DEL.ICIO.USBreakdown: Jacksonville St. at Georgia Tech
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, August 28, 2008
WHO IS JACKSONVILLE STATE?
Located in Jacksonville, Ala., about 105 miles west of Atlanta and some 15 miles north of Anniston, the Gamecocks are by led by former Arkansas coach Jack Crowe. JSU is favored to win the Ohio Valley Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).
JOHNNY CRAWFORD/jcrawford@ajc.com
The Paul Johnson era begins at Georgia Tech, tonight against Jacksonville State.
Jacksonville State Sports Information
Jacksonville State quarterback Ryan Perrilloux was last year’s SEC Championship Game MVP for LSU>
JSU was 6-5 last season, and Crowe’s record was 49-39 over his first eight season, with OVC championships in 2003 and ‘04. This game was scheduled when Chan Gailey, a friend of Crowe’s, was Tech’s coach.
The Yellow Jackets have never played JSU, which begins fall classes today.
WHAT IS GA. TECH’S BIGGEST ADVANTAGE?
The Gamecocks run a two-back offense, and protecting the quarterback in the passing game will be key when sophomore tailback Tremayne Coger (an Alabama transfer) is not carrying the ball.
Jax State will start three sophomores and two seniors on the offensive line, and they’ll have their hands full vs. the strength of Tech’s team — the defensive line.
Starting Tech tackles Vance Walker and Darryl Richard and ends Michael Johnson and Derrick Morgan will have plenty of reinforcements, too.
Senior reserve Elris Anyaibe can play inside or out, and ends Jason Peter and Robert Hall will play. Redshirt freshman Logan Walls and sophomore Ben Anderson will probably play at tackle.
WATCH OUT FOR NO. 11
The top two quarterbacks on Jacksonville State’s depth chart, LSU transfer Ryan Perrilloux and freshman Marques Ivory, have played well. And they both wear No. 11. And, they are both huge: Perrilloux is 6-3, 223 pounds, Ivory 6-1, 235.
Perrilloux won numerous national high school honors before going to LSU, where indiscretions short-circuited his career. He started for the Tigers in the SEC championship game in the Georgia Dome last December, and helped LSU beat Tennessee before the Tigers’ national championship (he did not play).
Ivory led Northside-Warner Robins to two consecutive Class AAAA state titles in Georgia, including a pair of wins in the Dome on the way to each championship.
He was promised while being recruited that he could stick with No. 11, and Perrilloux, who will start, also has worn No. 11 for several years. NCAA rules allow number duplication as long as the players are not in the game at the same time.
