Ivey proving himself as an integral piece of the GT Defense
ATLANTA— Upon examining the task Georgia Tech’s staff has had with bringing The Institute back to its rightful place in the college football landscape, history has shown that it starts and ends in the trenches.
Still a work in progress, this is an essential piece of the puzzle that must continue to improve if the Yellow Jackets are going to get back to where they need to be.
Jared Ivey, a defensive end from North Gwinnett out of Tech’s 2020 class, is one of Geoff Collins’ youngest players and has been a cornerstone of a defense still trying to find its way. Ivey saw a lot of time in his true freshman season last year and worked extremely hard in the offseason to improve his game, while also making incredible gains in Tech’s strength and conditioning program.
He is listed at 6’6, 275 pounds, gaining 53 pounds from his signing weight out of high school which was 222 pounds. Earning more playing time in 2021 due to this fact, Ivey admits the extra reps have helped him learn more about what it takes to compete.
“Attention to detail down the stretch, just having to stay locked in,” Ivey said. “Doing stuff on the sideline during the game to keep yourself fresh and keep yourself ready to go to withstand a full game.”
These learned habits have shown up on the stat sheet as well for the young freshman. Ivey has been able to accumulate 26 total tackles so far on the season, while also adding in 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and six tackles for loss.
2021 has also brought a new defensive alignment for Ivey to learn, as the Jackets have been employing an atypical 3-3-5 odd front throughout most of the season after the Kennesaw State game. Regardless of which front Tech uses, he believes one of the keys to playing more sound defense is gap integrity within the scheme.
“They’re [even/odd fronts] pretty similar, it’s kind of just more of what gap you have. In either front, we’ll have either the inside or outside gap, so it just depends on the play and it’s just playing ball,” Ivey stated. “It doesn’t really matter where you line up, it’s just doing all you can to keep the gap that you’re supposed to keep.”
In looking at the Jackets’ next attempt to right the ship this weekend at home against Boston College, one can see that it will be a war every snap in the trenches on both sides and this is where the game will be decided. Historically, BC is known for fitting that northeastern team profile which is playing downhill football, establishing the run with a big offensive line to create explosives in the play-action game, and this year's team is no different.
Ivey echoed this sentiment when asked about playing them this week, acknowledging this is a type of game that tests a team’s will.
“This week’s going to be kind of a smash-mouth game, it’s going to be downhill, it’s going to be old-school football,” Ivey said of the game. “It’s just going to be more banging and banging and banging, holding your gap and not getting moved, that’s what we’re looking to do this week.”
Tech will also face a different BC team than most have this year, as their star quarterback Phil Jurkovec has returned from an injury he sustained at the beginning of the year. Jurkovec is a big-framed mobile quarterback with a dangerous arm at his healthiest, which is what Ivey and the Tech defense have been preparing for in practice this week.
“He’s a big dude we’re just looking to hit him in his body, and we’re looking to gang tackle [him],” Ivey said about Jurkovec. “First guy in there [will] look to keep him wrapped up and in one spot, so our pursuit can get there.”
Saturday’s game will show if the Jackets are up to this challenge when they go to war with BC at 3:30 p.m. on the Flats.