Into each life rain must fall, and in Georgia Tech’s case, a lot of it falls when the Yellow Jackets play their spring game.
On Friday night, Bobby Dodd Stadium was the stage for a familiar scene — an inclement night for the annual scrimmage to end spring practice. The White defeated the Gold 21-0, with the first-team offense and second-team defense proving the most effective of the night.
A new face at B-back
Marcus Allen entered the spring as something of an afterthought, a backup at wide receiver, the third position of his career after starting at B-back and then moving to linebacker. He will leave it as the No. 1 B-back. B-back C.J. Leggett, who was the presumptive starter going into the spring as a redshirt freshman, is out for the season after tearing his ACL in practice Wednesday. The availability next season of backup Quaide Weimerskirch, an early-enrollee freshman, is uncertain after a foot injury during spring practice that required surgery.
Allen showed well Friday night, running for tough yards up the middle, breaking tackles and catching passes out of the backfield. Tech has interest in a possible graduate transfer, Stanford fullback Patrick Skov, who would play B-back. Regardless, Allen, who has played minimally in his first two seasons, looks like the guy at the marquee running-back spot in the Tech offense.
Byerly dependable again
So long as quarterback Justin Thomas remains healthy, it’s unlikely that backup quarterback Tim Byerly will see an overwhelming number of snaps next season in competitive situations. That said, he showed again Friday night what valuable insurance he provides the Jackets.
Playing most of the game with the first-string offense after Thomas played two possessions, Byerly led two touchdown drives and picked up a number of third downs with his arm and legs. He hit A-back Isiah Willis on a third-and-5 and later scrambled for a first down on another third-and-5. He threw a number of deft touch passes, including an 11-yarder to wide receiver Micheal Summers for the final touchdown of the game.
He plays with the poise of someone who knows how to run the offense and with a playmaking knack. The Jackets could scarcely ask for better from their No. 2 quarterback.
Rainy night in Georgia
For the third consecutive year, inclement weather soured the spring game. It was not quite the torrential downpour of 2014, but enough to keep the majority of fans huddled under the upper-deck overhang.
It is a peculiar jinx that Tech has found itself under. The concept of moving the game to Friday, a practice first put into place in 2012, has merit. It was begun as an appeal to Tech students who had voiced their preference for night games. The athletic department has further added elements like inflatables, pregame concerts and postgame fireworks to appeal to a wide range of fans.
However, the weather has made it difficult to determine the overall success of the switch.
Standouts on defense
Defensive tackle Jabari Hunt-Days was hard to ignore at times Friday, breaking into the backfield and disrupting the offense. On one particular play, he practically tossed aside guard Freddie Burden to put pressure on Byerly.
Burden himself, though, was often Hunt-Days’ equal, gaining movement on him on run plays and standing him up on pass plays.
Other defensive players who stood out with plays were safety Shaun Kagawa, who had an interception, safety Jalen Johnson, who made a couple of big hits, and defensive end Kenderius Whitehead.
“I thought Kenderius did some good things,” coach Paul Johnson said.
To the finish line
It has been a vexing spring for Tech, particularly with the injuries to Leggett and Weimerskirch. The top two centers, Burden and Andrew Marshall, either couldn’t play the position because of a thumb injury (Burden) or were held out for the entirety (Marshall).
A number of linebackers and offensive linemen also were dinged at various times. It made the spring game something of a piecemeal product, with some players competing for both teams.
The one good thing for Tech on Friday night?
The team escaped the night with no further injuries.
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