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November 2005
First loss had Hewitt hiding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt did something Saturday he never does: He stayed home, all day.
Never saw the sunshine, never stepped foot out his front door. Sure, there was a pretty big football game going on at The Flats, but Hewitt caught only snippets of it in between brooding over the film from Tech’s loss to Illinois-Chicago.
The Yellow Jackets played only average defense and shot the ball poorly. Tech’s best players, Anthony Morrow and Jeremis Smith, sat sulking on the bench while in foul trouble. It wasn’t the type of demeanor the Jackets can take out on the road, particularly not to Michigan State, where it plays in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge tonight. Morrow said that his mental cave-in was not at all typical of his regular style of play, and it won’t be repeated.
Hewitt hopes not, or he may be hiding out even more often.
Do think Tech can or will eventually display the mental toughness Hewitt is looking for?
Permalink | Comments (17) | Categories: Basketball
A bowl wish list
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If I were a Georgia Tech fan, there are three things I’d want to see out of a bowl game.
First, a victory, which would create the first eight-win season under Chan Gailey. Second, a return of the offensive success displayed against Wake Forest, and that’s certainly a possibility considering the Jackets aren’t likely to be playing a defense as good as Miami’s or Georgia’s.
Finally, a great farewell effort from the seniors that have meant so much to Tech’s defense, players like Gerris Wilkinson, Eric Henderson, Dawan Landry, Chris Reis, Dennis Davis and Reuben Houston.
I’d add good special teams play, but that might be asking too much.
Permalink | Comments (35) | Categories: Football
Recruiters face tough sell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech coaches hit the road recruiting this week. I wonder what their sales pitch is? Do they talk a lot about the Miami game? The Auburn game? The value of a Tech degree? How do they handle inevitable questions about the NCAA sanctions?
Permalink | Comments (92) | Categories: Football
Plenty to be thankful for
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday was a day to be thankful, and that applies to those who love college football. What are you thankful for about this year’s Georgia Tech football team?
I’m thankful to have the opportunity to watch Calvin Johnson’s amazing feats week after week. It never grows old. He continually amazes. And I’m thankful I get to watch Johnson for another season, too.
I’m thankful Chan Gailey and his players show the class to talk to reporters even in situations when the Yellow Jackets know the questions they’ll face won’t be any fun to answer.
And I’m thankful that I cover a team full of interesting and unusual stories, from Gailey’s successful return from a heart attack to Reggie Ball’s bout with viral meningitis to the Reuben Houston saga to the upset of No. 3 Miami.
Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Categories: Football
What else? A Thanksgiving theme
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some Thanksgiving thoughts:
Stuffing: What KaMichael Hall did to Charlie Jones on fourth-and-one.
Turkey: Georgia Tech’s game at Virginia Tech.
Toast: Virginia’s cornerback on Reggie Ball’s touchdown pass to Damarius Bilbo.
Piece of cake: The Yellow Jackets’ second-half performance at Duke.
Pumpkin pie: What you’d get if Jon Tenuta set Georgia Tech’s defense loose on Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Categories: Football
Bowl preferences are subjective
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A lot of people rank bowls based on how much money the bowl pays out or the prestige factor of their team’s opponent.
I have to tell you that reporters come at this very differently. We look at the date (does it conflict with somewhere else we want to be on New Year’s Eve or Christmas, for example), the time (oh no, not another game story written late at night on deadline) and the destination city (will I have to pack every jacket I own to handle the weather and three books to read to fight the boredom?).
Players I talk to care about fun activities and prestige. What do you look for in a bowl game?
Permalink | Comments (28) | Categories: Football
Miami upset a real feat
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You hear it every week — an underdog saying the only way it has a chance to win is to do everything right. Well, the amazing thing about Georgia Tech’s victory over then-No. 3 Miami on Saturday is that Tech won a huge victory when a lot of things DIDN’T go right. Start with P.J. Daniels and Brad Honeycutt being out with injuries. Add two missed field goals, neither of them short-range but both from a distance that Travis Bell could have made. Add the three muffed punts, one of them recovered by Miami. And still Tech won.
Yes, a couple of things did break the Yellow Jackets’ way. They did get pass interference calls that nullified two Miami interceptions. On the other hand, they weren’t controversial calls, judging by the reaction from the Hurricanes sideline.
