Georgia Tech has a lot players at wide receiver and A-back who can catch passes, but Ricky Jeune seems to have developed a special relationship with quarterback Justin Thomas.
Jeune led the Yellow Jackets last season in receptions (24), yards (520) and touchdown catches (4). Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but they were 30 percent of the completions, 35 percent of the total passing yards (1,462) and 29 percent of the touchdown receptions (10). When Thomas dropped back, it was pretty easy to know who he was looking for even though the Jackets faced numerous third-and-long situations last season that necessitated passing and made playing defense a little bit easier.
“He knows the spots to be on the field,” Thomas said.
Other than a back injury that sidelined him for a couple of days, Jeune said he has had a good camp and is ready to go when the season starts on Saturday against Boston College in Dublin, Ireland.
The redshirt junior said he worked in camp on improving his blocking in the run game and his chemistry with Thomas, who he said has been pushing him to continue to improve.
“Everybody is playing a lot faster,” he said. “I feel very comfortable with where we are going and how we’ve been playing.”
Johnson said Jeune made several big plays for the Yellow Jackets last season. Now, he wants Jeune to be more consistent, which to Jeune means simply making more plays when it’s his turn.
There are a few weapons that may help take some of the pressure off Jeune, which in turn may make him more effective. June said Antonio Messick, Brad Stewart and Mikell Lands-Davis have been making plays in camp.
Boston College returns all four defensive backs who played last season in a unit that allowed 171.5 yards per game, nine touchdowns and had 13 interceptions.
“My camp’s been pretty good,” he said. “I’m just ready to go.”
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