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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Offense Improves in 2nd Scrimmage

By Jonathan Savitske

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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets did not perform well in their first scrimmage of the preseason last week, as Head Coach Paul Johnson blasted his offense for committing frivolous turnovers on five of their first six offensive possessions.

This week, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets improved drastically on both ends of the field at Saturday’s scrimmage at Bobby Dodd. Even Paul Johnson, who is as critical a head coach as there is in football today, praised both his offense’s and defense’s performance on Saturday, stating:

-= Related: Paul Johnson Not Happy After Tech’s 1st Scrimmage =-

"““The first-team offense was pretty good…And then as the scrimmage wore on, the defense got a little better. When you play yourself, it’s hard to gauge.”"

Coming from Paul Johnson, this is high praise for a Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets squad that failed to impress last week. Star quarterback Justin Thomas only played on the first and third offensive possessions of the scrimmage, leading the offense to touchdowns on both drives.  One of the touchdowns was a pass from Thomas to wide receiver Ricky Jeune. The other touchdown came from aspiring B-back Patrick Skov on a 15 yard run for the score.

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Another good sign coming from the offense came from an assessment of defensive tackle Adam Gotsis. Gotsis spoke about the offense’s performance on Saturday and stated that despite “dominating” the offense throughout much of camp, the defense was somewhat rattled by the three touchdowns they allowed. Gotsis’s assertion also demonstrates how effective the defense of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets has been throughout camp, limiting the Tech offense on seemingly every possession until Saturday.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets also played well on defense on Saturday, as safety Jamal Golden had one interception and cornerback Step Durham had a fumble recovery. Tech’s defense thrived off of inducing turnovers during their 11-win campaign in 2014 — and it looks as if they are picking up right where they left off.

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Golden was interviewed by the AJC’s Ken Sugiura following the scrimmage and stated, “As a defense, I just feel like we’re so much further ahead than we were last preseason…The way we’re running to the ball now, getting hats to the ball, is like I’ve never seen it before since I’ve been here at Tech.” Ted Roof’s defense has been the foremost concern for Tech this offseason following the departure of defensive tackle Shaq Mason; so it is encouraging to hear Golden speak of their good work thus far at camp. 

The good performances on both sides of the ball at Saturday’s scrimmage shows that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are shaping up to be a force once again in not only the ACC, but on the national level in 2015. Hopefully the Ramblin’ Wreck’s good work continues this week as they prepare to face the 2014 SWAC Champion Alcorn State Braves in Week 1 of the season.

Next: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Who Replaces Laskey at B-back?

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