March 11, 2003
Entering its second season under head coach Chan Gailey, Georgia Tech opens spring practice Friday with an afternoon workout at Rose Bowl Field.
Tech will work out Friday and Saturday (11 a.m.) this week, and then beginning next week will practice Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays through the April 12 spring game. The first two practices will be non-contact.
Gailey stressed that the number one goal this spring is to become a tougher football team.
“I think we’ve got to be a physical team coming out of spring practice,” said Gailey. “We’ve got to go in with that mindset, and we’ve got to come out even moreso with that mindset. We’re not going to be fancy. It’s going to be basic stuff so that we can find out who play the game: who can block, who can tackle, who can run, who can catch, who can cover, those kinds of things.
“I think we know who a lot of the incumbents are, but we’ve got to find out whose going to compete with those incumbents for positions and playing time.”
Tthe Yellow Jackets must replace four starters on offense and four on defense, as well as both starting kickers, but this spring, all eyes will be on the quarterback position. Last year’s starter, A.J. Suggs, returns, but the job is up for grabs as Gailey seeks more consistent play.
“I made the statement at the end of the season, and it still holds true, that the quarterback job is open, as is every job,” said Gailey, whose squad returns 52 lettermen. “Some positions have more solid veterans returning who played consistently last year. But we didn’t get the consistent play that we wanted at the quarterback position last year, so that job is going to be contested in spring practice and possibly next fall.”
The Jackets overcame major injuries in Gailey’s first campaign to post a sixth consecutive winning season and earn a school-record sixth straight bowl berth, highlighted by a win over eighth-ranked NC State. But many of the positives of 2002 were obscured when the season ended with disappointing losses to arch-rival Georgia and Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Football Classic.
Besides quarterback, the most glaring questions are in the kicking game, where Tech must find both a punter and a placekicker. In most other areas, the Jackets are seeking to develop depth and consistency.
Another question mark on offense could be at tailback, but the Jackets hope that question will be answered with the return to health of Tony Hollings. He was the nation’s leading rusher after the first four games of 2002 when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. He will not participate in spring drills but is expected to be ready for next season.
Besides Hollings, Tech’s top offensive weapons should be versatile receiver Jonathan Smith and an offensive line that returns four of five starters, including all-America candidates Nat Dorsey at left tackle and Hugh Reilly at center.
The Rambling Wreck defense performed well last fall, and many of the key players return, led by the linebacker tandem of Daryl Smith and Keyaron Fox. Tech also welcomes back all-America defensive end Greg Gathers, who missed most of last season due to a kidney ailment and was granted a medical hardship. Gathers has not yet been cleared for contact but will take part in non-contact drills.
Tech’s biggest losses on defense were in the secondary, where three of four starters graduated, including three-time all-ACC free safety Jeremy Muyres. The Jackets also graduated all-ACC linebacker Recardo Wimbush.
Tech will be working with a restructured coaching staff this spring, particularly on offense. Gailey hired his former Dallas Cowboys’ assistant Buddy Geis to be Tech’s passing game coordinator and receivers coach, while Patrick Nix was elevated to running game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Both will be involved in developing the game plan, with Gailey expected to handle the majority of the play-calling duties.
“With Buddy Geis as the passing game coordinator and Patrick Nix as the running game coordinator, they can really take on a lot of the coordinator responsibilities,” said Gailey. “They can do a lot of the paper work and practice planning, so that I can spend time being a head coach. I still don’t think you can be a full-time coordinator and a full-time head coach; that’s why I divided up the staff the way I did. “
SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE (Subject to Change)
March 14, 4 p.m. (Friday); M15, 11 a.m. (Saturday); M19, 4 p.m. (Wednesday); M21, 4 p.m. (Friday); M22, 11 a.m., Bobby Dodd Stadium (Saturday); M26, 4 p.m. (Wednesday); M28, 4 p.m. (Friday); M29, 11 a.m., Bobby Dodd Stadium (Saturday)
April 2, 4 p.m. (Wednesday); A4, 4 p.m. (Friday); A5, 10 a.m., Bobby Dodd Stadium (Saturday); A7, 4 p.m. (Monday); A9, 4 p.m. (Wednesday); A11, 4 p.m. (Friday); A12, 11 a.m. (Saturday)
Georgia Tech Coaches’ Clinic: March 28-29
SPRING GAME: Saturday, April 12, 11 a.m. Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field
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