
2:44 pm
Well, gentlemen and little boy (and I think we all know who the little boy is)……I am outta here. Before I go, though, I have one thing to say ……
U O A D !!!
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
2:44 pm
WnE is a moron, SS.
Don’t assume anything, Mock 1. Do your research and make decisions. Don’t make lazy ones.
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
2:48 pm
Why don’t links post as blue anymore when I submit one? Anybody?
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
2:49 pm
I’ve done enough research and watched enough sports to know that if a hockey team is 1-15, it’s goalie sucks! and if a football team is 3-9, it’s qb sucks. i’ve never seen a team with a really bad losing record that had a qb putting up great numbers or a goalie being in the top 10 in goals allowed when the team has a dismal record.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
2:51 pm
And I have seen a baseball team with a lousy record with a pitcher having a great season which is why I agreed with u on baseball george.
BLT
August 19th, 2012
2:52 pm
It’s the cheerleader’s fault!
GT fan
August 19th, 2012
2:53 pm
B-back Broderick Snoddy, possibly the fastest player on the team, provided fireworks by going untouched on a 70-yard touchdown run early on, but his fitness level could not sustain him through the whole morning. Snoddy had also been a candidate to play A-back, but has worked at B-back for most of camp.
“He’s more comfortable at [B-back],” quarterbacks and B-backs coach Brian Bohannon said. “That’s what he did his senior year of high school. I think that’s probably going to be home for him.”
——————————–
Per Mock 1, I assume TW gets all the credit for this play since the QB is the leader of the team, and everything bad that happens is b/c something the QB did wrong.
Glad I can finally see Mock 1’s point of view. It’s like lemonade …. very refreshing!
observations
August 19th, 2012
2:53 pm
@dawghater, you might want to look at what defenses that the big stats and points that were produced by Techs offense.They played big vs bad teams,
Western carolina #120 in FCS, Kansas #120 in FBS, Middle Tennesee #103 . Duke #92.W Virginia put up 70 points on Clemsons #71 ranked defense. The offense only scored 21 against Marylands #108 ranked defense. Did nothing against Miami, and after adjustments were made were shut down by both VT and UGA . As for Barnes he could be vastly improved and still not be what you need every down from NT.You might want to re think him transforming into a big time player , he’s being coached by McCollum.
Yeller Bug
August 19th, 2012
2:53 pm
Myth-buster question for the intelligent ones online: Would it be unintelligent to use 2 QBs on a regular basis during the game? Everyone talks about flow and momentum, etc. but Tech doesn’t have great athletes but we are deep with good athletes. Our O-line is two deep—we have depth at both A & B back—why not have a Vad offensive package and a TW package that emphasize their strengths. Say in the middle of the 1st QTR we have a swap out of the offense–go hurry up with Vad—change pace—catch the D in a bad match-up—put fresh legs on the field. Momentum is all in the head—football is a discrete function–a series of individual plays that aside from down and distance are unrelated to the previous play. I think it would be a successful method of keeping opposing Ds a little unnerved and off balance. Is this a crazy idea or something worth exploring?
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
2:54 pm
Btw, the 3-9 qb record assumes nfl, not college. College is tricker because u can be a pretty good qb on a no name team and have to play against some tough competition. Kinda like tim couch a few years ago for kentucky.
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
2:55 pm
HERE’S SOMETHING FOR MOCK 1
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — With two solid tailbacks ahead of David Wilson on the depth chart, Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer thought hard about redshirting his speedy sophomore.
The decision not to, Beamer said Thursday night, “is looking better and better.”
Wilson returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown with 2:23 to play, rescuing the No. 20 Hokies from a sloppy effort and giving them a 28-21 victory against Georgia Tech.
Wilson also scored on a 15-yard run to pull the Hokies even at 14-all early in the fourth quarter, and was stunned to even get the opportunity to give the Hokies a chance.
“I was excited because they had been avoiding me all game (on kickoffs),” he said, noting that he only had to dodge kicker Scott Blair, who ran him down in a similar spot last year.
