Looking ahead to Fall Camp - Offense

[Eric]

With Fall camp coming up soon I figured some discussion couldn't hurt anything.

Quarterback

Of course the main topic for a lot of Tech fans is who will be the starting quarterback this year...I still have a lot of faith in Justin Thomas and I feel confident that he is our starter come game 1.

I feel that Justin Thomas brings a lot to the table as far as game changing ability...JT is quick and has great overall speed.

Byerly brings toughness to the position and is a hard runner.

True Freshman Matthew Jordan is now the third string QB...I assume we will try to keep his redshirt unless a major injury is suffered by Thomas or Byerly early on.

A - Back

We have a lot of A-Back's but none that really sepearate themselves from the others that much.

I would say Deon Hill is the best out of the group but he has to stay healthy.

Synjyn Days is probably the best blocker out of the group...I am hoping to see him have more of a impact with the ball in his hands this year

besides that we have BJ Bostic, Broderick Snoddy, Tony Zenon and Charles Perkins...Zenon and Snoddy played well this Spring.

Dennis Andrews has the biggest playmaker ability but he has to put things together, learn assignments and block better before he gets a lot of playing time...doesn't help that he is suspended for the first two games either.

Incoming Freshman Clinton Lynch and Myles Autry (if he makes it in) will get a shot to see what they can do.

I would guess that Hill and Days start with Bostic and Perkins first off the bench as of today.

Overall this is a group that concerns me a bit. No Robbie Godhigh or Orwin Smith that we can count on...hope we have someone step up and fill those shoes.

B-Back

There is no doubt that Zach Laskey is going to be the workhorse for us this year at B-back. I expect to see him have a really good year and get over the 1,000 yard mark.

The questions we have is depth..right now the first guy off the bench is former walk on Matt Connors.

After that we have Redshirt Freshman Donovan Wilson and true Freshman CJ Leggett.

Wilson and Leggett will be given the shot to take the #2 job as it is up for grabs...Connors has a big advantage though.

Laskey is what we are counting on here.

WR

This could be our best overall group yet....DeAndre Smelter, Michael Summers, Darren Waller, Anthony Autry, Corey Dennis, Ricky Jeune, Antonio Messick and Qua Searcy.

DeAndre Smelter had a really good season in his first year...expect him to be even better this year.

Summers was able to pass Waller on the depth chart last year and never gave the job back up...He has progressed well.

I will say that Darren Waller has been busting his tail this off-season, I hope to see it pay off.

Anthony Autry showed some ability before he got hurt...has a knack for blocking.

The young guy Jeune is one who the coaches think could be the next special one down the line...he got hurt in Spring so we didn't get to see much of him.

As we knew was the case when we took Messick is raw but he is coming along...he is not game ready yet but I hope to see him get some snaps in our first few games.

The wildcard here is Qua...Qua has the chance to be a special player. I really want to count him out due depth and so he can get use to the position but I am going to give him just a slim slim chance of playing.

OL

We have a lot of new faces on the offensive line this year..the one steady thing we can count on is Shaq Mason at G. He has proven his worth and could be in race for all american this year.

at center we have Freddie Burden and Thomas O'Reily fighting it out...Burden is expected to win the job.

The other guard spot is held by Trey Braun...backing both of them up is Shamire Devine. I know a lot of people are excited to see him.

I like the trip of Mason, Braun and Devine...I do think we could see one of the Freshmen like Gary Brown or Jake Whitley earn some time especially for depth purposes. In fact I am predicting that Whitley will play this season.

Tackle is what really concerns me...Those who have followed me for awhile know that you won't find a bigger fan of Chris Griffin than me. I really think he is a 4 year starter and at least two year All ACC guy. I love seeing him in the lineup and I think he has the spot locked down...RT is held by Bryan Chamberlain who struggled to say the least last season. Our coaches are pleased with what they have seen from him but I am still worried.

Nick Brigham is backing them up...as well as Errin Joe. I have been disappointed to say the least with Errin Joe.

Here is another position where I think we could see a true Freshmen play...Michael Preddy, Jake Stickler and Trey Klock are all coming in at T. Preddy had surgery on his foot a few months ago and is still in a boot so I think he will redshirt...I really think both Klock and Stickler could earn time this year but I think Stickler may be forced into action as he is a little more familiar with the system.

Two Deep Projection

1st team

QB - Justin Thomas
A Back - Deon Hill
A Back - Synjyn Days
B Back - Zach Laskey
WR - DeAndre Smelter
WR - Micheal Summers
LT - Chris Griffin
LG - Trey Braun
C - Freddie Burden
RG - Shaq Mason
RT - Bryan Chamberlain

2nd team

QB - Tim Byerly
A Back - Charles Perkins
A Back - BJ Bostic
B Back - Matt Connors
WR - Darren Waller
WR - Anthony Autry
LT - Errin Joe
LG - Shamire Devine
C - Thomas O'Reily
RG - Jake Whitley
RT - Nick Brigham

 

[jeffgt14]

Any reason you got Bostic higher on the depth chart than Zenon?

Also, are you worried about Myles Autry? All your posts the past few days seem to be hesitant about him.

