The A-back rotation has tightened up for Georgia Tech. Coach Paul Johnson said that the offense has been rolling “five or six” A-backs during practice, adding that the game rotation might be smaller.
A-backs Broderick Snoddy, Isiah Willis and Qua Searcy are at the top of the depth chart. Following the team’s Monday practice, Johnson said that Snoddy and Willis would probably be the starters at this point. The No. 16 Yellow Jackets open the season Sept. 3 against Alcorn State at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Others competing are redshirt freshmen Clinton Lynch and Matthew Jordan, who recently moved over from quarterback, and first-year freshmen TaQuon Marshall and Mikell Lands-Davis, who switched positions last week from B-back.
Said Johnson of Marshall on Monday, “He’s doing good. He’s got a chance to play.”
He gave the same “he’s got a chance to play” evaluation of Lands-Davis.
Blocking ability and knowledge of the scheme figure to be decisive factors in determining playing time.
“The guys that we have in this group at A-back, they can all run the ball, they can all run routes, they can all catch the ball,” A-backs coach Lamar Owens said. “Our big point of emphasis right now would be to continue to understand our role within the offense and continue to be physical on the perimeter. If we can get those two things down, we’ll see some good things this season.”
Willis, a walk-on who has been put on scholarship for the academic year, said that freshmen are showing more understanding of the offense through their ability to recognize and communicate play calls made on the line of scrimmage.
“I think everybody’s learning (to block),” he said. “We’ve just got to learn when to cut, when not to cut. I feel like Mikell’s a bigger guy, so he’s been looking good. TaQuon, he can get guys on the ground. … I feel like we’re all coming together.”
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