Three Overreactions From Georgia Tech's First Two Weeks of Fall Camp

Fall camp is nearly over for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets wrapped up their first scrimmage of camp on Saturday, and they will resume practice tomorrow as the season-opening game against Colorado gets closer.

When looking at what has transpired so far in fall camp, here are three overreactions I have for the Yellow Jackets.

1. Defense is going to be a strength

Do I think Georgia Tech has the high-level defensive talent of a team like Miami, Notre Dame, or Ohio State? No, but I think they may have finally found the right pieces for them to be able to actually field a compotent unit on that side of the ball.

The defensive line continues to receive praise for their hard work and the depth that has accumulated. Transfers like Jordan Walker and Noah Carter are expected to be day-one starters, while the interior has a nice mix of veterans and young players.

The linebackers are hoping to get their confidence back from where they were two seasons ago and shake off what was a disappointing year. They have veterans in place and a promising young freshman in Braylon Outlaw, who has been one of the most impressive players in fall camp so far.

The secondary has seen the emergence of Jaylen Mbakwe and Jonas Duclona, as well as Tae Harris at safety. Georgia Tech may have lost experience at some levels of defense, but they may have gotten better and upgraded the talent.

The coaching staff has been exuding confidence about this group throughout fall camp.

2. Alberto Mendoza is going to be one of the best QB's in the ACC

Am I projecting Mendoza to repeat what Haynes King did last season and win another ACC Player of the Year award? Probably not, but Mendoza has settled in and taken his place on the team, and the coaching staff and wide receivers have talked a lot about how intelligent he is and how hard he works.

He is going to allow Georgia Tech to still have some athleticism at the position and use him in the QB run game while also being able to distribute the ball to his playmakers. Mendoza does not get a lot of love among the best quarterbacks in the conference, but he might find himself there by season's end.

3. George Godsey will keep the offense rolling

Buster Faulkner had Georgia Tech near the top of the ACC in a lot of different statistical categories and the bottom line was that the Yellow Jackets were a nightmare to defend.

George Godsey is looking to keep the offense rolling while also making sure they are better in certain areas, such as short yardage and in the red zone, two areas where the Yellow Jackets faltered in the biggest games.

Like everything else on this list, Godsey is going to have to show that he can keep the offense among the best in the conference, but the players are praising him for his knowledge, as well as the coaching staff, including WR coach Jafar Williams:

"There's a lot more responsibilities for receivers. It's way more specific in terms of where you want certain guys on every play. So going back to the question of guys having to know all of the positions because, hey, I want them here on this play. I want them here on this play. It puts some strain on you as a coach because you're scripted and you're like, all right, you got to be here. You got to be here. But what it does is it enables you to put the best guys in a position to make the plays.

And what we try to do and what his offense does is highlight their strengths. So, like, you know, we're going to highlight what they do well in their specific role. And that's not just the receivers. That's the running backs. There's a bunch of guys who are going to do a lot of things, the tight ends. We kind of look at it as all one group and how do we put the best 11 on the field."

Godsey has said that he is basing his offense around the kind of personnel that he has and he appears to have a smart and mobile quarterback, an elite running back room, speed at receiver, and an offensive line that is settling in.

Add us as a preferred source on Google