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Georgia Tech Football: Jackets make it official, hire Nate Woody as Defensive Coordinator

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 30: A general view of Bobby Dodd Stadium during the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 30, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 30: A general view of Bobby Dodd Stadium during the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 30, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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The Georgia Tech Football program made it official on Saturday afternoon announcing the hire of Nate Woody as defensive coordinator.

The worse kept secret through the last few weeks was that the Georgia Tech football program would be hiring Appalachian State defensive coordinator Nate Woody for the same position. The Jackets were left looking for a new DC after Ted Roof left The Flats for North Carolina State. On Saturday, the program made it official.

Woody will look to turn around a Jackets defense that surrendered 26.5 points per game in 2017. Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said the following in a press release by RamblinWreck.com.

"“I’m excited to have Nate Woody join our staff and lead our defense, he’s achieved a lot of success and helped his teams win a lot of games at Appalachian State and Wofford. I think he’s a great fit for our program.”"

Woody has extensive coaching experience, joining the ranks in 1988 with his alma mater Wofford. He would stay there with the Terriers until 2012, at that point he moved to Appalachian State where he was the defensive coordinator each of the last five seasons.

Woody oversaw the defense during a difficult transition for the Mountaineers as they moved from the FCS level to the FBS level starting in 2013. During his tenure as defensive coordinator at Appalachian State, the Mountaineers constantly had one of the best scoring defenses in the nation.

In 2017, App State gave up an average of 21.9 points per game and just over 340-yards per game. Both ranked among the top 30 in the country, a place where the Mountaineers defense has familiarized themselves within the last five years.

The Mountaineers finished out their 2017 season with a 34-0 shutout over Toledo, an offense that averaged 36.4 points per game.

Over the last few days, it has been made public that assistant coaches Andy McCollum and Joe Speed would remain part of the Jackets coaching staff while Mike Pelton would be moving on. The reason for Pelton’s departure has been attributed to Woody’s use of the 3-4 defense while Pelton was more familiar with the 4-3 defense.

With that being said, the winter and spring period will be full of learning for the Jackets defensive coaches and players as they study Woody’s playbook and familiarize themselves with the 3-4 defense.