Mailbag 8/28: Lots of over/unders and some light special teams concern

Techfiend: Which position group gets the most rushing yards vs. the Vols? A-backs, B-backs, or QB's?

This is a tougher question than it would normally be thanks to the dismissal of Dedrick Mills, but I’m still going to go with the B-Backs. Paul Johnson will likely play it safe with whichever quarterback he starts on Labor Day, meaning that he’s probably going to look to reduce reads and make the offense as simple and intuitive as possible for week one. It seems like that was the gameplan for the Virginia Tech game last season and Marcus Marshall ended up leading the team with 143 yards, followed by 121 for Matthew Jordan. That encompassed 19 carries for Marshall, 32 for Jordan, and just 7 for the A-Backs.

Ben T: Gun to your head: what was your favorite aspect of our Russell uniforms through the years and why is it the honeycomb helmets?

There is quite honestly nothing memorable about any of the Russell uniforms besides the honeycomb helmets, but even those were ruined by the hideous tops they wore. The all-white look was always nice as well, but that’s hardly a Russell-only innovation. I’ll just go with those helmets.

Aguayo's Kicking Coach: What concerns do you foresee with having two freshman kickers starting for us?

I’m not as concerned as I probably should be. Having a quality kicker is a luxury that very few teams are blessed with in college football, and Harrison Butker has really spoiled us over the last few years. That said, it’s possible to be successful without a top-tier kicker — particularly when you go for it on fourth down as frequently as Paul Johnson does. I expect him to be even more aggressive in those situations this season in order to avoid kicking as much as possible, which could be a net positive depending on how efficient the offense ends up being.

George P. Burdell: Got three fantasy football questions. Is Baybay over or under rated in fantasy football going into this season? What round is acceptable to draft Butker (standard 10 team league)? Are you considered a traitor for drafting Todd Gurley or Matt Stafford?

1. I’ll give you an honest answer since everyone knows the homer answer: I’m trying not to draft him. Watching Emmanuel Sanders steal touchdowns and Trevor Siemian struggle to get the ball to his top option was frustrating all of last year.
2. Butker should be drafted in the first round, generally speaking. (He hasn’t won the starting job yet, by the way. He’ll have one more shot in Carolina’s final preseason game.)
3. I don’t buy into this. I’ve owned both during different seasons and have regretted it every time, but never because of their alma mater.

Charles: Is Grant Field better or worse after MLS Atlanta United?

I was in there yesterday for T-Night and it looked great, just empty with no lines painted on yet. That’s to be expected, though, given how great the GT grounds crew has always been.

Kieffer Milligan: Have you gotten food poisoning from Brittain yet?

They are addressing this issue in a creative way: by making sure it is closed every time I’m hungry. So no, I have not.

Dreed32: Is a Little Debbie Starcrunch a cookie or a cake?

I’ve never had one of these, but they sure look like a cookie on Google images. I’ll defer to the comment section to see if anyone else has a better answer for this one.

Baltisraul: What date does adidas officially begin producing products for the teams and fans?

I’m sure they’ve at least given some serious thought to what will be produced already, but we won’t get our first taste of Georgia Tech adidas gear until the Russell Athletic contract formally ends. That glorious day will be July 1, 2018, and it can’t come soon enough.

AZ_GT: We know about Georgia Tech's new contract with adidas. Do we know what jersey combos we should expect to see for this year? Can we maybe go back to Orange Bowl colors?

Maybe we’ll get the Russell Athletic revenge series where they run us out on the field wearing togas and pink leopard skin yoga pants for the games. That would be ideal.

But honestly, we won’t know what to expect until we see the uniforms either on gameday or in a post a couple of days before. I assume you’re referring to the 2014 Orange Bowl uniforms and if you are I agree completely. Those were on the higher end of Russell uniforms.

BooBooBoo: Over under guesses on the following -

Full season wins: 8.5 - Over

Team Rushing Yards: 4,000 - Under

Points Per Game: 30 - Under

Defense Points Allowed: 24 - Under (please)

Number of Quarterbacks To See The Field: 3.5 - Under

Turnovers Generated: 24.5 - Over

Turnovers Given: 18.5 - Over

Number of missed field goals: 5.5 - Under (we may not even kick six times)

Leading Rusher (any position): 1,000 yards - Under

Sack Leader: 6.5 - Under

ACC Wins: 5.5 - Under

SullyGT: Will we see more people take snaps at QB or BB over the course of the season?

I’m thinking B-Back, where we’ll see Quaide/Benson/Howard and then the occasional lower-on-the-chart/walk-on see some action in a blowout. I don’t see the advantage to rotating three or four quarterbacks in and out all season; better to ride with one or two if you have to.

JabbaJacket: What is the over/under on the number of 12:30 kicks we’ll get this year?

We’ve only got one on the schedule so far, but there will certainly be more. Much of that depends on how well Tech plays this season to see if we can pick up one of those good night options later on, but for right now I’m going to set my over/under at 7.5. I'm sure they’ll throw us a 3:30 or something at some point, but I’m seeing quite a few noon kicks strewn in.

DressHerInWhiteAndGold: With the adidas news, will we see more or less of the FTRS rule of 31? (To wit: no thread may go longer than 31 comments without turning to Uniforms, Pantone chips, Gold-out, or people wearing Blue.)

I’m not sure why we call this the “rule” of 31 when it should be the “law” of 31. Perhaps the tone of the uniform comments will change, but they will live on forever on this site and others.

Intrect: What is the ideal headline after the Tennessee game?

“Justin who? Matthew Jordan breaks NCAA passing record, will lead U.S. exhibition to Mars.”

YellowJacketHeritage: Adidas gives you the opportunity to come up with a trendy uniform. What is your design?

Is there a rule against putting a meme of your head coach on the helmets? Because that would be my trend: put the Paul Johnson “deal with it” picture on everything. I also think it would be funny to put the logo of each week’s opponent on the bottom of the cleats for that game.

fuzzybee78: Would Tech be the favorite to win the SEC East?

They should be, unquestionably. We’ll get a pretty good sample size this year either way.