Georgia Tech's fall football camp wrapped up on Saturday with another scrimmage at Bobby Dodd Stadium. It was a great day for the offense, who had 0 turnovers across the 110 snaps played. Senior WR DeAndre Smelter had the play of the day with a 70-yard touchdown run on a reverse. Backup QB Tim Byerly was out on the day with a minor injury (a "ding" -- not something that would keep him out of a real game), so true freshman Matthew Jordan ran the second-team offense with considerable success. Senior BB Zach Laskey had a great morning, both by running and catching the ball. Senior WR Darren Waller also had a couple of big catches, including one for a touchdown.
Coach Johnson is pleased with his team's effort, progress, and lack of injuries in fall camp:
A few other interesting notes following the conclusion of camp...
- With Justin Thomas as the main quarterback today, it sounds like he's very comfortable with the system and running it very well. There's also a clip in the main scrimmage recap that shows him using a low center of gravity really nicely to avoid a tackle. He should be a bright spot on offense this year.
- It sounds like one of the major winners of camp (and not a moment too soon) was Senior AB Tony Zenon. With the ball, Zenon has always been strong, but it sounds like his blocking is massively improved over previous years. He should start at "Small" AB over Deon Hill and B.J. Bostic.
- Synjyn Days has been taking reps at B-Back and looking pretty good, meaning he could join Matt Connors as the primary backup to Laskey. That said, he'll also play some at A-Back and even Quarterback as situations require. He'll probably backup a healthy and high-performing Charles Perkins, who should be the starter at A-Back opposite Zenon.
- True freshman DE KeShun Freeman is looking to be the starter at WDE, which is amazing considering he was thought to be the third or fourth option just a few months ago. He's been very impressive in camp. Additionally, newcomers Antonio Simmons and Kenderius Whitehead have some size to add. Whitehead's listing of 6'5", 220lbs is reportedly a bit generous, and Antonio Simmons is reported at a very slim 6'3", 190lbs. (Simmons was listed as a LB in today's practice report, which was either a typo or means that's the plan for him until he's able to add, like, 50 pounds.)
- It sounds like we'll be seeing a lot of Step Durham and the Austin twins at cornerback this year. That makes sense given the extra depth needed in the secondary as we emphasize the nickel package.
- All signs would indicate that Isaiah Johnson is playing at 100%, not only physically but also mentally. This is a huge deal for a guy coming back from a knee injury similar to his.
Overall, it sounds to have been a successful and healthy camp on the Flats. I want to point out, too, that the Athletic Department has done a fantastic job of promoting camp with the #GTCAMP14 campaign. Between YouTube videos and a Twitter campaign earlier this week, Mike DeGeorge and his crew have done a really top-notch job of covering the program these last few weeks.
The Jackets will be off tomorrow and begin classes Monday. They'll have one week of class before getting into their game week routine, as we're just two weeks from kickoff!
See below for more of the #GTCAMP14 series: