Archive for the ‘Notes’ Category

Georgia Tech safety Jemea Thomas will return for his senior season, according to a post on his Facebook account Saturday.

Thomas wrote, “to clear things up I will be at georgia tech next year because I promised my grandmother a degree now go and write about that.”

Thomas was writing, it would seem, in response to an article posted on ajc.com Friday night and printed in Saturday’s AJC. In it, Thomas declined to comment on whether or not he would submit his name to the NFL draft advisory board.

Thomas is having a standout season, leading the team with four interceptions.

Notes: Tech fired up by USC pairing

Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog

Continue reading Thomas to return for senior season »

Guard Omoregie Uzzi was the lone Georgia Tech player on the first-ever coaches All-ACC team, released Wednesday.

Uzzi was also the lone Yellow Jacket on the media All-ACC team. On the coaches’ team, he received 14 out of a possible 22 points. The 12 coaches were allowed to vote for two players at each position, two points for first team and one point for second team. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.

The selections were similar to the media All-ACC team. The player of the year (Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd), offensive player of the year (Boyd), defensive player of the year (Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner) and coach of the year (Duke’s David Cutcliffe) were all the same.

Tech players receiving honorable mention status were outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, nose tackle T.J. Barnes, center Jay Finch, specialist Jamal Golden and  A-back Orwin Smith. Coach Paul Johnson received one point in the balloting for coach of the year. Quarterback …

Continue reading Uzzi named to first-ever coaches All-ACC team »

Advisory from Georgia Tech Athletic Association regarding Tuesday night’s Tech-Georgia basketball game at McCamish Pavilion:

“We’re expecting a full house for tonight’s game at McCamish Pavilion. If you do not have a GTAA-issued parking permit, the State Street Deck and Centergy Deck on Spring Street are available to the public. Also, be aware of construction on Fowler Street between 10th Street and Ferst/Fifth. Please plan accordingly. Gates open at 6 p.m.”

Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog

Continue reading Traffic advisory for Tech-UGA »

UPDATED, 11:26 p.m. – A day after a tough but encouraging loss to Florida State in the ACC Championship game, Georgia Tech learned Sunday it will play another formidable opponent in familiar surroundings for its bowl game.

The Yellow Jackets were booked Sunday for another week in El Paso, Texas, for the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl. Tech, which lost in overtime to Utah last year in the Sun Bowl, will play Southern California in a game to be broadcast on CBS.

In their 16th consecutive bowl – tied with Georgia for the fifth longest active streak in the country – the Jackets will try to stop their seven-game bowl losing streak.

“I think we had a great trip last time, all except for losing the game in overtime,” coach Paul Johnson said. “I know that USC will be a formidable opponent with a lot of tradition, and Coach (Lane) Kiffin is an outstanding coach with some outstanding players, so that’ll be a huge challenge.”

USC began the season No. 1 and started 6-1 but collapsed down …

Continue reading UPDATED: Tech draws USC in Sun Bowl »

“I was awfully proud of the effort our guys gave. I thought they played with some heart and some intensity. And we just ran out of time. We had our chances, just didn’t finish enough drives in the first half and had to kick field goals, and they’re a good football team.”

Coach Paul Johnson

“You know, the team responded the way I thought they would respond. You know, this team really hasn’t ever quit. I mean, some people might want to say that, but they haven’t ever really quit. Now, have we been as consistent and played with the kind of emotion and energy every game? I’d be the first to say no and I think they would, too. But this team has been fairly resilient, and it did not surprise me at all that they came out and played hard. I knew they would.”

Johnson

“We were having a hard time getting the linebacker picked up. He was playing really deep and he was scraping out in the alley a lot. We didn’t always do a great job of blocking the other guys on the …

Continue reading Georgia Tech quoteboard »

BOYD OFFERS HIS TAKE

Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd, named a first-team All-American and ACC player of the year this week, played against both Georgia Tech and FSU this season, beating the Yellow Jackets and losing to the Seminoles. He called the matchup “an intriguing game because, I think when you’re playing a team like Georgia Tech, if you don’t play them a lot, it’s kind of hard to predict what type of team they are and what they do.”