So not only did Georgia Tech show it could win a road game against the No. 3 team in the nation, it showed it could do that without playing anywhere close to a perfect game. That’s quite an accomplishment, indeed.
Permalink | Comments (71) | Categories: Football
‘Vacated or not’, memories remain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The NCAA sanctions rob Tech’s history books of several historic accomplishments.
But the NCAA can’t take away the memories for Jackets fans of a championship season, victories over Georgia and bowl wins, including one over Notre Dame.
Which of those memories is the sweetest to you? And does the NCAA action mar them for you in any way?
Permalink | Comments (96) | Categories: Football
Distractions galore for Jackets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is worst than a hurricane. Georgia Tech has had to deal with some pretty stormy distractions this week. It isn’t like Hurricane Wilma, which forced its Oct. 21 game against Miami to be postponed until this week. But it’s been a lot, nonetheless.
Coach Chan Gailey received a contract extension, taking him through 2010. Cornerback Reuben Houston received a court order which has allowed him to rejoin the team — and play this Saturday since Gailey has indicated he’s likely to use him. Additionally, the NCAA levied its sanctions Thursday.
Do you think this is too much for the players to handle as they enter the Orange Bowl? Players have said all week that they are somewhat insulated as a team, and have a way of keeping outside issues from becoming a distraction. But how often are players, particularly college athletes, able to focus in the midst of so many issues?
Bounce effect from extension?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I asked Dave Braine the week of the Virginia Tech game — when Georgia Tech was 3-0 — whether he would announce an extension of Chan Gailey’s contract that week in an effort to give the Yellow Jackets a boost against the higly rated Hokies.
He didn’t, and I guess it wouldn’t have been a 44-point boost, anyway.
But now that the extension has come, I wonder what, if any, effect it will have on Saturday’s game at No. 3 Miami. Kentucky sure has played a lot better since the announcement that Rich Brooks would be back next year.
Permalink | Comments (22) | Categories: Football
One of the 3 toughest jobs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tech athletics director Dave Braine said Chan Gailey’s job is one of the three toughest head coaching jobs in college football, behind Army and Notre Dame, not necessarily in that order.
There are tougher places to win (Duke comes to mind) and places with higher pressure to win big (Ohio State, Michigan, Oklahoma are up there pretty high), but I wonder how many jobs match Tech’s combination of academics-imposed limits on the recruiting pool and fan-imposed expectations to achieve more than just a winning season.
What do you think?
Permalink | Comments (52) | Categories: Football
Is it mo’ or just the foe?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is the week we find out if momentum means anything or is merely a reflection of who you play and when.
Georgia Tech’s offense is hot off its best three running games of the year, but it’s also coming off games against three not-so-hot running defenses. Are the Yellow Jackets really solving their issues and becoming one of the league’s best running teams, or are they the same as they always were and just taking advantage of a step down in competition?
The Virginia game ought to answer that one. The Cavaliers have held four of their nine opponents under 100 yards rushing. They’re getting pretty confident, too, after holding their last two opponents to an average of five points.
Then again, those last two opponents were North Carolina and Temple.
Permalink | Comments (80) | Categories: Football
Talking hoops recruiting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt just inked one of the nation’s best recruiting classes, getting signatures from Javaris Crittenton, Thaddeus Young, Brad Sheehan and Zachery Peacock. It’s a terrific haul that is the best at Tech since Kenny Anderson, Malcolm Mackey and Darryl Barnes signed in 1989.
But what does it mean?
Hewitt said a lot of stock is put into ratings, and he’s right. And he points this out, too: last year’s group of seniors — B.J. Elder, Anthony McHenry, Isma’il Muhammed and Luke Schenscher — along with transfer Will Bynum and junior Jarrett Jack, wasn’t very highly regarded coming out of high school. Still, they didn’t leave until advancing to the Natinal Championship game. Jack, of course, became a first-round draft pick.
So, how much stock do you put into the No. 7 national rating garnered by this new class? Does it spell success?
Permalink | Comments (13) | Categories: Basketball
Sharing the load at RB
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In past seasons, P.J. Daniels averaged about 24 carries a game, as long as he was healthy.
