Hokies take disciplined approach to Georgia Tech offense

BLACKSBURG — How difficult is Georgia Tech’s offense to defend? Well, about as difficult as it is to appropriately name it.

Some call it the triple-option. It’s been referred to as the multi-bone option or flex-bone option. One newspaper that covers the Yellow Jackets has designated it the option-based spread.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson, who designed the offense in the ’80s while serving as offensive coordinator at Division I-AA power Georgia Southern, simply calls it the spread.

Johnson’s offense isn’t like the spread Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez popularized. It’s more like a mix between Oklahoma’s wishbone of the ’70s and ’80s and Nebraska’s once famed option attack.

And while it seems simple in theory, it’s a burden to defend.

Just ask all the opposing defenders that whiffed at ballcarriers when Johnson was winning 45 games in six years at, of all places, the Naval Academy. He took the Midshipmen to new heights with the unique offense.

The Yellow Jackets are already 2-0 in Johnson’s first year as coach.

“It’s not really complicated what they run, but they run it efficiently,” Tech defensive end Orion Martin said.

Johnson’s offense begins with a smart and athletic quarterback, one that can take off and run, exploit an advantageous matchup in the secondary or pitch the ball to one of the team’s three running backs.

The quarterback, sophomore Josh Nesbitt in Georgia Tech’s case, stands directly under center, and the B-back, or hybrid fullback/halfback, stands behind the quarterback.

Jonathan Dwyer, the starting B-back, is the focal point of the Yellow Jackets offense. He has 220 rushing yards and three touchdowns so far this season.

Georgia Tech also employs two A-backs, or slotbacks, who are aligned in the slot at the heels of both offensive tackles. The A-backs serve as running backs and slot receivers. Many times they are put into motion.

The Yellow Jackets’ starting A-backs, redshirt freshman Roddy Jones and sophomore Lucas Cox have combined for 94 rushing yards, 79 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Passes are rare in Johnson’s offense. Navy averaged 10 passes a game last season. Georgia Tech averaged 14 attempts in its first two games.

The Hokies will still be on the lookout for the pass. They don’t want the Yellow Jackets to lull them to sleep with all those runs and then connect on a big pass play.

“You’ve got to get up there, and you want to stop the run, but if you’re not careful, the ball is sailing over your head,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said.

Virginia Tech won’t scheme any differently for the Yellow Jackets. The key to stopping Georgia Tech, Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster said, is to play smart and disciplined.

“You can’t take the quarterback when (your assignment is to defend the) dive, or you can’t be taking the pitch when you’ve got quarterback,” Foster said. “And then you’ve got to be disciplined in the passing game. They don’t throw it a lot, but they’re productive when they throw the football.”

Making tackles upon first contact will also be a key for the Hokies, who showed drastic improvement in tackling from the season-opener to their second game Saturday against Furman.

According to Foster, the Hokies missed 18 tackles against East Carolina and only one against Furman.

“What they do, they do it very well, so we’ve just got to go out there and just do our assignments and tackle,” Martin said of the Yellow Jackets. “That’s the main thing.”

Getting pressure up front is also important. Georgia Tech’s offensive linemen are big and physical.

“Their offensive line is going to come out and hit you right in the mouth. That’s one difficult thing. That’s one of the reasons teams have had a hard time beating these guys,” Tech defensive tackle John Graves said.

The job of stopping Dwyer falls on Tech’s linebackers.

Boston College contained Dwyer for the most part last week, but he changed the game with a single play halfway through the fourth quarter.

He rushed around the right side on a pitch and ran 43 yards down the sideline for the eventual game-winning touchdown in Georgia Tech’s 19-16 win.

“Coach Foster said (Monday) that we should be hitting him so hard we should know what kind of toothpaste he uses, if he shaved that morning, what kind of deodorant he uses,” senior linebacker Purnell Sturdivant said. “So that’s our main goal is to pound the fullback and make (the Yellow Jackets’ offense) one-dimensional.”