|
|
|
|
 Tuesday, August 7, 2001
Q&A with George O'Leary
By Terry Bowden
Special to ABC Sports Online
Bowden's Weekly Chat Show
ABC college football analyst Terry Bowden chatted with Georgia Tech football coach George O'Leary to talk about the maturation of quarterback George Godsey, the Yellow Jackets' preseason expectations and the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry.
Terry Bowden:
A lot of people say this may be the year Georgia Tech knocks Florida State off in the ACC. How have your players handled the expectations?
George O'Leary:
|  | | The key date for George Godsey and the Yellow Jackets is Sept. 15 when they travel to Tallahassee. |
The big thing was two years ago when we went to 11 one-game seasons. Now, with the 12th game with Syracuse, we now have 12 one-game seasons. That is how I treat it. I think every game is a season, and you never look beyond one game. I think the kids have handled it well that way because I talk about each game being a season, and it's not 11 games, it's 11 one-game seasons. The kids have bought into that pretty well.
Kids read that hype when they have a young, inexperienced team back, but we have some experienced kids who have been through it before.
Terry Bowden:
The ACC has been in a transition, but it is on its way up. How would you rate the quality of the conference?
George O'Leary:
Obviously, the ACC, when you look at it top to bottom, the first seven teams can play with anybody in the country. That's more than a lot of conferences have. The addition of new coaches is going to help the conference. We lost some good coaches, but we gained some good ones.
When you talk about Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, Maryland will be back, N.C. State -- they can play with anybody in the country and play very well. When teams play out of conference, we do very well for that reason.
Terry Bowden:
For the second straight year in a row, you have scheduled a preseason game. We open our ABC schedule with Georgia Tech's game against Syracuse in the Kickoff Classic (Aug. 26, 2 p.m. ET). What's your thinking in these preseason games?
George O'Leary:
I always like to set the barometer for the summer. We would have opened up with The Citadel if we didn't have our earlier game. I like to set the tempo as a high tempo for the summer. The year before was with Virginia Tech (in the postponed BCA Classic). We didn't get a chance to play the game.
This year it's Syracuse, and it's a game that's back in their backyard. We'll have a tough time up there. The kids know they have to work this summer if they are going to be successful in their first game.
Terry Bowden:
Talented Joe Hamilton took the Georgia Tech offense to a new level. Yet when George Godsey took over, the productivity did not drop off at all. How was he able to step in so successfully?
George O'Leary:
It came about a year ago spring. I left the spring not real happy with what we were trying to get done because we were still trying to do a lot of things Joe had done. Joe was basically as innovative as anybody, as he'd make a play, but he'd make four guys miss doing it. George isn't that type of athlete.
(Offensive coordinator) Ralph (Friedgen) and I sat down in the summer, and said this is what we have to do to win with this kid. Basically, he's not going to make a lot of mistakes, but we have to make sure he gets rid of the ball and throws on time, and gets us into the right play. We played really to the strength of what George Godsey does. He's a smart guy, he knows defense, he knows the weakness of the defenses. I think he knows where to deliver. That's his strength and he grew with it. As he got better, we got better.
There's no question. I go back to last year. The Central Florida game was third-and-18, and we were down 17-7. He completes the pass for 27 yards. From that play on, you saw his confidence grow, grow, grow. With the smartness he has, he's not going to make a lot of mistakes. It's just that he doesn't have the ability that a Hamilton has to innovate as much as Joe did, so we took that away from him.
Terry Bowden:
You mention former offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen, who's now the coach at Maryland. N.C. State lost Norm Chow, and Tommy Bowden lost Rich Rodriguez at Clemson. How has the new transition to a new playcaller gone with Bill O'Brien? How did spring go, and are you comfortable heading into the new season?
George O'Leary:
Spring went really well. Billy has been with the program for six years, so it's not like we brought someone new into the program to take over. I thought Billy took it running. Obviously, I don't think you replace a Ralph Friedgen -- with the experience he has -- in a year. But from the standpoint, from what I wanted to accomplish with our program from a communication level with our players and consistency, Billy was the answer, and there's no question he's taken it and run with it. He has some ideas of his own that he really wants to implement. He's done a good job and the kids have bought into it. I'm real happy with him.
