Some of them are the last recruits brought in by former coach Chan Gailey. The rest are some of the first players signed by coach Paul Johnson.
The 11 Georgia Tech seniors who will be honored Saturday before Tech’s game with Georgia can look back with more than a little satisfaction. Including this season, Tech has gone 34-17, won the ACC outright for the first time since 1990, won the Coastal Division twice (sharing it once), beat every ACC team at least once and helped end the Yellow Jackets’ seven-game losing streak against the Bulldogs.
“They have a chance to be part of a pretty good stretch over their four years if we can find a way to win a couple more games,” Johnson said. “They’ll have accomplished a lot over their four years. They’ve been pretty special to Georgia Tech.”
With two more wins, the class will match the 36 wins achieved by the 2009 senior class. That group, which included offensive linemen Cord Howard, Brad Sellers and Dan Voss and was boosted by the class beneath it, won more games in a four-year period than any since the 1951-54 teams, which went 40-5-2, had two undefeated seasons and shared the 1952 national championship.
The 11 seniors are punter Chandler Anderson, A-backs Roddy Jones and Embry Peeples, B-back Preston Lyons, wide receiver Tyler Melton, defensive linemen Jason Peters and Logan Walls, cornerback Michael Peterson, kicker Ty Rawlings, safety Rashaad Reid and outside linebacker Steven Sylvester.
Three current or former walk-ons with eligibility remaining, but who won’t return — kicker Andy Elakman, linebacker Robert Hogan III and safety Stephen Mann — along with former defensive lineman Antonio Wilson, who has been medically inactive, also will be honored. All are scheduled to graduate.
Game-day presentations
Former Tech All-American Hal Miller, a co-captain of the 1952 championship team, and Georgia broadcasting legend Larry Munson, both of whom died this week, will be honored in a pregame ceremony led by Tech play-by-play voice Wes Durham. It will take place just before the senior-day recognition.
At halftime, Tech will honor several of its 14 graduates who went on to become NASA astronauts. As many as six are expected to attend the game.
Tech astronauts have accounted for more than 45 missions, orbited the Earth more than 5,200 times, traveled 180 million miles and commanded the International Space Station.
The presentation will take place before Tech and Georgia’s bands perform.
Ticket talk
Tech is asking fans to use caution if they try to purchase tickets for Saturday’s game on the street or through a secondary market, as stolen or counterfeit tickets may exist. The ticket office can guarantee the validity only of tickets purchased through the office or from an authorized Tech ticket representative.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the most expensive asking price for a ticket on ticket resale website Stubhub was $439. That does not include the $5,000 a very optimistic ticket holder was seeking for a lower-level ticket in the west stands. The least expensive ticket was $139.
Record breakers
Barring mishap, Jones will break the school record for most career starts with his 51st on Saturday, out of 51 played. He has missed one game, the opener of the 2009 season. He tied former linebacker Recardo Wimbush last week.
“Since Coach Johnson trusted me my freshman year and allowed me to start, I’ve gone out and worked hard every week,” Jones told reporters Tuesday.
Reid will play his 52nd game, tying him for second all-time in school history with former cornerback Mario Butler and former defensive tackle Darryl Richard. Kicker Scott Blair holds the record with 53 games. Reid has not missed a game in his career.
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