Technical Tidbits 4/14

Georgia Tech baseball's one perceived weakness coming into the season was the starting rotation. With Matthew Grimes and Josh Heddinger both turning pro and Cole Pitts and Jonathan King coming off of Tommy John surgery, the questions surrounding who would be able to go long innings began piling up. A big part of the solution, as it would happen, has been infielder Brandon Gold, who has proven that he is a more-than-capable two-way player. Gold maintained a sub-one ERA for his first few starts before coming back down to earth a bit, but his contributions (including a 2.89 ERA and 5 wins) have proved pivotal to Tech's success all season. I'm excited to see what he can do on both sides of the diamond for the next year or so.

The AJC's Ken Sugiura has three brief points from Georgia Tech's recent spring practice. Paul Johnson said that converted B-Back Marcus Allen "did pretty good", which is Paul Johnson speak for "he's a Heisman contender if he hasn't won it already". If Allen can keep up his CPJ-pleasing ways for a few more months, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him overtake presumed starter C.J. Leggett for the start of the season. Paul Johnson is going to play whoever gives the team the best chance of winning, and if that's Marcus Allen then I'm happy to see him play some early snaps.

Quarterback Justin Thomas has been able to do what few players before him have done at Georgia Tech: energize the fanbase and create a sense of belief that every season could be special. Few people saw the rising junior becoming as special as he has become so far when he came on as a rookie, but his contributions to the program will likely go unforgotten for decades after his departure. This is especially true if he can manage to instill a winning culture at Tech over the course of his final two seasons; winning big once is what good players do, but winning big repeatedly is what great players do.

In case you missed the news of the century a couple of days ago, former Notre Dame coach and current ESPN analyst Lou Holtz has come to a mutual agreement to part ways with ESPN. The 78-year-old Holtz is best know for rambling incoherently about Notre Dame, the school which he coached for from it's founding in 1842 until about last week. The school even unveiled a statue of him on campus in 2008, probably made out of all the old assignments that he allowed his athletes not to do. All jokes aside, Holtz was a controversial yet passionate reporter, especially when it came to the Irish. His in-game commentary very well could rival some of the best of all time, including Jesse Palmer and Tim Tebow.

What will Justin Thomas' legacy be when he leaves Georgia Tech?

Have a great Tuesday!