Terry Bowden:
With Joe Burns and Kelly Campbell returning this season, Georgia Tech has been recruiting some outstanding athletes. What led to Tech's improvement in recruiting?
George O'Leary:
|  | | Kelly Campbell gives George Godsey a reliable threat. |
Coming back to Tech from the pros, and seeing what happened to the ACC, Florida State has improved everybody from a speed standpoint. If you didn't get speed kids, you can't play. We have gone after range and speed. Offensively, we have Kelly Campbell, who can make a play. Last year, I thought Nate Curry, a true freshman, Jonathan Smith, a true freshman, came out and made big plays all season. Most of the receiving corps is back except for Jon Muyres. They are all back, and there is ability there.
The running backs are all back -- eight of them, except Ed Wilder. There are guys who are coming on. Joe Burns is obviously one you have to look at. The one who has impressed me all spring, and he was hurt as a true freshman, was Jimmy Dixon. We brought him out of Texas. There are some people there, but you never have enough backs. You are an ankle away from not getting things done.
The key last season, though, besides George Godsey, was the emergence of David Schmidgall at center. He was a walk-on initially. He earned his scholarship. He probably played as well as any center in the conference last year. As far as a grade standpoint and doing the right things. Tight end Russell Matvay is a third-year starter who is back. Offensively, we have some people back, but as I tell the team, you don't get ahead looking in the rearview mirror. You have to keep working and get better.
Terry Bowden:
Your scored at least 27 points in the final seven regular season games. But defensively, you had your ups and downs. What needs to happen this year for the defense to improve?
George O'Leary:
They return 19 of the 22 players. They have a chance. What we have improved is in the secondary. The transfer in from Notre Dame, Albert Poree, had a fantastic spring. We haven't had a boundary field corner that can play the field and let the quarterback think twice about throwing out there. Albert is that kind of kid. That's going to help.
Everybody else is back, except for two players who started. They have a chance to get better through maturity. The linebacker group, Daryl Smith, (Recardo) Wimbush were young guys, who are just going to get better. And I think the two defensive ends, (Greg) Gathers and (Nick) Rogers, are both players who potentially beat somebody one-on-one. That's the name of the game -- you have to be able to rush the quarterback.
Terry Bowden:
In order to beat the other top three teams in the ACC -- Clemson, Florida State and N.C. State -- you have to approach your gameplan defensively as pass first, run second. Do you agree?
George O'Leary:
You have to be able to rush the quarterback and not have to blitz to get it done. Your front four have to get it done. It has approached the pro level where it's not important if you are two-deep or three-deep, it's what you are doing with the underneath coverage and how much changeups you can make to give that hesitation so that you have a chance to get to the quarterback.
Our conference is very well coached. They know what they are doing with the ball in the passing game. And when they run it, they run it in the right direction. I think it's an extremely well-coached conference. When I look at films each week, from offense to defense to special teams, you can see that there is coaching going on and the kids are taking to it.
Terry Bowden:
All-ACC kicker Luke Manget is back and Kelly Campbell is one of the top returners in the country. How are your special teams looking?
George O'Leary:
Both punters are back, Dan Dyke, who was an Academic All-American, and Chris Morehouse, who started a couple of games himself. Manget is back, an all-conference kicker. And the snappers are back.
And the return guys are back, so it's between Kelly Campbell and (Will) Glover, but you are always look to get them beat out. I don't believe in redshirting. If you think a kid can show he can help you win, you play him, and maybe sit him as a sophomore.
Terry Bowden:
You have beaten Georgia three years in a row. For your fans, is that game as big or bigger than the conference championship?
George O'Leary:
It depends on who you talk to. When I first got back here (in 1994), there wasn't really a rival there because we had lost six, seven in a row. But right now, they have a book out Clean Old-Fashioned Hate. It describes the game right now. It's great for the state. To me, the most important thing is the conference championship. Again, to our alumni who live in Georgia, I am sure it is the Georgia game.
|
|
|
|
ESPN.com:
HELP |
ADVERTISER INFO |
CONTACT US |
TOOLS |
SITE MAP
Copyright ©2001 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.
|
|
