Paul Johnson has made quite a name for himself at Georgia Tech. His quirky 1940s style pass the ball only if you have a gun to your head and you really have to offense has worked rather well.
It even put a WR, Stephen Hill into the NFL the triple option offense did. QB Tevin Washington could be just alright, and the Yellow Jackets will be a winning team. Or he could be special, Al Groh will do magic with the defense and Tech could be in the ACC title game…or anywhere in between.
2011 was: another solid year, an 8-5 campaign. The offense was great, the defense good, but the special teams were kind of a train wreck at times. Tech started 6-0 but kind of faltered down the stretch, a big reason was their imbalance on offense as Ga tech was 2nd in rushing, but 112th in passing.
2012 will go smoothly if: they have solid guards and a smart OL which allow them to open up the offense with more formations and looks. And the offense will not have to carry the load for the defense this year, as the linebackers are big and bold.
2012 will be rough if: there’s not much in the DL, and the offense isn’t exactly brimming with playmakers, although Orwin Smith could be a difference maker.
BMOC: also guys that belong in the category below: ILB Quayshawn Nealy, OLB Jeremiah Attouchu, DE Euclid Cummings. I for one fear any defensive end who’s first name matches the founder of modern geometry
All Name team: QB Vad Lee, RB, Robert Godhigh
Bottom Line: They should be better than .500 as 7-9 wins could happen, but is not guaranteed. The Ramblin Wreck could represent the Coastal division in the ACC Title game but only if: special teams are less of a disadvantage than they were in 2011, the QB is better than we think and makes more plays with his arm than expected, they find some playmakers in the DL.
Rankings:
Lindy’s- 35, Athlon-35 , Phil Steele- 40
All the 77s
#36 UCF
#40 Penn State
#45 Mississippi State
#47 Northwestern
#67 Southern Miss
#73 Kansas
#76 Minnesota
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Chicago Tribune.com, Fox Sports, MSN, Walter Football and Yardbarker
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too