The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘D’ rules in spring game
Tech’s likely starting QB Jordan sits out with foot injury.
Georgia Tech offense looks shaky in 21-16 scrimmage on Friday night at Bobby Dodd,
No one appeared to suffer serious injury, and the evening was pleasant. For those reasons, Georgia Tech’s spring game Friday night went into the books as a success.
The gold team, comprised of the second-team offense and the first-team defense, won 21-16 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in a scrimmage characterized by intermittent offense with both defenses generally controlling play.
A key component of Tech’s hopes for the 2017 season, quarterback Matthew Jordan, watched from the sideline with his right foot bandaged after a foot injury two weeks ago. He’s expected back for the fall. In his stead, quarterbacks TaQuon Marshall, Jay Jones, Lucas Johnson and Chase Martenson had their moments but were shaky at others.
“I think we had a good spring practice,” coach Paul Johnson said. “I don’t get too hung up on the (spring) game, but I think all in all, we got better at some things. We’ve got a lot of things to work on.”
Wide receiver Brad Stewart, guard Will Bryan and linebacker David Curry were among those to leave the game with injuries. Johnson called it “the dangedest thing I’ve ever seen.” None appeared serious.
Here are five observations from the 105-play scrimmage, played before an estimated 7,500 fans on a dry evening that broke the string of inclement Friday nights for previous spring games:
Quarterbacks OK, not great: Running the first-team offense, Marshall wasn’t a standout, but showed some proficiency. He led five firsthalf possessions that produced three field goals. On the last, a 13-play, 52-yard drive that began with 2:35 in the half, he overcame a sack on the opening play by picking up 19 yards on a keeper on the next play. He made on-target passes to wide receiver Jalen Camp for 14 yards on a second-and-10 and for 13 yards on a second-and-8.
“It was great,” Marshall said. “Got to get out in front of the fans a little bit. It wasn’t like a regular scrimmage. I got to see what it is going to be like in a game atmosphere a little bit.”
The redshirt freshman quarterbacks, Jones and Johnson, showed clear playmaking ability. Johnson scored on a 70-yard keeper on the gold team’s second play from scrimmage, while Jones, playing four days after tweaking his ankle, had an electrifying 56-yard run. However, both fumbled and took ill-advised risks to try to save plays.
“They redshirted all year, and it’s the first time they’ve played in front of a crowd,” Johnson said. “I thought Lucas handled it really well. He just kind of plays and doesn’t let much bother him. The biggest issue with Jay (Friday night) was the ball security. The thing was all over the place, and he’d been doing a better job of that.”
Defensive standouts: For the first-team defense, goldteam tackle Desmond Branch was disruptive, frequently penetrating the white-team backfield to hurry the quarterback or stop plays behind the line of scrimmage. Branch is competing for a starting job and, as a converted defensive end, brings some quickness to the interior.
End Antonio Simmons, who appears to have added weight since the end of last season, created havoc off the edge and came up with three tackles for loss. While some of the goldteam defense’s success was aided by busted plays by the white-team offense, the unit came up with nine tackles for loss in 58 plays by the whiteteam offense. That led to a 3-for-12 effort on third downs.
“That’s one thing we’ve been working on as a defense, bringing energy to the game,” said linebacker Brant Mitchell, who had seven tackles, 2½ for loss. “We get guys to the ball, plays happen. Big plays and turnovers happen. That’s what we’re going to continue to focus on doing.”
How the game was won: The game-winning touchdown was scored by walk-on B-back Brady Swilling on a 61-yard touchdown pass from Martenson, also a walk-on, with 1:32 to play in the game. Swilling leaked out of the backfield on a fake toss and was wide open downfield for the pass before fighting his way into the end zone to give the gold team a 21-16 lead.
“When it was coming to me, really the only thing I was thinking of was, if I drop this, there’s no living that down,” Swilling said.
Swilling, a senior, has been a behind-the-scenes player who began as a quarterback and moved to B-back in 2015 to help with depth.
B-back backup race still undecided: Starting B-back Dedrick Mills got only a couple of series of action, with Johnson knowing full well his capacity. Most snaps were given to KirVonte Benson (white team) and Quaide Weimerskirch (gold team), who are vying to be Mills’ backup.
Benson flashed with a 35-yard run in the first quarter and then a 5-yard touchdown run for the white team’s first touchdown, late in the third quarter. Weimerskirch, running behind the second-team offensive line, had little room to run but finished with seven carries for 26 yards.
Johnson said that, if he had to pick, he’d tab Benson “2A” and Weimerskirch “2B.”
Impressive kicking: It looks like there’ll be a preseason competition to be the successor to kicker Harrison Butker, the school’s all-time leading scorer. Shawn Davis, a sophomore walk-on, was 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts from 38, 35 and 33 yards. Davis has been the first-team kicker this spring as he awaits the arrival of Brenton King, an incoming scholarship freshman from Mill Creek High.
“It felt good to get back in a game atmosphere,” Davis said. “I haven’t done that much the past couple years. It felt like this spring, I had something to capitalize (on), just pretty much being here by myself, so just throughout the spring, just trying to show the coaches I can be the guy.”