AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > July
July 2008
Forget pads, break out the boats!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Somebody throw me a towel!
Holy schneikees. It rained like it was never going to stop here.
Tech just resumed practice a few minutes ago after a 47-minute delay, and it WAS NOT the rain that prompted coach Paul Johnson to send players and coaches for cover. The Jackets, in fact, worked the first 12 or 13 minutes in a steady downpour.
But lightning sent everybody for cover, and it was not exactly cozy under the “shed” off the southeast corner of the practice fields. Standing room only.
If I heard Johnson correctly, they’re picking up where they left off rather than shortening practice, but I was a long way from him when he was yelling instructions to players.
On a couple side notes … DB Mario Edwards, who transferred from Virginia Tech, is practicing. Whether he plays or not this season rather than sitting out one year depends. Interesting developments there. Check the notebook later for details. EDIT: see details in post below.
The new helmet color is … what is it? I described it as darker gold, but my description did not go over well with everyone during out rain delay. So I’ll just say it’s different, deeper. I’m told the new pants will be the same color. Aug. 19 is the date for uni rollout.
With that, I’m going to go scout around some.
I’ll tune back in later.
Matt
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Jackets working up a lather
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry to be a little late chiming in here. Trying to get bearings on the first day, and there’s not as much to write about when everybody is running around in their Under Armour, oops, Russell Athletic Gear virtually without pads (save helmets).
SEE UPDATES ON POSTS BELOW
There has been no 11-on-11 work yet so it’s a little difficult to get a read on some things, but these things are clear …
The backs, and that includes all of them, are going to be tired. That’s because every time somebody puts the ball on the ground via fumble, muffed pitch, dropped pitch, etc., they’re all doing up-downs. And they’ve been hitting the dirt a lot. Some of that is to be expected. For a freshman QB, though, Jaybo Shaw has the pitch thing down very well. Figures. He played in an offense very, very much like this at Flowery Branch.
The O-linemen look leaner. More on that in days to come. I wonder how many pounds they’ve lost as a unit. Probably a few hundred.
R-Fr. safety Willie WHITE is still thin, but not as thin. He’s bulked up for sure.
The B-backs are big! Anthony Allen, who has to sit out after transferring from Louisville, looks giant. So does freshman Richard Watson.
Fr. Jon Lockhart of Blountstown, Fla., is working at A-back, as coach Paul Johnson suggested to me about a month ago, rather than CB, where he was recruited.
It’s hot. Thank heavens there is a breeze.
Some things are not so clear, like …
Where’s Fr. RB Embry Peeples? Don’t know. Trying to find out.
Where’s Fr. OL T.J. Barnes? Ditto.
More later.
Mario Butler has moved into the No. 1 CB spot that Jarrard Tarrant appeared to win in the spring. Dominique Reese remains at safety. FOR NOW.
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What’s on your mind
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ll check back in later today to find out what angles you find most interesting about Georgia Tech football as the Yellow Jackets start practice tomorrow.
Give me some topics, and I’ll start looking for answers and asking questions for future stories, notebooks and blogs.
Obviously, the quarterback position is one, and the O-line, and …
Matt
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Tech stuff, other stuff, idiocy aplenty
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s late, and I’ve got to move fast …
Nothing hard to offer here on Ga. Tech. Been working double-time on other issues, like the pay-for-play story I wrote for Sunday’s paper.
Hard to have an opinion here. But I think college football and basketball (D-I level) generate so much money that somehow, some way, some of it needs to end up in the pockets of the players generating it. Not much, but some.
I don’t have a great model for how to split the cash, but how about making sure that if it ever gets to where players are paid beyond their scholarships making sure that ALL division I PROGRAMS get the same thing, and that they’re limited strictly in how they give out the dough.
If you start breaking it down to where big conferences and big-time programs have more money to spread among their players, it will only make the strong stronger. That would destroy parity, if such a thing exists (it probably doesn’t).
I’ll say this: if it was split evenly, I think that would be a much bigger factor in basketball. If North Carolina had no more to give than Kent State, it might actually level the playing field.
