April 6, 2002
ATLANTA– – The Georgia Tech defense continued to shine as the Yellow Jackets held their first scrimmage of the spring Saturday morning at Rose Bowl Field.
“I thought our defense was way ahead of our offense,” said Gailey after watching his squad scrimmage for approximately 90 plays. “It was pretty ragged. Some individuals made some plays, but our consistency was really lacking.”
Still, Gailey remains pleased with the defense and said the offensive inconsistency is to be expected this spring due to inexperience at key positions.
“I would say anytime you’re breaking in a new quarterback and a new tailback, you’re offense is going to struggle a little bit,” said Gailey. “I don’t care where you are. If you’re breaking in a new quarterback and tailback, those things are going to happen.”
At tailback, senior Sidney Ford (Lindale, Ga.) did not participate due to a rib injury, leaving the bulk of the carries to sophomore Jimmy Dixon (Arlington, Texas) and senior Gordon Clinkscale (Doraville, Ga.).
“I was somewhat impressed with Jimmy Dixon today,” said Gailey. “He did some nice things, and that was a positive.”
Working primarily with the first team, Dixon carried the ball 15 times for 35 yards, including one touchdown in the goal-line segment. Clinkscale, running with the second unit, had 14 carries for 38 yards and two touchdowns on the goal-line.
The three top quarterback candidates–juniors Andy Hall (Cheraw, S.C.), and A.J. Suggs (Powder Springs, Ga.) and redshirt freshman Damarius Bilbo (Moss Point, Miss.)–rotated with different units. Suggs completed four of eight passes for 38 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to Rahshan Johnson (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) on the only sustained drive of the day. Bilbo completed just one pass, but it was a 26-yard touchdown to Kerry Watkins (LaPlace, La.), while Hall had one completion for five yards. Bilbo also had a 23-yard scramble.
“At quarterback, A.J. had the one long drive (50 yards), and D-Bo (Bilbo) made a big play or two but it didn’t turn into points,” said Gailey. “We’ve just got to keep working to be more consistent.”
On defense, senior backup cornerback Kelley Rhino had two interceptions and a 75-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Junior Jonathan Cox (Chicago, Ill.) and senior Jack Rogers (Gainesville, Ga.) also grabbed interceptions.
“We had some takeaways today, picks and fumbles,” said Gailey. “Kelley makes plays. He’s got great ball awareness.
“It was nice to see Dawan Landry (Ama, La.) come up and make a couple of plays. Having been at safety just a short time, that was good to see. “
Now midway through their 15 spring sessions, the Jackets return to practice Tuesday.
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