2010 NCAA Football Preview: Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Football has been around for well over 100 years. In that time they have won 15 conference titles; four times they have stood on top of the college football world as its champion. Since they first started playing in 1892 they have won 664 games, lost 447, and came away with a tie 43 times. While all that success is great, it is not what really matters most to the Yellow Jacket faithful.
Street and Smith has named the Georgia Tech football program the 16th best one of all time, two spots better than that other school in state, their hated rival, the Georgia Bulldogs.
With Paul Johnson at the helm for this historic program they are likely to continue seeing success in the near future. The two-time ACC Coach of the Year has proven he knows what he is doing and can lead the team to victory; after he led the team to a victory over their rival the Georgia Bulldogs he was given one heck of a bump in pay, with a raise of about 53 per cent.
In his two seasons he has led the team to a #22 rank in 2008 and finished last season at lucky #13. With the starters that are coming back the team looks to be in contention to be as good if not better in 2010.
Offence
The Georgia Tech offence lost some key personnel last season, but they return some tremendous talent as well.
Josh Nesbitt is back to run the triple option for the Yellow Jackets. As an all-conference player in 2009 he completed just 75 of 162 passes for 1701 yards with 10 touchdowns and just five interceptions. However, his talents in the triple option are not in passing the ball, but in game management and running. His run production has increased each year; last season he broke the 1000 mark for the first time with 1037 yards on 279 carries and 18 touchdowns.
Nesbitt will have another pair of veterans in the backfield with him in Anthony Allen and Roddy Jones. Neither had a ton of carries last season, but both did well with what time they had. In 64 carries Anthony Allen rushed for 618 yards and six touchdowns; Jones had an additional 345 yards on his 53 carries.
Where they may hurt is in the one place they can afford to hurt the least with a run based offence, the offensive line. Center Sean Bedford returns after an all-conference season to lead the group, but two positions will have to be filled. Sophomore Phil Smith could end up filling one of the voids.
Defence
It’s good that the Yellow Jacket offence is so adept at scoring because their defence is not so good at stopping others from scoring. Last season they allowed eight opponents to score at least 27 points; on the season they were ranked 56th in scoring allowed.
With the number of veterans returning to the defence they should have no trouble performing better in 2010. The front four will be anchored by three seniors (two returning starters) in ends Anthony Egbuniwe and Osahon Tongo along with tackle Ben Anderson. Waiting in the wings for playing time will be a capable group of players in Jason Peters, T.J. Barnes, Izaan Cross, and Robert Hall.
Another senior returns to anchor the linebackers for 2010. Brad Jefferson proved he deserved a starting spot by making 91 tackles in his first year as a full time player in 2009. Steen Sylvester will return at outside linebacker where he had 38 tackles in 2009.
Where they should be even better is in the secondary. Three of four starter return to the unit including both cornerbacks, senior Mario Butler and junior Jerrard Butler, and the free safety senior Dominique Reese. They should be able to improve upon their 2009 ranking as the 45th best passing defence in the nation.
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