Aug. 15, 2005
ATLANTA–After their first day off Sunday, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets returned to the practice field Monday to begin the second week of preseason drills, greeted by perhaps the hottest day thus far, but, for a change, no rain.
“They got drained quickly today,” said Tech head coach Chan Gailey, whose Jackets open the season Sept. 3 at Auburn. “They tried to push through it, and some pushed through better than others.”
One of Tech’s objectives this preseason is building depth at virtually every position.
“We’re always worried about depth,” said Gailey. “There’s a few positions where we’ve got some depth. We’ve got some depth at tailback, and we’ve got some receivers, but if you go past four or five, our experienced depth falls off there. We’ve got some depth on the defensive line, and that’s about it.”
With starting guards Matt Rhodes and Nathan McManus injured, Gailey said senior Salih Besirevic will likely begin working at guard Tuesday. Sophomore LeShawn Newberry and redshirt freshman Jacob Lonowski moved up to the first team, but Lonowski left practice Monday with what is believed to be a minor injury.
Besirevic, from Denver, Colo, has played both tackle and guard in his career. He was projected this season to be Tech’s top backup at tackle. The 6-7, 295-pounder started two games at right tackle last fall.
Sophomore linebacker Gary Guyton, getting some work with the first team, continues to show promise.
“I really like the progress he has made,” said Gailey. “He has done a great job of learning the position and learning how physical the game is.”
True freshman Colin Peek, likely to see action this season as Tech’s third tight end, is also progressing.
“He had a good day today,” said Gailey of the 6-6, 260-pounder from Jacksonville, Fla. “I was pleasantly surprised with how he stepped up today.”
Tech practices twice Tuesday, with workouts scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., followed by a scrimmage Wednesday afternoon.
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