Technical Tidbits 11/13

Georgia Tech commit AJ Gray appears to be the real deal at both quarterback and defensive back according to the AJC and his high school coach, Joel Ingram. Gray has truly emerged as one of the top players in the state during his senior season so far -- his stats have been fantastic and his ceiling just seems to grow by the day. Paul Johnson and his recruiting staff deserve some major kudos for finding this guy as an underclassman and being the first to get there, and I give even bigger props to Gray himself for sticking with his decision despite some late interest by big schools. He has a very bright future on the Flats and I can't wait to see where his career goes.

Every single snap that Deon Hill plays for Georgia Tech is a small success story in itself. After all, it was not long ago that the senior A-Back was locked in a battle with Crohn's Disease, a medical condition involving the inflammation of the intestines and other organs. Despite all of the questions surrounding his playing career, Hill was able to find a way to kick the disease and continue playing football on the Flats for another season. His story is really an inspiration and shows that you truly can overcome obstacles to reach a goal. I can't think of anyone more deserving of the Orange Bowl FWAA Courage Award and I think that I speak for everyone when I say that I'm very grateful for what Hill has done for Georgia Tech football all season.

Georgia Tech is having to cut the price of tickets for Saturday's match-up against the Clemson Tigers in hopes of securing a sellout for the game, which will pit the No. 19 Tigers against the No. 22 Yellow Jackets. We've all expressed our anger at the noon start time for the game already, but this just seems like an obvious issue stemming from the early start -- Tech has never had this much trouble selling out for a rivalry game like Clemson before, or at least not in recent history. To be totally honest, $75 for upper level tickets could also be part of the problem. The ticket office was selling season passes for $100 in those same season before the season began, so $75 for one game seems a bit iffy. Dropping the price was definitely the right way to go if you're Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech's offense has been fantastic all season, but it will face its toughest test of the season this week as it takes on Clemson's very tough and very talented defense. The Tigers have been absolutely dominant all season on the defensive end of the ball -- their entire defensive line is studded with future NFL players -- and they boast some of the best depth in the conference as well. Georgia Tech will have to have everything working if they hope to put enough points on the board to beat Clemson this Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

What does it mean that Tech is having trouble drawing fans to see rival Clemson play Georgia Tech in what will be a game between two ranked teams? Is it a byproduct of ticket price or something else?

Thanks a lot to Tyler for taking over for me tomorrow while I'm busy and see you all on Monday!