Neither Georgia Tech center Jay Finch (lower leg) nor guard Will Jackson (neck) practiced Thursday. Finch was hurt against Miami two weeks ago, and Jackson was hurt in Saturday’s win against Clemson. They haven’t practiced all week.
Coach Paul Johnson had said Wednesday that he hoped Jackson would be able to return by Thursday.
Johnson said earlier this week that Finch will have to return to practice by early next week in order to play Nov. 10 against Virginia Tech.
Finch was able to do a few things in Thursday’s practice, and Johnson said he’s optimistic that both players will return by early next week.
No rooting interest
Johnson said it would be nice if Maryland could defeat Virginia this weekend, which would remove one obstacle between Tech and a potential spot in the ACC championship game, but there are still too many games remaining to worry about the standings.
Tech (4-2 ACC) and Virginia (2-2) are tied for second in the loss column in the ACC’s Coastal Division. They trail Virginia Tech (4-1). However, the Cavaliers have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets after defeating them Oct. 15.
The Terrapins (1-4) will host Virginia at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with a chance to unclog at least one logjam.
“There’s a lot of games in between now and then,” Johnson said. “We need to take care of our own business. We’ve got two games left.
“Today, we talked about at practice that we have a chance to tie for the conference lead. The other stuff we can’t control.”
Watching Wilson
Johnson said he tried very hard to sign running back David Wilson, who eventually enrolled at Virginia Tech. Wilson leads the conference with an average of 131.8 yards per game. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in eight of the Hokies’ nine games this season. He also returned a kickoff 90 yards for the game-winning touchdown against the Jackets last season.
“He’s a gifted athlete,” he said.
Tech has gotten progressively better against the run the past two weeks after allowing Maryland and Virginia to each surpass 245 yards. Miami rushed for 122 yards and Clemson just 95.
Hall of Fame
Tech will induct five people into its Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday. The honorees are Mark Teixeira, Rodney Williams, Bryce Molder, Harvey Middleton and Benjamin Cassaigne.
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