Now, he averages about 18.
Those missing carries are going to Tashard Choice, who rushes about nine times a game. It looks like a successful balance, keeping Daniels healthy and fresh and getting Choice some opportunities to show what he can do, too. Neither running back complains publicly about the number of carries each gets. Both average about 5 yards a carry (Choice 5.1, Daniels 4.7). Choice has four touchdowns; Daniels three. Tech ranks among the ACC’s top three teams in rushing yardage.
Some football people think a team is better off sticking with one tailback as much as possible, so he can get into a rhythm. Others say alternating tailbacks leads to better results.
What would you do?
Permalink | Comments (19) | Categories: Football
Motivating factors
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fifteen years ago, Georgia Tech won at Virginia. It has been winless in Charlottesville since.
Of course, the 1990 game holds a special place in Georgia Tech lore: The Yellow Jackets upset No. 1 Virginia, 41-38.
But now Tech is mired in a long dry spell — six-straight losses at Scott Stadium. Coach Chan Gailey said he will not mention the losing streak to his team. Still, some of the players are very much aware of it. Chris Reis said it would be used as motivation.
Do you think Gailey should take Reis’ approach, or try to separate this year’s teams from that by not bringing it up at all? Would mentioning the losing streak do more damage or good?
Permalink | Comments (25) | Categories: Football
Wait till next year - really
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know you shouldn’t be having ‘Wait till next year” thoughts when covering a team that’s 6-2, but it’s interesting to play that game with Georgia Tech’s offense. Damarius Bilbo, Brad Honeycutt and P.J. Daniels are the only seniors starting on offense. Bilbo does a lot of good things, including blocking, but Tech does have other receivers who should be able to grow into that role. Honeycutt might be toughest to replace; experience is huge on the offensive line. As well as Daniels has run, Tashard Choice has been getting more per carry.
Think about the experience being gained by the three sophomores and one freshman on the offensive line, by sophomore fullback Mike Cox. Think about having Calvin Johnson back another year and how much better Reggie Ball might look behind a more experienced line.
Permalink | Comments (59) | Categories: Football
Excitement without the points
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of atmosphere there is Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
I was impressed with the crowd for the N.C. State game in the rain on a night opposite a Braves playoff game, and the sellout crowd for Clemson really got into it. But Clemson brought about 10,000 people, and it was homecoming. Wake Forest won’t travel like that, and homecoming is past.
What will it take to get Atlanta-area sports fans to realize that, even with its sputtering offense, Tech always seems to produce an exciting game?
Letting Chan have it on air
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To hear from some of the callers to Chan Gailey’s weekly radio call-in show, you’d think he was Rich Brooks and Georgia Tech was Kentucky. Listening to Gailey’s call-in show today raises three questions.
How happy should Tech fans be with their team right now?
Do you base that on wins and losses, or how those wins and losses were achieved?
And finally, one you probably haven’t considered: What are appropriate questions and comments on a call-in show?
Permalink | Comments (120) | Categories: Football
Lack of depth hurts STs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Starting cornerback Kenny Scott would like to return kickoffs. Safety Chris Reis enjoys getting in the mix on the kickoff coverage team. Other starters wouldn’t mind seeing special teams action, too.
But it probably won’t happen at Georgia Tech. Concerns about overall depth prevent coaches from using their best players on special teams, as well. As a result, many of those on the coverage, kickoff and punt teams are freshmen who wouldn’t get on the field otherwise.
With special teams playing such a vital role — and Tech struggling in at least one unit nearly every game this year — do you think the Yellow Jackets should consider putting more of its premier players on special teams, or is it too much of a risk?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Football
Walker beats the system
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A lot of recruits were on the field before Georgia Tech’s homecoming victory Saturday over Clemson. It made me think about last year’s recruits and how they’re doing.
So, how many of you were overjoyed last year when Tech got a commitment from a two-star-rated defensive tackle from Ft. Mill, S.C.? That was Vance Walker, the freshman who has made the biggest impact to date of the 2006 signing class.
Sure, Michael Johnson and Colin Peek and other more highly touted signees could turn out to be better college players, but Walker’s success right off the bat provides one more reminder that, especially in football, players can turn out to be a lot better than the so-called experts think.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Categories: Football
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