Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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124 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY JORDAN WELLS Paul Johnson's seventh season as head coach at Georgia Tech was his best — an 11-3 overall record, complete with regular- season wins at in-state rival No. 9 Georgia (30-24 in OT) and at home over No. 19 Clemson (28-6), before a punctuating 49-34 romp versus No. 7 Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl. His staff returns second-team All-ACC quarterback Justin Thomas and a litany of starters on defense, highlighted by all four members of the secondary. But there are several departures at the skill positions on offense, including both the crucial B-back spot and wide receiver. Backfield starters Zach Laskey and Synjyn Days are gone af- ter combining for 1,775 yards and 18 touch- downs on the ground in 2014, while wide- outs DeAndre Smelter and Darren Waller have taken their combined 1,157 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns to the NFL. To complicate matters, projected new B-back C.J. Leggett and possible starting left tackle Chris Griffin suffered knee inju- ries during the spring. "I think there will be a little bit of a slide offensively, but defensively the team will be better with eight starters back, plus aca- demic casualty Jabari Hunt-Days at defen- sive tackle," said Kelly Quinlan, publisher of JacketsOnline.com on the Rivals net- work. "The schedule will be harder than the 2014 schedule with trips to Notre Dame, Clemson, Miami and Virginia, plus Florida State, Virginia Tech and Georgia at home. "An eight- or nine-win season would put Georgia Tech back in position for the ACC Coastal title and is a realistic result given the schedule." Tech's offense will pin its hopes squarely on the shoulders of Thomas, who threw for 1,719 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, in addition to rushing for 1,086 yards and eight scores. He'll have to find new go-to targets at receiver, starting with returning eight-game starter Michael Summers (seven catches for 45 yards), and incoming true freshmen Christian Philpott and Brad Stewart. Rivals rated the 6-2, 200-pound Philpott as a three-star recruit and the No. 43 wide receiver nationally. On a positive note, the unit does return four starting offensive linemen outside of the injured Griffin. On the other side of the ball, defensive end KeShun Freeman returns after earning Freshman All-America honors, and he's joined on the line by second-team All-ACC tackle Adam Gotsis. However, Tech does have to break in a new starting middle line- backer in Anthony Harrell. All the newcomers will have to learn quickly. Georgia Tech opens with Alcorn State and Tulane, but follows with a stretch of Notre Dame, Duke, North Carolina, Clemson, Pittsburgh and Florida State. ✦ 2015 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2014 Result Sept. 3 Alcorn State — Sept. 12 Tulane W, 38-21 Sept. 19 at Notre Dame — Sept. 26 at Duke L, 31-25 Oct. 3 North Carolina L, 48-43 Oct. 10 at Clemson W, 28-6 Oct. 17 Pittsburgh W, 56-28 Oct. 24 Florida State L, 37-35 Oct. 31 at Virginia W, 35-10 Nov. 12 Virginia Tech W, 27-24 Nov. 21 at Miami W, 28-17 Nov. 28 Georgia W, 30-24 (OT) QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 27-6-1 Last Meeting: Georgia Tech 33, Notre Dame 3 (Sept. 1, 2007; South Bend) Head Coach: Paul Johnson, 58-35 (8th year) and 165-74 overall (19th year) 2014 Results: 11-3 overall, 6-2 ACC (1st Coastal); lost ACC championship 37-35 to Florida State and won the Capital One Orange Bowl 49-34 versus Missis- sippi State Returning Starters: 15 (7 offense, 8 defense) 2015 Preseason Rankings: No. 12 by Sporting News, No. 15 by Lindy's, No. 16 by Brian Fremeau's FEI, No. 18 by Athlon, No. 21 by Sports Illustrated, No. 23 by ESPN FPI and No. 30 by Phil Steele's Did You Know?: Five different Notre Dame players hail from the state of Georgia … The Irish defeated Georgia Tech en route to national championships in 1924, 1929, 1943 and 1977 … Yellow Jackets quarter- back Justin Thomas was ranked as the No. 19 athlete nationally and No. 233 player overall by Rivals in the class of 2012. Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Georgia Tech 31 STRENGTH: Secondary Four seniors comprise the projected starters in Georgia Tech's defensive backfield, and all four have pro potential. Cornerback D.J. White (5-11, 188 pounds) started all 14 games for the Yellow Jackets last year, picking off four passes and returning one for a touchdown while also totaling eight passes broken up. Fellow 2014 14-game starter Chris Milton (5-11, 190 pounds) joins him on the other side after snag- ging two interceptions and breaking up four passes. At safety, Jamal Golden (6-0, 193 pounds) earned third-team All-ACC honors from Phil Steele's, after finishing the season with 61 total tackles, four inter- ceptions and three forced fumbles. He has played in 42 total career contests for the Yellow Jackets and is joined at safety by Demond Smith (6-0, 191 pounds), who has seen action in 41 games. The quartet recorded 232 tackles, 20 passes broken up and 11 interceptions last season. WEAKNESS: B-Back In most offenses it's called the fullback, but in Geor- gia Tech's triple-option the players who line up right behind the quarterback are known as the B-back. It's a crucial position that receives a heavy workload in the Yellow Jackets run-focused offense, and in 2015 Georgia Tech has to hope someone is ready to step up after the departures of Zach Laskey and Synjyn Days. Laskey earned second-team All-ACC honors after rushing for 851 yards, 5.0 yards per carry and nine touchdowns, and Days contributed an even more ef- ficient 924 yards, 5.9 yards per carry and nine scores. The duo averaged 26.7 carries per contest, or 47 percent of he team's 56.4 rushing attempts per game. The Yellow Jackets have moved Marcus Allen back to the position, where he picked up 77 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts in the program's spring game. Tech also added Stanford graduate transfer Patrick Skov, who played in 39 games in his Cardinal career, and are hoping for contributions from true freshmen Mikell Lands-Davis and Marcus Marshall. GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS SEPT. 19 • NOTRE DAME STADIUM • SOUTH BEND RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: QB Justin Thomas (1,086 yards, 8 TD) Passing: QB Justin Thomas (1,719 yards, 18 TD) Receiving: WR Michael Summers (45 yards, 0 TD) Tackles: LB P.J. Davis (119) Sacks: DE KeShun Freeman (4.5) Interceptions: S Jamal Golden and CB D.J. White (4) X-FACTOR: Senior quarterback Justin Thomas led Georgia Tech in both passing (1,719 yards) and rushing (1,086 yards) in 2014. PHOTO COURTESY GEORGIA TECH