Jonathan Dwyer returned to practice after sitting out Sunday’s drills due to the stinger he sustained in last week’s 33-17 loss to Miami.
Dwyer is averaging 5.6 yards a carry but has yet to generate a 100-yard performance in three consecutive games, the longest stint of his career. He has rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns this season, one of those scores a 74-yard run against Jacksonville State. He rushed for 1,395 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
Dwyer said after Monday practice that he’s not worried that he doesn’t have more yards or scored more touchdowns.
“Those big plays will come,” Dwyer said. “I have to be patient and not get frustrated. Sooner or later it’ll happen. Everybody will feed off me and I’ll feed off everybody else, too.”
Shaw happy to be back
Another player returning from injury, backup quarterback Jaybo Shaw, is ready to take off a no-contact gold jersey. The only concern is if his collarbone, broken during practice on Aug. 15, is ready.
Coach Paul Johnson, who is holding Shaw out of contact drills, said if he gets hit this week, that may come in Saturday’s 1 p.m. against North Carolina (3-0) at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Shaw said he has a full range of motion in his shoulder and has been able to make all the throws.
“It feels honestly better than it did before,” Shaw, a sophomore, said.
Shaw rushed for 200 yards last year and passed for 321 as the backup to starter Josh Nesbitt.
With Shaw’s return, Tech will have its full stable of quarterbacks practicing again, something it hasn’t had since the first Saturday of camp, when freshman Jordan Luallen sustained an ankle sprain.
Discipline
Echoing what has been said by all the three coaches to have faced Tech this season, North Carolina’s Butch Davis said his players have to remain disciplined if they want to slow down the Yellow Jackets’ offense.
“One thing you can’t do against a team like this is you can’t void your personal responsibilities,” Davis said. “They’ve added some things to get the ball to the perimeter which makes that that much more difficult.”
Davis said he thought his team played with discipline in last year’s 28-7 win in Chapel Hill, N.C., even though UNC allowed 326 yards rushing, Tech’s fifth highest-total of the season.
He said the Tar Heels spent time during the spring as well as in August working on defending various option plays.
An interesting facet to this week, according to Davis, is Tech has had the extra time to prepare for Carolina because of last Thursday’s game against Miami. North Carolina had the extra time last year and Davis said there’s no question that helped his team last season.
Etc.
Johnson said that doctors are still running tests on free safety Cooper Taylor, who is listed as doubtful for Saturday. The nature of his injury remains undisclosed. ... Johnson also said the Tar Heels, who are giving up less than 200 yards a game on defense, may be the best team the Jackets have played this season. ... Due to the rains, Tech practiced in the Georgia Dome on Monday, instead of Rose Bowl Field. ... Facing their third consecutive drop-back quarterback in T.J. Yates, defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said if he were the opposing offensive coordinator, he’d run the same max-protection packages against his defense that Clemson and Miami ran. The Tigers had 386 yards in offense and the Hurricanes 454, the highest two-game total in Johnson’s tenure.
