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Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Johnson: Fix on kickoffs needed

ATLANTA — There has been one issue which Georgia Tech has consistently wracked its collective brain over all season, and, in the process, continually mulling sensible solutions to fix it.

But, so far, nothing has really worked.

For the second time, an opposing player returned a kickoff for a touchdown Saturday after the Yellow Jackets’ kick coverage failed them once again.

It is an issue head coach Paul Johnson is tired of seeing and having to talk about.

“We’re going to take a good, hard, long look at what we’re doing,” he said somewhat forcefully Sunday. “We’ve got to fix it. We can’t do wholesale changes with 11 guys every week. We’ve got to try something different, and we will.”

This time, it was Vanderbilt freshman kick returner and running back Warren Norman who torched the Yellow Jackets’ special teams for an 80-yard kick return for a touchdown, when a squib kick backfired. It was not enough, however, to beat the Yellow Jackets, as Georgia Tech went on to roll to a 56-31 thumping.

“We’ve got to cover it better,” Johnson said. “We had two guys that busted the coverage.”

A former state track star, Norman played high school football at metro Atlanta’s Chamblee along with current Yellow Jackets A-back Roddy Jones and offensive guard Omoregie Uzzi.

Norman’s touchdown comes on the heels of two near scores three weeks ago against Virginia Tech. A pair of Hokies kick returners brought back a couple kicks deep into Georgia Tech territory before place-kicker Scott Blair and speedy coverage player Correy Earls chased them down.

The return also comes four games after the Yellow Jackets surrendered a score to Mississippi State’s Leon Berry — another Georgia native — who sprinted for an 89-yard score.

The problems are across the board, Johnson said, with the angle and depth of the kicks being a concern, as well as perceived poor tackling techniques.

“It’s a crapshoot sometimes,” he said of where the kicks go.

SKINNER QUESTIONABLE

Wake Forest starting quarterback Riley Skinner is said to be questionable for this week’s game at Georgia Tech.

According to a story Monday on the Winston-Salem Journal’s Web site, the four-year starter is not expected to practice for the Demon Deacons until Wednesday at the earliest after suffering a concussion in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss to Miami.

Skinner — who has already passed for more than 2,200 yards this season — has not shown any signs of the concussion since Saturday, the story said.

Johnson said Sunday that regardless which quarterback the Yellow Jackets face this week, his defense will be prepared.

“We have to get ready for their offense and get ready for whoever plays,” Johnson said. “That (player) who went in there after he got hurt was winging it around there pretty good. He’s got some ability, too.”

Skinner’s replacement, senior Ryan McManus, went on to complete five of his nine passing attempts for 42 yards.

But minutes after Skinner’s departure, Miami quarterback Jacory Harris led a Hurricanes comeback that ended with a game-winning touchdown pass with about a minute remaining.

GAME TIMES ANNOUNCED

The ACC announced Sunday the kickoff times and television networks for this Saturday’s home game against Wake Forest.

Play will begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised regionally by ABC in the Southeast and ESPN2 elsewhere.

The conference also announced Monday a six-day option to be issued for Georgia Tech’s ACC finale Nov. 14 against Duke. With television rights pending for a game that could help determine the Coastal Division’s representative in next month’s conference championship, the ACC will release the game time and television network for the game by noon Sunday.

QUICK HIT

This is a brief correction. A note Monday specified that this week marked the 15th time in school history that Georgia Tech was ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Poll. To clarify, this is the 15th time since the incorporation of the current two-poll system (AP and USA Today Coaches’ Poll) that the Yellow Jackets were ranked as high as No. 10 nationally. It is the 138th time since the AP Poll was established in 1936 that the program has entered a week ranked 10th or higher.