AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2009 > February > 10
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Football schedule forthcoming and notes from Gardner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Good morning, all
Don’t know if you read today’s story about Andrew Gardner, but a few things that I couldn’t fit in.
He hasn’t had much contact with any NFL teams. (That would have happened had he gone to an all-star game like the Senior Bowl or East-West Shrine Game). He retained Sportstars, Inc. to represent him. His agent is former Falcon Lester Archambeau.
He graduated in December with a management degree.
His take on missing the last four games of the season (including the bowl game): “I definitely wanted to be out there. It was hard not being able to play and just having to watch, but I was really happy for my teammates and really proud of them. I didn’t feel like I was apart from the team when we won those games. I really felt like I played a part in all of that during the year and throughout my career at Tech.”
On being a lightly-recruited player who became a two-time all-ACC first-teamer: “There’s definitely a level of athleticism and that type of thing that guys pretty much need to have to be top-level players, but really, it’s just a lot of hard work. You really have to want to be good and be willing to put in the extra work. A lot of small things people don’t pay attention to, but the mental aspect of the game and really good technique and that type of thing - there’s always ground to be made in those areas that other people might neglect. That type of stuff will put a guy to the next level.”
Tony Villani, who is training Gardner for the different pre-draft drills he’ll have to do - 40-yard dash, shuttle runs, vertical leap, broad jump and bench press - said that Gardner will do fine once he’s cleared medically. He said that he’s trained Branden Albert (first guard taken last year, at No. 14 to Kansas City) and Arron Sears (second guard taken in 2007, second round to Tampa Bay) “and athletically, he’s right up there with them.”
The ACC is expected to release the schedule for the 2009 season this week, possibly even today. Tech’s home games are Clemson, Georgia, Jacksonville State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
The games on the road are Duke, Florida State, Miami, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Virginia.
It’s one less home game than last year (Tech had three non-conference home games - Jacksonville State, Mississippi State and Gardner-Webb) but rather arguably a better set of games.
I’ll be interested to see, presuming Tech is given another Thursday night home game (it’s had one every year but one since 1999), who the Jackets will get. My guess would be either Virginia Tech or North Carolina.
Is there anything particular you are hoping to see in the schedule?
