Jared Ivey, Emmanuel Johnson and Kyle Kennard are freshman defensive linemen for Georgia Tech. Each has been assigned to the scout team (coach Geoff Collins calls it the “developmental team”) as the Yellow Jackets prepare for the Sept. 12 season opener at Florida State.
Defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker likes what he’s seen from each. He calls Johnson mature, strong and heavy-handed. Kennard has the most pass-rush ability of the three. Ivey can play multiple spots across the line.
“It’s neat that all three of them have a dominant trait,” Thacker said Tuesday. “Now they’re bridging the gap to be total players. They’ve been developmental, but at some point, they’re going to be able to help us.”
Thacker pointed to last season, when defensive end Curtis Ryans began the season on the scout team but improved to the point that he was promoted to the “Above the Line” group (players deemed ready to contribute in games) and started two games at season’s end. Beyond the potential for Johnson, Ivey and Kennard to improve to the point where they earn playing time, Thacker and Tech coaches also are aware that the unique circumstances of the 2020 season may well demand it, as key players likely will be sidelined either because they test positive for COVID-19 or because they are quarantined as a safety precaution.
“So that development piece, we’ve been making sure that we’re all over that,” coach Geoff Collins said. “We’re trying to get as many ‘ATL’ guys as we can, and that’s just inherent in our program regardless, but I think this year even more so than in years past, there’s got to be a lot of guys ready to go.”
Teams already have had their rosters ravaged by the coronavirus. A week ago, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said that COVID-19 had knocked out all but one player at a “major position group.” When Austin Peay and Central Arkansas played last Saturday in the first college game of the season, Austin Peay was without its first three long snappers.
“I bet all three didn’t have an ankle injury, so we can hypothesize why they weren’t there,” Thacker said. “But that’s just a tangible idea of what that’s like.”
Collins continues to emphasize following protocols to limit the risk of infection. Players lift weights in shifts before and after practice, which in turn enables them to use the locker room in smaller, designated groups. Rather than confine his team of roughly 120 players plus staff to the team meeting room, team-wide gatherings are held in the north stands of Bobby Dodd Stadium, from where Collins leads video reviews that are played on the stadium video board.
Every player, Collins said, wears a clear plastic shield that attaches to his helmet and protects players from the airborne droplets of other players on the field. At the team’s two scrimmages, players rehearsed sitting together on the sideline in position groups at an acceptable distance from one another.
“(Collins) give us the guidance, but he’s done an unbelievable job of setting up an environment to where we’re being as safe as possible,” Thacker said. “We continue, knock on wood, to get great results as far as having our entire team out there to practice and not having to miss guys (not including players out because of injury or personal matters). We’ve been very fortunate.”
Remarkable might be another word. This past week, when about 400 Tech students tested positive for COVID-19, there were four Yellow Jackets athletes who tested positive, evidently none on the football team.
Still, it seems an inevitability that, over the course of the 10-game schedule, positive tests will sideline players, and those exposed to them could go with them.
In that scenario, Collins’ emphasis on rotating players and giving backups playing time stands to benefit the Jackets beyond its normal advantages of keeping players motivated and preventing starters from wearing down.
“(Playing starters and backups) is a tough balance, but we’re convinced that getting more guys ready to play real reps is the right thing to do, and it lends itself to this environment that we’re in in college football right now,” Thacker said.
Likewise, Collins’ method of having the scout team run plays out of the Jackets’ playbook similar to those of the opponent – rather than follow opponent plays drawn up on cards – will play to Tech’s advantage as it will develop players in-season as it did last year with freshmen such as Ryans.
The NCAA’s decision to grant all fall-sports athletes an extra season of eligibility could mean that Collins could use the roster even more liberally. While players can play up to four games and retain their redshirt, a freshman who plays more than four games this season will still have four seasons of eligibility starting in 2021.
Freshman linebackers Tyson Meiguez, Khatavian Franks and Khaya Wright are among those who could see the field in varying degrees, as they are in a position group that lacks significant depth. Thacker said Meiguez was the furthest ahead of the three by being able to play the scheme the most consistently, but Franks stood out in Friday’s scrimmage, and Wright has shown “slipperiness” as an edge rusher.
“We don’t just rely on 11 guys to go out there,” Thacker said. “We play lots of bodies to help us with those scenarios.”
In a unique season, it may well be many, many more than 11.
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