Georgia Tech will face an opponent with a fan base in an uproar.
After a 4-8 record last season, Virginia is 2-5 with four consecutive losses, including a home loss to Ball State by three touchdowns.
Athletic director Craig Littlepage told the Washington Post last week that coach Mike London will return next season.
“I believe that I’m the right man for the job,” London said at his Monday news conference, following a 35-22 loss to Duke. “I believe that the process that’s going on here, while painstakingly slow, is a process that will be successful.”
Coach Paul Johnson was dismissive of the hot-seat talk surrounding London.
“I’m sure that Mike is just worried about getting his football team and doing what he needs to do to be successful,” Johnson said. “I think that sometimes people build all that stuff up.”
Injury report: Center Jay Finch, who did not practice Tuesday, returned Wednesday.
Because of injuries and other circumstances, no fewer than seven players either are out for the season with injury or are no longer with the team. Safety Isaiah Johnson decided to redshirt this season and postpone his return from a torn ACL. Safety Jamal Golden is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Safety Fred Holton was dismissed from the team in the preseason.
On the offensive line, Catlin Alford decided to leave the team, Freddie Burden suffered a season-ending knee injury in the spring, and Errin Joe is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Wide receiver Anthony Autry re-tore his ACL in a non-football injury in the spring.
Lineup talk: Johnson said that the arrangement at B-back that he has been using will continue, having David Sims start and playing it by ear after that with backup Zach Laskey. Against Syracuse, Laskey received significant playing time, scored three touchdowns and was named the offensive player of the game.
Jabari Hunt-Days likely will start at middle linebacker, getting his position back after Anthony Harrell won it but then suffered a season-ending leg injury Saturday.
Said defensive coordinator Ted Roof, “We need him to be more physical and more detailed. He’s working at it, and we’ll see what happens Saturday.”
Nose tackle Jimmie Kitchen has earned increasing playing time behind starter Adam Gotsis.
“I tell you what, Jimmie has been a guy that has been getting better the past five weeks,” Roof said. “His work habits have improved, and as a result of that, his performance has improved.”
Up high: Roof, who coached a full game in the coaches box for the first time in his career last week, will continue the practice against Virginia.
“I like the environment of the sideline, but at the same time, to be able to pull back a little bit, maybe it helped,” he said. “I don’t know. It seemed to work out.”
Roof said that, during his first stint as Tech’s defensive coordinator, he tried it for the first half of one game, but the defense got a penalty for 12 men on the field, so he came back down to the field after halftime.
Practice report: Johnson gave a review of "not great" to the team's padded practices Tuesday and Wednesday. The offense and defense played an overtime session against the scout team at the end of Wednesday's practice and needed to go to the second overtime session to win.
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