JACKETS PRACTICE IN PADS FOR FIRST TIME
ATLANTA (Mar. 22) – Day three of Georgia Tech’s spring practice marked the first workout in pads for the Rambling Wreck.
“It was a good day for the first one in pads,” said Tech head coach George O’Leary. “The defense did some good things, and the tackling was better.”
On the line scrimmage, Tech’s defensive front has the advantage with all the principles back, while offensive line must replace three starters.
“The defensive line controlled things today, and they should because they’re all back,” said O’Leary. “That’s going to even itself out.
“On the offensive line, some of the young kids some good things. John Bennett and Clay Hartley are good athletes, and they are only going to get better. For the amount of installation we’ve done, they did a good job today. You can see the experience is on the other side of the ball, but I think we have some good individual athletes on the offensive line.”
Bennett and Hartley are a pair of redshirt freshmen who look to earn starting berths this spring. Bennett, from Woodstock, Ga., looks to fill the shoes of all-America Jon Carman at right tackle, while Hartley, from Bryceville, Fla., is the top candidate at left guard.
Tech’s four quarterbacks 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 all still in the mix.
“I think they all had their moments,” said O’Leary. “I’m happy to see Jermaine Crenshaw performing well. I think he’s really matured. But the other three have their strong points also. It’s really going to come down to who can make a play when it’s not there. That’s what I’m looking for.”
Tech resumes practice Friday with a 4 p.m. workout.
