OCR Text |
Show Thursday, December 8, 2005 GEORGIA TECH ROSTER ; 1 Reggie Ball OB, 5-11/195 JR . , j"2 Kenny Scott CB, 6-2/185 JR ^ Game Guide 3 UTAH CHRONICLE Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham Florida ( 7 4 ) BYU ('84) Record at Georgia Tech: 28-21 Gailey, like Al Groh of Virginia, is an NFL castoff that has found moderate success in the ACC. Gailey has brought in some big recruits to the Flats but has yet to have a true breakout season. He's got an uphill challenge, since nearby rival Georgia has such a big profile. Record at Utah: 6-5 Looking ahead to next season, coach Whit will get a chance right away to show how improved his team will be. The Utes open at the Rose Bowl against UCLA, a game that will be higher profile than the normal Utah opener. Also included in the 12-game schedule are non-conference battles with Utah State, Ohio and Nevada. Considering BYU, CSU and TCU are all at Rice-Eccles Stadium, it should be a manageable slate. UTAH ROSTER RB, 5-10/192 SO'$ 3 Rashaun Grant Who has the advantage? QB, 6-4/200 FR j 4 Jamal Lewis CB, 6-0/185 SO 5 Greg Smith WR, 6-3/190 FR 6 Pat Clark WR, 5-11/180 SO 7 Tony Clark CB, 6-1/185 FR QUARTERBACKS 18;Damarius Bilbo WR, 6-3/218 SR ^ fftErfcOetter WR, 5-10/180 FR V : 9 Mohamed Yahlaom PK, 5-11/200 FR: , [36 Martin Frieon WR, 6-2/185 FR :? 11 Kyle Manley OB, 6-2/205 FR 12 Tyler Jones PK,5-8/185 FR 13 Taylor Bennett QB, 6-3/213 FR MBenArndt P, 6-0/180 SR In the last Edge, Brett Ratliff was an unknown. Two weeks later, he's a hero and will always be etched in the annals of Ute history. Now comes the encore, as he faces a Tech team that won't be quite as easy to throw on as BYU. He's got confidence, but we'll see if he has the tools to go up against a good ACC defense. Reggie Ball had a nice junior year, even while missing some time because of a bout with viral meningitis. He's been starting since game one as a true freshman and has the leadership, throwing ability and mobility to do some special things—just ask Auburn and Miami. But he's also a bit inconsistent—Ball (98,9) is the only non-Duke starting quarterback in the ACC to have an efficiency rating of less than 100. '_ .-'.".; V-. ..--•'./-•• - " . - • : - . ' • • . • Edge: Georgia Tech ,,- ••/.. "•<]••; f • ) . - , . . „ • DB, 5-9/175 FR .. RUNNING BACKS : 15 Jonathan Garner K> OB, 6-4/206 FR »• The season may have had some ups and downs for Quinton Ganther, but in the end he got his i(ooo yards and earned second-team All-MWC honors. Being a big-time competitor, he would like nothing more than to take the Utes on his back and go out a winner, after a fine two years at the U. Senior PJ. Daniels and sophomore Tashard Choice give the Jackets an effective 1-2 punch. Daniels was second-team All-conference this year, finishing third in the ACC in rushing, while Choice had a team-leading six rushing touchdowns. As a unit, Tech finished third in the ACC in rushing yards per ^", game but only 10th in rushing touchdowns. . , • ' . - . . . , : . • : ; •. -lix. ,-^ J v ^ i .-..; rJGTroyGaide 17 Matt Braman WR, 6-4/230 SO 21 Calvin Johnson 23 Djay Jones S, 6-1/190 SO X CB, 5-11/185 SO 26 Brian Fleuridor 27 Loyall Gause RB, 5-9/210 FR FB, 6-1/240 SR 28 Ajenavi Eziemefe 29 Sam Williams S, 5-11/195 JR CB, 6-2/190 SO 30 Avery Robeon LB, 6-0/230 FR • • .30 James Uipfert WR, 6-2/192 SR 31 Robbie Rollins •. V',:.