Jackets Land Favors

On a night that Tech fell to 0-3 in conference play, there was something that was overshadowing the Duke game, and possibly the rest of the 08-09 season.

Jackets landed, according to Scout.com, the top prospect in the entire Nation. Favors plays his high school ball at South Atlanta high.

I had a chance to catch him in action last year and I think he’s going to be a special player. Right now I would say the chances of him leaving after one year are about 70%, but you never know.

Even if he opts for the draft after the 09-’10 season, he is the type of player that can propel a team very far in tournament play. His defense and rebounding are unmatched throughout the nation. His offensive game needs some polishing, but let’s just say he could contribute if he donned the white and gold tomorrow.

Pre-Favoirs commitment, Tech ranked 9th in the nation in Team recruiting ranking rankings according to Rivals. Post Favors-commit rankings won’t be out until the next signing day, April, but… I think we’ll jump upto 3, behind Texas and UNC. There is even a shot we grab #1.

As for next year, if Lawal stays our lineup should look something like this:

Udofia, Shumpert, Peacock, Lawal and Favors along with Miller, Rice, Holsey, Oliver, Storrs and Forman off the bench. Tech’s future in basketball could be bright.

Back later,
JE

Favors to decide TOMORROW

Incase you haven’t heard, Derrick Favors is announcing his decision tomorrow (Wednesday) at 6:30 PM. He will do so at the ESPN zone in the center of Buckhead.

As for who is in the mix? Georgia Tech, UGA along with Sidney Lowe’s NC State wolfpack.

Here’s an interesting snippet from Scout about what they think could possibly happen:

“Obviously, we don’t know his decision but here are some interesting nuggets to digest. The last college game Favors attended was Jan. 6 when he watched as Tech beat Georgia. His announcement could find itself on the ESPN Network which just so happens to be broadcasting the Tech-Duke game 30 minutes following his scheduled announcement. Coincidence?”

Let’s hope they are correct. As for my guess? I think Favors has been ours to lose for quite some time now. It’s close to home, he loves Hewitt, he would play right away and we send players to the pros.

This would be beyond big for our recruiting class. It would almost certainly knock us into the top 3 nationally. This class, even if Favors is a one and done-r, should restore order in Tech basketball.

Be back later,

JE

A Quick Look Into The Sports World AND A Tech Football Preview for 2009

A Quick Look Into The Sports World…Then onto Tech in ’09.

Been an exciting weekend in sports as of late. First off, congratulations to the Gators last night, they really shut down the Oklahoma offense like no one has before. Doubt we have any Gators reading this, but figured I might as well throw that in there.
A second thing going on in sports,

I can’t believe John Smoltz is gone. He’s been one of, if not the face of the Braves for the past 10+ years. I can’t believe he might be pitching against us in the Ted come interleague play. Talk about something that would be tough to watch.

A third thing, who else has been paying attention to the Hawks? We’re 22-12, standing fourth in the East, a ½ game ahead of the Pistons, who have suddenly found out how to play with “The Answer” in the lineup. The way I see it playing out, I think we will finish 51-31, ending twenty games above 500, which would be a pretty impressive season. I take that back, a very impressive season. I think that would put us at the 4 seed, stacked up against the Pistons, with HC advantage. I think we definitely have the talent and motivation to go all the way to the finals, but I think we still need one more year of experience as a whole to make the trip. If Bibby keeps hitting clutch shots like he has been, except for Orlando, then who knows, a NBA Finals trip could definitely be in the cards.

What to look for from Tech on the gridiron in 2009, and hopefully, 2010.

Well, first things first, We return 19 of 22 starters from the Chick-fil-a bowl, and in my opinion, more importantly, from the UGA game. Our entire offense returns along with the entire line-backing core and the entire secondary. The defensive line will be a giant question mark going into the season as we will only have one truly proven player starting, Derrick Morgan.

