Former Tech offensive tackle Chris Griffin, who went down with a torn ACL while playing pickup basketball prior to last season, is now back and ready to contribute at a whole new position: right guard. Griffin's return will go a long way towards easing the sting of losing Errin Joe and Trey Braun, two veteran starters from last season's offensive line, but will ultimately not solve the serious depth deficit at the position. The starting five looks strong enough with sophomores Will Bryan and Trey Klock at the tackle spots, senior Freddie Burden at center, and Griffin plus former center Andrew Marshall at guard, but the depth from there is questionable at best. An improvement in Shamire Devine's conditioning would be a tremendous help considering that he has arguably the highest ceiling of anyone on the line, but that struggle is apparently still enduring. Should the line play be better than last season? It just about has no way to get worse. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that 2016 will be a shining example of strong blocking up front for Paul Johnson's team.
Unfortunately, Duke assistant Jeff Capel has reportedly removed his name from the Georgia Tech coaching search (beware the autoplay video), per CBS' Gary Parrish. Capel, a former head coach at VCU and Oklahoma before landing with Coach K in Durham, was once thought to have been the frontrunner for the job. Whether he remains in contention at other schools, including Vanderbilt and others, remains to be seen, but this news is consistent with Mike Kryzyzewski's unwritten rule dictating that Duke assistants don't take jobs within the ACC. All eyes now turn to Valparaiso's Bryce Drew, the biggest name currently associated with Tech's coaching search, as Mike Bobinski seeks the next head man for his program.
Speaking of Bryce Drew, he is reportedly the frontrunner for the job... at Vanderbilt. Missing on both Capel and Drew -- the two reported "top of the list" guys for Tech -- would be an ugly, ugly thing for Mike Bobinski. Nothing is a done deal, however. There's still plenty of time for MBob to make his move.
Bryce Drew now considered the frontrunner for Vandy, sources told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 3, 2016
Georgia Tech baseball just short of imploded over the weekend, dropping two out of three to a struggling Duke team in Atlanta. The Devils were just 2-8 within the ACC coming into this weekend yet somehow managed to get the better of the No. 18 Jackets, destroying Tech pitching in the final to games en route to a relatively easy series win. It's great that Tech has been successful against weekday opponents, but it won't matter at all if they can't win the conference games that truly matter at the end of the year. A 6-6 mark in ACC play after a pair of series versus top-10 programs isn't awful, but there's absolutely room for improvement. The Jackets play twice this week against Mercer and Kennesaw State before a weekend series at Pittsburgh.
Have a great Monday!