Freshman Harrison Butker won the starting kicker job for this season. The 6-3 Butker went to high school at Westminster in Atlanta, Ga. He broke many school records, and in his junior year, he went 16-17 on field goals. The lone miss was from 59 yards.

Butker was named first team All-American in high school by several football organizations. Through his first six games, Butker is 5-for-8 on field goals, including 4-for-5 from beyond 40 yards.

Butker has given Tech a new dimension in the kicking game this year. In the past three seasons, Coach Johnson had been hesitant to call on the field goal kicking unit for long distance kicks, but this season, Butker has been very reliable.

Butker has also had a major impact on the kickoff unit. His touchback percentage on kickoffs is 42.86 percent, which is the highest in the Paul Johnson era by almost 30 percent.

Like most kickers, Butker had a heavy soccer background. Butker played soccer in high school and helped Westminster win back-to-back state championships his last two years.

“I started playing soccer when I was 3. Both my parents played soccer in college. My dad played at Berry. My mom played at Smith,” Butker said.

Butker, who grew up as a Tech fan, eventually got interested in football.

“My mom got her Master’s at Georgia Tech. I was really a big basketball fan. Then I started watching the Georgia Tech football games,” Butker said.

Butker started playing kicker his sophomore year in high school. He handled only kickoffs, but by his junior year, he was handling all kicking and punting responsibilities. While Butker also excelled as a punter and received All-American accolades for punting as well, he has yet to take a punt in his career. Butker realized his potential shortly after beginning to play football.

“All kickers look for that opportunity and in my training I like to envision those types of kicks under pressure.”

“My rising junior year I went to a camp run by Prokicker.com. They ranked me pretty high. I thought that maybe I could have a future in college,” Butker said.

Butker was offered a full scholarship to play for Tech and committed shortly after attending a summer camp.

“Ten years ago, scholarships for kickers were extremely rare and coaches are starting to realize how important kickers are and how they can swing a game,” Butker said.

Butker is one of the few true freshman receiving playing time this season, and he is very excited about having a positive impact on this year’s team.

“That’s what I wanted when I came to Tech. I noticed the playing opportunity, so I was looking forward to doing something my freshman year,” Butker said. “My number one goal was field goal percentage. Lou Groza award has always been in the back of my mind, and a high touchback percentage, but anything to help the team.”

Butker is confident in his kicking abilities and feels that he is consistent from 53 yards and in.

There is a long legacy of Tech kickers’ kicking games winning field goals, including a kick that helped Tech win the 1990 nation championship: Scott Sisson kicked a game-winning field goal with seven seconds left in the game against UVA, who was ranked number one at the time.

Most notably, Luke Manget also had a game-winning kick in 1999 against Georgia that gave Tech a 51-48 victory in overtime. It was the last time Tech beat UGA in Bobby Dodd Stadium. Butker hopes to one day get a chance to kick a game winning field goal.

“All kickers look for that opportunity, and in my training, I like to envision those types of kicks under pressure,” Butker said.

Losing three consecutive games, the football team has had a rough three weeks. However, the team is staying positive, and players are confident they will break their losing streak in the game against Syracuse.

“We had a really good practice today. I think it’s positive in the locker room. We look at the season as two different seasons. We’re starting the second half of our season 0-0 and we’re looking forward to Syracuse.”

Fifth-year senior B-back, David Sims, knows his time as a Jacket is finishing up and he is looking to make the most out of his last season on the Flats. Coaches have raved about Sims’ improvement this season and he had a very good preseason. Entering the Miami game, Sims leads the team with 248 rushing yards on 50 attempts. Sims looks to be a mentor and leader to the younger players on the team this season.

“Some of my goals coming into the season was to just be a mentor to some of the younger guys and try to do everything to make sure we get a win,” Sims said.

Sims has had a wild ride in his career at Tech. He was recruited by Tech to play quarterback and spent his redshirt year watching Jacket great Josh Nesbitt lead Tech to its first ACC championship in 11 years. In his second year at Tech, Sims saw limited playing time, and the coaches approached him after the season about switching to the B-back position.

There was not much depth at the B-back position after Tech lost Anthony Allen and Lucas Cox to graduation, so Sims was first on the depth chart entering his third year. Sims believes playing quarterback was beneficiary to his success at running back.

