TECH FOOTBALL REPORT: Claytor, Barrick fill line roles

Nick Claytor and Austin Barrick don’t mind saying it now. When they stepped in to replace senior offensive tackles, they felt pressure.

Claytor, a redshirt freshman, first replaced David Brown at right tackle after his spinal injury and then all-ACC pick Andrew Gardner on the left when he underwent shoulder surgery.

Said Claytor, “You can’t make mistakes when you’re in the [first-string] huddle. There was a lot of pressure.”

Said Barrick, a redshirt sophomore who took the right tackle spot in the North Carolina game, “I mainly didn’t want to let my team down.”

Neither has. After the Jackets stumbled in the North Carolina game —- the first in which Claytor and Barrick started together —- Tech played two of its best offensive games of the season, against Miami and Georgia.

“It’s not to the level of Coach [Paul] Johnson’s expectations, my expectations, but I certainly think the arrows are up,” co-offensive line coach Todd Spencer said of the two. “They’ve done a real good job of stepping into a role.”

They’ll have no small challenge against LSU, which will start three or possibly four seniors on the defensive line against Tech’s offensive line of two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen. Barrick said it might be the best defense Tech has played this season.

Said Barrick, “They look really, really good.”

Barrick, who was recruited to play tight end and is actually listed as a wide receiver in the media guide, is happy to have found a position where he can contribute. Johnson said that Barrick, 6 feet 3 and 270 pounds, has the body type similar to what he looks for in linemen, shorter but quicker than the typical lineman for the pro-style offense that Tech played under Chan Gailey.

When he tried playing A-back, Barrick said, “I just remember feeling like a bull in a china shop.” Moved to tackle, “I can do the things that [Johnson] asks me to do,” he said.

Claytor, who has started the past four games, is still relishing his role in Tech’s defeat of Georgia.

“Since high school, people have been telling me that I made a mistake [in picking Tech]. Even some of my high school coaches kind of disrespected me, said that I didn’t want to win, that’s why I went to Georgia Tech.”

Ticket sources dry

The ticket department has tapped out its sources for the Chick-fil-A Bowl. After the school sold out its original allotment of 17,500 tickets and there still was demand, it got its hands on about 2,000 more tickets. It received about 1,800 from the bowl and another 200 from other sources, said associate athletics director Wayne Hogan.

No ball needed

LSU coach Les Miles told reporters in Baton Rouge that part of the Tigers’ preparation for Georgia Tech’s option-based spread offense is to have the scout team run plays without the ball. Doing so, he said, helps defensive players focus on their assignments, not the ball, on option plays.