This will be a good season for Georgia Tech if ...

He won’t be the bulldozing battler that Nesbitt was, but he may be a make-you-miss playmaker instead. What Tech needs is someone who will take care of the ball, make the correct reads on the option and be a voice of calm in the huddle. If Washington can be that player, Tech’s chances rise considerably.

The offensive line stays healthy

It wasn’t a week into preseason practice before one of Tech’s least desired outcomes arose. Guard Will Jackson and tackle Morgan Bailey missed practice on the same day, with backup guard J.C. Lanier already out. Freshman guard Trey Braun joined the first-string line, and freshmen Errin Joe and Shaquille Mason practiced with the second team.

Four likely starters — guards Omoregie Uzzi and Jackson, center Jay Finch and tackle Phil Smith (who has been suspended for the first two games for violating unspecified team rules) — have considerable experience and helped Tech lead the nation in rushing last season. However, there are many questions about depth, and coaches have little interest in learning those answers this season. Ideally, freshmen such as Braun, Joe and Mason would redshirt and still be around as fifth-year seniors, but that may not happen, particularly with Braun.

Johnson has expressed his confidence and excitement over the athletic ability of the group, and history would suggest this line will produce, too. But if injuries force a freshman such as Braun or a redshirt freshman such as tackle Catlin Alford into the starting lineup, many fingers likely would be crossed.

The kicking game holds up

Tech will replace dependable Scott Blair, who kicked field goals for the past three seasons and kickoffs for the past four. The likely successor is Justin Moore, who was the first kicker to come to Tech on scholarship in the Johnson era, but who also had a shaky spring and has yet to attempt a field goal or an extra point in a game.

Punter Sean Poole returns after averaging 39.3 yards per punt before a November knee injury. The bigger concern is the Jackets’ punt coverage. Their 32.2 net yards per punt average ranked 114th in FBS (formerly Division I-A) last season.

Given that Tech doesn’t figure to win many games easily, those two kicking units, as well as the kickoff team, will need to give the Jackets an edge.

There is enough depth on the defensive line

Last year, starting defensive ends Izaan Cross and Jason Peters and defensive tackle Logan Walls had two obstacles other than their opponents. First, they were playing a new scheme. Second, they weren’t getting much help from their backups.

Heavy playing time at demanding positions taxed all three, one reason Tech was eighth in the ACC in rushing yards allowed and 11th in sacks.

One source of optimism is that Cross, Peters and Walls return as starters and feel more settled in the defense. Cross in particular is stronger and more fit to handle the rigors of the season. They also should have more help. Ends Christopher Crenshaw, Euclid Cummings and Emmanuel Dieke, all sophomores who played a combined 12 games last season, should see more playing time. So should tackle T.J. Barnes. The more productive they are, the more rest the starters can get, which would help them be fresher in the fourth quarter. The opposite, of course, also holds true.

The secondary reflects its talent

Johnson has said that the defensive backs are probably the most talented and athletic since his arriving in 2008. However, all four projected starters — cornerbacks Rod Sweeting and Louis Young and safeties Isaiah Johnson and Rashaad Reid — are new starters. On top of being new starters, Johnson and Young are sophomores.

There is plenty to like. While also inexperienced, there’s depth at all positions. All four starters have played as backups and worked as a unit in the spring. Young and Johnson in particular look like stars on the rise.

However, it’s unreasonable to expect the foursome won’t have hiccups, particularly early in the season. A mistake by a linebacker can be cleaned up by a safety. A mistake by a safety, however, may be followed by the opponent lining up for an extra point. How often that happens, compared to an athletic pass break-up or interception, may decide games.