If there are a dozen one-and-done-caliber hoops players every year, and North Carolina has no more to often them than Wisconsin or UNLV or Davidson or whomever … perhaps some of those kids would say to themselves, “well there are already two studs heading for UNC to get big bucks,” so maybe I could go to Davidson, or wherever, to get my share of big money, too. There would, I think, be a point where the idea of going to UNC just to have a better than average chance at winning it all, would diminish in the face of the possibility of making bukoo more cash somewhere else, especially if you’re only going to play one year in college (dumb rule).
Bet you wouldn’t have four McDonalds All-Americas all going to the same place.
Just a thought.
Football, I don’t think the difference would be as great.
Changing subjects big-time … I know Brett Favre, sort of. Met him, or interviewed him, about half a dozen times. A couple times in one-on-one situations. All-American in every way, not pretentious in the least.
That said, he has not handled this in ideal fashion.
But he’s earned the right to change his mind. Period.
The Packers need to trade him, to whatever team offers the most. Period, again.
The Packers deserve something in return for their holding Favre’s rights. Why? Because they’ve already paid him tens of millions of dollars, and while they’re not doing anything wrong by standing by Aaron Rodgers as their starter in planning for the future, they also both owe — and are owed by — Favre.
They ponied up with that big contract over several years. And now, if Favre is to play again, they should be able to back up the truck and get their load of picks and/or cash.
You just can’t keep that guy out of the NFL if he wants to play. That’s not right.
Read something about Reggie Ball injuring a knee and going on injured reserve for the Lions. Don’t have much positive to say about Reggie. My only dealings with him were during his senior year, and he was a major pain in the rump.
And he was a double pain after the Georgia game with all the “Yo, dog,” garbage, and talking about how the Georgia game was no different than any other.
Please!
And by the way, Calvin Johnson will have a monster season.
Love it for Anthony Morrow.
I wrote something Friday about him signing with the Warriors. Dude shot lights out for the Heat and Warriors in their summer leagues. Unreal 3-point numbers.
Anthony is slow. He doesn’t jump well. He’s an average defender at best.
But he can shoot, and he really, really knows the game. Plus, he’s extremely willing to work hard at any and everything he thinks he has to work hard at.
I thought Hewitt was a little off when he told me once last year that Morrow had a chance to play at the next level (and he didn’t mean in Ukraine). I hope I’m wrong, and Paul is right… .
Now that Anthony’s contract with the team in Kiev is void, that’s not such a good thing for former teammate Ra’Sean Dickey, who signed with the same team (they have the same agent!?) Ra’Sean definitely would have benefited from having someone he knows well close by while working so far away.
Cross your fingers for Dickey.
Matt
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Hoopsters play the transition game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know football looms large, but a break today toward basketball …
Obviously, now that Tech has landed yet another respected commitment (from Walton High guard Glen Rice Jr.), coach Paul Hewitt has — at least in verbal form — the foundation of a whale of a recruiting class for 2009. That is four players committed, and if the Jackets were to land South Atlanta High center Derrick Favors, it could end up the best recruiting class — or at least most-hyped — in Tech history, especially if a sixth player of significance is added down the road. Oh, and if they all stick to their commitments.
None of this addresses the upcoming season.
Say what you want about Ra’Sean Dickey’s on-and-off engine. When he was right, he was a valuable asset. Period.
With him, this was going to be a shorter roster than Hewitt typically works with. Without him, much shorter.
If the Jackets get a transfer (graduate student) like Hewitt hopes, and that person can play right away (coach said the kid is a frontcourt player), it may help quite a bit.
At a minimum, some fans who’ve longed to see Hewitt work a shorter player rotation on a game-in/game-out basis figure to get what they’ve been looking for.
What is it they say, be careful what you wish for?
As currently constituted, the Jackets’ three primary X-factors in terms of personnel for the upcoming season will be freshman guard Iman Shumpert, sophomore center Brad Sheehan and senior guard Lewis Clinch. Not necessarily in that order.
Can Shumpert play both guard spots, and play them well? Can Sheehan learn to apply his size, and the increased strength he’s acquired in the weight room, or will he leave it in the weight room? Will Clinch return to the form of his sophomore year, when he was a prolific scorer?
Then, you wonder if PG Moe Miller will continue growing at the pace he did the second half of last season? Who will rebound? Will the Jackets defend more consistently? Will Lance Storrs, Clinch, et al, be able to utilize the new 3-point line sufficiently?
