What happened last season was sort of a shock to most, but not to me, as I picked Georgia Tech to win the ACC last year. The Yellow Jackets had a full season under Paul Johnson and his unique triple option offense. They also returned a very good running back in Jonathan Dwyer, and a schedule that was set up in their favor, mostly a home game with Virginia Tech that they ended up winning 28-23, which was in the middle of the Yellow Jackets’ eight game winning streak, which propelled them to an ACC title, and a trip to the Orange Bowl.
Offense
The key to coach Bobby Johnson’s offense is having a very athletic running quarterback. And if you don’t believe me, go back and watch the Georgia Tech-Gardner Webb game from 2008. That will prove that it’s not all about the running backs. But Josh Nesbitt is the perfect fit for this offense. Nesbitt will have a part in the majority of the plays, whether it being a passing play, or keeping it himself and running with it. Nesbitt ran the ball 279 times last season, most on the team by over 40 carries. Nesbitt ran for 1037 yards on those carries, and scored 18 touchdowns. The only down side to Nesbitt is his passing accuracy. Nesbitt did have a respectable 10-5 touchdown-interception ratio, but he only completed 46% of his passes. But then again, a lot of passes are deep down the field, so the completion percentage will be lowered on such high risk plays.
The big quirk with the Georgia Tech offense is the backfield, Instead of having a halfback, a fullback, and a tight end along the offensive line, you have what are called two “A-backs” and a “B-back.” The B-back gets most of the work, and the A-backs will see a few carries during the game. With Jonathan Dwyer gone to the NFL, Anthony Allen will start in the B-Back position. Allen carried the ball 64 times last year for 618 yards, almost 10 yards per carry. He will be joined by A-Backs Roddy Jones and Embry Peeples. Jones started as an A-Back last year, and ran for 345 yards. Peeples was a backup, but still ran 31 times for 170 yards, but caught eight passes for 244 yards, which is over 30 yards per reception. Allen should easily run for over 1000 yards this season, and double digit touchdowns.
While the passing game isn’t a big factor in the offense, it was still able to produce a first round draft pick, as Demariyus Thomas left one year early, and was drafted by Baltimore. Thomas did have 1154 yards receiving on 46 receptions, an average of 25.1 yards per reception. Tyler Melton, who started last season, and only caught five passes, will start, along with sophomore Stephen Hill, who caught six passes last season. Given Hill’s size (6-4), he is a better fit as the go to guy for Nesbitt, as Melton is only 6-0.
With all of the athleticism in the backfield, you need some athletic offensive lineman. The 350 pound offensive lineman doesn’t work too well in this offense. Only one starter this year will weigh over 300 pounds, and that is 305 pound guard Omoregie Uzzi. The other four starters are in the 270-285 pound range. The offensive line only returns two starters in first team All ACC center Sean Bedford and Tackle Austin Barrick. They will be joined by Uzzi and Nick McRae at guard, and Nick Claytor at tackle.
Defense
The biggest changes on defense are a new coordinator, and a new scheme. Former Virginia coach Al Groh comes in and brings in the 3-4 defense. And he will have a lot of last year’s defense back. But one big loss is Derrick Morgan, who was a first round draft pick by Tennessee. Morgan had more sacks last season (12.5) than the rest of the team combined. Filling the defensive end roles will be sophomore Izaan Cross and junior Jason Peters, who combined for five starts last year, and Logan Walls at defensive tackle. Walls started 11 games and had 25 tackles.
Groh ran the 3-4 at Virginia, and preferred to have more speed and athleticism on the field, and he had some good linebackers in his tenure at Virginia. The Georgia Tech linebackers have some experience returning in the middle, led by leading tackler Brad Jefferson. Jefferson had 95 tackles last season, and earned third team All-ACC. He will be joined in the middle by junior Steven Sylvester, and the outside by seniors Anthony Egbuniwe and Anthony Barnes.
The secondary returns three out of four starters, but the starter missing is Morgan Burnett. Burnett was second on the team in tackles with 85, and led the team with four interceptions. He will be replaced by Jerrard Tarrant, who made third team All ACC last season, and was fourth on the team in tackles last season. He is joined at the safety position by senior Mario Edwards. The cornerbacks are both seniors. Mario Butler had 45 tackles and two interceptions, and is joined by Dominique Reese, who was a backup last year, but still had 28 tackles.
Special Teams
The kicking game was a little inconsistent last season. Scott Blair was 14-20 on field goals, but had a better percentage from field goals of 40+ yards than from 30-39 yards (4-7). He will be back for his senior season, and will look to improve on the field goal percentage. The punter is a pretty good one in Chandler Anderson. Anderson averaged 42.3 yards per punt, and led the league in net yardage with 38.1. The return game was huge last year. Jerrard Tarrant returned two punts for touchdowns, and averaged 13.4 yards per return. Orwin Smith was averaged 24.0 yards per return on kickoffs.
Schedule
The Yellow Jackets open up with a cream puff in South Carolina State, but other than that, the non-conference schedule is actually pretty decent. They go to Kansas in September 11, host Middle Tennessee, who won 10 games last season, in the middle of October, and close out the season with the usual rivalry game with Georgia, which is at Georgia this year. The conference schedule is not in their favor, as they will travel to North Carolina and Virginia Tech from the Coastal Division, and Clemson from the Atlantic.
Fantasy Player to Watch
The main player to look at is Anthony Allen. Allen will take over the B-Back position with Jonathan Dwyer gone to the NFL. With the frequency of run plays Georgia Tech has, Allen is easily going to reach 1000 yards. You can also look at quarterback Josh Nesbitt, but you’re getting him for his rushing totals. You’ll be lucky to get 100 yards passing from him in most weeks.
Will’s Thoughts
It’s hard to not put Georgia Tech in contention with Paul Johnson as coach. He has already proven in two years that he is one of the best coaches in the ACC, having already won 20 games in his first two years on the sidelines. And having Josh Nesbitt running his offense seems like a dream match. The defense should be improved this year with Groh running the show, and a lot of experience returning. But the schedule isn’t as favorable this year. Having said that, they still have a legitimate chance of winning the ACC Coastal again this year, and could win 10 games.
