Training Camp is over, classes are underway, but Georgia Tech practiced as usual on Monday afternoon with the calendar reading just 17 more days before the reigning ACC Coastal Division and Orange Bowl champions open their season.
The Yellow Jackets got a break from the heat and humidity during their brisk two-hour practice in full pads on the Alexander Rose Bowl Field. Monday’s workout concluded with the Jackets going 11-on-11 in third-down situations.
“Practice is practice, but this is the hardest week to me,” said head coach Paul Johnson. “You just have to stay in the moment. School starts, but the season is still three weeks away. At least next week you can see it coming. This is a hard week to push through.”
Tech enters 2015 with some holes to fill in the offensive backfield as the two-headed B-back duo of Synjyn Days (924 yards, nine touchdowns) and Zach Laskey (851 yards, nine touchdowns) each graduated. True freshman Marcus Marshall (Raleigh, N.C.), Stanford graduate transfer Patrick Skov (Guadalajara, Mexico) and junior Marcus Allen (Hilliard, Fla.) have been the ones to watch, with the 6-1, 235-pound Skov turning heads after some bruising runs in Saturday’s scrimmage. He finished with eight carries for 86 yards and two scores.
“Right now Skov and Marcus Marshall are on the same line and Marcus Allen will be right behind them. We’ll sort it out. We still have two-and-half weeks, but all three of them are going to play.”
Coach Johnson also announced Monday on his Twitter account (@GTPaulJohnson) that junior walk-ons Isiah Willis (A-back) and Chase Alford (linebacker) had earned scholarships for the 2015 season. Willis hails from Marietta and is a Lassiter High alum, while Alford is a product of Conyers and attended Heritage High.