March 30, 2004
Georgia Tech Sports Information FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 30, 2004
JACKETS TRY NEW COMBINATION ON OFFENSIVE LINE
ATLANTA–With the replacement of two starters on the offensive line as a major spring practice priority, Georgia Tech has made some adjustments among its front five, including the reverse of right and left tackles Kyle Wallace and Kenton Johnson.
Wallace, a rising senior from Lawrenceville, Ga., is Tech’s most experienced offensive lineman after starting the last two years at right tackle. He began working at left tackle today, with Johnson, the Morris Brown transfer, sliding over to the right side.
“It just gives us a guy with more experience on the left side, and it gives us an added comfort level, knowing that you’ve got a guy like Kyle on that side,” said Tech head coach Chan Gailey after Tuesday’s workout, the Jackets’ seventh of the spring.
With Wallace and Johnson as the starting tackles, junior Salih Besirevic is making a bid to be the top backup at tackle.
“Salih has really played better this spring than a lot of us thought he might,” said Gailey. “If he can come on and play well, that would really give us some added security.”
Also Tuesday, redshirt freshman Kevin Tuminello worked with the first unit at center and senior Andy Tidwell-Neal worked at left guard, a move prompted by the injury to senior guard Leon Robinson, who continues to battle a hand injury. Junior Brad Honeycutt returns as the starter at right guard.
One new addition that the Jackets are working on this spring is a shotgun package, which Tech did not employ last season.
“It fits our personnel much better right now than it did last year, so we’re looking to see how effective we can be in the gun,” said Gailey. “Right now it’s very ragged because today was the first day of another segment of it.
“It gets the ball in Reggie’s hands deeper and quicker, so he can so-called ‘wheel and deal’ a little bit faster. It’s just a matter of whether or not we can execute everything that goes along with it.
“Both centers, Andy and Kevin, have done a very good job. But there are a lot of facets to it that a little bit different, like the snap count, the motions. If we can handle it, we’ll make it a part of our package.”
–30–
