Georgia Tech’s measures to be ready for its game Saturday include a sound game plan and a week of practice. They also involve measures to keep players physically well.
A bug that has run through the team has placed a premium on preventative measures to avoid getting the flu.
“Hopefully it flew away,” said interim coach Brent Key, testing out dad-joke material. “That’s what it is this time of year. There’s a lot of vitamin C, a lot of B12 vitamins and hand sanitizer, and back to people wearing face masks and being careful. We try to be as careful as we can with it.”
The Yellow Jackets play Miami at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in their final home game of the season. A win would raise the Jackets’ record to an improbable 5-5, bring Tech to the precipice of bowl eligibility and add further credence to Key’s candidacy to be Tech’s next full-time head coach.
Key said the majority of players who were sick last week are better. That includes guard Paula Vaipulu, who missed his first game of the season with an illness. Last week, safety Clayton Powell-Lee missed practice time before playing against the Hokies and coming up with two game-changing turnovers in the Jackets’ 28-27 win.
“You expect this time of year, probably the next couple weeks, there’s going to be people who pop up and get sick,” Key said. “When that happens, we’ve got to be able to adjust in practice and move forward.”
Injuries also have stacked up. Tight end Dylan Leonard, guard Pierce Quick and quarterback Jeff Sims did not play against Virginia Tech but practiced Tuesday, Key said. Vaipulu also returned.
Returning to practice does not necessarily mean ready to play. Sims practiced last week, too, but was available only on an emergency basis against Virginia Tech.
“He practiced (Tuesday), same as he did last week,” Key said of Sims. “But we’ll be able to make that decision as it gets closer to game time to see if he will have the ability to play a full football game.”
Against Virginia Tech, the Jackets were able to make do without Sims, Vaipulu, Leonard and Quick. Freshman quarterback Zach Pyron delivered in Sims’ absence. Key moved right tackle Jordan Williams to right guard and elevated Jakiah Leftwich to starting right tackle. With the patchwork unit, the Jackets ran for 210 yards against the Hokies and generated a season-high 463 yards of offense.
“Obviously proud of the outcome, the way they played, overcame a lot of adversity in the game and even before the game,” Key said. “We were able to play a full 60 minutes, which is what we asked our guys to do – play a full 60 minutes regardless of the score and focus on just playing the next play, one play at a time, and see what happens at the end of the game.”
Having the mental fortitude to practice with intensity and focus becomes a growing challenge as the ailments accumulate.
“So we have to be able to do that throughout the week,” Key said. “I thought we did a good job of that last week to be able to get to Saturday and play as fast and as free as we possibly can.”
Nine games into the season, with three regular-season games remaining, the Jackets perhaps are like every other team in the country in their physical state.
“This time of year, everybody’s banged up,” Key said. “Everyone gets sick or banged up or has accumulated reps on their bodies.”
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