2011 Georgia Tech Football Predictions

It was a disappointing 2010 season for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. After winning the ACC Coastal and going on to beat Clemson in the ACC Championship Game in 2009, the Yellow Jackets ended 2010 with a 6-7 record. It was their first losing season since 1996. Georgia Tech heads into 2011 with just 12 starters back, but head coach Paul Johnson has done an amazing job of getting the best out of his players in his three years here.

To get a better idea of where this team might be headed this season, let?s take a look at who they are expected to send onto the field on both sides of the ball. I will also give my prediction on where I think they will finish in the ACC.

Offense:

Offensively the Yellow Jackets will have to replace starting quarterback Joshua Nesbitt and leading rusher Anthony Allen. Georgia Tech rarely threw the ball on offense, so it isn?t a shock that Nesbitt had just 674 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Nesbitt was a big factor in the running game with 737 yards and 10 touchdowns. Throw that in with Allen?s 1,316 yards and seven touchdowns, and the Yellow Jackets have to replace over 2,000 yards of rushing and 24 total touchdowns.

Nesbitt was injured for the final four games of the season, which allowed junior Tevin Washington to get some experience, but he will have to beat out redshirt freshman Synjyn Days this fall.

At running back it looks like redshirt freshman Charles Perkins and sophomore David Sims will combine to replace what Allen gave this team last year. While these two don?t have much experience, they should put big numbers up in this system.

The top four threats in the passing game are all back from last year, but this unit really isn?t a factor. Juniors Orwin Smith and Stephen Hill are the only two players who had more than 10 catches last year, and they combined for just 27. Hill led the way with 15 catches for 291 yards and three scores.

The Yellow Jackets will have to do some molding up front on the offensive line, as they only bring back junior right guard Omoregie Uzzi, sophomore left guard Will Jackson, and junior right tackle Phil Smith. The biggest hole comes at center, where they have to replace 1st Team All-ACC center Sean Bedford. Sophomore Jay Finch looks to have the edge to replace Bedford coming into the fall, while? freshman Trey Braun is expected take over at left tackle.

Defense:

The Yellow Jackets switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 under new defensive coordinator Al Groh in 2010. As expected the change led to some struggles on this side of the ball, but now that the players have a much better feel for the system, I would expect this unit to show some improvements in 2011.

Senior defensive end Jason Peters will lead a defensive line that returns all three starters from last year. Senior Logan Walls is back at nose tackle and junior Izaan Cross returns at the other end spot. With a better understanding of what is exected of them this year, I look for this unit to really help Georgia Tech improve on their rush numbers (170 ypg) from last year.

Georgia Tech returns two quality starters at? linebacker in junior middle linebacker Julian Burnett and senior outside linebacker Steven Sylvester. Burnett led the team with 89 tackles, while Sylvester had three sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman Quayshawn Nealy will likely step in and start alongside Burnett in the middle, while sophomore Jeemiah Attaochu takes over at the other outside spot.

The concern on the defensive side of the ball will come in the secondary, as the Yellow Jackets must replace all four starters from last year. While they will be inexperienced, sophomore Louis Young and redshirt freshman Ryan Ayers are two highly regarded corners coming out of high school, and should find their way into the starting lineup. At safety look for senior Rashaad Reid and sophomore Isaiah Johnson to step in and start.

ACC Prediction: 5th ACC Coastal ? While this team has done a great job of outperforming their expectations of late, I thik it is going to be another down year for Georgia Tech. Losing Nesbitt and Allen are big losses on the offensive end, and while the defense should be better they still have just five starters back. With home games against North Carolina, Maryland, Clemson, and Virginia Tech, the schedule doesn?t favor them at all in 2011.

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Archived Predictions:

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