Georgia Tech Football Practice Notes and Quotes 8/10
ATLANTA- Georgia Tech scaled things back on Thursday with a practice in shells as first-year head coach Brent Key prepares his team for a big scrimmage on Saturday afternoon in Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Jackets will have one more session on Friday before going for 100+ plays on Saturday. Among the groups of interest in that scrimmage are the running backs. That position is physical and the live reps should help create a little separation on the depth chart for first-year running backs coach Norval McKenzie.
McKenzie spoke to the media after practice on Thursday and shared his thoughts on how his group is progressing through the first week and a half of camp and the first live periods of tackling to the ground on Wednesday.
"It has been good. For a running back and an offensive lineman they work together, we joke around about how can I tell about the productivity when you can't get tackled," McKenzie said. " Having live segments proved to be beneficial for us. Can we make the play? Can we make somebody miss? Are we able to make contact and two or three yards after contact? Those are the things that we measure in those live settings and I feel like we are doing a really good job of it."
The presumed starter, senior Dontae Smith was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List for the second straight season. McKenzie has big expectations for his senior running back.
"Dontae has been great. The one thing about Dontae I think he is a solid contributor. He is not a kid that is going to have mental mistakes and he is going to practice hard. He has been battle-tested in the past so you feel confident that he can go out there and due to his experience have some success," McKenzie said. "I think right now he is in a good spot. Of course, we lean on him as a leader in the room in terms of the age gap and in terms of the experience gap. I'm hoping for a big fall from him as well."