Tech beat up, but still going

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said he and his coaches spent part of Tuesday morning trying to piece together two healthy offensive lines for practice later that day.

After nine consecutive weeks of games, and a 10th this weekend in a 3:30 p.m. matchup Wake Forest (4-5, 2-3), Johnson said his team is beat up.

No. 10 Tech (8-1, 5-1) has lost three players who started the opener to season-ending injuries: defensive end Robert Hall (knee), wide receiver Kevin Cone (ankle) and safety Cooper Taylor (heart condition). A-back Roddy Jones, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, safety Morgan Burnett and linebacker Sedric Griffin have played with injured wrists or hands. B-back Jonathan Dwyer played several games with a shoulder injury he sustained against Miami. Safety Dominique Reese (shoulder) and cornerback Jerrard Tarrant (back) had to leave Saturday's win against Vanderbilt with nagging injuries. Rashaad Reid and Mario Edwards stepped in at those positions.

There have been other injuries or illnesses, as well. Tech won't get a bye for another two weeks, but Johnson said they can't use injuries as an excuse.

"Everybody has guys banged up," Johnson said. "Wake Forest's quarterback is banged up. Lot of that's just luck, being able to go through the season without guys getting banged up."

To try to keep players healthy, Johnson has shaved a few periods off practices.

Though no players are currently listed on the injury report as questionable or doubtful, Johnson said they won't know until later this week if any of the linemen will miss Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game. He says he doesn't expect a negative effect if any of them have to sit out.

"We talk all the time ‘Do your job that's all you've got to do,' " Johnson said. "‘Take care of what you're responsible for. If you'll do that, usually you'll have success.' If somebody isn't taking care of their responsibility, we'll put someone else in there."

Co-offensive line coach Todd Spencer said the offensive linemen are taught to know each other's responsibilities, techniques and nuances, so that they can step into another position if needed.

Supersize that?

There's one color combination that Johnson won't allow his players to wear this weekend: gold pants and gold jerseys.

"Looks like a giant French fry," Johnson joked.

The Jackets have worn white jerseys for every home game since Johnson was hired. NCAA rules say that the visiting team is supposed to wear white, unless the visitors grant the home team permission to do so. Tech asked, but the Demon Deacons said no, as they have traditionally done. So Tech must choose between its old gold tops and the blue ones.

Johnson said he couldn't care less which color the players choose, he just wants to win the game.

He said they have worn white since he was hired because when he watched Tech they always wore white. He thought he would continue that tradition when he was hired.

Plus, he said making that simple choice would keep him from having to answer phone calls and e-mails about the jersey colors.

Two of the players, Anthony Allen and Morgan Burnett, said they don't care either. Allen joked that he would wear just a T-shirt if doing so guaranteed a win.

Numbers to chew on

*During Tech's six-game win streak, quarterback Josh Nesbitt has rushed for an average of 91.7 yards per game, scored 12 touchdowns and is completing 54 percent of his passes.

* The Jackets are off to their best start since going 8-0-1 during the 1990 national championship season.

* If Tech defeats Wake Forest, it will be its first seven-game winning streak since 2000.