Sept. 22, 2004
ATLANTA–With no game this Saturday, the Georgia Tech football team practiced for the first time Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets will also work out Thursday and Saturday before beginning a normal “game week” Sunday in preparation for their Oct. 2 game against Miami.
Tech (2-1, 1-1 ACC) and the fourth-ranked Hurricanes (2-0, 1-0 ACC) square off at 3:30 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field in a sold-out game that will be regionally televised on ABC.
While Tech has an open date this week, Miami plays at Houston Thursday night, so both teams will enter the game with a little extra rest.
“We worked on some basic fundamentals that we needed to work on, and then we introduced some Miami stuff with a walk-through,” said Tech head coach Chan Gailey after Wednesday’s workout.
“There’s a fine line. You’ve got to get enough work in to keep your tempo and your timing, but you don’t want to overwork them in an open week. That’s what an open week is for, to get healthy and get a little extra rest.”
All-ACC defensive end Eric Henderson is expected to make his debut against the Hurricanes after missing Tech’s first three games due to injury. The junior from New Orleans, La., led the ACC in sacks last season with 11.
When Gailey was asked if he thought Henderson was antsy to play, he said, “Well, he was the only one today who asked if he could wear his equipment to run the sprints after practice,” referring to conditioning drills for which players remove their helmets and shoulder pads.
“I think he can be very close to 100 percent,” continued Gailey. “But there’s always an adjustment; you never come back completely ready to play when you’ve missed as much time as he has.”
