Georgia Tech Offensive Players to Watch Versus Ole Miss in Week 3
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With Troy and Central Arkansas being games the Ole Miss Rebels should win to start the 2022 season, the first road game against a Power Five opponent will present a different environment and overall challenge.
It’s a make or break season for Georgia Tech, and the offense for the Yellow Jackets needs to bounce back this season to help make that happen. Consider the following 2021 national per-game offensive averages for the Yellow Jackets:
No. 95 at 24 points per contest, No. 98 with 198.3 yards passing per game, and No. 57 with 168.9 yards on the ground. Those poor numbers represent a major reason why the Yellow Jackets limped to a 3-9 record in 2021.
Interestingly, to create those averages, Georgia Tech’s offense saw really good and really bad performances last season.
The Yellow Jackets scored 30 or more points six times in 2021. On the flip side, Georgia Tech’s offense was shut out twice versus Notre Dame and Georgia, as well as scoring just six offensive points versus Clemson in a 14-8 loss.
From practically any one perspective, there’s ample room for the Yellow Jackets to improve offensively. Which Georgia Tech offense will show up when Ole Miss travels to Atlanta?
Here’s a closer look at the Yellow Jackets’ key offensive performers.
Quarterback Jeff Sims
It’s year three for Sims behind center. He started all ten games in 2020 as a true freshman, throwing for 1,881 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. That included his first college game on the road against Florida State and winning.
This past season, Sims threw for just 1,468 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. A prime reason for the low numbers would be Injury. He missed four games completely and the majority of the Boston College game. When Sims did play, he proved he could help or hurt his team.
Sims completed 24 of 33 passes for 359-yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh. He was also picked off twice. He kept his team close, but two interceptions is hard to overcome.
Sims must make quality decisions in the heat of the moment. Turnovers really hurt Georgia Tech last season. Sims improving accuracy is part of that situation being upgraded.
Sims was a 54.9% passer as a freshman, and reached 60.1% as a sophomore. Combined with better decisions being made due to experience and his natural physical skills, there’s reason to believe Sims will indeed improve this next season and be a challenge for the Rebels.
Running Back Dontae Smith
Considering how dominant last year’s Georgia defense was in leading the Bulldogs to the National Title, Smith should be proud of his performance against them. He ran 11 times for 59 yards, a 5.4 average per carry.
The redshirt junior from Springhill (Tenn.) High School also had three carries for 24 yards versus Clemson’s staunch defensive unit, and seven carries for 42 yards against Duke.
This upcoming season, Smith moves up to the No. 1 running spot after Jahmyr Gibbs left for Alabama and Jordan Mason declared for the NFL Draft. After being the third-team running back, Smith will be counted on to shoulder much of the burden for the Georgia Tech rushing attack.
Wide Receiver Malachi Carter
After totaling 37 receptions, 489 yards, and two touchdowns last season, Carter returns for his fifth-year in a Georgia Tech uniform. He’s going to be counted on heavily with the loss of receivers Kyric McGowan and Adonicas Sanders, with the pair combining for 66 receptions, 829 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
Carter has good size at 6-3, 195 pounds. He possesses the experience and talent to play to the boundary or out wide to the field side of the formation. Now, with the help of Sims, he needs to be a true playmaker for the Yellow Jackets despite teams likely shading a safety to his side of the field in an effort to slow down his production.
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