Wilson eluded Blair’s attempted ankle tackle, and “When I saw green, I just cut the jets on.”
The return came just after Yellow Jackets drove 80 yards to tie it, and allowed the Hokies (7-2, 5-0 ACC) to win their seventh in a row and remain in control of their fate in the ACC’s Coastal Division. They are the only unbeaten team in ACC play.
The Yellow Jackets (5-4, 3-3), played the second half without quarterback Joshua Nesbitt, who broke his right forearm late in the first half after throwing an interception at Virginia Tech’s 1. It came after he led one scoring drive, then ran 71 yards for another touchdown.
“When I made the tackle, I think I hit his knee,” Nesbitt said of Davon Morgan, who stepped in front of the pass and returned it 28 yards. “Once I hit it, it went numb.”
The absence of Nesbitt made all the difference – for both sides.
“It was big,” Hokies linebacker Bruce Taylor said. “Their offense runs through him. He’s their playmaker, the guy that makes their offense go, so getting him out of the game was big.”
Last year, Nesbitt had 122 yards rushing against the Hokies, including a 39-yard run with 3 minutes left to seal the Yellow Jackets’ victory. He had already run for 86 yards on six attempts when he got hurt on the tackle attempt and was helped to the locker room for X-rays.
Still, the Yellow Jackets gave the Hokies all they could handle.
They fell behind 21-14 with 6:34 to play on Tyrod Taylor’s 2-yard pass to Andre Smith, but immediately answered behind backup redshirt sophomore quarterback Tevin Washington.
He hit Tyler Melton for 42 yards on the first play after Taylor’s scoring pass – Georgia Tech’s first pass completion of the game – and they did the rest on the ground. Roddy Jones ran for 5 yards on fourth-and-4 from the Hokies 32, and Orwin Smith ran it in from the 9.
Just 2:34 remained, and Wilson needed 11 seconds to get the lead back. He caught the ball near the 10, cut left, dodged one attempted ankle tackle and used his sprinter speed down the sideline. It was his second kickoff return for a touchdown of the season, and kept the Hokies in line to win the division – and a spot in the ACC title game – by winning their last three.
It also likely means Georgia Tech will not defend its ACC title of a year ago.
“The kickoff return was just a killer,” Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson said.
“You get momentum back and go down and score and you don’t want to squib kick and give them the ball on the 40 yard-line with 2:35 and all their timeouts left. It was supposed to be a deep right kick and we kicked the ball in the middle of the field and we don’t adjust.”
Georgia Tech still drove to the Hokies 17, but Rashad Carmichael intercepted a pass in the end zone with 8 seconds left, sealing the Hokies’ 17th victory in 22 Thursday night ESPN games. They also came away hoping that the trend of the winner of this game representing the Coastal Division in the ACC title game for all five years the game has been played holds.
“It wasn’t a beautiful game,” Beamer said, “but the score sure was pretty.”
Anthony Allen led the Yellow Jackets, who rushed for 346 yards, with 125 on 23 tries.
The Hokies, who had averaged 45.5 points in their past four games, had troubles of their own for much of the game, even after Ryan Williams’ 4-yard run pulled them to 14-7.
Taylor drove the Hokies to the Yellow Jackets 8 later in the second quarter, but on third-and-goal, with about 10 seconds to look for a receiver, he threw right to Rod Sweeting on the back line of the end zone. It was Taylor’s first interception in four games.
The Hokies’ defense responded with its first three-and-out series, but Jayron Hosely fumbled the ensuing punt and Isaiah Johnson recovered for Georgia Tech at the Hokies 47.
Morgan’s interception at the 1 ended that series.
The Yellow Jackets made it look too easy at the start.
After Nesbitt was flushed on the first play from scrimmage – at the 42, no less, after a nice return by Emery Peeples – and threw incomplete, they ran on eight consecutive plays.
Smith went 27 yards on the second play, and Nesbitt converted the only third down with a 3-yard run on third-and-1. He also took it the final yard and it was 7-0 after 3:40.
