Georgia Tech shocked some people last year going 9-4, and this year they could be even better. The ACC is lead by Virginia Tech this year but with RB Darren Evens out for the season the race for the ACC crown is now a serious battle. Georgia Tech is one of the teams that will be pressing for the top spot all year long.
Georgia Tech was the fourth best rushing team in the nation last year, and this year they might improve. As far as the defense is concerned they should also be good, they lost some key guys on the front line but returned everyone else.
Let’s take a look at why the Yellow Jackets will be one of the best teams in the ACC…
Let’s start with Tech’s best player on offense, Jonathan Dwyer. Dwyer is one of the best RB’s in the country and last season he was the ACC player of the year. Dwyer went for 1,395 yards and reached pay dirt 12 times. Dwyer is explosive and can break off a long run anytime he touches the ball. Make sure to keep your eye on #21 as he will be running around in the NFL sooner then later. The scary part is that Dwyer has help as the other parts of Tech’s option attack are also very good.
Roddy Jones is the other RB and also put up good numbers last year going for 690 yards and four touchdowns. Having Jones back there with Dwyer just makes this offense that much more scary.
At QB they have the talented Josh Nesbitt. Nesbitt is a great rushing QB but does make some sloppy decisions at times. Nesbitt should have cleaned his game up in the off season and the Yellow Jackets should be fine. Nesbitt should have some confidence knowing how talented the guys behind him are, if he can settle in for the long haul then this offense will be near impossible to stop.
Tech does not exactly throw the ball all over the place, but when they do throw Demaryius Thomas is the main guy on the outside.
The defense lost some talent on the front line in Michael Johnson. He was a force and will need to be replaced, Derrick Morgan is going to need to step up and help fill the void Johnson left.
I don’t think that Morgan can do this all by himself, so look for other players to get involved in the rotation to help get pressure on the QB. Without pressure on the QB a lot of other things start to fall apart. I don’t care how good your secondary is, if the QB has all day to throw he will find the open man eventually.
At safety they have a phenomenal talent in Morgan Burnett. Burnett led the team in tackles and interceptions. Burnett is one of the ten best safeties in the country and will play a huge part in the success of this defense. Burnett is another guy for the Yellow Jackets that will be playing at the next level very shortly, look for him to make tons of plays this year.
With Burnett roaming around opposing QB’s will need to be very careful with the football.
Offensively the Yellow Jackets will be a dominating force. That being said the defense has some spots to fill up front, if these get patched up then look for the Yellow Jackets to give Virginia Tech a run for their money.
