Georgia Tech will get its “tune-up” game in the second week of the season, but any Tech fan with just a tinge of gray hair will remember Coach Paul Johnson’s first season against Gardner-Webb when third-string QB Calvin Booker started after Josh Nesbitt and Jaybo Shaw were banged up. Tech managed to win 10-7 thanks to a blocked field goal as time expired. The Yellow Jackets only touchdown came on a 79-yard touchdown pass to B-Back Jonathan Dwyer. It was an ugly game, most likely blocked from the minds of the Tech faithful in an otherwise amazing season.
It is the only matchup between the Runnin’ Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets, but a repeat of such a close score shouldn’t be expected with either a healthy Haynes King or Aaron Philo. Gardner-Webb competes in the merged Big South/OVC conference, which has been a victim of FBS pillaging by G5 conferences backfilling their ranks. Gardner-Webb did make their first FCS playoff in 22 and 23 since joining the FCS ranks in the year 2000, but fell back down to a 4-8 record last season. They did give a good James Madison team a scare early in the season with a final score of 13-6.
Leading their offense last year was Tyler Ridell, who threw for 2573 yards with 16 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He was working with a completely revamped offensive line, as the only returning starter on offense was LG Chance Reid, but they allowed only 21 sacks on the season and averaged 130 yards rushing a game. They had a heavy rotation of three running backs: Edward Saydee (702 yards, 5 TDs), Quasean Holmes (395 yards, 4 TDs), and Carson Gresock (383 yards, 10 TDs). Ridell really spread the ball around his receivers, with 7 catching 20+ passes, including leading rusher Edward Saydee.
The offense will return more depth this season, but they will lose Tyler Ridell and Edward Saydee from their production. The running back position should be okay, returning two players from the rotation, but they will rely on two transfers to guide their offense at quarterback. Cole Pennington from Marshall and Nate Hampton from Liberty will be competing for the starting role. Both have a few reps in live action at their previous stops, but little significant playing time. An interesting tidbit is if Nate Hampton starts, Tech will play against two Liberty transfers in back-to-back weeks, with Kaidon Slater most likely starting for Colorado.
On the opposite side of the ball, Gardner-Webb was very boom or bust. They tallied an impressive 38 sacks and kept offenses to only 128 rushing yards per game. The defensive front returns nearly every starter except two linebackers. What made the production impressive was that the defensive front was made entirely of new additions, mostly through the portal from the FCS and Division II ranks. The main linemen to watch for will be Antonio O’Berry (7 Sacks) and Robert Holtz (5.5 Sacks).
The secondary has been in flux with transfers last season and another round for this coming season. While the defensive front was able to generate pass rush, it was probably a nesscity as the secondary struggled to lockdown receivers allowing a sixty-seven percent completion rate with 255 yards per game through the air. It’ll be another fresh group, but they do add Jordan Jackson who spent two years at West Virginia as a corner.
Georgia Tech should handle Gardner-Webb even after making the trip back home from Boulder, Colorado. The fact Tech’s offense likes to use short routes and outs could expose a defense that relies on being over aggressive. Even if the Runnin’ Bulldgos can get pressure on Haynes King they’ll unlikely have the overall team speed to bring him down behind the line. It’ll be the first of hopefully two wins over teams named bulldogs this season.