O-line coach concentrates on finding positives

Georgia Tech offensive line coach Brent Key wasn’t wearing his “Positive Vibes Only” hat Friday, but he was adhering to the dictum, regardless. On that day, Tech’s second session of spring practice, Key had 11 offensive linemen available for practice, eight of them scholarship players. By comparison, he had 21 linemen on the roster last fall.

“First off, the beauty of that is you only play with five O-linemen (at a time),” Key said. “So we’re double the number of that now if you look at it from that standpoint.”

A hopeful outlook may be necessary for Key this offseason, as graduation and injuries have left his group with suboptimal depth and inexperience. Further, the shortages arrive as Key is leading the line through a change in the leadership of the offense, as new offensive coordinator Chip Long is putting in his scheme. And, lastly, despite the turnover on the line and the drop in experience, the group will be called on to improve its play.

Among the most significant losses were starters Devin Cochran (left tackle), Mikey Minihan (center) and Ryan Johnson (right guard). Center/guard Kenny Cooper was another, and Ryan Spiers and Nick Pendley were both placed on medical scholarship.

Key chose to bring in grad transfers to fill immediate needs in seasons past. While effective, they weren’t longterm solutions. Key stood by an assertion he made upon his hire in January 2019 that recruiting at his alma mater would be “so much easier” than it had been at Alabama, where he routinely brought in four- and five-star prospects and earned a reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters.

“We had some unfortunate breaks — literally breaks with injuries and whatnot,” Key said. “And, at the same time, we know it’s not going to be an overnight thing as far as the recruiting goes and who you’re getting.”

Among returnees, Key has two-year starter Jordan Williams at right tackle, who could move to the left side to protect quarterback Jeff Sims’ blind side. Paula Vaipulu started five games at left guard last season as a second-year freshman, and Weston Franklin played five games at center as a freshman. Walk-on William Lay, who has 13 career starts, elected to return and use his extra year of eligibility.

Two transfers have joined the line: Pierce Quick from Alabama and Paul Tchio (a Milton High grad) from Clemson, both of whom have three years of eligibility remaining. Both have started playing the guard spots, flanking Franklin. They are candidates to move to tackle, but Key said it was important to have them start in the middle of the line.

One benefit of having only two full lines is that players will have more chances for practice repetitions. That’s not a bad thing as the Jackets learn Long’s offense while trying to replace three starters.

“Installation-wise, we’re throwing a lot at ’em right now,” Key said.

There is a school of thought that if Tech had trouble protecting the quarterback with fewer schemes last season — the Jackets allowed 2.75 sacks per game, tied for 104th in FBS — giving a fairly inexperienced line more to master might not be wise. As Key explained it, the larger number of protections allows more flexibility, enabling the line to give more attention to vulnerable spots on the line. “There’s a lot of ways to help guys out,” Key said.

Two players Key needs to develop this spring are offensive tackles Wing Green and Jakiah Leftwich. Green didn’t play in any games as a second-year freshman last year, and Leftwich appeared in one as a freshman. Both are candidates to start.