Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson, guard Will Jackson and defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu will go under the media microscope at the ACC media-days event that begins Sunday in Greensboro, N.C., an annual two-day gathering that signals the end of summer workouts and that preseason camp is near.
Jackson, Attaochu and players from each of the ACC’s schools will meet with print, radio and TV media Sunday, followed by Johnson and the conference’s head coaches Monday. About 410 media members have been credentialed.
Among likely topics of Yellow Jackets conversation — the changes in Tech’s defense with the hire of defensive coordinator Ted Roof, first-year starting quarterback Vad Lee and, as always, Johnson’s spread-option offense.
Conference-wide, the annual discussion of what it will take for ACC teams to hold their own against teams from other BCS conferences will get play, as will the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse and recent comments from South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney that Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd is scared of him.
The preseason favorite to win the ACC almost certainly will be either Clemson or Florida State. The Seminoles have been picked 16 times since joining the league in 1992, ultimately winning or sharing the title 13 of those seasons, including 2012. Clemson has been picked once since 1992, in 2008. That year, coach Tommy Bowden was fired midway through the season, leading to Dabo Swinney becoming the interim and then full-time head coach.
Newcomer impresses: DeAndre Smelter, who joined the football team as a wide receiver after playing baseball at Tech for three years, has caught Lee's notice. Smelter, who was a hotly recruited football player in high school, has worked with Lee and other teammates in weekly seven-on-seven passing sessions and Lee said that he felt that Smelter is "going to do big things."
“He looked pretty good,” Lee said. “If that was rusty, then I’m looking forward to seeing what else he’s got.”
Lee also gave praise to A-back Dennis Andrews, wide receiver Darren Waller and B-back Broderick Snoddy for their work in the seven-on-seven workouts.
“Broderick, he just runs past everybody,” Lee said of Snoddy, who ran for the indoor track team and lowered the school record in the 60-meter dash three times in the winter. “He’s like our special guy. We put him in, and we know it’s going to be a touchdown if he catches the ball.”
Coming back: Safety Isaiah Johnson, returning from a knee injury suffered during bowl practice in December, said he's "still in the process (of rehabilitation), but so far it's good."
Johnson missed the Jackets’ Sun Bowl victory over USC and sat out of spring practice, as well. He told ESPN that he’ll have to talk with doctors to see if he can be on the field for the start of preseason camp Aug. 1.
Johnson, going into his third season as a starter, will compete at the safety spots with Chris Milton, Fred Holton, Lynn Griffin, Jamal Golden and Demond Smith.
Bulking up: Defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu said that his power-clean lift — in which the lifter pulls the barbell from the floor to the shoulders, under the chin — improved from 260 pounds in the spring to 310 this summer.
“That (improvement) is across the board with everybody, so we’ll see how it goes,” Attaochu said.
Attaochu, who is making the transition from linebacker, said he is trying to keep the speed and fitness of a linebacker with the strength of a lineman. He is up to 242 pounds after playing at 235 in spring practice.
“I feel comfortable,” Attaochu said. “As long as I can run, that’s all (that matters).”
Honored Jackets: Tech players named to various award watch lists are Attaochu (Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy, top defensive player; Lombardi Award, top lineman/linebacker; Butkus Award, top linebacker), center Jay Finch (Rimington Trophy, top center), defensive back Jamal Golden (Hornung Award, most versatile player), B-back David Sims (Doak Walker Award, top running back), cornerback Jemea Thomas (Bednarik Award) and linebacker Brandon Watts (Butkus Award).
Going to the car wash: Johnson will be one of 50 coaches to get the "car wash" treatment at ESPN headquarters. Johnson will go to Bristol, Conn., on July 29 with six other ACC coaches for a five-hour visit in which they'll appear on multiple ESPN shows and platforms. From Monday through Aug. 1, coaches from the SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten will participate in the battery of interviews, dubbed the "car wash."
Ticket offer: The Tech ticket office is offering what it's calling the "Swarm Six-Pack" — the first six home games of the season for $85. The seats are in the upper north end zone of Bobby Dodd Stadium. The games include Elon, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Alabama A&M. It does not include the seventh home game of the season, against Georgia. The price goes up Aug. 1.
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