UT D vs GA Tech O

[Techfan1]

How is yalls DT's and depth there? The teams that have done really good against us were really strong there. Also if y'all have an ultra atheletic guy that can play in the box and play sideline to sideline, that should help.

 

[HeyHeyUT]

How is yalls DT's and depth there? The teams that have done really good against us were really strong there. Also if y'all have an ultra atheletic guy that can play in the box and play sideline to sideline, that should help.

The answer to that question depends on Shy Tuttle who we lost against South Carolina to a leg injury. If he is at least 90% ready to play then I would say it's solid depth with rotating 3 studs.

If not, then the depth is talented but inexperienced. We have a 4 star Juco named Alexis Johnson who was injured last year but had a good spring. And Quay Piccou who made some noise in the spring but is more of an inside penetration guy than a space eater. Kongbo and Phillips are 5 star ends who have some experience at DT due to injuries last year, but wouldn't expect either to slide over this game.

All together, there is a pretty big drop off from Vickers, KMAC, and Tuttle who are all NFL guys

 

[beej67]

Triple option football is assignment football. It's one of the reasons the service academies often run it. They have a lot of smaller smart guys on their OL that can execute the plan which is 3/4 yards and move the chains on third down. GT is not a lot different other than size but they don't get a lot of blue chip type players on their OL.

Not a lot, but we do get a few. In 2014 Shaq Mason was pretty incredible, pretty much destroyed Miss State in the Orange Bowl, and earned a spot in the starting five on the Patriots. Belichick said about him after the draft, "he's probably a below average pass blocker, but he may be the best run blocker in the entire draft."

THWG's offensive analysis is pretty solid. We basically only lost one guy, but that guy was a pretty electric QB with NFL timed 4.3 speed, so that's a head scratcher for us. Hard to say what it's going to look like in a month.

 

[SupremeVol]

-Good thing is we will probably play a 4-2-5 with Gaulden being a major strength at Nickel.-

So do you think we will run the 4-2-5 def or a standard 4-3 def? I wonder because of the running scheme. Would it be better to have 3 physical LBs on the field or Gaulden in the nickel. The key here is we need 3 LBs that are speedy and active to make plays. Thoughts????

 

[HeyHeyUT]

-Good thing is we will probably play a 4-2-5 with Gaulden being a major strength at Nickel.-

So do you think we will run the 4-2-5 def or a standard 4-3 def? I wonder because of the running scheme. Would it be better to have 3 physical LBs on the field or Gaulden in the nickel. The key here is we need 3 LBs that are speedy and active to make plays. Thoughts????

There are definitely 2 schools of thought... but I doubt the coaches will want to take a proven Gaulden off the field in a game that plays to his strengths...

 

[Mick]

Tennessee Strengths:



-I don't see Gtech scoring more than 21.

Do you have a breakdown of GT Offense, The QB situation, style, scheme and their big play threats?

 

[HeyHeyUT]

Do you have a breakdown of GT Offense, The QB situation, style, scheme and their big play threats?

One of our visiting GT fans wrote a complete rundown on earlier page. I watched them play UGA and v tech on YouTube so am not an expert

 

[ToHellWithUGA]

Do you have a breakdown of GT Offense, The QB situation, style, scheme and their big play threats?

My thoughts are on page 1.

Any questions feel free to ask.

 

[Mick]

"Johnson calls the entire game from the sideline off of his head running receivers on and off the field for the play-call. His most used formation is a balanced spread set with two outside receivers, two A-Backs (slots/wings) and a B-Back (Fullback). With the amount of cutting and pulling Tech will employ, they don’t recruit your typical Tide or Longhorn sized Offensive Lineman. Instead, Johnson opts for converted Tight Ends and Power Forwards to play O-Line. He rarely uses a TE in his offense though, as he prefers the spread look. "

https://www.stateoftheu.com/2016/9/...e-georgia-tech-flexbone-triple-option-offense

 

[Mick]

My thoughts are on page 1.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Who do we need to keep an eye on as a threat to break one and who might you have as a match up problem for us?

 

[beej67]

Who do we need to keep an eye on as a threat to break one and who might you have as a match up problem for us?

Clinton Lynch averaged almost 20 yards per touch last year, including both rushes and receptions. He may be one of the best slot backs we've ever had.

