2010 was a season of ups and downs for the Yellow Jacket football team. The started well enough and the team found themselves in first place in the ACC Coastal 7 games through the season. Then, while on the road at Virginia Tech, the Yellow Jackets lost starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt with a broken arm halfway through the game. Georgia Tech would only go on to win one of the last 6 games and finished with a record of 6-6. They also lost the Independence Bowl game 14-7 to Air Force, a team that runs a similar offense as GT. Lots of things went wrong last season, but 2011 is a new year and brings new promise.
What needs to improve?
1) WIN AT HOME! Outside of the Virginia Tech and UGA game, the Yellow Jackets will likely be favorites to win all their home games. Take care of the teams you should beat and prepare even harder for those you shouldn't. Create packages just for those teams, so that you have a little advantage.
2) NO TURNOVERS on the opponents side of the field. The Yellow Jackets squandered LOTS of points, many inside the "Red Zone". Too many fumbles on Center/QB exchanges. Too many dropped passes. Too many poor decisions with the ball. Much of this was attributed to playing players with no experience at prime positions...like quarterback.
3) HOLD TEAMS TO FIELD GOALS! The defense gave up too many huge plays for scores in 2010. Granted the team was learning a new defensive scheme, but if this team wants to win in 2011 the defense MUST create turnovers and force teams into 4th down and long, which would force teams to settle for 3 instead of always trying to stop long drives near the end zone.
4) USE SPECIAL TEAM TO CREATE GOOD FIELD POSITION. The kick/punt return units last season were not nearly good enough. Too many drives were 70 yards +. Too many times the kicker was forced into long field goal opportunities. If the team gets to start more near mid-field, then the better the offense will produce.
Let's take a look at the team by position and see what the team has to look forward to.
Offense
This is the bread and butter of the Georgia Tech team. Last season, the Yellow Jackets led the nation in total rushing yards and yards averaged per game. The real trick will be developing a passing attack than can enhance that potent ground game.
Quarterbacks
Tevin Washington enters the season as the starting quarterback. He finished the 2010 season for the Yellow Jackets, but had erratic play at times. Washington will be challenged by red-shirt freshman Synjyn Days as soon as school begins. Days is a more polished in the triple option offense than Washington since it was the same thing he ran in high school. However, Days does have a problem with holding onto the ball. Incoming freshman phenom Vad Lee could make the competition interesting come this fall, but he will likely red-shirt. This could be a season in which we see all the quarterbacks spilt many of the snaps. This brings up Season Factor #1: If the Yellow Jackets don't get really good QB play from someone, then this season will be painful to watch.
Runningbacks
This is by far the deepest area of talent on the Georgia Tech team. Senior RB Preston Lyons will begin the season as the feature B-back in Paul Johnson's Triple Option Offense. However, this could change as soon as the first game when red-shirt freshman Charles Perkins is allowed to challenge for the job. Perkins has the most upside when it comes to the B-back position because of his size, speed and allusiveness. Junior B-back Richard Watson will definitely see some playing time in different packages, but will get pushed by converted quarterback turned RB David Sims because he has huge play potential.
The A-back with the most big-play-potential is definitely B.J. Bostic. His speed alone will make him a threat every time he touches the ball. Roddy Jones and Orwin Smith are the every down backs with the most experience and will get the majority of the playing time. I believe all the true freshman will be red-shirted this season, but a few red-shirt freshman like Deon Hill and Tony Zenon could see a some potential snaps this season.
Wide Receivers
Season Factor #2: Can the passing game produce enough to keep the pressure off the running game? This is one of the biggest questions coming into the season. The passing game has been lack luster since Paul Johnson's arrival, granted the quarterbacks have not been the most accurate of passers. Junior WR Stephen Hill, one of the fastest wideouts in the ACC, returns as the #1 target in the receiving corps. Outside of him, the team's receiving are rather unproven. Redshirt freshman Jeremy Moore and senior Tyler Melton will probably get the majority of the snaps along with Hill. However, the true second best option on the team may be some an incoming freshman like Jeff Greene, Darren Waller or Corey Dennis. One wild card available is the recently re-instated WR Chris Jackson, who had transfered to Georgia Tech from Alabama in 2010.
