Redshirt Report - Defense

Eric

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Darius Commissiong -He flashed his potential early in Fall camp and showed why he was a highly touted recruit. He is a athletic big man who is quick off the ball...He is fast off the ball and has some power. He has the chance to be a good pass rusher...Commissiong is a guy that is able to handle his weight well. He was up at 340 one point last season but trimmed down before arriving to Tech. He is likely going to play right near 300. He will have a good bit of depth ahead of him next year but I would not be surprised to see him get some backup minutes at the year goes along...Looks to be a good one for us down the line.

Justin Akins - Justin is a guy who just keeps filling into his frame. During his Senior year he was 6'4 and around 240...A couple of months ago he was around 275. He was orginally thought to be coming in as a DE but with they way he is growing he has been moved inside. He is still very raw at DT and is spending his time learning the position and the technique. Staff feels like they got a steal in him and feel like we have a good future ahead on the DL.

Kevin Robbins - Another Al Groh recruit who was orginally thought to be coming to Tech as a OLB...However he has kept growing and is now at DE. Robbins arrived at Tech weighing almost 260 and is ripped. Robbins is a hard worker and has been performing well. He has traveled to a few games as he has been playing well on the scout team. Robbins will be behind a few guys next year like Williams, Stargel, Gamble but I expect him to compete for playing time and he could earn his way into the two deep next year. Looking forward to watching him grow from this year to next.

Corey Griffin - The last commit in the 2012 class came as a surprise for most...When Ted Roof took over the job as DC he got a call from Chip Walker (Sandy Creek HS) and told him to take a look at this kid that he thought he was a sleeper...Ted Roof offered after he seen the film and now Griffin is Jacket. Griffin moved from OLB to S his Senior year so he is very raw at the position and is still learning it all. He is a guy that I think will see time on special teams next year but hopefully wont be forced into action at DB until he is ready. Corey is good in run support.

John Marvin - He came to Tech in the Summer and the coaches wanted him to line up and play some CB instead of S which is his normal position. He dominated the camp and only had one pass caught against him all day. This is a Charles Kelly kid...Marvin has good size at 6'1 and around 195. His frame can hold more weight so he will continue to get bigger. He also returned kicks in high school. Marvin is athletic enough to play both CB and S so it will be fun to see which position he ends up sticking at. I personally think he will be a S longterm. I would look for Marvin to make a impact right away on special teams next year as he is physical kid that loves to hit.

The staff is excited about the guys on the defensive side of the ball...They feel they have the future of the defensive line in good shape and expect these guys to anchor it down in the not so distant future. They also added two good DBs in Griffin and Marvin and expect both to be good players in time. Coaches feel like all the guys they signed last year can compete and that they did not miss on any.
 

AE 87

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Commissiong and Akins were the guys whose hometown press caught my attention. I'm glad to hear about the others.
 

kg01

Get-Bak! Coach
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Another great write-up. I think Robbins or Akins will replace A. Williams as my yearly "who'll break out this year" selection.

I'll be curious to see which one out of Akins and his HS teammate (the one who committed to Vandy) ends up the better player.
 

ATL1

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Great news ....
I new Roof would be able to stop the run, for that has been his M/O in his previous stops. I'm pleasantly surprised at the secondary being able to hold given the losses Tech has experienced this year, and the departure of Charles Kelly.
There's gonna be some heavy competition next year at the line and in the secondary.
Groh recruited well for his system even though they lacked star power, if he didn't try to do to much with his scheme he may even of worked out.
Roof has done well with guys being fundamentally sound in their techniques and less with them trying to out scheme (thinking too much) on the field.

These next series of games minus A&M will be telling, 2 very good (Great) offensive teams.
 

Eric

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I'm not expecting two dominating performance these next two big games...Clemson is a very good offensive team. Limiting them will be key. They are
putting up about 40 a game. I will be happy if the D can hold them to around 28...that's just me though.

We are going to need our offense to step up and help the D if we want to win.
 

IronJacket7

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I said at the beginning of the year that if we held teams to 21 points or less then we would win and win often. However, our offense has imo under performed this year. Good execution is one thing. Penalty free execution is another. We need both against UGA and Clemson. Like what we saw against Syracuse. If we do that then I really like our chances against both.
 

ATL1

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The line play has been very bad, not just in protection but with their discipline as well. Penalties killed Tech against VT & BYU.
 

GTJason

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I think clock control is key to limiting Clemson. Death march drives every time, no passing and no penalties will get it done. Make Boyd sit on the sidelines for 30 minutes at a time (the game is televised on ESPN so lots of commercials will help) and the 4th quarter will be where the defense shines. We won't be able to stop their offense early, but limiting their possessions and keeping them cold on the sidelines is our best strategy...
 

AE 87

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I'm not expecting two dominating performance these next two big games...Clemson is a very good offensive team. Limiting them will be key. They are
putting up about 40 a game. I will be happy if the D can hold them to around 28...that's just me though.

We are going to need our offense to step up and help the D if we want to win.

By my calculations, CU's D has been having a better year than their O. They're putting up 39.8 pts/game (incl 2 pick 6s) and allowing 20.6, but they're also averaging 14.4 possessions a game of O and 14.7 possessions a game on D.

Consequently, I have CU averaging 2.6 pts/poss while allowing 1.4.

GT has averaged 11.3 possessions/game of O and 11.0 on D. We're averaging 2.9 pts/poss and allowing 1.6.

(no transitive property in football caveat) Our common opponents are Syr and UVA.
Syr: GT 56-0; CU 49-14
UVA: GT 35-25; CU 59-10 (the week after UVA played us)

u[sic]ga has scored 2.8 pts/poss and allowed 2.4

I agree that we're going to need to step-up on both sides of the ball, but we're not as out-manned as one might think.
 

Eric

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I think our DL can have success against the Clemson OL...Attaochu is going to have to play out of his mind again.

Watkins, Bryant, Humphries, Hopper and seckinger is a great group.

Watts is going to be a key guy for us.

Clemson D has improved a good bit.
 

OldJacketFan

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Quality depth is finally starting to show. When you have high level competition up and down you get the best players on the field. The work put in by the staff and the quality of coaching is going to pay big dividends over the next couple of years! Add to that better overall recruiting we could be seeing special on the Flats!
 
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