TaQuon Marshall gathered the Yellow Jackets during the first week of preseason practice. It rained for the first part of practice that day then became humid when the sun came out. The weather conditions were not ideal, and head coach Paul Johnson remarked that the team had a case of feeling sorry for itself during the first week of practice.
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First-team 2017 ACC All-America offensive lineman Parker Braun told reporters after practice Monday that the team had just struggled in the period prior to the break. There were fumbles and just overall sloppiness.
So, Marshall, Georgia Tech’s incumbent starting quarterback, took it upon himself to speak up.
“The biggest thing we are working on is fighting through adversity,” Braun said. “We are such a young team. Usually, when we have a bad play or a bad drive, it tends to spiral down. That’s the biggest thing we are working on — coming together when times get tough.”
Times were tough for Georgia Tech in 2017. The Yellow Jackets blew a 14-point lead in a double-overtime loss to Tennessee to open the season. Then there was a fluky tipped pass in the Miami game that led to a one-point loss. The team then blew a 15-point lead on the road at Virginia. Georgia Tech ended the 2017 season 5-6 with a 1-4 finish.
But there’s a new sense of energy this season.
Every defensive player who has spoken with the media in the preseason has spoken of new defensive coordinator Nate Woody’s coaching style and how he expects 100 percent effort on every play or else the team has to run sideline-to-sideline as punishment. That effort is being matched on the offensive side of the ball, too. Offensive lineman Will Bryan said he noticed the change this summer.
“We had a really good offseason this summer working hard with the strength staff,” Bryan said. “We’ve brought that effort into camp so far. I’ve seen it. It’s been paying off.
“There comes a time where everybody gets tired, and you get worn out. I think we’re over the hump already. We’ve already started to apply the pressure again.”
There’s no time for Georgia Tech to start the season sluggish. After opening with Alcorn State, the Yellow Jackets have back-to-back road games against South Florida, a team that lost in the final two minutes to undefeated UCF last year, and Pittsburgh. The team follows the road trip with a home game against Clemson, one of the favorites to win the national championship this season.
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After not finishing strong in several games this past season, there’s a realization that 100 percent effort is needed to make sure 2017 doesn’t happen again.
“Coach Johnson says all of the time that sometimes you’re going to have good things happen, and sometimes you’re going to have bad things happen,” Marshall said. “How are you going to bounce back? That’s kind of the mindset we have. When things aren’t really going well, I try to get the guys up and tell them that this is like a game, especially after a break. The break is like halftime for us. I tell the guys all of the time, ‘How are we going to finish this practice?’ We have to make sure the energy is there and everyone is paying attention, so when it comes time to go O vs. D again, everybody is locked in and everyone gets going.”
Other practice notes
- Paul Johnson didn’t have an update on backup quarterback Lucas Johnson, who was injured during a scrimmage Saturday. Lucas Johnson was spotted at fan day Saturday with a walking boot on his right leg. “We won’t know for sure until they do all the testing, but we’ll let you know as soon as we know,” Paul Johnson said of his backup quarterback. With Lucas Johnson out for the foreseeable future, freshman James Graham, who was moved to wide receiver prior to the injury, has been practicing at quarterback, the position he was recruited at, and wide receiver. Redshirt freshman quarterback Tobias Oliver had runs of 39 and 56 yards in the scrimmage.
- There also was no update on the ongoing kicking competition between Shawn Davis, Brenton King and walk-on freshman Wesley Wells. Davis drilled a 47-yard field goal, while King made a 45-yard kick during the scrimmage. The kickers haven’t kicked much during 11-on-11 drills during the preseason, so when asked if he has liked what he has seen from the trio, Paul Johnson said, “Nothing that really excites me, no.” Freshman walk-on Cliff Gandis, who was also in the mix, injured his knee playing soccer and is out.
- Marshall threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to A-Back Qua Searcy on Saturday. Marshall said Searcy, who was running a vertical route, was wide open. There were numerous throws last season when wide receivers were wide open and Marshall failed to execute. “That was one of the things we noticed on film from last year,” Marshall said. “I missed a lot of guys that were wide open. I saw him running down the field running wide open, and I just tried to put it on him. I didn’t try to make him run too far to get it. I tried to get it right over his head for a perfect ball to let him catch it and let him run.”
- Marshall took off the gold non-contact jersey for one series Saturday. That was the first time he was tackled since the Georgia game last season because the team didn’t go live in spring ball. When asked if he wants to shed the non-contact jersey after getting back into real action, Marshall laughed. “No. No. No. I’m good. I think Coach Johnson is good, too. I think he saw what he needed to see on Saturday. I’m cool with the yellow from here on out.”
(Photo of TaQuon Marshall by Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
