Johnson unsatisfied with Jackets' scrimmage

By RAY GLIER

For the AJC

Nineteen days into the practices, through the hottest part of camp, there is some drag to the Georgia Tech football team. Coach Paul Johnson almost sounded as if he expected the uneven performance that came with Friday’s scrimmage.

“We need to get off our feet, we’re leg-weary, we’re dead a little bit,” Johnson said. “There were some guys who already took the weekend off before we got out there. They know who they are.”

When asked about his offensive line, Johnson didn’t dance.

“They didn’t play worth a [crap] today,” he said.

Johnson wasn’t all sour, two weeks and a day before the first game of his second season at Tech.

“There was some good and some bad. The first defense played light years better than last week,” Johnson said.

Individually, Johnson said backup quarterback Tevin Washington shined. He has moved up the depth chart with the injury to Jaybo Shaw.

Johnson also said Preston Lyons, a B-back who played at Marist and transferred from Colgate, was impressive.

“Preston Lyons really played well,” Johnson said. “Preston’s going to play.”

Claytor battling

By now, sophomore Nick Claytor should be entrenched on the Georgia Tech offensive line. But as they say, things happen.

Claytor is battling senior Brad Sellers for a starting tackle spot. Regarded by some as the best offensive lineman in Georgia his senior season at Gainesville High School, Claytor underwent back surgery and missed spring ball, only to be hit with a groin injury this summer camp.

“It’s tough to catch another injury like that after coming back,” Claytor said. “Playing through what I played through last year, it is going to take a lot more than that to keep me out.”

When asked about the competition with Sellers, Claytor said, “It’s like an even thing, but Brad’s been in there because he did the spring and stuff, and I missed the spring.”

A week ago, Claytor sat out of a practice, then missed a scrimmage, and Johnson said it was giving Sellers a chance to beat Claytor out of a starting position. This week, Johnson sounded a little more conciliatory.

“He’s trying to push through it,” the Tech coach said. “He’s practicing. He’s struggling, but he’s pushing through it. He’s trying to put himself into shape.”

Maine man

Run down the list of hometowns on the Georgia Tech roster and you see the usual states, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, etc. Then comes the abbreviation that looks like a misprint.

Me.

It stands for Maine.

Jordan Conant, 6-foot, 205, from Winthrop, Maine, started classes Monday, had a tryout at 6 a.m. Wednesday for walk-ons, and grabbed a walk-on spot on the team. He is the seventh quarterback on the roster, but acted like he had won a starting job.

“I’m pumped, I’m absolutely pumped,” said Conant, who will major in electrical engineering and wear No. 12. “It’s an honor.”

Conant does not sound too out of place. His accent is noticeable, but not off the charts. What’s unusual is that a scan of Tech rosters since 1991 does not show a player from Maine, according to Tech spokesman Dean Buchan.

“It is very rare to see a player from Maine on a major college football roster, so this is quite an accomplishment,” said the Chicago-based recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. “A lot of times they just come out of prep school, and are not a pure high school player. I might see one or two of the 1,500 kids I evaluate in person every year get on a Division I team.”