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Okay, I've taken a look at Tech's defense, and if the offense didn't provide some optimism, then the Tech defense is littered with questions marks.
Georgia Tech Anticipated Defensive Starters
DE 90 Darrel Robertson (6-5/240/JR)
DT 95 Darryl Richard (6-4/285/r-SO)
DT 96 Joe Anoai (6-3/280/SR)
DE 42 Adamm Oliver (6-4/265/r-JR)
LB 35 KaMichael Hall (6-0/225/SR)
LB 58 Gary Guyton (6-2/230/JR)
LB 41 Philip Wheeler (6-2/225/r-JR)
CB 34 Avery Roberson (6-2/200/r-JR)
CB 2 Kenny Scott (6-2/185/SR)
S 4 Jamal Lewis (6-0/190/JR)
S 23 Dijay Jones (6-1/200/JR)
P 39 Durant Brooks (6-1/198/r-JR)
Note: Players in bold are players to watch; Italics are new starters.
When you take a look at the defensive side of the ball, the first thing is obvious is that Georgia Tech is only returning 5 of 11 starters on defense. While Defensive Coordinator Tenuta is a top notch coach, he is already battling injury and depth concerns.
As a unit in 2005, Tech allowed opponents an average of 317.5 yards per game, 103.9 on the ground and 213.6 through the air, resulting in 20.1 points per game. A very opportunistic defense led by Tenuta, Tech led the ACC with 21 interceptions and also racked up 36 sacks.
Coach Jon Tenuta is a very capable, defensive-minded coach, and he will definitely have some tricks up his sleeve for the Irish offense come September 2nd. He loves to blitz from all positions and likes to take chances. That said, this sometime backfires and leads to big plays for the opposing offense.
So let's quickly take a look at some of the defensive question marks. Like briefly mentioned earlier, Tenuta has lost 2005 starting DT Mansfield Wrotto to the offensive side of the ball. Tech's most experienced safety, Joe Gaston, was lost to a knee injury and may miss the entire year. To make up for the loss of Gaston, Tenuta has shifted CB Jamal Lewis to the safety spot. He is getting sophomore Darryl Richard back from a season ending injury in 2005.
Second, Tech has a lot of soul searching to do considering they lost their top three tacklers, totaling 245 tackles or 33.2% of team total. The most experienced defensive starter, Joe Anoai, only racked up 26 tackles and 3 sacks last season. Tech also expects Darryl Richard to step up the pass rush, but he is coming off a season ending injury as mentioned above, so he could be an unknown.
If the Yellow Jacket defensive line cannot get a solid pass rush against the Notre Dame offensive line, the Tech defense certainly looks to have their work cut out for them against the Irish aerial attack.
Lastly, the Georgia Tech secondary is a big area of concern. The lone starter from 2005, CB Kenny Scott, finished the season with 56 tackles and 2 INTs. The other three anticipated starters only had 39 tackles and 2 INTs combined. Very little experience, injuries depleting depth and position changes could equal a field day is Brady Quinn comes out and is on point.
In 2005, Georgia Tech went 7-5 with key victories over Auburn (23-14), Clemson (10-9), and Miami (14-10). Their losses came to Virginia Tech (51-7), NC State (17-14), Virginia (27-17) and Georgia (14-7). They finished up their 2005 campaign with a 38-10 loss to Utah in the Emerald Bowl.
Georgia Tech Anticipated Defensive Starters
DE 90 Darrel Robertson (6-5/240/JR)
DT 95 Darryl Richard (6-4/285/r-SO)
DT 96 Joe Anoai (6-3/280/SR)
DE 42 Adamm Oliver (6-4/265/r-JR)
LB 35 KaMichael Hall (6-0/225/SR)
LB 58 Gary Guyton (6-2/230/JR)
LB 41 Philip Wheeler (6-2/225/r-JR)
CB 34 Avery Roberson (6-2/200/r-JR)
CB 2 Kenny Scott (6-2/185/SR)
S 4 Jamal Lewis (6-0/190/JR)
S 23 Dijay Jones (6-1/200/JR)
P 39 Durant Brooks (6-1/198/r-JR)
Note: Players in bold are players to watch; Italics are new starters.
When you take a look at the defensive side of the ball, the first thing is obvious is that Georgia Tech is only returning 5 of 11 starters on defense. While Defensive Coordinator Tenuta is a top notch coach, he is already battling injury and depth concerns.
As a unit in 2005, Tech allowed opponents an average of 317.5 yards per game, 103.9 on the ground and 213.6 through the air, resulting in 20.1 points per game. A very opportunistic defense led by Tenuta, Tech led the ACC with 21 interceptions and also racked up 36 sacks.
Coach Jon Tenuta is a very capable, defensive-minded coach, and he will definitely have some tricks up his sleeve for the Irish offense come September 2nd. He loves to blitz from all positions and likes to take chances. That said, this sometime backfires and leads to big plays for the opposing offense.
So let's quickly take a look at some of the defensive question marks. Like briefly mentioned earlier, Tenuta has lost 2005 starting DT Mansfield Wrotto to the offensive side of the ball. Tech's most experienced safety, Joe Gaston, was lost to a knee injury and may miss the entire year. To make up for the loss of Gaston, Tenuta has shifted CB Jamal Lewis to the safety spot. He is getting sophomore Darryl Richard back from a season ending injury in 2005.
Second, Tech has a lot of soul searching to do considering they lost their top three tacklers, totaling 245 tackles or 33.2% of team total. The most experienced defensive starter, Joe Anoai, only racked up 26 tackles and 3 sacks last season. Tech also expects Darryl Richard to step up the pass rush, but he is coming off a season ending injury as mentioned above, so he could be an unknown.
If the Yellow Jacket defensive line cannot get a solid pass rush against the Notre Dame offensive line, the Tech defense certainly looks to have their work cut out for them against the Irish aerial attack.
Lastly, the Georgia Tech secondary is a big area of concern. The lone starter from 2005, CB Kenny Scott, finished the season with 56 tackles and 2 INTs. The other three anticipated starters only had 39 tackles and 2 INTs combined. Very little experience, injuries depleting depth and position changes could equal a field day is Brady Quinn comes out and is on point.
In 2005, Georgia Tech went 7-5 with key victories over Auburn (23-14), Clemson (10-9), and Miami (14-10). Their losses came to Virginia Tech (51-7), NC State (17-14), Virginia (27-17) and Georgia (14-7). They finished up their 2005 campaign with a 38-10 loss to Utah in the Emerald Bowl.