The Backfield in 09 should be exceptional. We return Quarterback Josh Nesbitt to run the offense for the second year straight, and I think he could be dangerously good in his second go-around. Jaybo Shaw will open up as the backup, and should safely be in as QB 2. Behind Nesbitt will be returning ACC player of the year, Jonathan Dwyer. No matter whom the opponent was, Dwyer ran around and through them. Currently, he ranks as the 2nd rank back in the 2011 class, according to www.nfldraftscout.com, and will definitely be tempted to leave. He has the power and speed of an NFL back, clocking in the low 4.4’s in the forty. To the right and left of Nesbitt will be Roddy Jones and a big giant question mark. Before we run through those possibilities, let’s look at Roddy for just a bit. Roddy showed tremendous ability late in the season, especially in the UGA game. He has the speed to get to the corner, which is where about 90+% of his runs come from, and he has the power to break arm tackles. Remember, he’s only going to be a RS SO this year, so we have 3 more years of watching him play, assuming something out of the ordinary doesn’t occur. As for the other A-Back, who knows? As of now, I would have to say the leader is someone who never stepped on the playing surface this year, Anthony Allen. Allen is going to be a RS JR this year, and throughout the spring, he showed everything needed to be very successful in this offense. He has pretty good speed, a lot of power, good vision and great moves. Incase anyone didn’t know, Allen is a transfer from Louisville. He’ll be wearing #43, barring changes, and should be great. Don’t think the backfield stops there, because it definitely doesn’t. Lucas Cox, this years starter, could also open up the season as the starter. Cox runs down hill with power, is a great blocker, and is probably the man to beat going into the spring. Next up will be two sophomores, that I wish we could have somehow redshirted. Those two are Marcus Wright and Embry Peeples. Wright clocks a legit sub 4.3 forty. When he learns this offense, he could be unstoppable in getting to the outside. Let’s hope he gets his chance, because his big play capability may be matched by nobody else on our team. As for Peeples, he reminds me of Roddy, with more speed. He’s 5’10”, 178 and runs about a 4.4. Him and Wright could one day be the future of the offense when they are both seniors, along with Roddy Jones. There is even a possibility one of them could redshirt this year, to gain one more year of eligibility. Greg Smith could also see some action.

Next up, let’s look at the receivers. The top three receivers, excluding the backfield, will all be back. Those three are Demaryius Thomas, Tyler Melton and Corey Earrls. Thomas and Melton should again hold down the starting spots with Earrls seeing some time. Bebe will only be a junior, and if Paul can install more of his run and shoot package, he could have a big year, even somewhere around 1000 yards, or more. Melton will only be a sophomore and Earls will be a junior. Earls has 4.35 speed and has yet to live upto his potential. R.B. Clyburn and Zach Fisher are behind those three.

As for the offensive line, we lose Andrew Gardner, but he missed the latter half of the season anyway. Gardner was a great leader, a great player, and should be a relatively high pick (4th round) come April. If the line stays the same as last year, we will start, from left to right, Nick Claytor, Cord Howard, Dan Voss, Joseph Gilbert and Austin Barrick, reading Sophomore, Senior, Senior, Sophomore, Junior. However, I’m not sure if they will still be the starting 5. RS FR Omeregie Uzzi, RS SO Clyde Yandell along with some other lineman coming in could definitely compete for starting spots. As the lineman continue to learn the offense, we will continue to improve.

Next, we switch over to defense…

The defensive line will be the biggest unknown heading into the 2009 season. The only definite is returning defensive end Derrick Morgan. Morgan will be a junior and looks to have a great 2009 campaign. In my opinion, he will be an all-ACC player. Opposite Morgan will probably be RS JR Robert Hall. Hall has been injured some throughout his career, but shows promise when in the lineup. The man competing with Hall will be RS SO Jason Peters. Peters is big, strong and athletic. No matter who starts, the other is sure to see some time. Anthony Egbuniwe will also see some time at end. As for the defensive tackle spots, those will be somewhat up in the air. You can expect to see Ben Anderson starting at one. Next to Anderson will most likely be Logan Walls, T.J. Barnes or incoming freshman J.C. Lanier. In my opinion, I think T.J. Barnes will take over the starting spot. He’s 6’7”, around 350 and will be very hard to move along the line. J.C. Lanier looks to have a promising career while Walls is the most experienced and should contend for time as well. The defensive line will be better than most expect, and relatively young as well. We will be deep, so we should be able to rotate a decent amount.

