By: Christian Goeckel

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Before anyone loses their mind, yes, we know Tech won’t be representing the East this year in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

They will however have a chance to improve their record against the east to 4-0 when they face Tennessee to kick off the season in that very same stadium on September 4th.

Johnson hasn’t been shy in vocalizing his displeasure with everyone’s obsession with the SEC and he’s been one of the few coaches who has backed up his words. Along with Oklahoma’s Stoops, Johnson has carried the anti – SEC banner proudly and this year it seems like it hit home in recruiting.

Now with Tech’s offensive playbook combined with an extremely strenuous class load, Tech will never pull a top three class like their instate rival did.

They can however put together really good classes by simply staying home and recruiting an extremely fertile home base. That’s exactly what they did this year when they signed 21 three star recruits.

Of the 21 signees, 7 are rated .85 or higher. The top signee of the class, four star Bruce Jordan-Swilling (New Orleans, La) could add to that if they choose to place him at linebacker over running back.

Jordan-Swilling could go both ways, but it seems that Tech would get the most out of the legacy on the defensive side of the ball. He was a dominant player in Louisiana to the tune of offers from Alabama, LSU, USC, and Ohio State.

He could be the centerpiece of what could be a really, really good defense. Tech returns 9 starters on a defense that finished 6th in the ACC. Adding Jordan-Swilling should take them to the next level.

On the offensive side, Tech lost quarterback Justin Thomas, but return 8 starters including dynamic B Back Dedrick Mills who rushed for 771 yards last year including a bruising 169 against Kentucky in their bowl game.

Matthew Jordan has the edge at QB after spring practice, but expect fellow redshirt-junior TaQuon Marshall to push him for snaps. Paul Johnson has no problems with switching QBs and will probably do so situationally.

Jordan is a bigger player made for Tech’s inside isolation game, while Marshall looks to get to the edge with his speed. The jury is still out on both as passers being that they only have a combined 19 attempts between them. (18- Jordan, 1- Marshall)

At A Back Tech returns its trio of speedsters. JJ Green, Qua Searcy, and Clinton lynch all will be looking to stretch opposing defenses this fall. The group combined for 842 yards on the ground while picking up 713 yards through the air. Expect this group to again be a focal point of the offense.

Brad Stewart will enter the season as Tech’s leading wide out, but expect sophomore Jalen Camp to step up to the X spot early. Camp gives Paul Johnson the tall deep threat that he covets against the outside man coverage most teams throw at Georgia Tech.

Most of the intermediate throws will go to the A Backs, so expect to see these guys stretching the defense over the top.

With all that in mind, Georgia Tech’s schedule sets up very nicely for a run. If they can get past a Tennessee team breaking in a new quarterback week one, they’ll have a legitimate shot of being unbeaten going into a week 9 matchup with Clemson in Death Valley.

And the bookend games with aforementioned Tennessee and Georgia will give Paul Johnson another chance to show us why he thinks his Jackets own the East.