Georgia Tech returns four of its five starters in the secondary, but the group is hardly static this spring. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof has used spring practice to rotate various defensive backs in different positions.
“We’re going to look at all spots,” Roof said Saturday, following Tech’s eighth spring-practice session. “Our job as coaches is to put the best combination of players out there, whether they’re freshmen, seniors, whatever they are.”
Starting cornerbacks D.J. White and Chris Milton and free safety Jamal Golden remain in the same spots. However, Demond Smith, last year’s nickel back, has moved to strong safety, where he is a better fit. Lynn Griffin, a cornerback last season, is splitting time at nickel back and cornerback. Lawrence Austin, a backup corner as a freshman last fall, has taken snaps at strong safety.
“Lynn’s one of the best athletes on the team, so we definitely want to find a way to get him out on the field as well,” defensive backs coach Joe Speed said.
Roof said that in Saturday’s practice, both Lance and Lawrence Austin were among those taking turns at safety. Shaun Kagawa, Jalen Johnson and John Marvin are also in the mix at safety. Kagawa, who mostly played special teams last season as a freshman, earned praise from Speed and coach Paul Johnson Saturday.
“There’s good competition going on for some of those jobs right now,” Roof said.
Another reason to mix players is to strengthen the on-field communication between players. Roof said that he doesn’t want players who have a lot of experience together to become too comfortable using non-verbal communication. Putting younger players on the field with older players and in different positions forces verbal communication of play calls or pre-snap checks.
“We tried to communicate out there, but we had a couple of busts in terms of communication that we need to make sure we’re 100 percent on, or we can give up some big plays like we did (Saturday),” Speed said.
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