Offensive Line
The offensive line is very experienced but no position is truly set. This is also the one place where the Yellow Jackets have a preseason award winner. Junior O-Lineman Omoregie Uzzi was named to the 2011 Preseason All-ACC Team. He will play one of the Guard positions and sophomore Jay Finch will be the starting center. Phil Smith and Will Jackson will likely start and fill in somewhere on the line, but the last starting position will probably be decided closer to the start of the season. Highly regarded true freshman Errin Joe and Trey Braun could give the upper-classmen a run for their money, in the playing time department.
Defense
Defense is the area that the Yellow Jackets must improve the most if they intend on being a challenger for the ACC title in 2011. This will be the second year in the 3-4 defense with Coach/Coordinator Al Groh leading the way. The team has had two recruiting years to bring in and develop players for this specific scheme. Who will be the play makers this season?
Defensive Line
Season Factor #3: Can the defensive line stop the run consistently?
Seniors Jason Peters and Logan Walls along with DT's T.J. Barnes and Shawn Green will be looked upon to step up big time this season and stop the opposing running game. DE's Izan Cross, Emmanuel Dieke, and Anthony Williams will be counted on for a majority of the pass rush up front. if they don't there are plenty of people waiting in line for their chance.
Linebackers
Julian Burnett, who was the top tackler for GT last season, returns to lead the linebacking corps. He will man the middle with either red-shirt freshman Quayshawn Nealy or sophomore Daniel Drummond. On the outside, linebackers Steven Sylvester and Jeremiah Attaochu will be trying to make every opposing quarterbacks' life a living hell. Other players that may be impacting the corps this coming season are LB's Brandon Watts and Malcolm Munroe, as well as incoming freshman Jabari Hunt-Days (brother to quarterback Synjyn Days) and Tremayne McNair.
Secondary
Cornerbacks Rod Sweeting and Louis Young, who have huge playmaking potential, enter the fall season as the probable starters. Jemea Thomas and Michael Peterson will be challenging for playing time this fall along with incoming freshmen Jamal Golden and Dominique Noble. The Safety positions will be maned by returning impact player Isaiah Johnson, who could very well be set for an All-ACC caliber year. Rashaad Reid and Fred Holton will be looked upon as well to support this squad.
Special Teams
Season Factor #4: Will Paul Johnson's inability to recruit a kicker finally come back to haunt the Yellow Jackets? Sophomore Justin Moore is the only scholarship placekicker on the roster. He will be replacing long time kicker Scott Blair who graduated last season. Moore has not nailed down the job yet. Kicker David Scully is still in the competition, which never seems to end. Coach Johnson seems to not like kicking much anyways. Also, neither one has performed well enough in practice or scrimmage to win the job, which begs the question...Does Georgia Tech even have a placekicker? The punting job is more set. Sean Poole will be the punter if healthy, but if not then Chandler Anderson will be ready to step up.
Season Factor #5: Can GT improve its kick returning, which was ranked near the bottom nationally? B.J. Bostic is an exciting player to watch in the open field. Given the proper blocking he could return a kick every time out, but the blocking must improve. RB Orwin Smith has shown potential at times as well. However, I feel the longer Paul Johnson refuses to hire a special teams coach, then the longer production will always be an issue.
Prediction
GT has a lot of questions to answer this season. This season will come down to efficient quarterback play and the defense coming around to the 3-4 scheme. If these two factors are met, then the Yellow Jackets will have a chance to win every game this season. The schedule is not that difficult and home field advantage will help with some of the bigger opponents. I think either Synjyn Days or Vad Lee will be the QB for this team before the season is out. I foresee a huge season for Charles Perkins at RB and Roddy Jones will likely go out as a senior in style. The defense has got to be better than last season. Experience should help fix that, and time to become accustomed to the vernacular. Special teams will have to be addressed as much as Coach Johnson persists on ignoring it. No team wins in Division 1A without a good kicking game. Justin Moore needs to take the reigns of this job and make it his own, otherwise the team's success and failure will fall on his shoulders in close games.
Record Prediction (8-4 and Bowl Bound)
*Pending everything plays out right with the Season Factors*
Sept 1 Western Carolina = WIN
Sept 10 at Middle Tennessee = WIN
Sept 17 Kansas = WIN
Sept 24 North Carolina = WIN
Oct 1 at North Carolina State = LOSE
Oct 8 Maryland = WIN
Oct 15 at Virginia = WIN
Oct 22 at Miami (FL) = LOSE
Oct 29 Clemson = WIN
Nov 10 Virginia Tech = LOSE
Nov 19 at Duke = WIN
Nov 26 Georgia = LOSE
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