Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins has spent the better part of two seasons trying to transition Georgia Tech from the flexbone spread option offense under previous head coach Paul Johnson to a more conventional offense with more passing. In the meantime, he’s had to fit square pegs into round holes, using holdovers from the Johnson regime to fit his new scheme. 

The result this season has been a Yellow Jacket offense that floats like a butterfly, but doesn’t sting like a bee, and every time Georgia Tech has faced an above-average defense this year, like it’s sure to do against NC State this coming Saturday, it has been less than inspiring.

Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims

Jeff Sims has been playing well in his freshman year, but he still needs to iron out some of the flaws in his game. Sims has tremendous running ability, rushing for 385 yards and four touchdowns on the season, but his ability to scramble has come at the expense of his job throwing the football. 

He’s thrown for 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, good for a not-so-stellar one-to-one TD-to-pick ratio. And when Sims does throw the ball, it’s a crapshoot whether he can get to his receivers. He sports a 56% completion rate on 199 passing attempts, so he’s not exactly Drew Brees out there. 

While Sims completes relatively few passes, he doesn’t compensate for it by throwing it down field. Sims’ 199 pass attempts have gotten him 1,492 passing yards, enough for only 7.5 yards per attempt. So long as the NC State secondary doesn’t give Sims an obvious passing lane to throw to, it’s reasonable to expect that Sims won’t burn the Wolfpack corners deep.

Georgia Tech running backs

Georgia Tech was once famed for its running attack, but while it doesn’t run every play like it used to, the team still has some great running backs that remind fans of the days under Johnson. 

Jahmyr Gibbs has rushed for 460 yards and four touchdowns at 5.2 yards per carry, but if you take away his longest run of 61 yards, his totals go down to 399 yards and only 4.5 yards per carry. Those stats paint a better picture of the kind of back Gibbs is — a punishing, bruising runner that’s great in short yardage. 

If Gibbs is thunder, then Dontae Smith is lightning for this Georgia Tech offense. He only has 33 carries on the season, but he’s made the most of his work as the third-leading rusher with 253 yards. Smith boasts 7.7 yards per carry, the highest on the team, and it makes you wonder why he isn’t used in the offense more often. Curiously enough, Jordan Mason and Jamious Griffin have toted the ball more than Smith this season, and their production this season doesn’t justify doing so. Regardless of how much he’s used, Smith is the change-of-pace back that can break the game wide open for the Yellow Jackets. 

Georgia Tech wide receivers

Just by virtue of the fact that coach Geoff Collins has instituted a more pass-heavy offense, this wide receiver group has been the most productive at Georgia Tech in a while. However, that isn’t saying much, and if Sims was a better quarterback, then maybe there would be more to say about these Georgia Tech pass catchers. 

Jalen Camp has been Sims’ favorite target this season, catching 22 balls for 320 yards and three touchdowns, and Malachi Carter isn’t far behind with 17 catches, 244 yards and three touchdowns. Both are holdovers from the Johnson regime, which means they can burn receivers deep if the secondary doesn’t keep track of them. 

Carter and Camp are ideally slot receivers, but they’re being used as the primary receivers in this offense by Collins for no other reason than a lack of choice. While there’s no Calvin Johnson on the roster, Carter and Camp are upperclassmen and should have the experience and savvy to find their way around defenses.

Georgia Tech offensive line

The cut blocking scheme served the Yellow Jackets well in years past, and while Geoff Collins is already in his second season, old habits have proven to die hard. The rules on cut blocking changed right before Johnson’s retirement in 2018, essentially limiting it to the line of scrimmage, but it hasn’t stopped Tech from boasting some of the best run blockers in the country. 

This is the same offensive line that allows four different running backs to average over 4 yards per carry. Facing this offensive line might be junior defensive tackle Alim McNeill’s biggest challenge of the season, and it’s one of the few noteworthy immovable object versus unstoppable force scenarios that’ll be interesting to take note of. 

Considering all that, the O-line has been shaky in pass protection, and if not for the mobility of Sims, it would’ve given up more than just 15 sacks on the year. If NC State wants to win this game, they’ll have to dial up the pass rush when Sims drops back and hope that he doesn’t escape.