At the linebacker spot, we return all three starters in Sedric Griffin, Kyle Jackson and Brad Jefferson. Griffin improved tremendously throughout the year and was probably our best linebacker throughout the year. Whenever I was watching, he was always in on tackles. Brad Jefferson will be the man in the middle. “Gladiator” is big, strong and fast. He reminds me somewhat of Phil Wheeler, just a little bigger, although he might not be quite as fast. Kyle Jackson will be a RS SO and was in on a lot of tackles. He is also a good leader and should be the leader of the defense, verbal wise. The main two backups will be A.T. Barnes, a RS JR and Steven Sylvester, a sophomore. Both should see some time. Barnes has unmatched athleticism for a linebacker and could step into a starting role sometime throughout the season. Sylvester is still learning but looks like he will be a great fit at some point.

Finally, we hit the secondary. The secondary returns every starter. The two cornerback slots will be held by Mario Butler and Rashaad Reid. Butler is a great cover guy while Reid is a great tackler. Both are relatively locked in at those spots because they played well last year and should be dependable guys throughout their career. Mike Peterson will be the main backup with Deron Jasper as the fourth man. We return our top four safeties in Morgan Burnett, Cooper Taylor, Dominique Reese and Mario Edwards. Burnett was an All-ACC player and a second team All-American. He’ll be the definite leader of the defense. Cooper Taylor had a great year as a freshman and should be even better in his second year under Dave Wommack. He took over the starting role about midseason and hung onto it. Nickelback will be Dominique Reese, a very good cover man for a safety and a sure tackler. Mario Edward is behind Burnett as rover and see some more PT this year. He transferred from VT and is a very talented safety who can bring the wood.

As for special teams, we return both out kick off man, place kicker and punter in Scott Blair. He showed much more consistency at the end of the year and should be good in 09.

As for a quick prediction… Tony Barnhart has us ranked 13 in his early top 25 for 2009 and I can’t disagree. I think the ACC is ours to lose. Our offense can only improve with all 11 starters back and a year in the system under our belt. If the d-line can step up our defense should definitely be improved from this past year.
As for the record, Give me 11-1 (7-1 ACC) and a Coastal Division Title. I’m not going to predict any ACC title or bowl game because it’s too early for that. But I think Tech is headed for a very successful season in CPJ’s second year.

What To Think of The Basketball Season?

So with the UGA basketball game coming up tonight in Alexander, I thought I’d go ahead and look a little bit into the basketball season. There’s a recent article in the AJC about the basketball team talking about the second half of the Alabama game. With 10 minutes left and Tech down by 30, something clicked. The Jackets played pressure defense like it was 2004 and busted their butts like we’re use to seeing Hewitt’s team do. Can they learn a lesson from that and start running teams into the floor? Let’s hope so…

In my opinion, Tech goes as three people go: Gani Lawal, Lewis Clinch and Iman Shumpert. I don’t mean to say they are the entire team, but to me, they are the catalysts of the team.

Shumpert is just a freshman and it looks like he will be here for at least three years, and a good chance of four. Gani lawal on the other hand, a sophomore, might be gone after this year. He’s projected to be picked in the lottery by all and the top ten by most.

Shumpert’s deep ball has definitely improved over the season and he has the capability to break defenses down. He still needs to work on the crisp-”i-ness” of his passes along with his vision, but he looks like he might be the next great guard at Tech. With Mo Miller out, he’s been thrust into a big role and has done a better job than most could.

