ATLANTA - Georgia Tech is taking its time deciding on a starting quarterback.
Coming off a tumultuous year on offense, the Yellow Jackets are still young and uncertain as they consider sophomore incumbent James Graham and three others for the job.
Maybe it's wise to avoid making an early declaration amid the coronavirus pandemic. The scheduled season opener at Florida State is still more than three weeks away, and after the team's first padded practice Wednesday, Geoff Collins was in no hurry to finalize the depth chart coming off a 3-9 debut season as head coach.
"They've got a good relationship with each other, but you know, they're really fighting and really trying to position themselves in a spot where they can lead this program," Collins said. "Been really proud of all of them and excited to see in the next week and a half this thing unfold."
Redshirt freshman Jordan Yates and true freshmen Tucker Gleason and Jeff Sims are Graham's competition, but Graham, who started the final eight games last year, has the edge in experience as the team prepares for its first scrimmage later this week.
No matter who starts at quarterback, Tech's offense has nowhere to go but up.
Among 130 Football Bowl Subdivision schools last season, the Jackets ranked worst in the red zone, fourth worst in average total yards, sixth worst in third-down percentage and seventh worst in passing. They had two playmakers - running back Jordan Mason and slot receiver Ahmarean Brown - who made a difference, but Graham otherwise had limited options.
Graham completed just 45.1% of his passes, last in the Atlantic Coast Conference for quarterbacks with at least 40 attempts. He still has plenty to work on.
"Transitioning in the pocket and my feet and just being on time with my throws, being able to read defenses and rotations," Graham said. "Just the fronts and being able to check to the run game or the pass game, learning from my mistakes. I believe my biggest downfall is my footwork, and I've been working on that all summer. You guys will see."
Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude praised Yates' smarts and the way Gleason (6-foot-3, 225 pound) and Sims move as big men (6-3, 215).
"The weaknesses for all of the guys is that they're young," Patenaude said. "Even James is a young guy. From a football standpoint, he was a redshirt freshman last year who had never run that type of offense and had a huge learning curve and just happened to get thrown out there against really, really good ACC teams and figure it out on the fly."
Wide receiver Jalen Camp returns from surgery that ended his 2019 season after four games. Receivers Malachi Carter and Adonicas Sanders are back after earning starts last year, but sophomore Marquez Ezzard, a transfer from Miami, figures to earn plenty of snaps, too.
"He can be an unbelievable player for us on the outside," receivers coach Kerry Dixon said. "He has great ball skills. His initial quickness is like no other. He's studying the game. He's starting to take from teaching and show it on the field."
Brown, who tied Calvin Johnson's program record for touchdown catches by a freshman with seven, has added muscle to his 5-10, 170-pound frame and worked to add strength to his hands. He averaged a robust 18.9 yards on his 21 catches last season.
"I've put on a good amount of weight to feel comfortable going across the middle catching things and playing a bigger role in this offense," Brown said.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, a freshman from Dalton who is the star of the most recent recruiting class, is the new, exciting name. Patenaude told an anecdote about Gibbs running a sideline route in a recent practice, jumping over a defender and keeping his foot in bounds.
"That guy's a special player now," Patenaude said. "He brings a different dynamic to that set. He's very dynamic out of the backfield."
Patenaude plans to find plenty of ways to get the ball into Gibbs' hands.
Said Patenaude: "We are extremely lucky to have him here, and he's going to bring a dynamic piece of the offense that we didn't necessarily have last year."
New date for Clemson vs. The Citadel
Clemson's home opener on Sept. 19 is now against The Citadel, filling the lone nonconference spot on the schedule for the Tigers, who were originally set to host the Football Championship Subdivision program on Nov. 14 before the COVID-19 pandemic affected the ACC season.
The league has adopted a 10-game conference schedule with one nonconference opponent. Clemson was set to face Akron, Notre Dame and in-state rival South Carolina along with The Citadel - another Palmetto State program - as its nonconference foes on its old 12-game schedule. The Tigers will still face Notre Dame on Nov. 7 because the Fighting Irish, normally a football independent, will compete in the ACC this season.
The Southern Conference, which includes The Citadel and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has postponed its league schedule until the spring but will permit members to play nonconference games if desired. The contract for the Bulldogs from Charleston calls for them to receive $450,000 from Clemson.
Earning coaching stripes with the Tigers
Clemson has added one of its most decorated former players back to the program with C.J. Spiller joining its coaching staff.
Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said Spiller would be a graduate intern with the team as the former NFL running back works toward his master's degree.
A running back, Spiller was the ACC player of the year in 2009 and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills at No. 9 overall the following spring. He played his first five of eight NFL seasons with the Bills before spending time with the New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, finishing his pro career with 3,451 rushing yards, 1,484 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns.
Swinney said Spiller approached his former head coach about a position on staff this week.