Technical Tidbits 1/23: Tech pulls in trio of defenders for 2017 recruiting class

Virginia absolutely shut down Georgia Tech over the weekend to the tune of 62-49 up in Charlottesville, but the real story of the game is what Cavaliers center Jack Salt was able to do to the normally very consistent Ben Lammers. Tech’s junior center finished the game with a season-worst line of 7 points on 3-12 shooting plus an additional 7 rebounds and zero blocks — not the worst line you’ll see, but a far cry from what we’ve gotten used to seeing from the best player on the team. Josh Okogie played well with 14 points and Justin Moore’s activity on offense really helped to bail out Tech’s offense, but Virginia was just the better team. The Jackets are back in action on Wednesday night against the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles.

Sunday was a huge day for Paul Johnson and the rest of the football coaching staff, as three strong players all announced their commitment to Georgia Tech within mere hours of one another. Let’s go down the list of commitments 17, 18, and 19 of the 2017 recruiting cycle:

No. 17 came in the form of three-star defensive end Kelton Dawson, a highly-regarded defensive line prospect out of Stockbridge. His commitment comes with the added bonus of a video of him informing Paul Johnson of his decision, which you can see below. Not much can draw a smile out of Paul Johnson, but crootin’ Paul is the friendliest Paul of all.

• Check out the FTRS breakdown of Kelton Dawson’s commitment right here.

Commitment No. 2 of the afternoon and No. 18 of the year came in the form of Avery Showell, a three-star safety out of Alpharetta who chose Tech over offers from Wake Forest, West Virginia, and others. He figures to play a big role in replacing the current upperclassmen of Tech’s secondary, many of whom will be gone after this season.

• Check out the FTRS breakdown of Avery Showell’s commitment right here.

Last but no least, Tech picked up commitment No. 19 by flipping Tennessee commit Jaquan Henderson. A three-star linebacker out of Newton, Henderson is the most highly-regarded of the trio with ESPN listing him as a four-star recruit and Rivals rating him at a 5.7 — as close to a four-star as you can get in their system. He chose the Jackets over an extremely impressive list of offers, one which featured the likes of Michigan, LSU, Nebraska, Michigan State, and others.

• Check out the FTRS breakdown of Jaquan Henderson’s commitment right here.

Congratulations to all three commits and to the coaching staff on a job well done over the weekend. Tech can take quite a few more commits for this cycle after the offseason’s attrition, so stay tuned for more news.