Spring game to be held under the lights

Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins’ first spring game will be held April 26, a Friday. It continues the scheduling set during former coach Paul Johnson’s tenure. No time has been set, but it will be a night scrimmage.

“The reason why is, I don’t believe there’s a better backdrop in all of college football than a night game in Bobby Dodd Stadium,” Collins said. “Under the lights, the backdrop of downtown Atlanta, I just think that is such a special environment, so I just want the recruits, the fan base to engage in that, and I’m calling all Georgia Tech fans, former players, to come enjoy that night with us.”

Collins said that spring practice will begin March 26 and will include a change from Johnson’s procedures. Tech will practice in the mornings rather than in the afternoons after classes.

The team will train Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning for five weeks.

For the first Saturday practice (March 30), Collins has invited all former players to attend the session.

■ A season ago, the Georgia Tech men’s basketball team visited China. This August, the Yellow Jackets will be in Spain. The team will be taking an eight-day trip to Barcelona and Madrid, an excursion that will include sightseeing and four games.

“It’s going to be a great trip for our guys,” coach Josh Pastner told the AJC. “One, it’s great for our team. It’s great team bonding. Two, you get extra practice in the summer and three, we’re going to get really good games in Spain against very good competition for our guys who didn’t get as much time this year.”

NCAA rules permit team to take a foreign tour once every four years. The China trip in November 2017 did not count as a foreign tour because it was for a regular-season game and during the academic year.