The Georgia Tech offense gained traction in the Yellow Jackets’ Saturday morning scrimmage, driving 70 yards for touchdowns on each of its first three possessions before the defense rallied to close out the session at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The scrimmage lasted about 100 plays, the typical length.
The offense struggled in the first scrimmage last Saturday and in other 11-on-11 periods during camp practices.
“That’s a change from the usual scrimmages and it felt good,” offensive tackle Errin Joe said. “We just want to build upon that.”
Quarterback Justin Thomas was in for only the first and third possessions and led the offense to touchdowns on both. One finished with a scoring pass to wide receiver Ricky Jeune and the other with a 15-yard run by B-back Patrick Skov. Backup quarterback Tim Byerly scored on a sneak on the other drive.
“The first-team offense was pretty good,” coach Paul Johnson said. “And then as the scrimmage wore on, the defense got a little better. When you play yourself, it’s hard to gauge.”
There were two turnovers, one a fumble recovered by cornerback Step Durham and the other an interception by safety Jamal Golden.
“As a defense, I just feel like we’re so much further ahead than we were last preseason,” Golden said. “The way we’re running to the ball now, getting hats to the ball, is like I’ve never seen it before since I’ve been here at Tech.”
Defensive tackle Adam Gotsis said that after “pretty much dominating (the offense) a lot throughout camp,” the defense was rattled by the three touchdowns.
“It was kind of on us to see how we were going to rebound,” he said. “We ended up coming back, getting a couple turnovers, getting a few three-and-outs. It was pretty good just to see how the guys responded to that.”
Tech opens its season at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3 against Alcorn State at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Jackets closed their preseason camp Saturday and begin the fall semester Monday.
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