Ahem. AAAAAHHHHH! In case you couldn't translate that, it was me expressing my dismay at Paul Johnson's announcement that DE Kenderius Whitehead will have to sit out this coming season before beginning his Tech career. That is awful news, especially when you factor in the loss of Jeremiah Attaochu and Jabari Hunt-Days for the Yellow Jackets. Whitehead was thought to a force at defensive end for Tech, and his absence will be felt tremendously when Tech goes up against the quality offensive lines of the ACC; their already thin pass rushing group is now much thinner. KeShun Freeman will start at DE come week one for the Jackets. He is a more than capable player (a very talented one, actually), but backup from Whitehead would have been much appreciated.
Team chemistry is one of the most important things an option team can have. With players coming on and off the field on offense for just about every play, everyone needs to know and get along with each other in order for the flexbone scheme to be as effective as it possibly can be. That said, it's good to see that players like Shaquille Mason, Justin Thomas, Quayshawn Nealy, and Adam Gotsis are stepping up to make sure that the 2014 Tech squad is as cohesive as possible. Vad Lee was a very vocal leader during his brief time at Tech from the time he was a freshman and having new guys ready to step up to fill that role even after Lee's ominous departure this offseason.
This post has featured a number of articles recently dealing with Vegas odds. Every game and every situation for every team has a set of odds that hope to predict the likelihood of something occurring, but what exactly does Vegas think of Georgia Tech while coming up with said odds? They at least give the Jackets a better chance at winning the ACC than most other media outlets at 30-1 odds, good for sixth best in the conference. I guess their success against FSU in the title game back in 2012 gives the betting folks some more optimism to play with. I really frustrates me, however, that uga is favored to beat Georgia Tech by over 17 points. There is just no reason for the game to be a blowout like that with the turnover that uga has experienced on both sides of the ball. But then again, I seem to be the only one thinking that uga isn't a 14-0, team-of-the-century type squad.
The preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll was released yesterday, and it featured a rather uneventful and boring group of schools that we all saw coming. What fun are preseason polls without some anger to be had at the voters? The only ranking I have a problem with is uga at No. 12, but I'm sure that you've all heard more than enough about my opinion of uga's overrated-ness this season. I'll leave it alone for now. The ACC is represented by just three schools: FSU at No. 1, Clemson at No. 16, and UNC at No. 23. I think that's more than fair, but I honestly thought that Lousiville should have gotten some more consideration along with Duke, which retained all of its top players. Tech racked up two top 25 votes from the coaches, I assume from Paul Johnson and maybe Larry Fedora, who figures that if his Tarheels are gonna get thrashed by Tech every year then they better at least be a top 25 team to ease the pain.
Did Vegas get it right with their odds for Georgia Tech?
Which players need to step up and be leaders for Tech in 2014?
Which coaches do you think voted Tech in the Coaches Poll?
Enjoy your weekend!