Among the questions Georgia Tech fans least want to know from the Yellow Jackets’ spring game Friday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium: Can the gold team beat the white team for the second year in a row?
There will be more interest in other matters as Tech will play its spring game on a Friday evening for the third year in a row. Like, is it going to rain again?
Unseasonably cool temperatures and the threat of rain kept fans away last year, and the Weather Channel reported a 70 percent chance of rain for Friday. Beyond that, there will be plenty of young players and dimensions of the 2014 Jackets to check up on as they conclude spring practice. (If it does rain, fans can watch the game online on ESPN3.)
No-huddle: Last Saturday, in the first scrimmage of the spring opened to the public, the Jackets ran back-to-back possessions with their no-huddle offense, which they have worked on this spring. While the trend in football has moved toward faster tempo and more possessions, Tech and coach Paul Johnson have resisted, at least until now.
“I feel like it’s going to be beneficial for the offense because if the defense isn’t going to be able to set up, and we’re just able to keep shoving it down their throat and keep getting big yards, I think it’ll be good,” A-back Synjyn Days said. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re conditioned enough for it.”
Quarterback competition: No. 1 quarterback Justin Thomas has been hot and cold this spring and wasn't at his best in the Jackets' two most recent scrimmages. He particularly had trouble holding onto the ball Saturday. Meanwhile, backup Tim Byerly has been more effective and done a better job with ball-handling and moving the ball. On Saturday, he also showed a knack for gaining tough yards up the middle. After Saturday's scrimmage, Johnson acknowledged that the gap between the two players had tightened.
Ball security and management of the offense will bear watching Friday night. Regarding the latter, Byerly said Saturday that his goal for the spring has been “really understanding the offense kind of the way coach Johnson sees it.”
On the rise: Friday night will provide an opportunity for players who have stood out to finish the spring on a high note. Linebackers Tyler Marcordes and Quayshawn Nealy are two. Nealy is a three-year starter who has been a constant presence in the backfield, while Marcordes is getting his first experience with the first string and showing a greater comfort level.
Another is early-enrollee defensive end KeShun Freeman.
“He stood out to me from the first time we played,” Johnson said, “just motor and feet and that kind of thing.”
In the estimation of safety Jamal Golden: “He’s just a baller, just making plays when the ball’s around him.”
B-back tandem: At B-back, Zach Laskey has performed well this spring and stepped into the void left by three-year starter David Sims. Last season, the two combined for 1,369 yards and 18 touchdowns on 245 carries.
Backup Travis Custis, who enrolled in January, has been productive with his carries, showing a power-and-speed combination ideal for the position.
“He’s killing us still,” nose tackle Adam Gotsis said of Custis. “Every scrimmage, it’s three or four guys to take him down every play.”
Packing a punch: Defensive coordinator Ted Roof has been encouraged by a lot that his unit has done this spring, including its physical style and its ability to separate ball from ball carrier. Hitters such as Gotsis, defensive end Jabari Hunt-Days, Nealy and safeties Isaiah Johnson and Golden have made their presence felt.
Part of it has to do with the greater familiarity enabling defenders to play faster. Part of it, too, is Roof’s enthusiastic style.
“I think we’re just a lot more energetic,” Marcordes said. “We play with a lot more emotion.”
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