When you talk about Gani Lawal, a lean, strong, fast forward comes to mind. Lawal can jump out of the gym and he definitely knows how to run the floor. He can beat other big men end to end, resulting in many baskets. The knock on Lawal comes in his low post moves and his free throw shooting. He is only (approximately) a 50% shooter and with how much he gets to the line, him knocking down 70%+ from the charity stripe could be a big help. As for his low post moves, his favorite is the turnaround bank. He’s gotten good at that shot over the past year and a half. If he could put some hooks, fakes, etc; in his arsenal, it would be a huge help to the teams production. I look for Lawal to definitely be on the first or second All-ACC team when those come out later.

As for Lewis Clinch, everyone knows the story, he can shoot the rock. He looks like he’s improved his all around game this past summer and it looks like he’s found a couple more ways to score the ball. His defense has without question improved. Him and Alade Aminu are the senior leaders on the floor, and you can always tell it with Clinch. He always calls group huddles and he plays hard, leaving everything he’s got on the floor. When he catches fire, stopping him is not an easy task.

Now, as I said earlier, those three are not everything Tech’s got. There are definitely some other players that play big roles, let’s take a look, starting with Senior big man Alade Aminu.

Alade has shown tremendous improvement in his offensive game the past two years. I haven’t seen anyone stop his hook shot yet, and sometimes I don’t think we get him the ball enough. He is a very good shot blocker on the defensive end, as well. He hasn’t been able to bulk up much, something that has possibly prevented him from doing great things throughout his career. He’s a pretty good rebounder and will definitely be a key in ACC play.

Next up on the list is combo-man Zach Peacock. The thing I love about Peacock is his versatility. He can play the 3, the 4 and even the 5. He’s pretty tall (6′8″) and he’s pretty thick (235). He’s great on the boards and can shoot better than most his size. He’s great on the perimeter of the lane and has the ability to get his shot off quickly. He’s only a junior and will definitely be a big leader next year. He fills out the starting line up along with the four listed above.

With Miller out, Tech really only goes eight deep. The sixth man, first off the bench, is Lance Storrs. Storrs can hit threes and plays pretty good defense. He still needs some work on putting the ball on the floor, but he’s only a sophomore. If he can improve his ballhandling, which will result in him getting to the basket, he can come a reliable scorer.

The 7th man is Nick Foreman. Foreman, #4, is a walk on and goes in for a couple of reasons, to bust his butt, play defense and to do whatever Hewitt asks of him. He is the best on ball defender on the team and reminds me of Mario West. He isn’t quite as good as a defender, but he also has a better offensive game. CPH uses him a lot in the end of the game when he’s doing defense for offense subs.

Eighth on the court is Brad Sheehan. Sheehan is a RS sophomore. He’s tall, lanky and knows the offense well. His lack of athleticism prevents him from dominating down low, but he’s a pretty good rebounder and he is a very good passer for a man his size. He gives Aminu, Lawal and Peacock rest when needed.

When Mo Miller is in the lineup, he will be the first man off the bench the majority of the time.

So there’s a brief breakdown of the team. As for the season, I think it’s going to be a tough one. I think we’ll pull off some upsets in ACC play, but we’ll also lose some games we should probably win. I think Hewitt is building the program back up to National prominence when you look at this upcoming years recruiting class. I’m predicting something like 6-10 in the ACC. I think .500 would be a very good goal.

As for tonight, give me the Jackets at home, and give me a big win.

To Hell With Georgia

Not A Good Way To Go Out

Well, obviously Tech football didn’t go out the way everyone wanted them to. The Total Yards and The Score didn’t well represent each other, but hey, the only thing that matters is the score. Instead of looking back at the game, I figured that wouldn’t be pleasant for any Tech fan to read. So, soon I will have a lookahead to the promising 2009 campaign along with much, much more basketball season. ACC play is just about to pick up and it should be exciting. Will we be able to pull off any upsets? Can we play .500+ basketball in conference and maybe fight at an At-Large bid into the Dance? Check back in the next couple of days for the Tech basketball preview.