“It allowed me to shrink my learning curve a lot faster than if I would have had just gone straight to B-back,” Sims said.

There are currently 13 Jackets who have rushed for over 2,000 career rushing yards, including all-time leader Robert Lavette, Tashard Choice, Joe Burns, Eddie Lee Ivery, PJ Daniels and Jonathan Dwyer. Sims is on track to finish with over 2,200 career rushing yards, and he knows the significance of doing it.

“It would mean a lot to do that. Those are some of the top running backs not only from Tech but in the ACC. Dwyer and Tashard are both in the league and the other guys has pretty good careers too,” Sims said.

Sims is from St. Matthews, S.C. and is very excited to play Clemson one last time in his home state. However, the game he is looking forward to the most is the next one on the schedule.

“The Miami game. I’m trying to take it one game at a time, but every year we play Clemson, it’s always circled for me,” Sims said.

In his final year, there have been a lot of changes with new formations and wrinkles in the offense. Coach Paul Johnson has called more plays out of the pistol and diamond formations than ever before. It is expected to be more difficult to defend the Jackets the rest of the year as they get more comfortable running these new plays.

“It’s a little bit different. It’s something that we’ve been working on the last two to three years, and we’re getting our repetition and packages in the diamond up, and I think it’s going to throw a curveball to some people,” Sims said.

Tech is on pace to have over 200 passing attempts for the first time in the Paul Johnson era, but the offensive blocking scheme has not changed.

“I don’t think pass blocking has been more emphasized, but we have a lot of guys who play, and they understand how to pass block. I think it comes with preparation. If we can protect and get the ball down the field, Coach has no problem calling pass plays for us,” Sims said.

It has been a memorable career for Sims at Tech and he has improved every game he has played. He knows the emotions are different, but the game preparation has always been the same.

“I don’t want to say they’ve [the preparations] changed, but it gets amplified with every game this year. This is your last one, last go and last chance to make an impression,” Sims said.

Sims favorite memory so far as a Jacket is a toss-up between beating Clemson in 2011, when Clemson was ranked No. 5 in the country, and the Sun Bowl victory last season, where he rushed for a career high 99 yards and scored the first touchdown of the game. However, he is looking for new memories this season and wants to go out on top.

Tech will rely on Sims to lead the team in games. The B-back is the most important part of the option offense and success on the dive play will open the rest of the field up, and it will be easier to pass the ball.

Tech quarterback Vad Lee returns to his hometown this weekend to lead his team against the Duke Blue Devils.

Vad has lived in Durham his whole life and has been around the Duke football program for many years. Lee attended Hillside High School in Durham. During his senior year of high school, he rushed for 1,300 yards and threw for 3,223 yards. At a game where Tech head Coach Paul Johnson attended, Lee rushed for five touchdowns. Lee went on to lead his team to a 16-0 record including a 40-0 victory in the state championship game and was named the AP North Carolina state Player of the Year.

Last year, Lee was a huge contributor in Tech’s game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Lee led Tech to a season high 68 points and racked up 112 rushing yards and 3 total touchdowns.

Chapel Hill is ten miles away from Durham, but the Duke game will mean much more for him. Vad knows this is more than just a game.

“A win would mean everything, not just for me, but for the team. It’s for the coastal division and a win is one step closer to our goal of winning the ACC championship,” Lee said.

Lee is looking forward to the game.

“It’s a great feeling to just go home and play,” Lee said. “I went my redshirt year and wasn’t able to play. This time I’ll be able to play and I’m very excited.”

Lee is also excited about his growing chemistry with wide receivers Darren Waller and Michael Summers.

“Darren and I have been working together for a while. At the end of the season last year, we knew we would have to step up and be focal points of the offense,” said Lee. “I’m glad Michael had a big game last week. It gives him a lot of confidence and he might even break out and become a big time player this year.”

Being from Durham and having several high school teammates suit up for the Blue Devils, Lee has a lot of connections and friends in the Duke program.

“I have a lot of relationships with them. The starting quarterback, Anthony Boone, and I are close. He’s a great quarterback. We worked out together coming out of high school,” Lee said.

