Technical Tidbits 5/13

We could be just weeks away from hearing an official announcement regarding Georgia Tech appearing in the 2017 Chick-fil-A kickoff game against Tennessee. It has been speculated for months that the Jackets will be meeting up with the Volunteers for the game -- the speculation was furthered when Tech rescheduled a series with Ole Miss from 2016-2017 to 2022-2023 -- but it now appears that we are just an announcement away from knowing for sure. This would be a great opportunity for the Jackets to appear in front of a national audience and an even cooler opportunity to be among the first teams to play in the new Falcons stadium, which should be completed by 2017.

In what promises to be an interesting 2015 season, could Georgia Tech and Clemson actually meet twice in one year? While this is obviously a possibility, -- the Jackets and Tigers meet this October in Death Valley and could meet again in the ACC Championship if both teams win their respective divisions -- I would say that the odds are better now than ever before. In fact, even if the Jackets don't meet up with Clemson in the title game it is likely that they would be playing a rematch anyway; the other contender from the Atlantic is FSU, which is also on Tech's 2015 slate.

The football careers of two Jackets, Michael Preddy and Nick Brighman, have officially come to an end. Preddy, an offensive lineman and member of the 2014 recruiting class, will give up football and return home to Charleston, S.C. while Brigham will put away the helmet after sustaining multiple injuries during his time on the Flats. Brigham will remain on a medical scholarship at Georgia Tech because the injuries he sustained are considered to be football related. These two departures mean that Tech has 83 players on scholarship, 2 below the limit of 85. See the FTRS report here.

In some more bad news, Beesball fell last night to the in-state rival dwags 6-0 at the Ted. In front of the largest college baseball crowd this season, the hitting streaks of Matt Gonzalez (13 games) and AJ Murray (seven games) were both broken. uga's Daniel Nichols broke the game open in the sixth with a three-run shot to right center to make the score 4-0. That home run chased Tech's starting pitcher Cole Pitts from the game. Jared Walsh, the starter for uga, on the other hand, pitched a great game, throwing a one-hit shutout over his five innings with six strikeouts. The Jackets get back into action Thursday night in the last series of the season down in Coral Gables. They can clinch a spot in the ACC tournament with a win Thursday night and a win by Duke over Wake Forest.

Basketball transfer Adam Smith officially signed a grant-in-aid agreement with Georgia Tech yesterday, making his transfer to Atlanta official. Smith will provide Tech with some much-needed scoring during his final season of eligibility -- he led the Hokies in scoring last season and was tops in the ACC in terms of three-point shooting at almost 43%. With him waiting in the ranks, Brian Gregory's patented pass-it-around-the-arc-until-the-shotclock-runs-out offensive philosophy might finally work.

Would you be disappointed or excited if Tech were to meet up with Clemson twice in 2015?

Have a great Wednesday!