Thanks,

JE

Quick Tech-LSU Preview

Just over 24 hours until Tech tries to improve on their 0-3 record in the Peach/Chick-Fil-A Bowl. They’ll be going up against last years National Champs, the LSU Tigers. The Chick-Fil-A Bowl is sort of a disappointment for LSU fans, but coming into the season, most Tech fans had no aspirations to end up in a bowl game as good as this.

LSU’s defense is very athletic, but the question is whether or not they can be disciplined. Their front four can wreak havoc, but many good front fours have been eaten up by the Spread Option offense. LSU’s defense is Similar to the Dawgs and we all saw what CPJ and company did to that defense. Secondary man Harry Coleman leads the defense in tackles, and if he has the most tackles against us, that should mean our offense is clicking. Blocking DE Tyson Jackson will be one of the toughest tasks, and if we do, we should be able to accumulate some long plays.

When LSU has the ball, we need to stop the run, period. Their QB play has been more inconsistent than Reggie Ball in his four years at Tech. Reggie always had his share of good plays, LSU QB’s haven’t even had those. Jordan Jefferson takes over the reins for this game, and that could bode either way for the Jackets. Jefferson is mobile and has shown the playmaking ability, but he also lacks experience. Jarrett Lee and Andrew Hatch have found their way to the bench due to inconsistent play.
LSU’s offense is led by tailback Charles Scott. Scott runs downhill and isn’t afraid of contact. Good running backs have found a way to run against Georgia Tech and we do not want to see that again. If I were Wommack, I’d load up the box a decent amount and make Jefferson beat us with his arm. If we can stop Scott and backup Keiland Williams, LSU’s offense could struggle.

The third element of LSU’s ‘offense’ comes in the Special Teams area with Trindon Holliday.Holliday has legit 4.2 speed and has the ability to beat teams on Kick and Punt returns alone. We will need to show good coverage to prevent him from giving LSU  great field position and even points on the board.

All in all, with this game in Tech’s backyard, I think it’s ours to lose. We’ve been clicking lately and I think CPJ has a couple of wrinkles up his sleeve for the LSU defense. I think LSU’s O is too one dimensional and they’ll have problems throwing against us. It’s up to us to stop the run, and hopefully the 3 seniors on the d-line can go out in style.

As for the prediction, I’ll take us in the Dome, getting Tech their first 10 win season since O’leary left Tech.

Tech-38, LSU-27

Back From The Dead

Back after a very long leave. I’ve been busy over the break. I’ll post a Georgia Tech-LSU Preview for the Chick-fil-a bowl along with some Basketball info. Sorry for the posting drought.

Apologies

Still not going to be able to post anytime in the near future. I have exams this week but throughout Christmas break I should definitely be able to write some good articles. Basketball is kicking up and I will have a lot more basketball coverage on the way. Along with Chick-Fil-A preview.

In the meantime, check the blogs I posted in the previous post along with www.cfn.scout.com and www.rivals.com…They, along with others, are starting to come out with All-American teams and All-Conference teams. In the ones I have checked so far, we have been pretty well represented.

Contract talks are heating up with CPJ, let’s hope we get him for a long time.

Back next week,

JE

Out for a couple of days

I won’t be able to post for the next couple of days. I’ve got a busy schedule coming up and don’t think I’ll have time to write anything. I was at the Tech Vandy basketball game today, I thought we looked pretty good. A double digit win over an SEC opponent has to be somewhat impressive, and it was.

In the meantime, be sure to check out www.gtsports.blogspot.com along with the www.playatgatech.com official blog

JE

A Handful Of Articles From Around The Web

Below is a compilation of some good articles and sets of rankings around the web, be sure to check them all out:

Dennis Dodd Article on why Paul Johnson should win Coach of the Year

Rivals College Football Position Power Rankings: Tech featured in: RB, DL, DB, HC

Scout’s weekly NCAAF rankings, 1-119

Tony Barnhart’s Bowl Projections: Tech to Chick-Fil-A to face LSU

Georgia Tech Players Named to All ACC Squads

Tech’s Paul Johnson named ACC Coach of the Year