Georgia Tech is coming off a 23-13 loss to N.C. State and has just 3 wins on the season, but the transition away from Paul Johnson’s triple option attack means that the Yellow Jackets are going to rely on young talent. Freshman quarterback Jeff Sims and freshman running back Jahmyr Gibbs are two of those newcomers who will look to lead the Georgia Tech offense into the future. Let’s take a look at what you can expect from the Yellow Jackets’ offense this week.

The Offense

Jeff Sims is a young quarterback out of Jacksonville (Fla.), and while he is raw as a passer, he has shown the ability to make plays with his legs. Numerous times over the course of the year, Sims has been able to hit runs to help his team move the ball. In the example above, the Georgia Tech offense calls quarterback draw on first down and uses the running back as a lead blocker. Sims is a patient runner and sets up his block before bouncing it outside and picking up the first down. Sims is the Yellow Jackets' leading rusher and it is plays like that where he can be dangerous if given a seam.

We talked a little about condensed sets previously and how they can affect the defense, especially in Pitt’s scheme. The example above is how Georgia Tech used a condensed split by the wide receivers on third down and catches Notre Dame in man coverage. This allows Georgia Tech to get its running back on a wheel route and he’s wide open for a big gain.

With Sims as a running threat of a runner, they can also incorporate some option things as well. For example, in the clip above, the Yellow Jackets are using an orbit motion where the receiver is motioning from the boundary behind both the running back and quarterback prior to the ball being snapped. This gives the illusion of a pitch-phase to the receiver and the Yellow Jackets' offense uses it on their inside zone scheme and other run schemes even if to give that perception that it could be option.

This is a perfect example of Georgia Tech using the orbit motion but running a buck sweep concept that hits for a touchdown against Louisville.

One of the issues with the Georgia Tech offense this season has been turnovers. Sims has thrown 11 interceptions and the Yellow Jackets' offense has a combined 21 fumbles (11 lost) for the year. Here’s a perfect example of a simple four-man pressure that gets to Sims prior to him releasing the ball and creates a turnover for the opposing team. Edge pressures can really be key for the Panthers to create turnovers against Georgia Tech.

The Defense
Like a lot of defenses that Pitt has seen this season, the Yellow Jackets' defense will give the Panthers multiple looks and play in both three-down and four-down fronts. They are aggressive on defense and can give teams fits with their penetration at the line of scrimmage. Djimon Brooks, an interior defensive lineman, is very active and can erase cutback lanes and get penetration to help stop the run. Let’s take a look at the defensive scheme from the Yellow Jackets.

Protecting the quarterback is important for the Panthers to have success with their offense and Georgia Tech does a good job, at times, of getting after the quarterback. Here’s an example against Notre Dame off play-action and the Georgia Tech edge rushers do a good job at forcing Ian Book to step up where Brooks wins his 1-on-1 battle and is there to help secure a sack.

Here’s a good example of the Georgia Tech defense playing outside run and simply disrupting the play with their penetration at the line of scrimmage. There are multiple people in the backfield for the defense and Brooks gets extended and prevents the running back from making a cut. This allows the defense to rally to the football and make a tackle for loss on first down.

The Georgia Tech defense, while showing the ability to stop the run, has allowed teams to be able to run the football. In the clip above, Louisville is again running outside zone, only this time the linebackers play fast to the running back path and Louisville was able to move the defenders and create a cutback lane for the running back. Preventing penetration at the point of attack, especially from interior of the defensive line, will allow you to make cut-back lanes like this possible.

On third downs, Georgia Tech will bring pressure like many others, but they will also bring what many refer to as creeper pressures, which is essentially a four-man pressure that drops guys from the line of scrimmage into zones while bringing what is perceived to be a cover guy. Above is an example of that and it forces the Louisville quarterback to get rid of the ball quickly even though the defense is only bringing four defenders. The Georgia Tech safety is able to make a play on the ball and almost intercepts it.

Final Thoughts
Georgia Tech is still working through its transition from Paul Johnson’s scheme and while there has been progress, like a win against Louisville or a blowout win over Duke, the Yellow Jackets' offense can still struggle at times. Sims can be dangerous in the quarterback run game and the Georgia Tech defense can make it difficult for opposing offenses at times. The key for Pitt will be to contain the quarterback run and prevent big plays from Sims with his legs.