 

[ilovetheoption]

How high are you on Burden? I seem to recall somebody saying that he's blazingly fast for an OL, but lacks a little bit of power. C is the most important position on the line.

 

[Eric]

Any reason you got Bostic higher on the depth chart than Zenon?

Also, are you worried about Myles Autry? All your posts the past few days seem to be hesitant about him.

Bostic just more playing time so I went with him.

Yeah, something feels fishy about Myles. We will see.

 

[Eric]

How high are you on Burden? I seem to recall somebody saying that he's blazingly fast for an OL, but lacks a little bit of power. C is the most important position on the line.

I go back and forth on Burden, sometimes I really like him and other times he doesn't impress me that much...but it is to be expected with him being young. I watched the first quarter of the Spring game the other day and he didn't blow me away. I do think he has the tools to be a good one.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I hope the whole is better than the individual parts. As of right now, I look at the starters and see a lackluster offense with no game changers. Hope I am 100% wrong.

 

[Fatmike91]

I hope the whole is better than the individual parts. As of right now, I look at the starters and see a lackluster offense with no game changers. Hope I am 100% wrong.

I think there is a reasonable chance that this unit will be better than expected.

JT's explosiveness will force defenses to change the way they play us ("a game changer"). From what I've seen, he is fast and decisive running the option. I think this could change the entire dynamic on offense vs. last year -- especially with a renewed focus on executing our base offense.

Smelter likely will be the best wide receiver we've seen since DT. And I believe as a unit we will field our best WR tandem ever under CPJ.

(I admit I am being optimistic in my analysis -- but I just don't see the O having the same dysfunction as last year, and I don't see us being worse).

/

 

[iceeater1969]

Agree! Except for qb run and possible pass no position or play seems powerful.
This year we must burn red shirts at AB and BB till we see someone with spark. Sure starters get most of plays but freshman backups ( especially AB) must have special plays called for them to show they can produce most of AB are seniors and have us worried so if they are not the burners on the edge we need to find some one in first 4 games
To a lessor extent we need to do same in oline- brown seems likely to be ready.

 

[ramblinvak]

In regards to Perkins, I felt that he had a good season last year when the ball was in his hands, albeit it was only a handful of times. What roadblock is Perkins facing for first string? Is he not a polished blocker or could his shoulder be a problem still that he only can get in a handful of times a game?

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

If JT goes down for any extended periods, and it is possible given his size and the hits he will absorb, there are no "game-changers" that I can see. With that, we will need death-marches, and I don't see a group there that can do that consistently in my opinion. I hope I am "dead" wrong. Someway, somehow, I think our D will have to win games for us, if we are to win games that we all want to win. (VT, daU, UGAG, etc.)

 

[CobbTech]

Smelter likely will be the best wide receiver we've seen since DT. And I believe as a unit we will field our best WR tandem ever under CPJ.

/

I keep hearing that this is our best WR corps in a long time and I agree 100%. But will it matter? We threw the ball 18% of the time last year. Any chance with a weaker group of backs that we might actually throw the ball more?

 

[knox]

If JT goes down for any extended periods, and it is possible given his size and the hits he will absorb, there are no "game-changers" that I can see. With that, we will need death-marches, and I don't see a group there that can do that consistently in my opinion. I hope I am "dead" wrong. Someway, somehow, I think our D will have to win games for us, if we are to win games that we all want to win. (VT, daU, UGAG, etc.)

We can't death march on good defenses. If JT doesn't start against those types of opponents we're gonna have to hit big passes or we're toast.

 

[Swarm3]

The offense line may perform better this year than expected. What I've heard is the new OL assistant coach is well received by the OL players and the players having been working out very hard this summer. With the construction in the weight room, Coach Sisk has been running cross training sessions and endurance is up within the whole group.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

On the OL, CPJ has shown he likes to move guys around to get the "best 5" on the field. If we need to sub for BC at RT, are we more likely to move Burden over or go with Brigham?

 

[GTJason]

Don't forget Tim Byerly has an arm too. I hardly believe it's JT or we just death march everyone...

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Don't forget Tim Byerly has an arm too. I hardly believe it's JT or we just death march everyone...

He had a really nice back shoulder fade in the spring game in the pooring rain. The kid has touch.

 

[Blumpkin Souffle]

I keep hearing that this is our best WR corps in a long time and I agree 100%. But will it matter? We threw the ball 18% of the time last year. Any chance with a weaker group of backs that we might actually throw the ball more?

We don't need to throw the ball more to be more successful in the passing game.

 

[ramblinvak]

We don't need to throw the ball more to be more successful in the passing game.

You are correct; we don't need to throw more. We need to throw more effectively, though. Having more competent receivers will make it easier when we do plan to throw, so the defenses can't cheat.

 

[alaguy]

I'm still amazed that one of the Sr abacks at least has not given it up..
also-What is wrong with this picture- 3 units of Abacks with Srs ,but looking at true Fr on the OL and DL..Why is it the guys who seem to quit and get hurt are the big guys?

 

[takethepoints]

One thing about Byerly: the guy throws a catchable ball. Our WRs must really like that. As I've said before, it wouldn't surprise me to see him beat out Thomas and I think the results at season's end would be virtually identical.