Geoff Collins had the deck stacked against him when he took the Georgia Tech job. Converting a Flex-Triple offense to a contemporary spread-option scheme is a daunting task, and one made tougher by the fact that Collins is a defensive coach by trade. The route trees might be the same, and maybe how they count when base-/man-blocking, but that’s about it. It’s not quite as big a shock on defense, though the transition from a 3-4 to a 4-2 wasn’t a one-day install, either. The results have made for a long season, but the team is getting better.

Offense

Watching the Jackets, you can tell offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude chose to bridge the gap between Flex-Triple and spread-option instead of breaking cleanly from it. The most obvious nod here is how GT will line up in a Flexbone look in short-yardage spots, sometimes even shifting a wing over to the tailback spot in sort of a frozen flex. But there’s more. They call lead runs and speed option more than you’ll see from most teams, they have lots of pistol sets which have similar footwork and exchanges to playing under-center, they play a bit with two RBs in the backfield early in the season, and they have the same bombs-away attitude when it comes to the deep ball.

Former Hokie commit James Graham (#4) looks to be the signal-caller this week. The uncertainty is due to him splitting time all season, including two weeks ago in what was a benching for Lucas Johnson (#7) against Pitt. Last week, though, he easily had his best game of the year against UVA, when he hit about 70% of his passes against a banged-up defense. Per Georgia Tech, Graham prepared poorly for Pitt and had his best week of prep for UVA, with his performances reflecting this.

A few things jump out about him. He can throw a pretty deep-ball, he’s made some good throws on the move, and he can make throws under pressure. Here are a few examples from early against UVA:  

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