A big-picture question: if not enough of these questions are answered satisfactorily, the Jackets have a poor season, and perhaps miss the NCAA tournament for the third time in four seasons, would Hewitt’s job to be in jeopardy?
Or, might the promise of a massive (in size, talent and hype) 2009 recruiting class change the thinking on that? Would that recruiting class be a job security safety net?
As for Dickey, he left largely for family reasons. Personal matters. It’s not for us to know what those issues are in specific, but I believe his mother back in S.C., weighed heavily in the decision.
In my mind, there is this, too: Dickey has a chronic knee problem, as you all probably know, that is the result of a very serious childhood football injury. It wasn’t treated properly. It likely will always be a problem. Given that, he may only have so much basketball left in him.
So maybe the thinking was to go get paid for it while he can? Dunno, just theorizing.
Later.
Matt
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Paul Johnson, Tech ramping it up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry I’ve been away so long. Combination of computer problems and a major health issue with a family member.
Onward as we move toward the start of practice next Wednesday (3 p.m.) …
This is not the first time you’ve read somewhere that Paul Johnson is confident, that he believes in what he does, right? Some call it swagger, some ego, some arrogance, some just plain confidence.
Whatever, I appreciate it — however you want to describe Johnson’s countenance — as long as it doesn’t come packaged with smug condescension like a coach I dealt with several years back, or turn to a defensive counter-attacking mode when tough times come ‘round. I haven’t seen a single sign of these petty approaches, although conditions for the latter haven’t arisen yet.
Some of Andrew Gardner’s comments at the ACC Football Kickoff made it more clear Johnson is abundantly comfortable in his own skin (even if he gets edgy once in a while when he’s barraged with questions about his offense).
“Really, I was probably surprised at his almost defiant confidence in his own system, just the level of, ‘I don’t give a [hoot] what people think about this, it’s going to work. If you don’t want to be here, get the [heck] out,’ ” Gardner said. “Really, that level of, ‘If you want to be here, I want you; if you don’t, get out.’ That level of just, ‘I’m confident in this, you all pull with me; if not, get out of here.’ “
It’s interesting, and perhaps not surprising, that on some occasions Johnson goes hard in defending his offensive system and pointing to its results over the years at Navy, Georgia Southern and even Hawaii, and in other instances he suggests that his offensive methods will not be the end-all determinant of Tech’s success or failure.
On those occasions, he says it gets back to players, and having good ones.
Examples of the latter:
“It’s not just the system. We’re not going to win just because of the system. If we can’t execute the system, we’re going to get our tails kicked.”
“I just think that system stuff is way overblown. It doesn’t have anything to do with it. If you’re a good player, you’re going to be a good player.”
Example of the former:
“It’s been pretty good for a lot of years. That’s why I kid of scoff or kind of laugh when people say, ‘We’ll see if this will work.’ It’s not like we’re doing something that’s never been done. We’ve been doing it for 20 years at three schools and it’s worked pretty good.”
It’s human nature when you get crushed by endless variations of the same question to more than cover your bases with your answers.
Moving on …
A writer yesterday asked Miami coach Randy Shannon about the unique challenge of facing Tech’s wishbone offense. That’s right, wishbone. Hey, Johnson ran the wishbone in his first coaching job, under his high school coach (Elmer Aldridge) in Newland, N.C., but he’s not running the ‘bone now.
Nonetheless, here’s what Shannon said:
“It’s hard because it’s the only time you’re going to see it. You’ve got to be sound. It’s an offense that can get you because you’re playing the run, and the play-action pass [comes]. It’s almost like a four-receiver set because of the double slots [A backs]. If you’re not careful, those slot guys can run up the field with nobody on them because of your reads.”
Hmm. Sounded an awful lot like something Gardner said the day before.
“[Defenses], if they’re expecting the [A] backs to block them that’s all the better because now they can release and go and now they’re out there open and nobody’s on them. If they go ahead and start stacking to stop the run immediately, even though the offense is so run-heavy because that’s what we want to do, it doesn’t mean you can’t step back and throw it.”
And on …
Gardner spoke Sunday about how he figures opponents will hate playing Tech because the Jackets are going to cut block.
