ATLANTA (Mar. 20) – The Georgia Tech football team began spring practice a day later than planned, but head coach George O’Leary was pleased with his squad’s first workout Monday at Rose Bowl Field.
The Yellow Jackets will make up Sunday’s practice, which was postponed due to rain, Tuesday with a 4:30 p.m. workout at Rose Bowl Field. Wednesday’s practice (4 p.m.) will be the first in full pads.
“We didn’t go out yesterday because you only get 15 days of spring and I’d hate to waste one in poor weather,” said O’Leary.
“I thought there was a lot of retention today among the guys who played last year. Obviously we’ve got to shake some positions out. It was an enthusiastic practice, and we’re trying to install a lot of things without pads.
“We have more athletes than we’ve had in the past. We’ve just got to continue to get better, especially at key positions.”
The most “key position” for the Yellow Jackets this spring is quarterback, where four candidates – junior George Godsey (Tampa, Fla.), sophomore Jermaine Crenshaw (Greenville, Ala.), and redshirt freshmen Brian Camp (Dublin, Ohio) and Andy Hall (Cheraw, S.C.) – are battling to replace Heisman Trophy runner-up Joe Hamilton.
“All the kids threw the ball well today, for the first time out,” said O’Leary, entering his sixth full season at the helm of the Tech program. “We’ve got to see who can handle the whole picture.
“Right now, everything is scripted, and we’re trying to see if they know their reads. Once we start pads, we’ll keep the quarterbacks live because I want to see how they handle the pressure.”
Several players begin the spring at new positions. Sophomore Tim Brown (Columbia, S.C.) and redshirt freshman Hugh Reilly (Roswell, Ga.), both former defensive linemen, have moved to guard and center, respectively. Going from offense to defense are sophomore Kelley Rhino (Smyrna, Ga.), from running back to cornerback, and redshirt freshman Anthony Lawston (Baltimore, Md.), from wide receiver to linebacker. Sophomore linebacker Kelvin Hughley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) shifted from linebacker to defensive end.