"Johnson calls the entire game from the sideline off of his head running receivers on and off the field for the play-call. His most used formation is a balanced spread set with two outside receivers, two A-Backs (slots/wings) and a B-Back (Fullback). With the amount of cutting and pulling Tech will employ, they don’t recruit your typical Tide or Longhorn sized Offensive Lineman. Instead, Johnson opts for converted Tight Ends and Power Forwards to play O-Line. He rarely uses a TE in his offense though, as he prefers the spread look. "

https://www.stateoftheu.com/2016/9/...e-georgia-tech-flexbone-triple-option-offense

Our personnel group is 3 backs, 2 WRs, often times for the entire game. We will occasionally replace a slotback (A back) with a 6th lineman, but that's maybe only once every 3 games.

The formations are basically all the stuff from the "flexbone" menu on the old EA NCAA Football video game, if you know that. Paul Johnson hates the word "flexbone" though. Not really sure why. He's weird like that.

"Base" is a slot on either side of the line and a wideout on each side.
"Trips" is we move the boundary a back out to the field side between the other a back and the WR.
"Twins" is we leave the A backs in their positions and put both WRs on the same side, usually on the boundary. The inside WR in this formation is not eligible.
"Tight" is "Base" with both WRs in close to the formation.
"Heavy" is trading out an A back for an extra lineman.

That's the whole package. We basically never vary personnel groupings, and we can call our whole playbook from any formation.

 

[Longestdays]

MJ can pass decent, but had trouble setting his feet against VT. He is taller than out last QB and should be able to see the field better. He will also be able to through screens better. I am not expecting him to be as good as our last QB in passing at this point.

Our last QB did not have the beef to run up the middle. MJ can run up the middle and adds an important second threat inside. This causes the need for the LB to stay home and open the outside. This may balance the reduced passing ability.

Keep in mind that our passes our generally based on man coverage and that "man" focused on run plays and the WR or slot flying right by him.

 

[cali_vol]

Tennessee Strengths:

Preparation and Coaching:

-It can't be understated how big of a deal it is that UT has so much time to prepare for this game. Playing tech is all about discipline and preparation.

-I also think that having Warren on the coaching staff is a big advantage going into this game. He spent 9 years with Airforce (where he was D Coordinator last 2 years) who ran the Trip Option AND played against Army and Navy every year.

-Indiana State is the next game... So coaches and players know they have 2 weeks, and a warm up game, to unlearn everything they used against tech...

D-Line:

-The combination of Preparation and DLine size/athleticism will free up the LBs and safeties to make plays.Playing Triple Option, you want to prevent the GT oline from getting up the field. This is where UT my potentially be very well positioned, at least on paper.

-Kongbo and Phillips are Alabama-level BIG and ATHLETIC defensive ends who are a perfect fit for this game.

-Here is where it also helps to have the strongest person on the field in KMAC and a very strong and experienced Vickers.

-DT depth won't be an issue (though i would love Tuttle to be ready), because Tech runs so few plays and it's early in the season (meaning that KMAC and VICKERS should be able to put in a lot of snaps).

Gaulden, Martin, and Wiggins

-Gaulden is a Nickel version of JRM... Ball Hawk who gets into the backfield and loves to hit.

-Martin, despite his weaknesses in coverage is big, strong, and athletic. I have always liked the way he plays the run game. You would rather have him than a Tabor in a game like this.

-The reason I add Wiggins in this is because he has played Tech before and he is a SR. CORRECTION: Wiggins was injured as a freshman for UGA v Tech... But still he is a physical, all conference acc, run stopping type of db so I will keep him here

-As far as Mosely goes, I don't necessarily think he is a weakness... A 4 year starter whose only issue lately is an unwillingness to LOOK BACK FOR THE BALL!! But he isn't huge or particularly physical... so not making him a strength.

DKJR: Intelligent and a tackling machine when healthy. I like having him QB the defense for this game.

Tennessee Weaknesses:

The Other Linebackers:

-Remember how out of position we were ALL OF THE TIME for bama, UK, and Mizzou? I know we played better when healthier v Nebraska... But let's be honest, we don't have another linebacker on the roster who has proven that they can have a '3rd-team-SEC' type of season... So, as much as I love the hype around Cortez improvement and Austin Smith, I will believe it when I see it.

-Good thing is we will probably play a 4-2-5 with Gaulden being a major strength at Nickel.


Wildcards

Safety:

-TKJR is experienced, tough, and seems to be in the right place to make plays... BUT he isn't a Gibril Wilson heat seeking missile. I really love TKJR and think he is going to have a stellar year, but I don't know that he is a strength v tech.

