AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 20
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Jackets show their stripes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How do you follow a stinker of a performance against your in-state rival with a gem of an effort against #1 UNC and a gut check ACC victory against Virginia Tech?
Don’t get me wrong, we GT fans are used to ups and downs from watching the football team the last several seasons. We’re just more accustomed to having a big win followed by a head-scratching loss.
This was almost the opposite, which bodes well for the team since it signifies that coach Hewitt has not lost the players. They’re still playing hard. The game against UNC and VT were a glimpse of what this GT team is capable of.
The Hokies have been a thorn in our side for a few seasons now. We needed to get an ACC win and get on the right track. We jumped up early and led bigtime at the half before letting the Hokies tie things up midway through the second period.
Its a testament to the fortitude of this team that they didn’t crumble when their opponent came back and essentially reset the score on them. Instead of sulking and losing, they were able to bear down and recover, winning solidly behind a career effort by Matt Causey.
Football recruiting
When I saw TJ Barnes had committed, I had to wonder if Paul Johnson had ever had a player that big on either of his Georgia Southern or Navy teams. Well … certainly not Navy since they have size restrictions for sailors and etc. TJ is 6-7 and 320 pounds and will play defensive tackle. He’s only 17 right now, which means he may not be done growing! I would imagine that he’ll get to campus and will redshirt this coming season while he matures and gets into shape. He’ll make a mountain of a defensive tackle at about 6-7 and about 310 pounds of muscle by his R-FR season. This kid is huge!
When Marcus Wright shifted his commitment from Tulsa to Georgia Tech a lot of people scratched their heads and asked, “Tulsa? We’re competing with them now?”
But then we saw his resume and accomplishments and felt much, much better. Marcus was the Texas State 5-A Offensive Player of the Year. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He amassed 3374 rushing yards as a senior to go along with 45 touchdowns … which ranked historically as the 7th best single season of rushing in Texas state history. Those numbers put him in very select company and are largely a result of his world class speed. He was clocked at 4.36 as a sophomore during a Nike combine. This kid is a serious speedster and a real threat to hit homeruns in Paul Johnson’s offense. We’re talking CJ Spiller / Noel Devine speed here folks. Serious speed …
It seems he committed very early to Tulsa and was overlooked by alot of programs because of his size. (He’s 5-7, 170 lbs) A few BCS level schools tried to get in touch with him but his parents pretty much shut them all out until Tech came calling. The combination of Johnson’s triple option offense and family connections back in Georgia apparently got us in the door with Marcus … and now he’s ours.
These two latests recruits look to be impact players at some point in the near future. You can’t coach defensive tackle size and blazing home-run speed … you have to recruit it.
