Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said the team has officially started its scout work on Monday for next week’s season opener against Boston College in Ireland.
Johnson said the team spent a lot of Monday introducing what they expect to see from the Eagles’ offense, which presents the challenge of being led by new people in key positions. Scot Loeffler, formerly the play-caller at Virginia Tech, is the offensive coordinator. Patrick Towles, a graduate transfer who was formerly the starter at Kentucky, is the likely starter at quarterback.
As part of Georgia Tech’s preparations, Johnson said they watched a lot of Virginia Tech film. Johnson said they don’t typically watch film of individual players like Towles.
“It’s more about schemes and what they do,” Johnson said. “I’m sure that they will mix-and-match.”
The Eagles had one of the worst offenses in FBS last season with averages of 17.2 points and 275.6 yards per game. It returns seven starters. Towles passed for more than 5,000 yards at Kentucky.
The Eagles had one of the best defenses in FBS last season, allowing averages of 15.25 points and 254.3 yards per game. Jim Reid, formerly the linebackers coach at Iowa, was named defensive coordinator and will lead a group that returns eight starters, led by end Truman Gutapfel Jr.
Johnson said he didn’t think opening the season against an ACC team increased his team’s focus during the summer. Johnson said he thinks last year’s 3-9 record was the motivation.
“No one wants to go through that again,” he said. “That was a real reality check for them. They realized it can happen.”
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