-The other safety's just seem to be out of position v the run game all of the time. Again, this could be a result of a decimated defense where no one had played together before... But I don't see this position being a strength UNLESS....

-Warrior might be a difference maker to flip this to a strength. He is obviously the biggest future star we have on the back-end. But he doesn't have a ton of game experience. Warrior = Gibril Wilson, baby... eventually.

Prediction

-Gtech doesn't want to see a fresh, Alabama level athletic, DLINE with months to prepare.

-Tech will break a 50yd TD because they always do... But They are breaking in a new QB and are playing against a weirdly athletic DL and DBs who are coached by Warren.

-I don't see Gtech scoring more than 21.

Great write up. Thanks for the share. It's going to be a good game but with the time to prepare we should be ready.I think we win but Vegas says it's a toss up. Can't blame them for that. Butch tends to have the guys ready for bowls and openers.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

Moseley has a second weakness....he gives way too much cushion, and yet, still has a tendency to get beat deep.

Good write up/points and I hope your prediction is right. If we hold them to 21 points I think we win comfortably.

I think the way Mosely and Martin were taught by Martinez is why they struggled so much. Both are fast and Martin has great size and athleticism.

 

[Tennessee Waltz]

I get the point, however I'd rather field a Tennessee-level defensive line.

 

[Techfan1]

Jalen reeves maybin is the type of athlete that gives us fits. I was really hoping for the Falcons to pick him up in the draft. Do y'all have anyone like him at LB or S that can play in the box?

 

[Darth_Shiveman]

Jalen reeves maybin is the type of athlete that gives us fits. I was really hoping for the Falcons to pick him up in the draft. Do y'all have anyone like him at LB or S that can play in the box?

He was also injured last season, but athletically our closest WLB is probably Quarte Sapp. He's a little short on experience because of injuries his first two years on campus, though.

But Kirkland showed similar upside to JRM as a freshman. Last year early in the season he didn't quite look like himself, IMO. Then he got hurt, missed a lot of time in the middle of the season, and came back to play on a bum ankle for the remainder of the season. If he's healthy, he might break out.

Bituli was good in the spring and probably has the best mix of size and speed.

There's also a lot of buzz around true freshmen Shannon Reid and Will Ignont. Both seem to have a nose for the ball.


If you see McDowell and/or Jumper on the field a lot, you're probably in for a decent day. Both seem to have the scheme and assignments down, but just don't have the instincts and athleticism to give offenses the type of grief that LBs like JRM and Kirkland could at their best.

 

[Techfan1]

He was also injured last season, but athletically our closest WLB is probably Quarte Sapp. He's a little short on experience because of injuries his first two years on campus, though.

But Kirkland showed similar upside to JRM as a freshman. Last year early in the season he didn't quite look like himself, IMO. Then he got hurt, missed a lot of time in the middle of the season, and came back to play on a bum ankle for the remainder of the season. If he's healthy, he might break out.

Bituli was good in the spring and probably has the best mix of size and speed.

There's also a lot of buzz around true freshmen Shannon Reid and Will Ignont. Both seem to have a nose for the ball.


If you see McDowell and/or Jumper on the field a lot, you're probably in for a decent day. Both seem to have the scheme and assignments down, but just don't have the instincts and athleticism to give offenses the type of grief that LBs like JRM and Kirkland could at their best.

Thanks for the info, do y'all not have a 2 deep roster out yet?

 

[ManningBerry#1]

Sure.

We have a 4 way QB battle. Paul Johnson has said this is our deepest position and he's comfortable with any of the four starting. I personally think Matthew Jordan will be the starter. He started @ VT last year and led us to a win.

If he starts expect to see a ton of running up the middle with him. He will run a lot of midline IMO.

Lucas Johnson is the best passer of the group (Rs Fr) and Jay Jones is the most electric (Rs Fr) of the group.

B Back is Derrick Mills. Our star player. He's a hoss. Tough bruising running style. Not a lot of top end speed but he's a bulldozer.

A Back's are JJ Green, Qua Searcy and Clinton Lynch. All three are really good players. Clinton Lynch is our big play threat and is great in passing game. We rotate A Backs in and out every play (they actually being the play call in from the sidelines) our 4th A back position is still up for grabs. I expect it to be Nathan Cottrell a speedy back from Tennessee. We will most likely rotate Green, Lynch and Search with Cottrell playing sparingly.

WR we have Ricky Jeune and Brad Stewart starting. Jeune is a good blocker and has steady hands. Same goes for Stewart. Stewart really gets after it blocking has has great hands. Just doesn't get a ton of separation. The backup spots will be determined in camp. Most likely Jalen Camp will be the 3rd WR.

