Jackets arrive for TaxSlayer Bowl, all players eligible

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take the field at the start of their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Bobby Dodd Stadium Saturday, November 19, 2016. SPECIAL/Daniel Varnado

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take the field at the start of their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Bobby Dodd Stadium Saturday, November 19, 2016. SPECIAL/Daniel Varnado

All players were accounted for and eligible to play when Georgia Tech arrived in north Florida Tuesday afternoon for the TaxSlayer Bowl. The team received a police escort from Jacksonville International Airport to its beachside resort on fog-shrouded Amelia Island, the Yellow Jackets’ headquarters until the matchup at Jacksonville’s EverBank Field on Saturday.

“Good trip, and we got a good workout in this morning before we left, and excited to be here,” coach Paul Johnson said.

Favorable weather is expected this week. Daily highs from the high 50’s to the high 70’s are expected between Wednesday and Saturday, with some precipitation possible. Tech will practice twice at Fernandina Beach High while also making trips to a TopGolf location and Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville. The team was feted with a seafood banquet Tuesday night.

It’s a return home for several Tech players from north Florida and southeast Georgia, including B-back Marcus Allen, from nearby Hilliard.

“It feels great,” said Allen, who will be playing the final game of his career. “I don’t know, I feel like the air’s just a little bit better being back home. It’s just really exciting being able to play in front of my friends and family.”