Georgia Tech is nearing the end of its camp portion of the preseason. The Yellow Jackets will break camp with a scrimmage Saturday and then begin preparing for the season opener against Boston College. Classes begin Monday.
Game planning for Boston College will require scout teams, which typically is when decisions are made about which freshmen are likely to play that season and which are redshirt candidates. Judging from comments made by coach Paul Johnson, six freshmen appear likely to play this season — offensive linemen Parker Braun, Kenny Cooper and Jahaziel Lee, defensive tackle Brandon Adams, wide receiver Jalen Camp and B-back Dedrick Mills. Johnson also named wide receiver Jair Hawkins-Anderson as a possibility.
The offensive linemen playing in their first season is unusual. In Johnson’s first eight seasons, only three offensive linemen have played as freshmen — Shaquille Mason, Andrew Marshall and Will Bryan. Further, Lee played defensive line in high school and Cooper played multiple positions.
“Playing football’s football,” Johnson said. “If you were a pretty good player, you can play a couple positions, really.”
Camp has impressed Johnson with his playmaking. Mills, an early enrollee, has broken tackles and hit long runs as a backup to Marcus Marshall.
Said Johnson of Adams, “We’ll see. A lot of it will depend on the rest of the week, that kind of thing, but he’s got a chance to play.”
The decisions are hardly ironclad. Last year, for instance, injuries compelled Johnson to remove the redshirts from A-back (now wide receiver) Mikell Lands-Davis and defensive tackle Kyle Cerge-Henderson in the fifth game of the season. Further, Tech can dress however many players it would like for the first five games of the season, so no decisions need to be immediately made on which players would make the travel squad, limited to 72 players by the ACC.
Tech will be at home for games 2-5 and received a waiver on the travel-squad rule from the ACC for the season opener against Boston College in Dublin. The sixth game is a road contest at Pittsburgh on Oct. 8.
Tech played 10 freshmen last season, tying for the most for any freshman class in Johnson’s tenure.
About the Author
