Sanders primed for his moment on the Flats

Adonicas Sanders has been steady over the last two seasons as Georgia Tech and head coach Geoff Collins has been looking for receivers they can count on in the Jackets’ offense.

As he returns for his second redshirt-junior season (due to the NCAA’s Covid eligibility rule), Sanders is looking to establish himself even more as one of Tech’s and freshman quarterback Jeff Sims’ top targets.

In 2020, Sanders finished with 17 receptions for 223 yards and one touchdown which almost equaled his numbers from the 2019 season in which he hauled in 19 catches for 249 yards. As the roster depth and competition at receiver has heated up over the last couple years since Collins took the job, Sanders has tried to raise his game to remain one of the leaders at the position.

“Yes, year-by-year the competition in the room is getting more competitive,” said Sanders after a recent practice. “Everybody is working for the No. 1 job. That’s what’s going to make this team a lot better and the receiver group a lot better. The competition (level) we’ve got in this room is very high. Everybody’s competing to get that No. 1 spot and contribute to the team also.”

Sanders is looking to continue his momentum from last season as his breakout performance came in the second-to-last game of the season against North Carolina State. He recorded career highs in both receptions (seven) and receiving yards (105) in the contest, and that came just a week after he had his first career touchdown catch against Duke. Sanders said that late-season success has only fueled him to aim even higher in 2021.

“North Carolina State was a big game for me,” said Sanders. “I always dreamed of having like a 100-plus yard game. My goal this season is to have multiple 100-yard games and contribute to the team as much as possible.”

One key factor in Sanders’ production this upcoming season will be the continued growth of Sims who enters his second year as the Jackets’ starter and also looks to become more consistent with more reps in practice and game action. Sims and Sanders developed a solid connection last season, including multiple third-down throws and catches throughout the schedule. Sanders said their relationship has continued to grow this offseason with the extra work they have put in to get ready for the Jackets’ tough 2021 schedule.

“That’s what the offseason is for,” said Sanders. “Me and Jeff work on a lot of third-down routes and any route. We just always put in extra work to get the timing down on routes. So I’m just working to be able to be that guy to make great catches and complete the first down.”

Sanders added that the improvement on the offensive line has been noticeable in preseason practice as well, and that should help Sims get more time and a cleaner pocket to find receivers downfield.

“Most definitely (I can see a difference with the offensive line),” said Sanders. “Like when we have deep routes I can tell the O-line is doing their job up front because Jeff is doing an unbelievable job getting the ball to the outside and to the slot receivers. So the O-line is definitely doing their job and giving Jeff a lot of time to make plays.”

Just as the receiver room has added more talent in the past few years under Collins, so has the defensive back group. There is a ton of competition on the back end of the defense with veterans and underclassmen battling for playing time. Sanders said the competitive nature between the receivers and defensive backs in practice has helped him and continues to help him sharpen his skills.

“All the defensive backs give me great looks,” said Sanders. “I’m going to give credit to the defensive backs. Everybody is working. So I don’t have a favorite. I like going against a lot of different defensive backs. I can get different looks from all the cornerbacks and safeties so they are doing a great job of giving the wide receivers looks.”

After all the work he’s done against his own teammates in the offseason and preseason, Sanders first test against someone in a different jersey will come on Saturday when the Jackets open the season at home against Northern Illinois at 7:30 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium. He said the team as a whole has given more attention to detail following their 3-7 campaign in 2020, and that will be on display on the field on Saturday.

“I’m going to take it back to the offseason,” said Sanders. “We focused a lot on the little things, and that carried over into the season. Our job this season is to focus on the little things so it doesn’t turn into big things. That’s going to help us have success in this upcoming season.”