The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Offense earns poor review
Defense dominates during Jackets’ final spring tuneup.
Georgia Tech’s spring game was no offensive feast.
The White team won 13-3 over the Gold team Saturday in the lowest-scoring spring game in coach Paul Johnson’s tenure. About 9,000 fans attended at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Here are four observations from the game:
Struggles on offense: The White team, made up of the first-team offense and the second-team defense, was 2 for 12 on third downs and settled for field goals on backto-back possessions in which it had first downs inside the Gold 10-yard line.
“It was pretty much a defensive struggle; couldn’t score many points,” Johnson said. “The offense really didn’t act like they wanted to be out there. That’s about the way they played, too. That’s disappointing.”
Quarterback Justin Thomas played three quarters for the White team. Sometimes errant on his passes, he made two highlight plays.
The first was a 76-yard run on an option keeper, and the second was a 25-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Ricky Jeune against tight coverage.
“Truthfully, ( Jeune) made the better play,” Thomas said. “I could have thrown it up a little higher, but he made a great catch.”
The flipside is that the defense evidently held its own.
The Gold (first-string) defense limited the White offense to seven first downs and 131 rushing yards on 27 carries.
Defensive tackle Kyle Cerge-Henderson contributed two solo tackles and three assisted stops.
New quarterback impresses: Quarterback TaQuon Marshall, moved from A-back early in the spring, showed some of the playmaking flair that has made an impression on coaches during spring practice. He also showed he needs some refinement.
He led the Gold team (second-team offense) to its only points on a 15-play scoring drive in the third quarter in which he kept the ball on nine plays, gaining 34 yards. He came out briefly in the middle of the drive, apparently out of gas, before returning.
He sometimes broke off plays against their apparent intended direction, but also played with an elusiveness that enabled him to squirt for extra yards. On a thirdand-2 in the third quarter, safety Shawn Kagawa fired into the backfield and had Marshall lined up, but Marshall slipped him with a feint and was able to pick up the first down.
“He’s got ability,” Johnson said. “He’s had a decent spring. He didn’t have one of his better performances (Saturday), but he’s got ability.”
Splitting series with quarterback Matthew Jordan, Marshall ran 16 times for 58 yards and was 0 for 3 passing.
On his first throw of the game, Marshall was off-target throwing a slant route. The pass was deflected and intercepted by Kagawa, who returned it 39 yards.
Campbell a hit: Safety Christian Campbell delivered perhaps the biggest hit of the game and gave a glimpse of his potential at his new position.
On a second-and-5 from the Gold 25-yard line in the fourth quarter, A-back Omahri Jarrett got past defensive end Desmond Branch on a 7-yard run play to the sideline, but Campbell delivered a jarring tackle on the sideline that was audible in the press box.
It was one of three solo tackles Campbell made for the White team, which included the second-team defense.
“Christian’s a tough kid,” Johnson said. “He’s definitely not afraid of contact, so I think that’ll be a good spot for him eventually.”
Campbell came to Tech last summer as a quarterback, but moved to safety after last season. Campbell wanted to get on the field and felt that switching to safety would provide him with a quicker route. A hand injury sustained in the offseason that would have hampered his throwing helped cement the decision.
Mills make quick mark: Through the spring, Tech players often mentioned freshman B-back Dedrick Mills when giving evaluations of the B-back competition and the offense in general. On Saturday, the early enrollee from Ware County showed what teammates have been seeing.
Playing for the Gold team, Mills ran with the northsouth, tackle-breaking power conducive to the B-back position. The second-team offensive line Mills ran behind was a mix of walk-ons and inexperienced scholarship players, but Mills gained 47 yards on 11 carries, the most rushing attempts by any of the running backs.
Notably, Mills did not fumble, a common occurrence for inexperienced B-backs.
Mills started for the Gold team (second-string offense). Johnson says he has liked what he has seen, saying he expects Mills to play as a freshman.
“Right now, he’d be first or second team, probably,” Johnson said.
B-backs Quaide Weimerskirch and Marcus Allen sustained injuries and did not return. Johnson said both were fine. Leggett did not play, as he has been a non-contact player this spring as he recovers from a torn ACL sustained last spring.