July 30, 2003
Georgia Tech’s 2003 football season officially kicks off this weekend as the Yellow Jacket players report to campus Friday and then begin practicing Saturday. In addition to the excitement of a new season, Tech players will report to a brand new facility.
As part of the renovation and expansion of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field, the football program is now housed in a brand new complex in the North end zone, including a new locker room, players’ lounge and football offices.
“Every year I’ve been in football, I’ve been excited about the start of the season,” said Tech head coach Chan Gailey, who met with the media Wednesday while seated in Tech’s new 3,300-square foot players’ lounge, which is adjacent to the new 7,000-square foot locker room. Gailey’s office is one floor above, overlooking Grant Field.
Gailey was emphatic when asked if the new facility would be a benefit in recruiting.
“It already has been,” he said. “The class that is coming in this year not only was able to see the drawing, but was able to somewhat walk through it and see it.
“This area right here is a big plus,” said Gailey, referring to the players’ lounge. “When the guys have down time, they didn’t really have anywhere to spend that time prior to this. We’ll have computers here so that they can check email or do homework, and they can relax. Before if they had an hour break, they had nowhere to go, and now they do.”
Due to a change in NCAA rules regarding preseason workouts, all Tech players, returnees and freshmen, will report together on Friday. Tech will hold its annual Fan Photo Day on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field, and then the Yellow Jackets will hit the practice field for the first time Saturday at 5 p.m. at Rose Bowl Field.
The first five days are part of the mandatory acclimatization period, meaning the team can practice only once a day and no full pads or full contact are permitted.
“I think our guys are excited about where they are and where they are headed,” said Gailey. “That’s evident by our summer workouts where we set 11 records in our summer weight lifting and strength program. They worked hard in the summer.”
Gailey discussed his team’s priorities and concerns as preseason practice begins.
“On the offensive side of the ball, I think we have to find who the quarterback and tailbacks are, and who is going to emerge in those positions,” said Gailey. “On the defensive side, we’ve got some issues with depth on the defensive line. We’re going to move some linebackers into defensive end to try to shore up that position, and then we’ll experiment with some three-man fronts and see how that goes.
“The other thing that we have to do is establish our kicker and our punter. We have to get that done in camp. We have to get some reps with them and make sure that process is done smoothly. There are a lot of ifs right now going into the fall.”
Gailey has said repeatedly this summer that the quarterback position is open. With senior A.J. Suggs a known commodity, sophomore Damarius Bilbo expected to get the majority of the repetitions early in practice, as he did in the spring. True freshmen Patrick Carter and Reggie Ball will also get a look.
At tailback, sophomores Ajenavi Eziemefe and P.J. Daniels will compete, while true freshman Rashaun Grant will also have an opportunity to demonstrate his talents.
“Sure it’s easier if you’ve got returning starters at those positions and they’re great players,” said Gailey. “But if you’ve got situations like this, you deal with it and you search for that right chemistry, the guy that can make the plays. We may end up again with running back by committee. When Tony (Hollings) got hurt last year, that was the statement that we made. We may end up being similar to that again this year until we see how things shake out.
“We would rather not do that at quarterback because I’d rather not have to run quarterbacks in and out on series-by-series or quarter-by-quarter basis. If that’s the best way to win football games, we’ll do it, but I’d rather not.”
Right now, the strength of our offense is in our offensive line,” continued Gailey. “Our tight end (John Paul Foschi) is proven, but behind him are some unknowns at this point. Our two starters at receiver (Jonathan Smith and Nate Curry) have experience, but after that, we don’t have a lot of guys who have played a lot or have played well consistently. But, looking at our offense, we’ve got to rely on our offensive line, our tight end, and those receivers early in the season. Again, if your quarterback is not productive and your tailback is not productive, it’s hard for those guys to look good. But, having a good offensive line and a good tight end helps the quarterback and back to be productive, so it all works together.”
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