FSU hasn’t played Tech since 2009, meaning most players haven’t seen the Jackets’ spread-option offense. Even seeing it annually doesn’t always help. Clemson gave up 31 points and 483 yards to the Jackets in October, while scoring 47 and gaining 601 yards. In the title game, Boyd saw a clash of the Seminoles’ speed and the Jackets’ offensive fundamentals.

Anticipating the Jackets limiting possessions with a ball-control game and perhaps a stunning improvement by Tech’s defense, he predicted a 21-14 victory for the …

Continue reading Tech-FSU preview »

1. Georgia Tech A-back Orwin Smith was listed as doubtful on the injury report Thursday in advance of the ACC Championship game against Florida State on Saturday. Center Jay Finch was assigned a “probable” status.

Smith did not practice again Thursday due to an ankle injury suffered in Tech’s Nov. 17 win over Duke. Coach Paul Johnson said Wednesday that if Smith didn’t practice Thursday, he wouldn’t play against Florida State. Finch practiced Thursday after suffering an undisclosed injury in Tuesday’s practice and then missing Wednesday’s practice.

Smith’s likely absence is a considerable disadvantage for the Yellow Jackets, as it would keep their most potent offensive player on the sidelines. Smith had struck a hopeful tone Monday, saying that he thought he would play in Saturday’s game. Without Smith, Johnson will likely move up Synjyn Days, Deon Hill and B.J. Bostic in the A-back rotation alongside starter Robbie Godhigh.

Finch’s availability, meanwhile, …

Continue reading Notes: Smith doubtful, Finch probable »

1. The prognosis for Georgia Tech A-back Orwin Smith is unclear for Saturday’s ACC title game against Florida State. Smith was held out of practice again Wednesday because of his ankle injury suffered in the Duke game Nov. 17.

He was joined by center Jay Finch, also held out after leaving Tuesday’s practice with an undisclosed injury.

“I think Finch will (play),” coach Paul Johnson said after Wednesday’s practice. “I don’t know about Orwin.”

Smith has 14 plays from scrimmage of 20 or more yards, most of any running back or receiver on the team, on 92 touches on offense. Finch has started every game and been an integral member of the offensive line, which has improved over the season as it’s kept the same starting five for the past five games.

“We’ll know (Thursday),” Johnson said about Smith. “If he doesn’t practice (Thursday), he won’t play.”

2. Outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu said he will seek an evaluation from the NFL draft advisory …

Continue reading Tech notes: Smith, Finch held out again »

Georgia Tech basketball coach Brian Gregory didn’t plan to play Cal, Saint Mary’s and Illinois in succession. And perhaps given the opportunity to face teams that have played in three of the past four NCAA tournaments (Cal), two of the past three (Saint Mary’s) or are undefeated and ranked No. 22 (Illinois), he might have declined.

But, through the draw at the DirecTV Classic in Anaheim, Calif., and their pairing in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, that’s the Yellow Jackets’ lot. Tech plays the Illini Wednesday in Champaign, Ill., at 9 p.m. in a game televised on ESPN2.

“If you looked at it, you would say that would be a little overambitious in your scheduling at this part of the year,” Gregory said, “but I think it’s been good for us.”

After taking third at the DirecTV Classic, where they beat Rice and Saint Mary’s and lost to Cal, the Jackets face their biggest challenge of the season. Illinois won the eight-team Maui Invitational, defeating Butler 78-61 in …

Continue reading Tech vs. Illinois in ACC/Big Ten Challenge »

Georgia Tech believes it’s going to a bowl game. Other parts of the college football world are less confident.

In one more chapter in the strange saga that has been the Yellow Jackets season, the school faces the possibility of playing in the ACC Championship game with the most disparate of outcomes – beat Florida State and go to the Orange Bowl or lose and stay home. This scenario is far from a certainty, but is not out of the question, either.

Tech has petitioned the NCAA for a bowl-eligibility waiver in the event that it loses to the Seminoles to fall to 6-7, which would drop the Yellow Jackets below the .500 standard necessary to go to a bowl game. School, ACC and bowl officials have been confident that the NCAA will grant the waiver.

“We have full confidence that, at the end of the day, we’re going to be playing in a bowl game among the ACC selections between Dec. 27 and the first of January,” acting athletic director Paul Griffin said, “and we’re doing …

Continue reading Tech applies for bowl-eligibility waiver »