After the Hokies punted, Nesbitt burned the Hokies quickly, taking another third-and-1 run 71 yards virtually untouched for a touchdown. On the play, he became the career rushing leader among ACC quarterbacks, passing Clemson’s Woodrow Dantzler (1998-2001), who had 2,761.
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
2:56 pm
Archie Manning was generally considered a good QB trapped on horrible Saints teams
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
2:57 pm
I think that would be a wise move yeller. TW has shown little improvement from 2010 to 2011. And the sooner gt gets vad some reps in real games, the better they will be going into next season.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:00 pm
The saints were horrible until brees and payton arrived. Of course they have lost a lot of respect for the bounty bs.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:04 pm
That’s kinda in line with what i have said observations, but i get called names by the thugs on this board. George has been the only intelligent civil poster I’ve seen over the past hour. TW is just an average qb running the TO and his passing is well below average. Sure he can pad some stats against crap teams but when u look at what he did against a good defenses, it was dismal. That’s why I said nothing has changed from 2010 to 2011 and I don’t expect anything better for this year in the qb front. I’m looking more to next year and hoping vad gets a lot of time to learn the system because i think he has the arm to beat vt miami and even uga.
Yeller Bug
August 19th, 2012
3:04 pm
George S: I thought of Manning and the “Ain’ts” as well—perfect example of a great QB and lousy support makes for a losing season.
Yeller Bug
August 19th, 2012
3:07 pm
So Mock 1 if Tech goes 3-1 or 4-0 in Sept will you change your mind about TW?
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
3:09 pm
I’ve long thought that Tevin was high floor/low ceiling. His value is that he manages the offense well.
If he makes mistakes (that he can control), then because he lacks the ability to really dazzle you, he doesn’t have much value as a player. The thing with Vad is that we don’t know yet, so we can dream on him.
GT fan
August 19th, 2012
3:09 pm
Okay folks let me shut Mock 1 up for good ……
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
2:49 pm
I’ve done enough research and watched enough sports to know…….i’ve never seen a team with a really bad losing record that had a qb putting up great numbers…….
—————————————————————
238 / 403 3,149yds (59.1%) 35td 14 int … 146.4 rating …. 10-4 record
209 / 342 3,049yds (61.1%) 24td 8 int … 154.5 rating …. 6-7 record
185 / 331 2,584yds (55.9%) 24td 15 int … 146.4 rating … 8-5 record
235 / 383 3,459yds (61.4%) 25td 10 int … 153.5 rating …. 10-3 record
Gee, Mock 1, the best QB stats in the pas 4 seasons for your Dawgs resulted in their worst, and a SUB .500, record! How can that be??? Shame on Aaron Murray for costing the Dawgs 7 Ls!!
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:14 pm
Yeller
Well gt actually has 5 games in sept. If he goes 5-0, then def I would. 4-1 maybe because I still don’t know how good miami will be. Many think it will be a down year but they still have won 3 in a row over gt and gt plays like crap against them the past 3 years. Weird because tech had their number 3-4 years prior to that.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:15 pm
I just saw on a few times last year where TW kept the ball too much when a pitch could have led to at least a first down. And it seemed like this was happening every game from say october on.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:18 pm
gt fan you think 6-7 is “really bad”? Cause that’s the term i used doofus. And of course you ignore a point i already addressed that in college, you can’t assume that because one team could be playing much harder competition or weak comp to rack up good numbers. Sorry in my book 6-7 in the sec is NOT really bad. But I don’t expect you to agree being the idiot u are.
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
3:20 pm
It wasn’t just the SEC record that season. UGA also lost to Colorado (who lost to Kansas) and UCF in 2010.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:30 pm
But they still somehow managed to beat the jackets.
Anyone will tell you it’s not easy to go across the country and play in high altitude. Denver teams in all sports hav a big advantage in that front. I remember hearing the braves announcerts talk about colorado’s terrible road record but a great home record.
As for ucf, it’s o’leary! He has uga’s number. lol
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:34 pm
Btw, gt experienced the altitude in 03 playing at byu. And I believe they travel there next year. Won’t be easy at all. Nor will the game at home this year.