LT is Jahaziel Lee. Played a bunch as a Freshman last year and played well. He struggled a bit and Spring ball according to Coach Johnson. He's athletic and excells at getting to the second level. Backup will likely be Jake Stickler who hasn't played much.

LG is Parker Braun. Played a ton as a FR last year and started majority of the year. Our best lineman. He's tough and physical. Really good player. Backup position is up for grabs but it will be someone who hasn't played much. Could be a true FR.

C is Kenny Cooper. Another one who played as a true FR last year. He started @ VT last year due to injury and played a lot in the bowl game. He's a good player. Backup spot is wide open. If Cooper were to get hurt we'd likely slide out starting RT (Marshall) back to C as he's played there before.

RG is Will Bryan. Has played a lot and is a proven lineman. Another good player up front for us. Same as LG the backup spot is open for grabs. Shamire Devine is the first lineman off the bench at G right now. He has all the potential in the world but has never kept his weight down. Hes anywhere from 380-400 pounds. Coaches have always wanted him in the 330 range. He's good for a few snaps a game.

RT is Andrew Marshall. Has seen a lot of snaps in his time at Tech. Solid lineman. Backup is up for grabs. Stickler could slide over here if needed.

We have 5 lineman coming in. I expect a couple to make the 2 deep.

Our eligibility is as follows

QB Matthew Jordan - RS JR
A Back Clinton Lynch - RS JR
A Back JJ Green - RS SR
B Back Dedrick Mills - So
WR Ricky Jeune - RS SR
WR Brad Stewart - JR
LT Jahaziel Lee - So
LG Parker Braun - So
C Kenny Cooper - So
RG Will Bryan - RS Jr
RT Andrew Marshall - SR

Hope that helps.

Be glad to answer any questions that I can.

Nice analysis

 

[ManningBerry#1]

Jalen reeves maybin is the type of athlete that gives us fits. I was really hoping for the Falcons to pick him up in the draft. Do y'all have anyone like him at LB or S that can play in the box?

Closest I could think of would be Warrior.

 

[Darth_Shiveman]

Thanks for the info, do y'all not have a 2 deep roster out yet?

Nope. Most spots are pretty easy to project, though. A couple spots on the defense may have a 1a 1b situation. Biggest question marks are who plays opposite Kirkland at LB (and who plays as the 3rd LB when we go 4-3), which 2/3 of our top DEs will start, and which 2/3 top corners start. In those latter two areas, all three will likelt play a lot though.

If healthy, we probably look something like this (FTR, I'm assuming Shy Tuttle is NOT ready week one):

DE: Kongbo/Phillips
DT: KMac/Johnson
DT: Vickers/Picou
DE: Taylor/Deandre Johnson (Matthew Butler may steal a spot as the 4th guy up here, but if Taylor goes down Phillips likely plays opposite Kongbo most of the time anyway)


WLB: McDowell or Sapp or Austin Smith (The thought going into camp is that McDowell is ahead because of experience, but the coaches love the athleticism of the other two there)
MLB: Kirkland/Bituli (likely Jumper if there are injuries)
SLB: Smith or Bituli (possibly Jumper or Ignont)


CB: Moseley or Wiggins (both likely play a lot either way)
NB: Gaulden/Abernathy or Buchanon or Osborne
S: Warrior/Berry
S: TK Jr/Abernathy
CB: Martin/Osborne (freshman Labruzza might push here)



Honestly the LB spot is somewhat hard to read since there has been some speculation (which Bob Shoop has done little to dispel) that the coaches might experiment with putting Kirkland and Bituli on the field together at times since Bituli's talent may be wasted on the bench. But we know Kirkland is a starter and we likely use a majority nickel personnel, so it's just a matter of who will be playing alongside him really.

 

[Darth_Shiveman]

Closest I could think of would be Warrior.

Warrior's a better athlete, though. He can play center field in coverage or in the box lowering the boom.

TK Jr seems to be the safety they liked to sneak up into the box most of all last year.

 

[Techfan1]

Warrior's a better athlete, though. He can play center field in coverage or in the box lowering the boom.

TK Jr seems to be the safety they liked to sneak up into the box most of all last year.

I know this is about yalls D but how does the OL look for y'all?

 

[volfanhill]

CBJ seems like he does very well when he has time to prepare. I think we willl be fine. It will be a hard fought game:

 

[Darth_Shiveman]

I know this is about yalls D but how does the OL look for y'all?