> "• '-"-o^.!' !• [ vfv.'""' ^ ^ j ^ v . ; f •• ' ' " . - '"•• ' - " : ' : / r-<:--\^:HM*'*^ John Madsen is still on one foot, so the youngsters get the call again. Brian Her- sfit] n a n d e z and Travis LaTendresse gave two of the gutsiest performances you will ever see against BYU, essentially running lame all afternoon, but still catching some big balls (including LaTendresse's game-winner). They will both be at full health against Georgia Tech, which is good news considering the Jackets' weakness is in the secondary. Tech trots out one of the country's most impressive young talents in sophomore Calvin Johnson, a first-team American Football Coaches Association All-American. He's had some down games, but the 6-foot-4-inch Johnson has the ability to burn just about anyone. With a Hank Baskett-like physique, Johnson will pose match-up problems for the smallish Ute secondary. Damarius Bilbo is the only other consistent Jacket receiving threat. Edge: Georgia Tech . ' •V \ ./"•':• '. -. -.. •. - ••;..; ;; r PK, 5-10/185 FR 31 Brian James OFFENSIVE LINE RB, 5-10/190 FR 32 Jason Davis First team All-MWC Jesse Boone capped off a great career that saw him shift midstream over to center from tackle, with excellent results. The U front five opened some massive holes against a highly touted BYU defensive line and should have a lot of confidence going into San Francisco. Georgia Tech's O-line is very young—eight out of the 10 players on the two-deep are either a freshman or sophomore. But the youths have had no problem in the physical ACC, opening up big holes for the runners and yielding a ridiculous pight sacks on the season. (If you'll recall, Brian Johnson was sacked eight times in a single half against New Mexico.) • • •-•:•-•'. Edge: Georgia Tech .. . CB, 6-0/170 FR 32 Jahi Word-Daniels 33 David Jordan PK, 6-4/210 JR LB,6-0/225JR 35 KaMichael Hafl DB, 6-0/190 FR ' 36 Jason Palmer S, 5-11/195 JR 37JoeGaston TE, 6-1/250 SR .; . • 39 Mark Youngblood LB, 5-9/185 FR P, 6-1/185 JR 39 Durant Brooks FB, 6-1/245 SO 40 Mike Cox LB, 6-2/225 SO 41 Philip Wheeler DE, 6-4/260 SO -42 Adamm Oliver As the season wore on, this unit really started to gel. Steve Fifita was a rock, and ends Martaxl Burnett and Soli Lefiti grew into their positions. They will have thenwork cut out for them against the stalwart Jacket line, but they are playing their best -..ball of 2005. Eric Henderson leads the Tech line and has a big nose for the ball. The senior end has 6.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. Georgia Tech only allows 2.9 yards ••/ ; per carry and is third in the ACC in team sacks. Edge: Georgia Tech LB, 6-1/233 FR ,44 Taalib Tucker RB, 5-10/210 SR it 45 P.J.Daniels LB, 6-3/210 FR 46 Eric Williams S, 6-1/178 FR 47 Jake Blackwood TE, 6-4/270 JR 48 Michael Matthews LB, 6-4/230 SR 49 Gerris Wilkinson LB, 6-0/220 FR !'5O Carter Scurry LINEBACKERS A major liability at the start of the season, this will be viewed as one of Utah's strongest units when all is said and done. Spencer Toone led the MWC in tackles, while sophomores Kyle Brady and Joe Jiannoni give the Utes a nice pair of backers to build on. Tech's Gerris Wilkinson is the lone senior linebacker