The preseason summary of Georgia Tech’s defensive backs was that they were talented but inexperienced. Through two games, the secondary has made mistakes, though none of exceeding cost, while offering evidence it will play up to expectations.
Said secondary coach Charles Kelly, “This is a special group.”
The quality that Kelly appreciates about his group, including cornerbacks Rod Sweeting and Louis Young and safeties Isaiah Johnson and Rashaad Reid, is their dedication to improvement.
Said Kelly, “They’re very serious about what they do.”
None of the starting four were regular starters last season, and Johnson and Young are sophomores. Against admittedly weaker competition, Tech has allowed a 61.1 completion rate (60.5 percent last year), which is boosted by the number of short passes that both Western Carolina and Middle Tennessee State threw.
Their 5.4 yards-per-attempt average (7.2 last year) likewise is deflated by the short routes, but also speaks to the Jackets’ ability to prevent big plays. In 44 completions, Tech has allowed four completions 20 yards or longer, with 27 the longest.
Said Kelly, “We’ve been in pretty good position.”
Young and Reid both said that the backs have used hand signals well before the snaps, which puts players on the same page and prevents blown coverages.
They’ve also meted out several punishing hits.
“Football’s a game of contact,” Reid said. “You’ve got to figure out who can hit and who can’t. Just dominate the opposition. That’s how we’re doing it.”
Middle Tennessee coach Rick Stockstill, whose team also played Tech last year, said that the play of the secondary stood out to him and was one of the biggest differences from the 2010 Yellow Jackets.
“I thought that they really disrupted the routes of the Middle Tennessee State receivers,” said former North Carolina coach John Bunting, who analyzed the game for ESPN. “They created lots of timing issues for the quarterback for Middle Tennessee. I see a dramatic improvement there from last year.”
The play hasn’t been completely clean. There have been missed tackles. Young noted mistakes in alignment. The biggest shortcoming thus far is missed turnover opportunities. The secondary dropped multiple potential interceptions against Western Carolina and also has missed chances to cause fumbles. Kelly said there have been four or five would-be turnovers that the secondary has let pass by.
“One of the things we’re stressing is getting the ball back,” Kelly said. “Be ball-disruptive, whether it be causing fumbles or getting interceptions.”
Among the more noteworthy aspects of their play is that defensive coordinator Al Groh isn’t calling safer coverages for them, Kelly said, evidence of the trust and expectations that he places on them. Groh was hopeful that preparing for the variety of offenses that Tech has played will prove beneficial for the young secondary.
“We’ve had the exposure to a lot of new things,” Groh said. Kansas “is going to bring a whole new different set of patterns that we have not been exposed to.”
Groh said Jayhawks quarterback Jordan Webb is much better than he was a year ago, when he completed 18 of 29 passes for 179 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in his first career start.
“We’ve got to continue to prepare ourselves for the level of competition, be better than the competition, and that’s just a process,” Young said.
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