Georgia Tech's Scary Good Defense Joins an Offense With Options

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are back.

OK, so maybe they're not all the way back, but there hasn’t been this much excitement at Bobby Dodd Stadium since the days before Bobby Ross left to go coach Natrone Means and the San Diego Chargers.

New head coach Paul Johnson is everything that Chan Gailey wasn’t. He’s straightforward about his team and his players, speaks his mind (almost to a fault) with the media, and he has brought an option attack to Jackets the likes of which have not been seen since the wishbone days when Danny Myers and Randy Rhino were roaming the Flats in the mid-'70s.

Like their first opponent Jacksonville State’s coach, Jack Crowe, said, "There's just too many issues with this offense for people to deal with. We had two and a half weeks to deal with it. The rest of these folks will get two days. Good luck, ACC."

Paul Johnson has done something that most coaches (attention, Rich Rodriguez) can’t push their ego to the side and attempt. He is a system coach that has adapted his successful approach to the players that he has adopted in his first year, and not the other way around.

While the basis behind his triple-option attack has stayed the same as he makes the most of tailback Jonathan Dwyer’s speed and elusiveness, he is also utilizing Josh Nesbitt’s passing ability in an attempt to throw the ball down the field.

While the approach is encouraging, Nesbitt has not had his receivers be as successful in actually catching the balls thrown their way as Tech would like. However, as Nesbitt familiarizes himself with Johnson’s option attack, those passing yards will become nice little bonuses to an efficient and effective rushing attack. Judging by his 151 yards rushing against a stout Virginia Tech defense, Nesbitt seems to be acclimating himself to the triple-option quite nicely.

Jon Tenuta may have departed for South Bend and “Touchdown Jesus,” but, fortunately for Ga. Tech fans, the former defensive coordinator left the Yellow Jackets with one hell of a defense.

With future clear-cut NFL first-round picks in cornerback Morgan Burnett (two interceptions this year) and defensive lineman Michael Johnson, along with a wealth of other experienced talent, the Tech faithful will not have to worry if the offense has trouble putting a considerable amount of points on the scoreboard. This defense will rank among the NCAA's best by year’s end.

With a consistent defense, an offense that is transitioning but can score from anywhere on the field, and an energetic new coach, bowl-bound Georgia Tech should have no trouble getting to seven or eight wins by the time they go up against Georgia between the hedges in Athens on November 29th.