The play of Georgia Tech safety A.J. Gray and linebacker Brant Mitchell, both first-year freshmen, has caused coaches to try to find ways to get them more work both in practice and in games.
Gray made an impact in Saturday’s to Duke with an interception and a critical tackle on a third-down run by Duke quarterback Thomas Sirk to force a punt. Mitchell, who was moved up to the first string with linebackers P.J. Davis and Tyler Marcordes in the team’s 4-3 defense, had three tackles.
“Whether it’s instincts, whether it’s anticipation, whether it’s a combination of the two, whether it’s football IQ, it’s kind of all that,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said of Gray. “He’s got that.”
Roof has been giving Gray more practice repetitions to get him more prepared to play, including Saturday’s ACC game against North Carolina. He said that Gray will probably play with safeties Jamal Golden and Demond Smith at some point, likely meaning Smith moving to nickel, where he played last season.
Said Roof of Mitchell, “He’s still got a bunch of things to work on, but he did some really positive things (against Duke).”
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