Spring Practice: Five Questions.....?

Football returns !!!!!!!!! (if only briefly)

Hallelujah!!! Football is back, Albeit it temporarily but we have found a lush oasis of sanity in the midst of a cruel world without college football. These three weeks are a blessed relief. Practice begins today for the Jackets (3:45, Rose Bowl field, for those who would like to attend) and there are many questions Tech will need to answer heading into the Fall. The five most interesting story lines at Spring practice this year:

• The defensive transition, particularly the front seven. Three new coaches (Groh, Speed, & McCollum). A new scheme. Position changes. New terminology. There's a lot to learn on the defensive side of the ball this spring. We're not really hung up on "how the defense plays". If you remember a couple years ago we had 8 fumbles in the spring game & everything turned out alright during the season. Don't get caught up in the hype if the defense has a bad afternoon. We're much more focused on who is playing where & how they are adapting to the new defense. Particularly the front seven. Who emerges at nose tackle? At outside linebacker, particularly the hybrid "Jack" position? These are questions we need to make progress answering this spring. With several returning starters in the secondary we've got a pretty good idea of what we have heading into next season. The front seven is a big question mark & we'll be watching to see who emerges.
• The offensive line. We've lost three starters from last season but we could be better this year than last. How? We have a very strong group of redshirt freshman who are now ready to contribute. Who steps into the void with the departure of Howard, Gilbert, & Sellers? This will be key & we really feel like this year's offensive line could be better than lasts. Our continued success in 2010 will hinge greatly on improved offensive line play.
• #2 quarterback. With Josh sitting out & Jaybo transferring, the door is wide open for Tevin Washington, David Sims, or Jordan Luallen to cement themselves as the backup this year & heir apparent to Josh in 2011. One of these three need to step up & show command of the offense this spring. All will get plenty of reps so the competition is wide open......
• Wide Receiver. BayBay Thomas' departure for the NFL leaves a great void in the offense heading into next year. BayBay was hugely productive in limited touches in our offense & someone will need to step up & replace part if not all of that production. We're anxious to see if a "go-to" receiver develops this spring. (Cough, cough, Stephen Hill, cough....)
• The freshman. We have three highly touted early enrollees who will participate in spring ball this year: Isaiah Johnson, Charles Perkins, & B.J. Bostic. How quickly they adjust to the college game will be interesting & will determine whether or not they play as true freshmen this season. We have high hopes for all three.....

So it begins. A solid month of football. We're excited to see how we look coming off our first BCS game ever. Perhaps our biggest goal this spring is to come away with a two-deep depth chart so we know where we stand heading into the Fall. Hopefully we accomplish this & much more.....