After scrimmage, Paul Johnson not happy with offensive line

Georgia Tech plowed through its first scrimmage of the preseason Saturday morning. The 109-play session at Bobby Dodd Stadium, closed to the public, appeared to mostly reveal that the Yellow Jackets are in full need of their remaining practices before the season opener Sept. 3 against Alcorn State.

“Their idea of competition and mine is probably not the same right now,” coach Paul Johnson said Saturday.

Johnson was particularly irked by the offensive line, which returns four of five starters from the unit that helped the offense set school records for rushing yards, rushing yards per game and yards per carry. In the scrimmage, Johnson said, the line had five penalties in its first six possessions.

“That needs to be a strength of our team,” Johnson said. “Those guys have played and they need to play like it. They need to practice like it. We need to see more leadership out of that group than we’re getting right now.”

The offense turned the ball over only once, a remarkable accomplishment given the number of inexperienced skill-position players on offense.

“That’s a positive,” Johnson said. “The defense had some positives.”