Plenty of talent to be top 3-4 in the SEC, but still a bit of a question mark. For the most part, we're returning the same OL from the past 2 seasons. In 2015 they looked great run blocking, but struggled with pass blocking against the stronger teams on our schedule (Bama, OU, UF, etc.). They seemed poised to make a big step forward in 2016, but some guys struggled with injuries, the coaches had to cross train a lot of guys at other spots on the OL, and they never really settled in on a solid starting 5 or two deep even. Consequently, our OL coach was hired and replaced with Walt Wells. His coaching is a bit of an unknown, but he's been a beast recruiting for us thus far, is higher energy than the last guy, and seems to work well with our OL thus far. Still no telling how well he'll be able to coach them up until we see them on Saturdays though.

As far as the depth chart goes, the OL will be one of the more interesting things to watch play out this year. Like I said before, there's a lot of talent and potential, but a few guys who have some question marks for different reasons. There will likely be a few guys with a good bit of experience who end up as the odd men out this year.

Honestly, ask 5 UT fans and/or analysts what our starting 5 looks like and you might get 5 different answers (for a number of reasons). Here's how I see it:

RT: Brett Kendrick (RS Sr.)/Marcus Tatum (So.) (If he's healthy, Chance Hall [Jr.] is the man here. But he's missed some of camp early getting a "second opinion" on a bum knee...whatever that means. Ideally, he's able to bounce back and Tatum can redshirt [he's still a bit undersized bulk wise, though his upside is through the roof a year or two down the line], but Hall's situation makes me nervous. Kendrick has played and started games at RT and LT since he's been here, and has cross trained at OG for us as well at times. He'll likely be solid, but not likely dominant. If Hall is good to go or Tatum beats out Kendrich, then Kendrick likely becomes the 6th man on the OL to fill in if someone goes down at OT or even OG potentially.)


RG: Trey Smith (Fr.)/Jack Jones (Jr.) or Venzell Boulware (RS. So.) (Smith was the top prospect in the country and has looked it since he enrolled in January. Dude was a man at 17. He'll likely move to OT in the future, but he's at RG for now because it was the easiest place to plug and play him from day one. Jones and Boulware have both played at times and were both potentially thought to be starters before Smith signed and enrolled. Jones is a bit bigger and has more game experience. Some thing Boulware is a bit more athletic. I'll get back to them later.)

C: Jashon Robertson (Sr.)/ Coleman Thomas (Sr.) (Thomas was recruited as a Center and has played there and at RT at times [at 6'6, he's pretty tall for a center]. He's great on screens and plays where we pull him to let him block guys in space, but he has never seemed to play with great strength and was just overpowered by the better DTs on our schedule at times. Robertson has started at RG and LG since he enrolled as a freshman [and went on to be a freshman all american]. He took most of the reps at Center last spring [Thomas was hurt] and there is some thought that he might stick there and leave Thomas as an odd man out [or potential RS, or swing man]. He looked good there and would probably play with better strength than Thomas, though there might be a slight drop off from an athleticism standpoint. It is possible that Robertson just sticks at LG, where he's most comfortable though.)

LG: Jones or Boulware: (This may be the best position battle of camp if Robertson sticks at center. Both of these guys have good upside and I think both could be starting level OGs for many other SEC schools).

LT: Drew Richmond (RS. So.)/Kendrick/Tatum (Richmond is built like your prototype LT and was highly rated coming out of HS, but hasn't really lived up to his billing. He was benched for Kendrick early last season, but got a chance to win back his spot when some other guys were injured and seems to have had a tight grip on it since then. Honestly, he's our biggest question mark at this point, IMO. He's struggled with speed rushers mightily in the past and never seemed to be all that strong in the run game. But he always played hard and apparently he's responded well to Wells' coaching. If he really has been coached up, he could be really good. He's got the size, strength, and athleticism to be an NFL OT if he puts it all together. He just hasn't shown he can do that yet.)


After those 9 guys, there are some really promising guys in their 1st/2nd year on campus who, by all accounts, will be good players for us, but aren't likely to crack the two deep without a number of injuries. The closest to getting PT is likely RS Fr Ryan Johnson, who has the size to play RT in a pinch but probably ultimately finds a home at LG. RS Fr Nathan Niehaus or Fr. K'Rojhn Calbert might get an opportunity at RT if we see a rash of injuries there (though IMO the staff would probably just kick Smith or Thomas out to RT if we had THAT many injuries).