Georgia Tech Football Practice Notes and Quotes 9/21
ATLANTA- Tuesday was a rainy day in the city for Georgia Tech football coach Geoff Collins kept his team mostly inside as they prepare to face #21 North Carolina on Saturday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium just a mile and a half down the road.
The Jackets are recovering from an emotional loss at then #6 Clemson and Collins said he was encouraged by what he has seen this week.
“We had a really good Tuesday practice. The guys were focused yesterday and we did a lot to get them back to baseline from their Catapult numbers. I don’t know if Coach Horton has put it on social media because I’m not on it during the season, but in four and a half years using the Catapult reports for games it is the highest effort scores, the highest numbers, the highest metrics that we’ve ever had (in the Clemson game),” Collins said. “We are a culture built on effort and the guys played that way Saturday night. It is not the result we wanted, but we played with togetherness and fight until the very end against one of the top teams in the country.”
The challenge will be different this week facing a North Carolina team with a dynamic high-powered offense instead of a Clemson who is exceptional on the defensive side of the ball.
“We are going into three straight ACC Coastal matchups before the bye week starting with a bigtime team in North Carolina,” Collins said. “I still vividly remember two years ago right out here (at Bobby Dodd Stadium) us playing Carolina and that offensive line. Even coaching six or seven years in the SEC, that line was as big and physical as any team and they are still big and physical up front. They’ve got really good running backs and they’ve got arguably the best quarterback in college football (Sam Howell) who is probably the top pick in the draft. He knows where to go with the ball and he’s got playmakers all around him. We are well-versed in Josh Downs from recruiting and we think the world of Josh and his family as a person, but then as a player, he is a dynamic playmaker in the slot most of the time, but we’ve got to know where he is every single play. It is a challenge especially with the pace that they play with and they are one of the top five offenses in college football, they are really good.”