However, Boone recently suffered a broken collarbone, so the two friends will have to wait until next year to face off against each other.

Lee did not grow up a Duke fan, but the Blue Devil football program helped make Vad become what he is now.

“I grew up a UNC fan, but I attended a lot of games at Wallace Wade. Especially as a recruit, you can go to the games for free and I used that a lot,” Lee said. “When I go home, I’ll stop by Duke and run the stairs of the stadium. I’ve been doing that since I was a little.”

Lee had nothing but praise for Duke head coach, David Cutcliffe.

“I used to be around their facilities all the time watching Peyton Manning film. Coach Cutcliffe is a great coach. We still have a great relationship till this day so I’m looking forward to seeing him as well.”

Cutcliffe is known for coaching both Eli and Peyton Manning and helping them become what they are today.

More than 40 friends and family are expected to come to Wallace Wade Stadium this Saturday to see Lee. According to Lee, there were many more requests, to the point of becoming overwhelming. A lot of coaches and players from his high school are expected to come and show support for their former star too.

Lee has been preparing for this game since last summer and has been dreaming about it for much longer than that.

“In the summer I did a Duke film cutout for myself to study the defense. Over the summer I was bored and wanted to just watch film and get ahead for the season. Now I’m able to use those cutouts and put them to good use,” Lee said.

Lee is 2-0 in games against teams from North Carolina where Lee has seen significant playing time. In those two games, though it is a small sample size, Tech averaged 69 points per game; scoring 68 against North Carolina last season and 70 against Elon this year.

While Tech may find it hard to reach those scores against Duke this Saturday, Lee looks to continue his win streak against North Carolina teams and hopes to graduate with a perfect record against them. If the Jackets are able to win this game, it will be three straight football season Lee has gone without losing a game in the state of North Carolina

As for most people, Lee’s hometown is a special place for him. Returning to a place where he has played so many games, but never one at the collegiate level, will surely be a special day for him.

When the clock hit zero at Boddy Dodd Stadium last Saturday, the score was 70-0. It was a special day, not only because it was the first game of the year, but because it was the beginning of the 100th year of Tech football at Grant Field. It will be a day to remember by Tech fans because many fans have never witnessed such a victory.

While it wasn’t as impressive as the 1916 Cumberland game, where Tech won with a score of 222-0, it was a still a decisive victory by the Yellow Jackets. The 70 points scored might be most people’s favorite thing about the game, but for me, the shutout was more impressive. Shutouts are very rare in college football, even against FCS teams like Elon. It was the first Tech shutout since 2008, when the Jackets knocked off the Duke Blue Devils 27-0. The 70 point margin of victory against Elon was also the largest margin of victory in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

After struggling mightily the past few years on defense, Tech defence appears to be a major force this year. From the beginning of the game, the defense swarmed to the ball and caused an early fumble, foreshadowing things to come. Seniors Brandon Watts and Jemea Thomas set the tone early, and the rest of the team followed their lead.

“The defensive line took up a lot of blockers, and we were able to run around them and make plays,” Watts said.

Watts was also excited about the shut-out.

“It meant a lot. That’s the first one we’ve had since I’ve been here. When the 2’s and 3’s went in, we were cheering them on,” Watts said.

On the day, four turnovers were caused by the new Ted Roof-led defense. Three  were interceptions and two of those three were returned for touchdowns. Linebacker Tyler Marcodes had a 95 yard interception return for a touchdown, and safety Chris Milton had another in the second half.

“A lot of guys got good reps today, and we got to see our depth on defense and see guys make plays,” Marcodes said. “Jabari Hunt-Days got a pick, and Chris Milton got a pick for a touchdown so we had a lot of big plays on D.”

Those were the first touchdowns that those players have scored in their Tech careers. This was the first game with a defensive touchdown since last year’s homecoming game versus Brigham Young University. The 173 interception yards were also a new school record.

With the bye week following the Elon game, Tech has to begin preparation for ACC play. The teams will begin to get much harder as the Jackets progress through the year. Duke, North Carolina and Virginia Tech are on the horizon, and Tech must win these games for the Jackets to win the coastal. Even though everything seemed fine in the game, Coach Johnson knows there is still much to work on defensively before the Jackets start ACC play.