Johnson had a chance to put soften that suggestion a little the next day, when the voice of the Yellow Jackets, Wes Durham, asked at a table full of media if that was a fair description.
Johnson didn’t shy away from the reality that the Jackets will occasionally block below the waist (which is legal near the line of scrimmage, when just one blocker is involved, and he’s blocking from in front of the defender and not the side or back), but he didn’t come off as stridently on the topic as Gardner, either. For more, see the on-line Q&A with the coach.
Finally, this doesn’t relate to Georgia Tech, and although it’s an item about Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon, it’s really more about perspectives, and how they can change, about how clarity is achievable through hardship.
Glennon had started 16 games in a row for the Hokies before coach Frank Beamer took that job away for about a month last season only to have Glennon regain it when freshman Tyrrod Taylor was injured. The Hokies (who by the way really didn’t have spring practice last year if you remember because of the tragedy on campus) went on to win the ACC title, and Glennon was a huge reason why. Lord knows he sliced up Georgia Tech in Atlanta last Nov. 1 (wearing a Jackets jersey).
I asked if he benefitted from his time on the bench.
“It was terrible. It was a blow to my pride. I came back a better person and a better quarterback. I had a different attitude. I might have been taking the game of football for granted. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. I wasn’t having much fun. When I went back in there, I was just going to fling the ball around and have fun and enjoy the game.
“I don’t want to say I was more risky, but I was making more dangerous throws. I was just going out there and playing. It was almost like I was back in my high school days. I was very confident, and enjoying it all, no pressure, no worries.”
Nothing like a little attitude adjustment.
This is one of the reasons why Beamer and Virginia Tech are successful. He’s less likely to play favorites or stand pat than to make decisions that he thinks are correct. Oh, and here’s another: he and his staff recruit so very wisely, as Shannon points out.
“They recruit the kind of players that are going to play in their defense. They don’t go out and recruit the players who everybody says are No. 1. That’s what we’re doing at Miami,” Shannon said.
“We’re going out and getting guys who fit what we’re doing. It may be the No. 1 guy in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, but if he doesn’t fit what we’re doing, we’re not going to recruit him. It may look bad, but you got to recruit for what you’re trying to get done. Coach Beamer and them do a great job of that.”
A lot of coaches say they recruit for fit. Some really do. Johnson was asked if there any players who do not fit what Tech will do.
“Other than maybe a quarterback, if you have a 6-6 or 6-7 dropback quarterback who can’t move, OK, he doesn’t fit into the system,” he said.
It will be very rare in my opinion that you’ll see offensive lineman over 295 playing for Johnson, but when asked if he would rule out recruiting the 6-6, 320-pound roadgraders, he said, “if they’re good players, we’ll recruit them.”
We’re fixing to start finding out more about coach Paul Johnson real quick.
Matt
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The Golden, olden days were better
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I wonder if Tech students and fans cared more about the Yellow Jackets a half century ago. Follow along here …
Pretty amazing response to the previous blog, sent out Tuesday morning in search of long-time fans who might have seen Jake Rudolph’s famous tackle of Alabama running back Bobby Marlow in 1952.
I didn’t hear from anyone in time to include them in the story, but I’ve received several e-mails from older fans with great memories. And there is far more anecdotal evidence in the responses to that blog that although Tech’s golden era in football was 50-plus years ago, a lot of hearts still warm to the memory of that age.
So I started to think about this, especially after talking to Darrell Crawford, who quarterbacks those SEC championship teams at Tech in ‘51 and ‘52. I spoke to him about Rudolph, and his pending funeral.
It is pretty obvious from what Crawford said (and others have said at various times) that much was different. That’s no shock. Gas was cheaper. Cars looked almost completely unlike they do today. Communism, not terrorism or religious fundamentalism, was the anchor around which most fear and loathing were wrapped.
So sure, times have changed. But just how much, and why?
Don’t have time to quantify how much other than to pass along some of Crawford’s thoughts.
He said, “Your classmates, the students, it seems like it was so much more loyal then. Those people kept up with you for years after you left Georgia Tech. They would bring things up [years later]. Us old football players sometimes forget things, but your spectators, students and friends remember in detail.
