AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > August > 11
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Scrimmage No. 1: Off and running
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech works out at Bobby Dodd Stadium today for the first time this preseason. The Yellow Jackets just finished punt practice (Durant Brooks boomed a 67-yard punt; no, that’s not a typo), and now they’re doing some seven-on-seven work at one end of the field and O-line vs. D-line on the other end. Taylor Bennett and Calvin Booker are wearing green mesh vests over their uniforms as a “don’t hit the quarterback” reminder.
Left guard Matt Rhodes, who has missed a lot of practice lately with an unknown injury, is back with the No. 1 line today. Freshman Clyde Yandell replaces left tackle Andrew Gardner, who has been in and out of practice with an unknown injury.
Among the players not in pads today: linebacker Travis Chambers (shoulder) and defensive end Michael Johnson (unknown).
They’re practicing kickoffs now, and the return unit was Dominique Reese, Tony Clark, Troy Garside, Joe Gaston and James Liipfert up front, Robert Hall and Derrick Morgan and Morgan Burnett and Martin Frierson behind them, and Jamaal Evans and Rashaun Grant as returners. Evans returned the first kick to the 43.
Mohamed Yahiaoui and Scott Blair are doing the kickoffs. Blair kicked two good ones.
James Johnson is not in pads today. I’m not sure what’s wrong with him.
Tashard Choice changed directions on a play designed to go to the right and ran 20 yards on the first play of the scrimmage. The No. 1 offense, working against the No. 2 defense, stalled after that. On the second series, Taylor Bennett completed an 8-yard pass to Greg Smith but the offense did not pick up a first down.
Now, it’s the No. 2 offense against the No. 1 defense. The No. 2 offense is not getting anywhere, not surprisingly. The worst play, which was nullified by a penalty, was a Calvin Booker pass that Gary Guyton almost intercepted.
No. 1 O vs. No. 2 D again. Jamaal Evans runs for 7 on 1st and 15, and then Taylor Bennett dumps a pass to Rashaun Grant, who uses some extra effort to get the first down while being tackled by Dominique Reese. Jonathan Dwyer follows with the best run of the day so far, a 19-yarder that suggests the recruiting excitement surrounding him might have had some basis in reality.
After a holding penalty, Bennett throws a 14-yard pass to Correy Earls, and on third-and-6 he hits Grant again, this time for 10 yards to the 20. Bennett throws a 16-yard TD pass to Greg Smith, who catches the ball near the right front pylon.
Cord Howard is playing No. 2 right tackle, and David Brown is playing No. 2 left tackle, and Booker is completing passes, a 10-yarder to Willie White on third-and-10, an 11-yarder to Jonathan Malone on second-and-8.
Now it’s the No. 1 offense again, and after a strong stiff-arm-assisted run by Dwyer Bennett passes to Greg Smith, who does a good job finding an open spot in the zone defense and then does an even better job breaking tackles to complet a 13-yard gain. Dwyer caps the drive with a 24-yard touchdown run on which the blocking is superb. He showed his speed, but he didn’t have to make any great moves or break any tackles.
Halftime, after the No. 2 offense failed to do anything in two series against the No. 1 defense.
I haven’t seeen Damaryius Thomas out here. Thomas hurt his knee in practice on Friday and is likely to be out awhile, but the good news Friday afternoon was that he’ll be back in time for the Notre Dame game.
The No. 3s are out there, and we learned right away why Josh Nesbitt isn’t wearing a green vest like Bennett and Booker. He takes a shotgun snap, fakes a handoff and runs for 12 yards, then does a quarterback sweep for a yard before a miscommunication with Jason Davis leads to a 6-yard loss. Nesbitt tried to pull the ball back, but Davis had it and held on. Nesbitt then scrambled for 22 yards on third-and-15, then ran 2 yards to the 6. A shotgun snap sailed over Nesbitt’s head on third down from the 3.
Nesbitt finally threw a pass, and completed it, on his second series, an 8-yarder to Willie White. After an incompletion, Nesbitt ran 15 yards to the 14. Then Ben Anderson broke through the line to hit Josh Wallace for a 3-yard loss, and Nesbitt completed a 4-yard pass to Alex Paquette.
Damaryius Thomas is here, and he’s walking with no apparent issues.
Now, the big moment, the No. 1 offense vs. the No. 1 defense. A 3-yard gain for Jamaal Evans, followed by a 5-yard penalty, followed by a 1-yard gain for Evans. On fourth down, Travis Bell kicks a 45-yard field goal.
Permalink | Comments (31) | Post your comment | Categories: Football
