Georgia Tech Football Practice Notes and Quotes 8/31
ATLANTA- Georgia Tech held the first game week press conference of the year on Tuesday with head football coach Geoff Collins, offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude, and defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker ahead of the Jackets' season opener on Saturday night against Northern Illinois. Coach Collins spoke about what he likes about the Huskies on tape and the challenge they present to his team in his third season opener at the helm of the Tech program. The NIU game will be a whiteout game where fans are requested to wear white tops instead of gold to create a special environment for the game.
"We are ready to put the ball down. It is our first game in 268 days and it will be the first time we play in front of a full capacity crowd in 644 days. I'm excited to see the fan base and excited to see the whiteout in the stadium. It should be a great environment and it is on the ACC Network and I've said this many times, there is not anything better than a night game in downtown Atlanta in Bobby Dodd Stadium," Collins said.
Collins said he expects the Huskies to present a real challenge in the season opener and he is impressed with their team and program.
"It is a big game against Nothern Illinois. We've been talking about this to the guys, 10 of 11 years they made it to a bowl game. They have a big physical offensive line and a big physical defensive line. They have one of the top receivers in the MAC (Tyrice Richie) and we need to know where #3 is on every play," he said. "Their quarterback is a transfer from Michigan State (Rocky Lombardi) and we watched clips of him from there and the guys have seen him but we are going to see what he does within the realm of their offense. They have three really good running backs and two are returners and one is an elite 100-meter guy and the other two are very physical runners with some speed. Upfront on defense they are big and physical they have linebackers that can run. They've got an experienced secondary coming back as well."
