Georgia Tech’s spring game was to take place Friday night, and, in a surprise to no one, coach Geoff Collins had plans to make it more than a routine scrimmage to end spring practice.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Collins told Tech sideline reporter Wiley Ballard in February in an interview for the athletic department’s podcast. “Everyone’s talking about how exciting the XFL is and the access it’s giving. Wait till you see the spring game. It’s going to be a blast.”
Before the coronavirus pandemic canceled sporting events nationwide, the big plan was for Collins and possibly players to wear microphones during the ACC Network broadcast and to be available for live in-game interviews. It would have been, at the least, an unusual feature to liven up the spring game and yet another step in Collins’ efforts to market the team to the Yellow Jackets’ fan base and recruits.
Whether it’s doing push-ups in the middle of the Georgia game as a reward for his team recovering an onside kick, having managers wave “Money Down” signs on third downs or letting his team wear a different helmet/jersey/pants combination for almost every game, Collins has missed few opportunities to draw notice to his team and appeal to fans and recruits.
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For those attending the game, Tech was to debut its LED stadium lights, which were installed after the end of the 2019 season. Different from standard lights, the new lights can change color, one of the newer trends witnessed in college football, notably at Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium and Georgia’s Sanford Stadium.
Jackets fans undoubtedly would have been treated to some sort of light spectacle, perhaps synched to music.
The lights were to be debuted Thursday night as part of the nationwide “Light it Blue” initiative to honor essential workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
There also were activities for fans that were in the works but never finalized. A year ago, in his first spring game at Tech, Collins had the same plan to give fans a lively experience.
He gave a fan the chance to call a play during the scrimmage. He told players they could celebrate after a play without fear of drawing an excessive-celebration penalty, leading to multiple offensive linemen spiking the ball after touchdowns. The offense went for it on every fourth down and for two points after every touchdown.
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“Obviously, when we’re in big-time ACC games, we’re going to be composed, but just the having-fun element, I wanted our fan base to feel the energy, the excitement that these young men do every single day,” Collins said after the spring game.
To help generate more yards and points, he limited the defense’s play-call options. Perhaps the idea that would have roused fans the most didn’t quite work. He had Tech legend Joe Hamilton sneak into the action – much easier in a spring game when coaches are on the field behind the line of scrimmage – to catch a pass from quarterback James Graham. Hamilton was to throw deep for another Jackets legend, Calvin Johnson, but Tech defenders spoiled it by rallying to the ball and preventing a pass.
The scrimmage drew 21,194, a spring-game record. Hundreds were recruits, and Collins planned to bring even more high-school football players to this year’s spring game.
With no spring game, Tech will replay last year’s spring game on the football team’s Facebook page at 7:30 p.m. Friday, the same time that the kickoff would have been.
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