“I’ve had them come up so many times and tell me about a special play coach Dodd put in for me against Auburn. He called it the Kingsport play, the hidden ball play, and that was the only way we could score against Auburn. Their defense was so great.”
Kingsport, Tenn., was the hometown of Bobby Dodd and Crawford, by the way.
My theories on why the interest in Tech was so much greater is neither revolutionary or original. Obviously, there are so many, many more distractions in this day and age. Students, alumni and potential fans do not have the bombardment of mass media to wade through and distract them, to peel away their interest.
Plus, Tech won and won and won back in the day.
And that was a two-part equation. The Jackets were highly skilled, and by all evidence immensely cohesive.
I’ve opined before that chemistry is the most under-rated element of success. Crawford said nothing to change my mind.
“All of our team had just such a bond,” he said. “For a team to have what we had back then was highly unusual. We had great players, but everybody was on the same wavelength so to speak. When you have that kind of bond, respect, that’s when you have championships.
“Coach Dodd always told us, ‘Men you’re down here at Georgia Tech. We’re not like other schools. It’s unique. We’re going to win, but we’re going to be good students.’ He always used that word unique. Our players were unique to be able to bond together with their talent. Usually you have players that play for themselves.”
Players from the ‘51-‘52 teams are especially committed to one another to this day. Their numbers continue to dwindle, as there is no other way. But they gather regularly, even with the loss last year of former captain and uber-organizer George Morris.
That will continue for a time. I told Darrell I’d like to catch up with him and former teammates this fall, when they gather at an as yet undetermined date. Maybe Steve Hummer could write something about that and do it justice.
“It’s an unofficial board of officers with myself and Dick Inman and Harry Wright and Bucky Shamberger. We are the committee that kind of keeps the team going. George was obvious the primary mover and shaker,” Crawford said.”We miss George. It’s be a great big gold and white wreath [at Rudolph’s funeral], and it will be from the we call it a team, not teams (‘51 and ‘52).
“We still consider ourselves one group. It’s amazing how we still get together. We’re trying to arrange a get-together for this fall. I talked to George Maloof today. I just can’t tell you how unique and unusual it is.”
Unusual indeed, and powerfully reminiscent of a by-gone era, no?
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Were you a Tech fan in 1952?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Paging long-, long-time Tech fans …
Anybody out there remember “Little Jakie” Rudolph’s $125,000 tackle? The one the former Tech defensive back made on Alabama’s Bobby Marlow to preserve a 7-3 win in 1952, and send the Jackets to the Sugar Bowl.
Pretty big play not only in Tech annals, but in college football history. The Jackets beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl to win their third mythical national title, finish unbeaten for the second season in a row, and keep alive Bobby Dodd’s 31-game unbeaten streak.
As for the nickname … the Sugar Bowl at the time had a $125,000 payout per team. So, the fourth-down tackle earned Tech that payday.
I’m going to write more about Rudolph, who passed away Sunday in Memphis, for Wednesday’s paper.
I’d love to hear from a couple fans who remember it, or perhaps former classmates/teammates of Rudolph.
If you can help e-mail me at mwinkeljohn@ajc.com.
Thanks.
Matt Winkeljohn
P.S. By the way, on Tech’s athletic website now (ramblinwreck.cstv.com), you can vote for the seven greatest plays in the school’s football history. The aforementioned play is a candidate. Go to the football link.
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Tarrant’s accuser did allege intercourse took place
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
E-mails I have received and comments I have seen posted on other Web sites make it clear that my article posted Tuesday evening about the rape allegations against Georgia Tech football player Jerrard Tarrant left people with an incomplete idea of what the woman said happened that night. I thought the rape charge and her friends’ statements that she said, “I was raped,” made it clear that she alleged intercourse had taken place, and I omitted a specific description of that allegation. Here is a small part of that description:
“As [the forced intercourse occurred], I continuously asked him to please stop. He eventually did stop. He did not put on a condom. He asked me, ‘Why are you running from me?’ as I pushed my hips away from him. I tried to push him off of me but he was stronger than me.”
Tarrant denied to police that intercourse took place, and two of his teammates told police he told them there had been oral sex but no intercourse. There was no male DNA found in the rape kit and no semen found on the woman’s panties, according to two GBI reports. A doctor’s examination found vaginal bruising.
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