AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 08
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Another bunch of Bulldogs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This will be a short blog. I’m hopping on a plane first thing in the morning to fly up towards West Point.
That’s right…I’ll probably be the only Georgia Tech fan in Michie Stadium on Saturday. Originally, there were supposed to be several thousand of us headed up there. But then Army backed out of the game and Dan Radakovich had to scrounge up Gardner Webb to fill the gap.
I’ll be there for a wedding that was planned the same weekend. My sis-in-law apparently finagled her way into getting married in the campus chapel during Homecoming weekend. (She has a knack for these sorts of things…) I have to give her alot of credit…the original plan was for the wedding to occur the same weekend as the GT vs Army game. It would have been an epic road trip with some site seeing on Friday, tailgating and football on Saturday, and the wedding on Sunday. Its still going to be a great trip and I’m still looking forward to seeing Army play there on their home field…its just that the icing on the cake would have been an actual GT game wrapped up in the middle of it all.
As far as the game here at Tech goes, I don’t think I’ll miss much. Gardner Webb will come in and take their lumps and collect their paycheck and then bow out.
We have a few interesting story lines that have popped up recently…
First, neither Josh Nesbitt nor Jaybo Shaw may play in this game. It might be the Calvin Booker show. If Nesbitt and Shaw are both dinged up, it only stands to reason that Paul Johnson will keep both of them safe and sound in preparation for Clemson next weekend. That means that Calvin Booker will get a chance to get the football for a majority of the snaps. Really…I think that’s great for Booker. He transferred from Auburn and then went through a coaching change that basically renders him ineffective in the base offense that we run. But through it all he has remained positive and a true team player. He doesn’t complain and just wants to get on the field in any capacity possible. Because of this, I expect the other guys on offense will be fired up and ready to play as hard as possible in support of Booker. It won’t matter than Gardner Webb is the opponent. The Jackets offense will be ready to play.
Secondly, we may finally see Marcus Wright get some snaps. The original plan was to redshirt him since he’s a bit small and has been learning how to be a better blocker. Unfortunately, depth at the a-back position may force Paul Johnson’s hand. Keep an eye on this kid when he’s on the field. He is small but he has blazing speed, home run capability, and was a Parade All American coming out of high school. I’d love to see Booker dump a screen or a pass in open space to Wright where he can make something happen. And we definitely need him to get plenty of live snaps and some experience if we are going to need him against Clemson and the upcoming heavyweights in the ACC.
I’ll be checking the scores on my Blackberry and keeping track of Tech and the rest of the games this weekend. I’m looking forward to a 5-1 start, especially considering we’re in the first half of the first season of a new coach and new offensive scheme.
Make no mistake though…after this weekend, the season begins in earnest and the easy wins are all behind us.
So lets hope we get through this weekend with a nice win and no injuries.
Go Jackets!
THWG!
Services »
