College Notebook: 8/13
November 24, 2012; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu (45) during warm ups before the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
Well, after talking with Brad, I figured it would be best to split up the previous notebook we had been doing into the professional teams we cover and the collegiate teams we cover. This means there are going to be two notebooks each day giving you the details of each team at a much more in depth level. For today, I’ll be taking the College Notebook, and Brad will be posting the Professional Notebook shortly.
The structure is going to be similar to the first version of the notebook but obviously since half the teams are being covered in each, that means twice the “coverage” for each team. If you didn’t hear about or read the previous notebook, we are doing this to make sure you can keep up with what each team is up to, what we’ve been writing about them, and what other people have been saying. Just what you need everyday to stay on top of the cooler talk.
Let’s jump in:
Georgia
UGA has officially started classes and with that the coaches have decided to give the players a bit of a break. After an off-day on Saturday the only thing going on during Monday’s practice was an hour and a half kicking scrimmage. Obviously the kickers were getting some work in but their were other position battles going on as well, most notably between Nathan Theus and Trent Frix at snapper:
"One of the ongoing competitions on special teams is between redshirt sophomore Nathan Theusand freshman Trent Frix at snapper. Frix’s older brother, Ty, snapped for the Bulldogs from 2009-12. Theus’ younger brother, John, started on the offensive line for Georgia last season.“They are both doing a good job,” said Richt. “Competing for this job has brought the best out in both of them.”"
Coach Richt also mentioned that the returners and blockers were getting some work in–obviously:
"“I thought we had a solid day in the kicking scrimmage,” said Georgia head coach Mark Richt. “It was organized and the guys hustled. This is always a big day for the kickers, but it also big for our runners, the guys who are the protectors, who are catching and running the ball and doing various other duties.”"
Since Tuesday is the second day of classes, the coaching staff decided to give the team a bit of an off day today. They will not be having practice, but players “will lift” and have “meetings” today.
Georgia Tech
Some cool news for Yellow Jacket fans is that five of their players have been named in the top 20 of their position by College Football News. The players are:
- Jeremiah Attaochu (DE, 6)
- Jamal Golden (KR, 7)
- Isaiah Johnson (S, 12)
- Will Jackson (G, 19)
- Jemea Thomas (CB, 20)
Attaochu is apparently on watch lists for multiple defensive awards this year:
"Attaochu is one of just eight qualifying defensive players nationally to be listed on the watch lists for four major defensive awards – the Lombardi Award, the Nagurski Award, the Bednarik Award and the Hendricks Award. The senior, who registered a career-best 10 sacks in 2012, is fourth nationally among active players in career sacks (19.0) and is 13 shy of the Jackets’ career mark of 31.0 held by Greg Gathers."
Another minor note is that the team has scheduled a non-conference game with in-state Mercer for 2016.
Georgia State
The GSU football team was at it Sunday after having a scrimmage canceled Saturday night because of lightning. According to coach Trent Miles, the team performed much better on Sunday than they were on Saturday:
"“It was completely different than what we did yesterday, so that tells me right there it’s all a mindset,” head coach Trent Miles said after Sunday’s session. “I’ve got to see the film, but I thought I saw some good things out there. The mental approach from the offensive side was completely different than it was yesterday. On the flip side, defensively the intensity was probably not quite the same as it was yesterday, so we’ve got to learn to put it all together.“We’re still trying to establish a mindset that we are an attitude football team that is going to try to shove it down your throat, offensively and defensively,” Miles continued. “It’s my job as a coach to get them to understand that.”"
What’s really interesting with GSU is that they have three guys at quarter back who all seemingly have a shot to start for the team this year. If you clicked the link above this was mentioned right after Miles’ first quote. If not, here you go:
"Three quarterbacks – Ronnie Bell, Clay Chastain and Ben McLane — continue to alternate reps.“I would say it’s still close between all three of them,” Miles said. “We’re not ready to say that anybody has separated himself. All three are doing some good things, and all three are making some mistakes.”"
It’s probably not an ideal situation–as a coach–if you don’t know who your QB is this close to the season… however as fans/people following the team, it is a very interesting battle to watch. They have 18 days to figure it out.