Georgia Tech's offensive line a work in progress
ATLANTA -- There are still plenty of questions the Georgia Tech offense has to answer, but some of the issues have been clarified.
More will come to light this week when the Yellow Jackets hold their annual spring game at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
"The offense was way better," head coach Paul Johnson said after Saturday's scrimmage.
That could mean the offensive line is starting to show some progress. That might be the aspect of the team that needs the most improvement, and perhaps it has benefited from some changes in the lineup.
This past week, the Yellow Jackets moved Will Bryan from tackle to left guard. He started six games last year as a true freshman and will join redshirt freshman Brad Morgan at right guard, incumbent Trey Klock at right tackle, Eason Fromayan at left tackle and Andrew Marshall at center.
Marshall had been working at center during the spring, while Freddie Burden is recovering from hand surgery.
The Yellow Jackets also moved Scott Morgan, a redshirt freshman and twin brother of Brad Morgan, from defensive line to offensive line.
There have been several issues. Lynn Griffin is back with the team and should be ready to play guard in the fall, but he has been slow to recover from knee surgery. Shamire Devine (weight) and Jake Whitley (headaches) also have been unable to fully compete.
"It's a work in progress," Johnson said. "We're sliding some guys around. It's what spring practice is about."
One of the other big switches this spring has been the move of TaQuon Marshall from A-back to quarterback. Marshall, who played quarterback in high school, could challenge Matthew Jordan as the primary backup to Justin Thomas.
The rotation at A-back and B-back is also being developed for the spring game. But a positive sign has been the return of Lamar County product Qua Searcy, who is returning from a broken ankle that limited him to three games last fall. Searcy said his main issue is trusting the ankle again.
BASKETBALL NEWS
New head coach Josh Pastner has released all the assistants who were members of Brian Gregory's staff, including Atlanta-area recruiting whiz Chad Dollar, who played for his father in high school at Douglass and whose roots go deep in the community. Dollar was instrumental in signing Marcus Georges-Hunt, Robert Carter Jr. and Adam Smith.
Pastner has yet to name any assistants, but Pastner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that assistant coaches who play golf cannot be a part of his staff. The AJC reported that Pastner's contract starts at $1.6 million and is worth an average of $1.87 million for six years.
Memphis, Pastner's previous employer, hired Tubby Smith away from Texas Tech. Smith has taken five different programs to the NCAA Tournament.
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech's offensive line a work in progress ."