“We had a hard time getting them off the field. The good thing was that when they got down there, we didn’t let them score. They were six-of-16 on third down conversions. I’m sure if Coach Roof was here, he would tell you he would want to be better than that,” Johnson said.

Lots of old and new Jackets got onto the field Saturday. The depth of the defense was shown, and they were able to keep the shutout intact. Coach Johnson did recognize the significance of that.

“The bottom line… is they didn’t score. That’s what happens when you get turnovers like that. The game was out of reach before the offense really had to do anything.

When we started the game, the defense got a few turnovers and the game’s gone,” Johnson said.

Even though the Jackets only recorded one sack against Elon, there shouldn’t be any concern. Elon called a lot of short passes and running plays. However, the Jackets did record six tackles for loss, so the presence in the backfield was there.

Freshman Paul “PJ” Davis was one of two true freshman to play against Elon. He showed the skills and hustle that the coaches and players have been raving about during the preseason. Davis recorded six tackles and one tackle for loss and was all over the field when he played. He wears the number 40, which fits him very well as it was the old number of former Tech captain, Julian Burnett.

Based on the way Davis played against Elon, it is clear that he shows the same tenacity and toughness as Burnett. Davis will  add to the great depth already at the linebacker position and will be a name to remember for years to come.

Coach Johnson named safety Chris Milton the defensive player of the week against Elon. Several Tech players on defense missed the preseason, including star linebacker Jabari Hunt-Days. Hunt-Days recorded the first interception of the game while Elon was deep in Tech terrority.

“It felt good. It’s definitely a continuous practice from the end of last season to now. It’s not about what I do individually but about the whole team. As a team, everybody progressed today, and we had a fun time,” Hunt-Days said.

The players seem to be enjoying playing on defense this year, unlike last year when many players feared it. Al Groh’s defense was very complex and going into last year’s opener versus Virginia Tech, he stated that there were only 12 players he felt were comfortable playing his defense.

Thankfully, that is not the case this year. Roof has done an excellent job so far, and the players are responding well to his defensive style. If the players can continue to grow and improve, it will be a terrific surprise for Coach Johnson. Johnson’s strategy has always been to out score his opponents. A great defense for the future will be Coach Johnson’s best friend as Tech goes into the season.

Offense

Quarterback

Vad Lee is the starting quarterback this season. Lee was a big contributor on last year’s team and had a big part in helping the Jackets score 68 points against UNC. Lee is the best passer Tech has had since Coach Johnson came to Tech so the hype has been building since Vad has arrived. Redshirt freshman Justin Thomas is the backup this season and is a talented and very speedy player. Thomas is the second fastest player on the team and was the Alabama 100 meter state champion. Expect to see Thomas in almost every game since he will almost always be the fastest player on the field. Tech will run more out of the pistol formation than ever before which will make their more traditional flexbone offense even harder to stop. Tim Byerly is the third string quarterback for the Jackets.

B-Back

Senior David Sims returns for his third straight year as the starter. Sims had 612 rushing yards last season and is 632 yards away from 2000 career rushing yards. When Sims is healthy, he is a force to be reckoned with. Look for Sims to improve in every aspect of his game this season as he looks to become on the radar of NFL teams. Junior Zack Laskey, the leading rusher in 2012 with 697 yards, returns as well. Expect him to get lots of playing time once again and he provides a terrific one-two punch at the B-back position. Broderick Snoddy is the third string B-back and the undisputed fastest player on the team. Snoddy is a threat to score any time he touches the ball.

A-Back

Former walk-on Robert Godhigh and junior Deon Hill are the starters this season at the A-back positions. Both of them must continue to elevate their game this year to replace former Tech great Orwin Smith. BJ Bostic and Synjin Days will be the first backs off the bench and should both have breakout years. Tony Zenon and Dennis Andrews will see playing time as well. The 5-7 Godhigh is the x-factor at this position and led the team in receiving touchdowns last season. Godhigh will star in his last season as a Jacket.