for the Jackets. The second-team All-ACC 'backer contributed 78 tackles and four sacks and is coming off a two-sack game against rival Georgia. Sophomore Philip Wheeler is excellent in pass coverage, nabbing four interceptions on the year. Edge: Utah LS, 5-11/215 FR 50 Bret White LS, 6-0/215 FR 51 Zach Ware DE, 6-5/230 FR - 51 Jon Morrison LB, 5-11/220 SO 52 Travis Chambe OT, 6-7/280 FR 53 AJ. Smith LB, 6-3/220 SO 54 Arthur Rozier DT, 6-3/255 FR 55 David Brown DE, 6-3/265 SR 56 Eric Hendeon DT, 6-2/260 FR •57 Vance Walker LB, 6-2/230 SO 58 Gary Guyton LB, 6-1/220 SO 59 David Sanborn C, 6-4/285 SO 60 Kevin Tuminello OG, 6-3/280 SO 61 Matt Rhodes OG, 6-5/285 FR 62 Jacob Lonowski DT, 6-1/270 SO 64 Andrew Gardner Coming out of high school, the only other offers that Eric Weddle had were from UNLV, Wyoming and New Mexico State. The diamond in the rough has now reached his full gleam, earning the conference Defensive Player of the Year and putting himself in line for All-America honors this, and next, season. He'll "get" to guard Johnson in what should be an entertaining battle to watch. Props also go out to Casey Evans who earned second-team All-MWC after being practically anonymous going into the season. For Tech, senior safety Dawan Landry parlayed four interceptions and five pass breakups into second-team All-ACC status and is the best player on a unit that was in the middle of the pack in this conference. : . . j ; 68 Mansfield Wrotto 69 Alex Paquette OL, 6-5/265 FR DE, 6-2/245 FR as well. C O A C H I N G ' OT, 6-4/315 SR OL, 6-4/265 FR 73 Nate McManus OL, 6-4/260 FR : 74TreyDunmon : ; 75 Jason Hill J .• . • . • '• . ...-:.•.-.•••.•.''..•.-:• ' Edge:Utah ;- ;"':-"' 'vv'i-• - •" ; ~' -- '••'•''' :.--]•• ^ ' ' . ; > - ' : Y;:.^^^S-t\. VJ$k% •\-"-^>--^-;- school that will always be at a bit of a disadvantage recruiting-wise thanks to its high ; academic standards. •'•. "•..'. OG-OT.6-7/295 SR OL, 6-4/290 FR [.76 Salih Besirevic • '•- .'-•'- W$m All was forgiven when Kyle Whittingham walked out of LaVell Edwards Stadium a winner. Now comes the task of getting his team ready to face an opponent that may be better than any program Utah has faced in the last two years. Chan Galley has done a ,.,;.. vl^ nice job building on what George O'Leary was doing and has gotten the most out of a ;^0i1 C-OG, 6-3/290 SO 72 Brad Honeycutt . '.• ; • OL, 6-5/260FR 71 Cord Howard \i_.i,; If Weddle has a nice story, then Dan Beardall has a personal fairy tale. He was about to give up football but instead pushed through. Now he has an All-MWCfirst-teamtrophy to put on his mantle. Fano Tagovailoa had a long kick return against BYU, giving the normally placid return unit a long awaited big play. Ben Arndt is a good enough punter for Tech, but Travis Bell is only 10 of 20 on field goals and has not shown very good accuracy from beyond 40-yards. The Tech returners have been underwhelming OL, 6-3/287 FR 70 Randall Cox '. ;': . " . / . • • & • X SPECIAL TEAMS OG, 6-3/310 JR ['67 Travis Kelly : -•-. ; ' Edge:Utah C-OG, 6-0/280 JR , 66 Will Miller X SECONDARY OT, 6-6/285 FR 63 Marcus Harris : •;•• DEFENSIVE LINE FB, 6-1/232 FR 43 Justin Guadagni .. . . . . - . , • • • • • • / . . • , > ; • • • •'. : E d g e : G e o r g i a T e c h .... - : f r : - - - ' ' : < ' - h ' \ . '>•*> J ?f r : -'o ; ;; •..