Back in July, Georgia Tech defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu already had an idea of what was in store for him with new coordinator Ted Roof and defensive line coach Mike Pelton. Roof’s attacking style, he said, suited his game a lot better.
“I like chasing things down and just being crazy out there,” he said. “That’s definitely great for me.”
The move from outside linebacker in the 3-4 to end in Roof’s 4-3 has been great for both the Yellow Jackets and Attaochu. The senior was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press, as well as the third team on the cbssports.com All-America team. He is Tech’s first AP All-American since Derrick Morgan (first team) and Demaryius Thomas (third team) were honored in 2009.
Omoregie Uzzi was named an All-American by multiple online publications in 2011 and 2012. Attaochu, who finished the regular season with 12 sacks, including 10 in the final five games, follows seven All-America citations under coach Paul Johnson.
Attaochu, who was named first-team All-ACC by coaches and second team by media, has tied Greg Gathers’ school career sack record with 31.
Upon arrival: Tech will leave for Nashville and the Music City Bowl on the 27th. The team will have a reception that evening with Ole Miss on the General Jackson showboat. The following day, a Saturday, players can attend a Predators hockey game. B-back David Sims, who has never been to a hockey game, wanted in.
“I’d want to be on the floor so I can bang against the glass,” he said.
As part of their bowl gifts, players will have $400 to spend on a gift suite in addition to a bowl watch. Items include a Fender acoustic guitar ($300), Soul headphones ($350) and a women’s Ferragamo wallet ($400). Other less expensive items include a Blu-ray player, digital cameras, recliners, a popcorn maker and a blender. Players often buy Christmas presents for family with their allowance.
Ticket talk: Out of its 10,000-ticket allotment, Tech has sold about 4,000 seats. That does not include roughly 2,000 tickets that are being allocated for the marching band, player guests, sponsors and others. Tickets are being sold for $61 (lower level) and $81 (club level) through ramblinwreck.com and the ticket office at 1-888-832-4849.
Purchased tickets shipped Monday and Tuesday.
Ole Miss reportedly sold out its 12,000-ticket allotment and requested more tickets. On ticket re-sale website StubHub, 36 percent of buyers are from Mississippi, 23 percent are from Tennessee and 20 percent are from Georgia.
Signees: Four Tech recruits – cornerback Step Durham, defensive end KeShun Freeman, linebacker Tré Jackson and quarterback Matthew Jordan – have all signed financial aid agreements with the school, preparing them to enroll at Tech in January. The four will be a part of Johnson's largest group of mid-year freshman enrollees.
Running back Travis Custis, who was to enroll last fall but was unable to because of NCAA clearinghouse issues, will start classes also.
Practice report: After Monday's practice, Johnson said that the team's health is "probably as good as we've been in a while." The Jackets will practice through Saturday before being released for the Christmas holiday. They will practice again on the 27th on campus before traveling to Nashville.
With exams over, “we’ve got all week to focus on football,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get better every day.”
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze told reporters Monday that the team has a “list of injuries a mile long.”
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