Wide Receiver

The 6-6 sophomore, Darren Waller, is the leading returning receiver for the Jackets. After the suspension of Jeff Greene and the injury of Anthony Autry the wide receiver position is the biggest question mark on offense. Redshirt freshman Michael Summers is the other starter at the receiver position and will provide terrific speed. Corey Dennis and Deandre Smelter are the backups to start the season. Smelter is joining the football team after playing baseball for three years and was a former high school standout at wide receiver. Smelter has the size and the athleticism to compete from day one. Smelter has two years of eligibility left to compete for Tech.

Offensive Line

The offensive line returns a lot of depth and experience with 103 combined starts. Ray Beno is expected to man the left tackle and Bryan Chamberlain will play opposite of him at right tackle. Chamberlain is replacing injured Morgan Bailey. Will Jackson moves back to left guard this season to join Shaq Mason. The quarterbacks and b-backs will run through the holes Shaq Mason creates. After recovering from offseason injuries, Jay Finch will start the season at center and is the key to the offensive line. Chase Roberts, Trey Braun and Auburn transfer Thomas O’Reilly are the top backups for the season. This should be the best offensive line Paul Johnson has had.

Overview

This season marks the hundredth year of Yellow Jacket football and much is expected out of this year’s team. Tech will most likely repeat as the top rushing offense in the ACC for the sixth year in a row. Tech will be showing completely new formations this season as the Jackets look to spread the field even more. Vad Lee has stepped into the role as team leader and roses are on his mind.

Defense

Defensive End

With the return of Ted Roof, the Jackets will move to the 4-3 formation. This move means that returning sack leader Jeremiah Attaochu will switch to DE. Attaochu is on pace to break the Tech sack record and has a chance to make the All-America team this year. Starting opposite of Attaochu will be senior Emanuel Dieke. Chris Crenshaw and Anthony Williams will also be a big contributors. This should be a position of strength for the Yellow Jackets.

Defensive Tackle

Senior Euclid Cummings will start at the tackle and the sophomore from Australia, Adam Gotsism, will start at the nose tackle position. This will be the first time since 2009 that Tech has started two defensive tackles. Cummings and Gostis don’t have great size, but are expected to use their speed to beat people off the line. Expect to see redshirt freshmen Patrick Gamble and Jimmie Kitchen contribute too. This position is the biggest question mark on the defense, but if the defensive tackles can stop the run, Georgia Tech should have one of the best defensives in the ACC.

Linebacker

The linebacker unit should be the strongest part of the defense and returns all three starters from last season. This is the best linebacking unit in the ACC and one of the best in the country. Starting at outside linebacker will be senior Brandon Watts and junior Quayshawn Nealy. Jabari Hunt-Days will be starting at middle linebacker. Hunt-Days should star on defense and could challenge for first team all ACC. Hunt-Days is one of the best sophomore linebackers in the country and will be the cornerstone of the Tech defense for years to come. All three starting linebackers should challenge for postseason accolades. Daniel Drummond, Tremayne McNair and Anthony Harrell provide solid depth off the bench.

Cornerback

The departure of Rod Sweeting shouldn’t hurt the Yellow Jackets that much with seniors Jemea Thomas and Louis Young starting at the corner. Jemea Thomas is one of the best defensive backs in the ACC and is one of the nation’s best playmakers. Jemea Thomas will rise up NFL draft boards with a terrific season. Louis Young is also a very proven player and provides great size for the cornerback position. Sophomores Domonique Noble and Lynn Griffin are the backups and will see a lot of playing time this year as they look to gain experience for years to come.

Safety

Last year’s leading tackler Isaiah Johnson will be out for the beginning of the season due to offseason knee surgery. Starting at free safety is Jamal Golden. The other starting position will be determined by game time and will either be sophomores Chris Milton or Demond Smith. Milton, who has made a name for himself as a hard hitting player, started the Sun Bowl last season. Jamal Golden started five games last year too so there is plenty of experience in the secondary.

Overview

The Al Groh era is over and the Ted Roof era has begun. Roof is a recognizable name for Tech fans as he was a star on Tech’s heralded “black watch defense” of the 1980s. Since last coaching at Tech in the early 2000s Roof has returned with a national championship ring that he won as the defensive coordinator for Auburn. Roof has inherited some very talented players and Tech has an excellent shot at winning the ACC with an improved effort from the defense.