••"":.:.: ' - ' - J i V " ^ - : OG, 6-0/320 SO 77 Dan Voss C, 6-4/290 SO 78 LeShawn Newberry TE, 6-5/260 JR 79 Eddy Parker WR, 6-4/215 JR j 80 George Cooper TE, 6-6/250 FR 81 Xavier McGuire WR, 5-11/195 FR '* 82 Colin Peek _ ^ r; TE, 6-3/250 SR 83 Andrew Smith WR, 5-9/165 SR . 84 Gavin Tarqulnlo TE, 6-4/252 SO 85 Charlie Saunde PK, 6-0/210 SO 86 Wayne Riles WR, 5-11/200 JR 87 Travis Bell WR, 6-0/190 FR 88 Chris Dunlap DE, 6-5/230 SO • 89 James Johnson DE, 6-2/255 FR 90 Darrell Robertson DT, 6-2/230 SO '91 Brad Selle DE, 6-7/225 FR • 92 Travis Roge DT, 6-3/265 FR 93 Michael Johnson DT, 6-4/285 SO 94 Elris Anyaibe DT, 6-3/275 JR 95 Darryl Richard TE, 6-4/235 FR 96 Joe Anoai DT. 6-2/280 SR 98 Kyle Mooneyham ,99 Omar Billy . CB, 6-0/185 SR : . "25 Dennis Davis : R E C E I V E R S '. RB, 5-11/190 SR Chris Woods ^38 Jay Reid Edge: E v e n RB, 6-1/205 SO 11 Tashard Choice r LB, 6-3/230 FR S, 6-2/215 SR 20 Da wan Landry "^/; X K, 5-11/195 FR ••'•; S, 6-1/215 SR 18 Chris Reis r-,24 OB, 6-4/215 FR -'. . ^ v , ; - ; ^ f i 5 Anthony Threatts 16 Ronnie Donaldson . j GEORGIA TECH IS A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK teams to less than 300 total yards (Utah has not been held below 300 total yards this season), and it's intercepted 19 passes. It has allowed 198.4 yards passing continued from Game Guide I per game—which ranks No. 35 in the NCAA—yet the passing defense held the Hurricanes to 30 yards has been the difference in some of rushing on 30 attempts and held their losses. Although it held N.C. Miami to one conversion on third State to just 56 yards rushing, the down in 14 attempts. 230 yards passing by Jay Davis was Wheeler and Hall each had two enough to help the Wolfpack edge sacks and combined for seven the Yellow Jackets, 17-14. tackles for loss. Henderson added Similarly against Georgia, the a sack of his own and became the rush defense held the Bulldogs to Yellow Jackets all-time leader in a season-low 68 yards rushing, but tackles for a loss with 59. 198 D.J. Shockley passing yards In Georgia Tech's 11 games this helped the Bulldogs to win, 14-7. season, the defense has held six But sometimes the defense can - only do so much and needs a little more help from the offense. In the Yellow Jackets 51-7 loss to Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech held the Hokies to less than 100 yards rushing and 223 yards passing. However, the offense put the team into several difficult situations and gave up three non-offensive touchdowns, including two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the third quarter. Although Georgia Tech has shown it can keep teams from scoring, it will need to score enough points of its own if it expects to come away with a victory over the Utes on Dec. 29. m.patton@chronicle.utah.edu According to their famous fight song, Georgia Tech fans enjoy drinking clear whiskey. • WR, 6-4/205, SO p1 Huff, Thomas DB, 5-11/195, SR U Young, Antonio 3 Johnson, Brian 0B, 6-1/203, SO j£ McCain, Brice ^ c ;" DB, 5-9/170, FR A Walker, Justin vf;- i WR, 6-1/206, SR DB, 5-10/165, SO 5 Smith, Ryan 6 Casteel, Brent WR, 5-10/192, FR 7 Wilson, Marquis WR, 5-11/170, FR 7 Borreson, Bryan K, 5-10/186, SR 8 Oates, Eugene DB, 5-11/183, SR 9 Toone, Spencer: •'••" LB, 6 - 2 / 2 3 5 , SR 10 Poston, DarryJ ' •: RB, 5-11/197, SR DB, 5-10/185, SR 11 Casco, Kawika QB, 6-2/220, JR 11 Southwick, Danny RB, 6-0/202, FR 12 Mack, Darrell RB, 5-10/214, SR 13 Ganther, Ouinton DB, 6-0/195, FR 13 Williams, JJ LB, 6-1/230, SO 14 Brady, Kyle 0B, 6-3/216, FR 14 Dunn, Kevin 0B, 6-4/195, JR 15 Ratliff, Brett 15 TeGantvoort, Charlie LB, 6-1/208, SR 16 Hernandez, Brian WR, 6-0/183, JR WR, 6-1/209, JR 17 Tagovailoa, Fano TEf 6-4/250, SR 18 Jacobsen, Chad DB, 5-11/195, SR 19 Gordon, Stephen QB, 6-0/206, JR 19 Sokugawa, Chris RB, 5-10/210, SO 20 Liti, Mike DB, 5-9/180, JR 21 Harper, Shaun 22 Mokofisi, Malakai LB, 6-2/225, SO WR, 6-5/220, SR 23 Madsen, John DB, 6-0/190, SR 24 Harris, Tim WR, 6-3/195, J R > 25 Hackett, Drew DB, 6-0/200, FR 25 Rushton, Kyler WR, 5-11/175, SO 26 Richards, Derrek RB, 6-3/209, FR 27 Smith, Sean DB, 5-11/195, SO 28 Tate, Steve DB, 5-10/180, JR 29 Shyne, Eric DB, 5-9/163, FR 30 Ross, Adarrious DB, 6-0/198, JR 31 Evans, Casey DB, 6-0/200, JR 32 Weddle, Eric LB, 6-1/210, FR 33 Garrigan, Afa DB, 5-11/195, JR 34 Streiff, Jason LB, 6-2/200, FR 34 Bird, Greg DB, 6-1/180, FR 35 Giuliani, Joe P/K, 5-10/180, FR 35 Sakoda, Louie DB, 5-10/181, JR 36 Kinsey, Billy LB, 6-1/232, SO 37 Olevao, Loma LB, 6-1/239, JR 38 Turner, Reggie RB, 6-1/214, FR 39 Stowers, Ray DB, 5-11/195, FR 40 Dodds, Tyson LB, 6-2/209, FR 40 Smart, Andrew LB, 6-0/230, SR 41 Marshall, Grady DL, 6-3/269, FR 42 Moleni, Pate DB, 5-8/157, SR; 43 Unutoa, Dymond WR, 5-9/182, SR 43 Honea, Ryan LB, 6-0/230, SO 44 Jiannoni, Joe DL, 6-1/230, SO 45 Puccinelli, Alex DB, 5-9/170, FR 46 Mason, Matt TE, 6-1/252, SR 47 Burdette, Blake K/P, 6-1/193, SR 48 Beardall, Dan TE, 6-1/229, JR 49 O'Connell, Sean LS, 5-10/220, SR 50 Condie, Brock LB, 6-3/221, JR 51 Nielson, Brady LB, 5-11/203, JR 52 Smith, Aaron LB, 6-1/230, SO. 54 Miller, Taylor 55 Johnson, Andrew 0L, 6-2/304, SR 55 Ledbetter, Marquess DE, 6-2/265, SR 56 Sampson, Colt LB, 6-4/217, FR 57 Williams, Tyler 0Lr 6-1/291, FR 58 Livai, Semisi DL, 6-0/245, FR P, 5-7/171, SO 59 Rawlinqs, Brent 0L, 6-3/310, FR 60 Apted, Terrence LS, "7185.FR 62 Rowley, Butchie 0L, 6-4/300, SO 63 Gunther, Kyle 0L, 6-1/317, FR 66 Conley, Robert LB.-/-JR 67 Paulfin, Blake 0L, 6-4/275, FR 68 Beadles, Zane 0L, 6-4/290, SO 69 Boone, Jason 0L, 6-5/312, JR 71 Arquette, Mitch 0L, 6-3/290, JR 72 Voss, Jason 0L, 6-7/310, SI 74 Dirkmaat, David i 75 Pettit, Eric Jy. 0L, 6-4/300, JR V76 Soliaiv Paul , ^ 0L, 6-4/321, JR DL, 6-3/250, JR 77 Sutera, Casey-; 0L, 6-3/300, JR 78 Tupola, Tavo V;; 0Lf 6-5/305, SR 79 Boone, Jesse TE, 6-6/235, FR 80 Joppru, Chris TE, 6-4/295, SR 81 Sao, Willie WR, 6-2/196, FR 82 Peel, John WR, 6-1/199, FR 83 Johnson, Jordan 84 Bordeleau, Lance TE, 6-4/230, FR 85 Gueck, Rob .;;;•; WR, 5-9/180, JR WR, 6*1/184, JR 86 Sorenson, Cody TE, 6-4/230, JR 87 Shaheen, Ameen . 88 LaTendresse, Travis WR, 6-1/200, SR' 89 Sonntag, Nik DL, 6-3/247, JR 90 Liufau, Tolifili DL, 6-1/300, JR 91 Clark, Nate TE, 6-3/235, FR 91 Faletoi, Randy DL, 6-2/312, FR 92 Eliapo, Kenape DL, 6-0/270, FR 93 Burnett, Martait DE, 6-3/235, SO 94 Fifita, Steve DL,6-Q/322,SR : 95 Scanlon, Bryce DL, 6-2/270, FR 96 Beardall, Derek DL, 6-1/305, JR 97 Lefiti, Soli /,: •DE, 6-4/250, JR; DL, 6-2/319, JR 98 Talavou, Kelly DL, 6-2/285, SR 99 Afeaki, Kite |