- Offensive tackle: I think there are three or maybe even four guys for the two tackle spots. Phil Smith, who earned a starting nod midway through last season before breaking his ankle, returned to practice fully healthy & to me he's the best of the bunch. "Philthy" has a nasty streak which the staff likes & I don't see him relinquishing the starting role he won before getting hurt last year. That leaves senior Austin Barrick & redshirt junior Nick Claytor competing for the other spot. Claytor is a great kid who's battled injuries throughout his career & while they won't come out & say it publicly (nor should they), some on the staff question his toughness. Barrick, on the other hand, is a converted tight end who makes up for his lack of size with tremendous effort & good technique. There's little question that Claytor is talented, just go back & watch the Miami game from 2008; the question is whether he can stay healthy & keep his back from acting up. The wildcard here is true freshman Morgan Bailey. While CPJ prefers to redshirt his young offensive linemen Bailey may be too good to sit as a freshman. After reporting at a lean #285 pounds, Bailey may force his way into the mix by the end of camp.
Is there depth behind Stephen Hill?
- Wide Receiver: Stephen Hill most certainly will start at one WR spot which leaves Tyler Melton as the presumptive starter at the other spot. Melton is a fine blocker & the staff values him for this. But we'll need some production from the #2 slot as Hill most likely will draw a safety over the top. After those two we're painfully thin with little experience. Will someone emerge from the group of Kevin Cone, Quentin Sims, Corey Earls, Daniel McKayhan & Jeremy Moore? We'll need them to. If I had to guess at this point McKayhan, with his speed & elusiveness, would be my choice......
At this time last year Anthony Williams was chasing high school QB's, now we need him to contribute at OLB.....
- Outside Linebacker Depth: we're fine on the inside with Jefferson & Watts (one of my picks to surprise this year) starting & Stephen Sylvester and a healthy Kyle Jackson backing them up. The "Jack" & "Sam" positions on the outside are another story. At "Jack", our hybrid LB/pass rusher it looks like we'll need a freshman, either Anthony Williams or Jeremiah Attaochu (true frosh) or redshirt Chris Crenshaw, to back up starter Anthony Egbuniwe. Both Williams & Attaochu have bright futures at Tech but as true freshman lack the size, strength & experience to play regularly. Crenshaw right now is a mystery so hopefully last year helped his development mentally & physically. We better hope one of these three guys steps up.....At "Sam" LB we're in a little better shape with senior AT Barnes starting & RS sophomore Albert Rocker backing him up. Finding depth at LB during Fall camp will be key to our success once the season starts. It won't surprise me to see some position changes to help shore up this problem during the Fall...
- #2 Nose Tackle: Logan Walls will see most of the snaps here but we'll need a competent backup to spell Walls & in case of injury. My money is on RS senior Ben Anderson who started at defensive tackle & really developed before injuring his knee against Duke last year. While a bit undersized for the nose (about #285), Anderson is tremendously strong and knows what it takes to compete at this level. Early reports indicate that man/mountain TJ Barnes really got after it this summer & is in the best shape of his life & under #330 pounds. Anything we get from Barnes will be a real plus & he can certainly be a force on running downs if early reports are true. The ability to rotate players & keep them fresh at nose tackle, the key position in our new 3-4, can't be underestimated.
- Offensive Guard: Omoregie Uzzi is locked in at one spot & I'm picking him to have an All-ACC type season. The real battle is for the other starting spot between RS sophomore Nick McRae & RS freshman Will Jackson. McRae started through the spring but my feeling is that the staff would like to see Jackson sieze the job as they feel he's more mobile. Whomever wins, this battle will be one of the most highly contested in Fall camp. Once again, Morgan Bailey is a wildcard here along with fellow freshman Catlin Alford, who benched a cool #460 pounds this summer....as a true freshman.......
- Safety: the battle at the two safety spots will be great to watch this Fall because we have four players all capable of starting: senior Mario Edwards, junior Jerrard Tarrant, RS sohomore Cooper Taylor & true freshman Isaiah Johnson. Notice I didn't even include sophomore Jemea Thomas who played as a true freshman on special teams. We're honestly loaded at safety & the battle, while fun to watch, isn't that important due to the tremendous ability of the four guys involved. If I had to guess, Johnson starts because he's coachable & physically impressive; the coaches are just so high on him. After that my guess would be Edwards with Tarrant as a nickel back. But don't count out Taylor who played so well as a true freshman two years ago. However it goes, we're in great shape at safety.....
We'll update these battles as they unfold during camp. Next week we're really going to crank it up with a detailed look at the 2010 Yellow Jackets position-by-position. Stay tuned & spread the good word......
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