Sleeper picks from Spring Practice...

[Axe]

...I've really got the football bug today. I got the chance to see about 1/2 of the spring practices, so I decided to take a shot at my position-by-position sleepers. These are players that I think may have stayed under the radar a little bit.

WR Rashan Johnson:I thought he had a very solid spring. Well built and pretty fluid athlete. Doesn't have great speed, but is a natural athlete. Showed solid hands over the spring.

TE Will Heller:Foschi has more natural talent, but Heller is a steady pass receiver. His blocking is adequate. I thing Heller and Foschi will receive close to equal time.

OL Andy Tidwell-Neal: One of the biggest centers we've had in a long time. Very solid and well put together. Seems to have a mean streak and the attitude to play upfront. I sure wish we could have redshirted him last year.

RB Jimmy Dixon: The injury and emergence of Hollings in the second half of practice pushed Dixon out of the limelight. Coaches say Hollings is the man and he came on strong, but Dixon was still ahead of him and running well when he got hurt. Dixon has good power and solid speed. He will be a factor.

DL Travis Parker: Not really a sleeper, but he is active and one of the better athletes we've had at DT. I also really like what I saw from Omar Billy last year, but he wasn't much of a factor this spring. I still like him long term.

LB Matthew Etheridge: I know he struggled last year vs. Clemson, but he had a really good spring. Made a ton of plays this spring and dished out some punishment. Perhaps he will be a bigger factor at OLB.

DB Albert Poree: Was still hurting for much of the spring. He flashes a lot of ability at times and I still think he can help GT a lot. Cox deserves to be a starter but I think Poree will have a role in the fall.

 

[ahsoisee]

I did not attend any Spring practices or the game and can only give an opinion.

I think the first great surprise of the season will be all of the Defensive Tackles. Look for the new defensive system to allow our tackles to be an integral part of the game. This will allow them to look better and thus receive more credit for their efforts.

The next great surprise will be the defensive backs. They will make many more interceptions and be much more agressive. The third-and-long bugaboo will be a thing of the past. Suddenly, our defensive backs will be the darlings of the ACC.

The linebackers will be no surprise, they are expected to be good. The defensive ends will be no surprise, they will be expected to be good.

Overall, our defense will be the surprise of the year on the positive side.

On offense, I think Dixon will be a horse if he is healthy. If Hollings coninues to improve, he could be a pleasant surprise.

The two quarterbacks are good at their respective talents, no surprise here.

The receivers should be good, which should not be a surprise.

The offensive line will be good, but doubtful if stardom is achieved by anyone this year, other than Dorsey, who is expected to be good this year.

 

[bugboy]

I like Axe's assessments on Poree, Dixon and Etheridge. I think that if Dixon is healthy, he'd be the starter at RB, or at least equal billing with Hollings. Poree will improve this, as he's going to be receiving better coaching from Tenuta than under Crossman. Etheridge received a baptism under fire against Clemson last year. But he's a tough kid and I think he'll be valuable this year.

Also, Dorsey and Robinson will be awesome on one side of the line. I hope the other side of the OL can keep it together. I think they will.

CG has some talent to work with this year. This is a good year for him to step in. The schedule is tough, but we have the horses to play with anyone.

 

[GTTerrific]

one guy that not many people are talking about on OL is Reiley. I like our first 5 guys upfront. Hope the others have a chance in some guys to get playing time and get better. With Bennett and Phillips out this year we need some other guys to step up to provide debth.

 

[GT Adamni]

Well, I don't think it's for definite yet that both Bennett and Phillips are out for the WHOLE year, so don't count them out yet. Didn't Bennett play some in the spring game? If the 3 players that have been injured on the O-Line, Hartley, Bennett, and Phillips, can get back to near full strength before or near the beginning of the season, then we will have a SOLID two-deep on the line. That will be one of the keys to this season.

 

[GTTerrific]

I hope you're right adamni. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic about Bennett's and Phillips' chances of playing this year.

For one I don't understand Bennett's injury. From what we are hearing it just doesn't sound good for this fall for him and Phillips.

On another note it sounds real good in regards to both Curry and Hatch. That's two super weapons back in our offensive arsenal.

Still feel better about the make up of this OL than I did last year. With all the optimism of last years team felt that we needed some growing up on OL and DL where the battles are won and lost. We aren't where we hopefully will be some day, but like the young lineman we have in the program. We'll lose Raymond Blake after this season, but that's really it. There are three legit future AA starting at GT this year in Dorsey, Reilly, and Robinson. All three of those guys are going to get better and better.

Let's just hope we stay injury free.

 

[law_bee]

Originally posted by GTTerrific:
I hope you're right adamni. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic about Bennett's and Phillips' chances of playing this year.

For one I don't understand Bennett's injury. From what we are hearing it just doesn't sound good for this fall for him and Phillips.

<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">According to this message on the hive

LINK

Bennet did not make grades and if you look at the response it said it was confirmed by Coach Wilson

 

[JacketFanPCB]

Yes, but I beelieve there's still a pretty good chance that Mr. Hartley will bee with us this fall. When last we heard from his parents on the Hive, he was recuperating well and trying to get back to it. I'll reserve judgement on the O-line depth until late August. I am still hopeful we'll weather the storm better than last year, since the O-line will be a HUGE key for this season's success or failure.