Georgia Tech has ‘yin and yang’ pairing on offensive line
Standing 6-foot-7 with a solid base and long reach, Georgia Tech left tackle Devin Cochran fits the template of offensive-line coach Brent Key perhaps as much as any player in the position group. He plays next to left guard Kenny Cooper, one of the remaining holdovers from coach Paul Johnson’s option offense. Cooper is more compact, with a body ideal for getting leverage on defensive linemen with an attitude to match.
Cochran likes the pairing.
“It’s kind of yin and yang,” Cochran said. “Because I play a little bit more maybe too cautiously at times. I try to figure out blitzes, and I try to think a little too much. Kenny gets down, he puts his hand in the dirt and he goes.”
Playing together for the first time (Cochran is a grad transfer in his first season at Tech), they have been largely effective together as part of Tech’s five-man front, which will be challenged Saturday by the ultra-talented defensive line of No. 6 Clemson.
With Cooper’s straight-ahead style, “we’re able to really kind of help each other out in that aspect when it comes to finding ‘backers, getting great movement,” Cochran said.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
