Georgia tight end Orson Charles on Monday was named as a finalist for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation's premier tight end.
No one on the Georgia Tech coaching staff is ready to question the honor.
"He's a tremendous athlete," secondary coach Charles Kelly said. "He's got really good size, he runs like a wide receiver, adjusts to the ball well. They can put him in position where he creates mismatches at times."
Tech has had its share of challenges in defending tight ends. On Saturday, Duke tight end Cooper Helfet caught six balls for 45 yards, including a pair of touchdowns. Against Virginia Tech, Chris Drager had a 14-yard touchdown catch. Charles, 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds, leads the Bulldogs with 35 catches, good for five touchdowns and a 12.4 yards-per-catch average. Last year, he caught two passes for 67 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown against Tech.
"He makes catches that wide receivers would like to make," defensive coordinator Al Groh said.
Tech faced another finalist, Clemson's Dwayne Allen, earlier this season. Hobbled by a turf-toe injury, Allen caught four passes for 32 yards.
Playing possum
Georgia Tech is a six-point underdog to Georgia and has lost nine of its last 10 games to the Bulldogs. After practice Monday, Tech coach Paul Johnson sarcastically played the woe-is-us card.
"They've got a heck of a team," Johnson said. "Won nine in a row, SEC East champs. Hopefully we can stay with them."
Johnson interrupted a question about his players not needing much motivation this week by saying they are "probably scared."
And why would that be?
Said Johnson, "We haven't beaten them in a long time."
Injury report
Several players were held out of practice Monday, including wide receiver Stephen Hill, A-backs Orwin Smith and Roddy Jones, cornerback Louis Young and center Jay Finch. Johnson said the team is "pretty beat up" but did not seem overly concerned about their availability for Saturday. Young, for one, said he expected to play Saturday.
Johnson said B-back Preston Lyons, who missed Saturday's game against Duke to rest injuries, should play Saturday. Johnson wasn't sure if Charles Perkins, who played in Lyons' place, would also get snaps.
"We'll see how practice goes," Johnson said.
After further review
As is always the case, Johnson also checked officials' calls and non-calls in addition to his team's performance on game video. Often, he has conceded that officials made the right calls on plays he argued during the game.
Asked about calls made Saturday, Johnson replied, "I'm not getting into that one. I need to keep my cash."
Etc.
Tech will have classes through Wednesday, and Johnson will follow a normal practice schedule through that day. On Thanksgiving, the team will practice in the morning, have lunch together and players will be released until Friday. … Coaches named wide receiver Tyler Melton, linebacker Brandon Watts and defensive back Jemea Thomas as the offensive, defensive and special teams players of the game.
