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Georgia Tech Football: Position Grades vs NC State

By Shelby Williams

CHESTNUT HILL, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 24: Players on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bench react during the second half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on October 24, 2020 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 24: Players on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bench react during the second half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on October 24, 2020 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images) /
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We provide position grades for Georgia Tech football’s 23-13 loss to NC State.

Coach Geoff Collins hype has gone down about 1000% after the loss to NC State on Saturday. His outlook on this season seems to no longer be positive, and Georgia Tech’s 2020 season is looking like a wash. That being said with there’s still two games left and a lot can happen but here’s how the Jackets graded out against NC State.

Quarterback: B

Jeff Sims had a quality performance against NC State and his game was really bolstered by a good day on the ground picking up almost 100-yards and a touchdown. Through the air, he was okay, not great and you would’ve liked to see more considering NC State’s weakness in the secondary. It wasn’t a great day but he played pretty well all things considered plus no turnovers!

Running back: B+

The Jackets had a great day on the ground in the game picking up 261 yards as a team, led by Jordan Mason on the ground with 99 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Dontae Smith also had a nice performance averaging 4.8 yess per carry on nine attempts while Jamious Griffin had just three carries but picked up 25-yards, an average of 8.3 yards per carry. All in all, the running backs did really well on Saturday.

Wide Receiver: C+

The wide receivers on Saturday were a bit disappointing to say the least, outside the terrific performance from Adonicas Sanders. They were just unable to create enough separation and had the ability to make a few catches that they ultimately ended up not being able to make. Sanders saves this grade from being worst than it is plus it’s worth noting that Sims isn’t exactly the most accurate quarterback yet.

Offensive Line: C+

The offensive line definitely did well in blocking for the run game as noted above but that being said, the pass protection left a bit to be desired. The Wolfpack picked up three sacks in the game and it could’ve been a few more if Sims wasn’t able to protect himself as well as he did. That being said, the 11 tackles for a loss by NC State is certainly ugly though not all those are the offensive lines fault.

Defensive Line B–
Four freshman starting on the D-line for the first snap of game could have been a disaster. Tech had so many players out it was hard to keep track. Even so, they held NC State to 88 rushing yards which is great considering their run game is usually pretty good. Antwan Owens had one tackle  and Jared Ivey had one tackle and two assists. Djimon Brooks had one tackle and one assist. The defense sadly wasn’t on fire on Saturday- except for Kyle Kennard. Kennard had 1.5 sacks and really put NC State back. He did his best and looked great in his first career start. As a unit, the defensive line helped lockdown a strong NC State backfield in an impressive performance overall.

Linebacker:  C+
Quez Jackson put up five total tackles. Two solo tackles from Saturday brings his solo tackle total to 42 for the season. Linebacker David Curry was on fire against NC State and put up 8 assisted tackles and four solo tackles. The linebackers overall had a big part of the run defenses success and deserve credit for that as well.

Secondary: C-

The secondary really struggled in this matchup. They looked slow and weak compared to NC states receivers. Senior Tariq Carpenter posted two tackles and looked like he had trouble keeping up. Junior Juanyeh Thomas has 33 tackles this season and had five assisted tackles on Saturday. Wesley Walker had seven total tackles in the loss to NC State. He has 26 solo tackles on the season. We can all agree that the secondary looked damaged and depleted which it truly was but that being said it was still a poor performance overall.

Special Teams: A

Pressley Harvin had four punts averaging 47 yards, he continues to be great for the Jackets. Gavin Stewart was 2-for-2 in opportunities though his long was just 26, he also made his only extra point opportunity of the evening.