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
3:39 pm
Yep, and that sucked. But it’s also a good example of a game where the QB played well and his team lost (largely because of poor defense and three fumbles that he wasn’t responsible for).
Playing in altitude didn’t stop a Kansas team that everyone reminded us was horrible from going into Boulder and winning.
WnE
August 19th, 2012
3:41 pm
re:
dawghater1
August 19th, 2012
10:57 am
tj needs to have a big year, we cant run an effective 3-4 with a 6′ 280 pound nose tackle.
____________
A better question might be:
Why did CPJ extend a scholly offer to a 6-0 280 NT when the likelihood of that Recruit being successful on the field is very low?
If you’re going to run a 3-4, the Recruit NTs out of HS that are 6-2 to 6-5 310lbs & up.
UGA signed DeLoach’s teammate that reported at 6-4 335 as a True-Fr. that also held a scholly offer from GT (J. Taylor?) and was widely thought to be an Academic qualifier for GT.
BTW GT also offered UGA DEs, Garrison Smith, Mike Thornton, Ray Drew, & Sterling Bailey, all on the Mutt’s 2-deep depth chart and all thought to be Academic qualifiers for GT.
Then you add in the Tuitts, Watkins, Tomlinsons, & Jay Woods that go to ND, Stanford or Vandy, and Bama.
GT Fans should remember these things when they claim that “our elite academics” is keeping us from Recruiting better players.
The Academic Qualifiers that we have lost out on and couldn’t close could give GT the best DL in the country.
Academics isn’t GT ’s problem, CPJ’s recruiting is GT’s problem.
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
3:41 pm
Apologies. I got my facts wrong. The Kansas game was at Kansas.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:44 pm
Yeah i recall that game. King or ealey fumbled near the goal line. And then other fumbles that cost them I never said a qb couldn’t play well and his team lose from mistakes. What i said was over a 20 game sample, you can pretty much determine what kind of player you have running your team.
As for kansas, well the state does border colorado. it’s not like traveling across the country as uga did. And i would hardly call ku beating colorado a shocker. I mean ku beat gt 2 years ago when everyone thought gt would dominate. And gt should have but they played like crap on all fronts.
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
3:45 pm
Basically, WnE is saying we have to bat 1.000 and unwittingly made our point for us.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:47 pm
It’s interesting though you bring up colorado losing to kansas, cause gt did. I think we can safely conclude that both uga and gt had seasons they would like to forget that year.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:50 pm
Braves offense sure is putrid today
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
3:50 pm
Lawrence, KS elevation: 1,020 ft
Boulder, CO elevation: 5,430 ft
I used Wikipedia, which is full of risk, so if I am wrong I apologize.
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
3:51 pm
PULLLLEEEZZZZZZ
George Stein
August 19th, 2012
3:51 pm
On your 3:47 and 3:50 comments, we can agree, Mock 1.
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:51 pm
Not much difference between lawrence and atlanta
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:52 pm
And the defense too. Two games in a row now they are looking like they did last year. Hope this isn’t the start to another choke
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
3:53 pm
Stop arguing with mock -1 You shouldn’t wrestle with a pig in his wallow. The pig actually enjoys it.
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
3:54 pm
The argument has become very BORINGGGGGGGG!!
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
3:54 pm
It’s called a conversation 14. Something you obviously never learned how to do.
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
3:59 pm
Real good conversation. You’re basically rehashing the same comments using different semantics. And while I used an analogy to say you were getting a kick out of it, you are calling people idiots and stupid and moron and the like. Very BORINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!
Mock 1
August 19th, 2012
4:00 pm
I was called the same thing and worse 14 so I was only returning the favor.
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
4:02 pm
WoooHoooooo!!! 48 leading the race & blew up with 6 laps to go, Couldn’t happen to a better guy!!!!
Ol'JacketFan
August 19th, 2012
4:03 pm
has anybody seen our old friend GT1990 lately?
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
4:03 pm
2 wrongs don/t make a right & I am thru with you.
1 4 GT
August 19th, 2012
4:05 pm
I suspect he was mock -1 OJF!