Technical Tidbits 12/17

Former Yellow Jacket Patrick Skov, a one-year starter at the B-Back position at Tech, has been invited to play in the NFL Players Association Bowl Game, held annually in Los Angeles. The game will provide Skov, who projects as a fullback at the NFL level, with an excellent opportunity to boost his stock ahead of the upcoming NFL Draft. His skillset as a blocker, runner, and receiver should help the former Stanford player draw at least a little bit of interest from NFL teams searching for a cheap alternative at the fullback position. Skov projects as a seventh round pick according to most sources but will likely end up signing with an NFL team as an drafted free agent.

The Georgia Tech basketball team found strength in numbers during their impressive double-digit win over VCU, writes RamblinWreck.com's Jon Cooper. VCU -- which features premier shooter Melvin Johnson -- was all but shut down, especially in the second half, in large part thanks to the efforts of Tech's starting guards in conjunction with some of the Jackets' key depth players. Equally impressive was how those same guards responded to VCU's signature "Havoc", a trademarked term referring to the team's aggressive style of defense. To say that the Jackets passed a tough test by winning that game is an understatement; a win over a school like VCU is something to be celebrated.

ESPN's ACC football staff recently had an interesting conversation about which coach is currently the best in the Coastal. The competition came down to Duke's David Cutcliffe and Miami's Mark Richt, both of whom have experienced great success in the past but comparatively less lately -- Cutcliffe's Devils are experiencing something akin to a down period and Richt was relieved of his duties at Georgia under a month ago. Paul Johnson came in at fourth on the list, a place that I personally disagree with but have no ammunition to reject at this point. Yeah, 3-9 seasons will do that to the best of us. Not even a three-time ACC Coach of the Year is immune.

Former Yellow Jacket lineman Errin Joe, a critical member of the offensive line for a number of seasons, was denied a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA on Wednesday. Joe, who missed all of the 2011 season (redshirt), 2013 season (injury) and half of the 2012 season, is the second Yellow Jacket to be rejected in similar fashion, joining former quarterback Tim Byerly. I try not to have a problem with these types of admittedly frustrating decisions by the NCAA, but they seem to call the shots with frustrating inconsistency. How I feel about the cases of Joe and Byerly will rest largely on what the association decides in the case of Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, who is calling for a hardship waiver after being forced to sit out a year following his transfer from Texas Tech to Oklahoma. There are clear rules in place that state that Mayfield should be docked a year of eligibility. Ruling otherwise would be quite discouraging considering the NCAA's rejection of Tech's two oft-injured former athletes.

Should the NCAA have granted Errin Joe and Tim Byerly extra seasons of eligibility? What about Baker Mayfield?