AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January > 04
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Great Season Ends on a Sour Note…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I hated how things ended at the Peach Bowl but that doesn’t erase the fact that this team far exceeded all expectations and rang up wins over Clemson, Miami, Florida State, and Georgia en route to a spectacular 9-4 record in Paul Johnson’s first year on the Flats.
I started the season holding out hope for a winning record and a bowl bid, any bowl bid.
We stumbled a few times because of youth, injuries, and a new system on both sides of the ball…that should have been expected. And it only really hurt and disappointed me AFTER my expectations had been raised by early success and big wins over rival programs.
The really exciting part is looking forward to 2009. The entire offense comes back with a ton of experience and we’ll be adding some recruits and at least one transfer player who are ready to contribute. Defensively we’re losing some great defensive linemen but the guys behind them played a huge number of snaps this season and will be ready. And the defensive secondary will return completely intact and with a ton of experience under their belts.
The future is most certainly bright. And if the guys I spoke to before the game are correct, there is real potential for some early commitments for the next recruiting class. Paul Johnson and his staff have made an impression and we’re going to be a recruiting power here in the state of Georgia. The days of UGA picking and choosing their recruits with little or no thought about Tech are coming to an end.
We talked a good bit about basketball during the Peach Bowl tailgate as well. Most of the comments and opinions aren’t suited for a family oriented blog here on the AJC. I’ll just say that the general concensus is that Georgia Tech has made the transition from basketball school to football school. I talked to more than one season ticket holder, who like myself, has simply lost interest in the basketball program and couldn’t even tell you when the next game is. Its hard to believe that we are just a little over 4 years removed from playing for the national title…
The football and basketball programs are good examples of how quickly the fickle fortunes of sports can change…who would have thought that the football team might win more games on the season than the basketball team?
Coach Hewitt has a great class coming in next year and is still the odds on favorite for the #1 basketball recruit in the country (Derrick Favors) but he’s going to be under extreme pressure to turn his recruiting prowess into wins…something we have lacked sorely since the 2004 run.
Go Jackets!
THWG!
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