Aug. 2, 2004

You will need Real Player in order to access video clip below, which includes sound bytes from interviews conducted at the 2004 ACC Football Kickoff. Download the Free Real Player now!

2004 Georgia Tech Football Preview

Georgia Tech finished the 2003 season 7-6 overall and tied for fourth in the ACC with a 4-4 mark. The Yellow Jackets set a school record by making their seventh straight bowl appearance, beating Tulsa 52-10 in the Humanitarian Bowl. Eight of Tech's 13 opponents played in a post-season bowl game.

Quarterback Reggie Ball was named the 2003 ACC Rookie of the Year after establishing Tech freshmen records for passing yards (1,980), pass completions (177) and total offense (2,372). Ball's total yardage was the fourth-best single-season total by a freshman in ACC history while his passing yardage ranked fourth. He completed 52 percent of his passes while throwing for 10 touchdowns and was the Jackets' second-leading rusher with 392 yards and three touchdowns.

Tailback P.J. Daniels was one of five Tech players to make first-team All-ACC in 2003. He became the first Yellow Jacket since Jerry Mays in 1989 to lead the ACC in rushing, running for 1,447 yards and 10 TDs, including an NCAA bowl-record 307 yards and four touchdowns in the Humanitarian Bowl win over Tulsa. The 1,447 yards was the fourth-highest single season total in ACC history. A former walk-on, Daniels had six 100-yards games, including a 240-yard effort against North Carolina.

Defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta must replace Tech's entire linebacking corps from a year ago, including Daryl Smith and Keyaron Fox who combined for 79 career starts, 755 tackles and 88 tackles for loss. Free safety James Butler was second in the ACC a year ago with five interceptions. Tech led the ACC and was 12th nationally in rushing defense, allowing 100.5 yards per game on the ground. As sophomores last season, Eric Henderson, Travis Parker and Gerris Wilkinson combined for 51 tackles for loss, including 17.5 QB sacks.

Henderson earned first team All-ACC honors in 2003 after leading the ACC with 11 QB sacks. He had 49 tackles, including a school-record 24 tackles for loss, and has 16 career sacks in only 26 games.

ACC Football Preview Schedule | More GT Info From ACC Media Guide

QUOTES FROM 2004 ACC FOOTBALL KICKOFF

Chan Gailey, Head Coach, entering 3rd season

"(P.J. Daniels) led the ACC in rushing last season, which is pretty good. He's a unique back, and if you said, 'What makes him great?' it's not speed, it's not size, it's probably heart more than anything. That's what allowed him to fight through being a walk-on to get to the point where he was a starter. He's a fighter and a competitor. If you have that and you've got some running skills, you can become a very good back. It's exciting to think that we're going to have him for two more years."

2004 Georgia Tech Football Schedule
Sept. 4	Samford
Sept. 11	at Clemson
Sept. 18	at North Carolina
Oct. 2	Miami
Oct. 9	at Maryland
Oct. 16	Duke
Oct. 28	Virginia Tech
Nov. 6	at NC State
Nov. 13	Connecticut
Nov. 20	Virginia
Nov. 27	at Georgia

"Two things stood out about (Reggie Ball when I first saw him play). One was his knowledge of the game, he had a very high knowledge of the game for his age ... Two, he was an unbelieveable competitor ... Reggie has got to learn to be more consistent and he's got to learn to pay attention to all of the little details to be a great quarterback. He has the opportunity to be a very exciting quarterback."

"We don't have the number (of senior leaders) that we had last year, but we have the same quality even though we might not have the same quantity in leadership."

Nate Curry, Wide Receiver, Senior
"With that one year of experience under his belt, (Reggie Ball) has gotten so much better. He came in a good quarterback, and he'll only go up from there. In spring practice, he got a lot more reps and in summer workouts his leadership has picked up. He's just a doing a lot of things that a quarterback is supposed to, not that he wasn't doing them, but what a leader

WR Nate Curry (5) and FS James Butler (22)

needs to do on a team."

"That's one of our goals this year -- to be more consistent. Losing close games, beating teams real bad, just going up and down, we're trying to be more consistent. We're trying to take care of things we can take care of as far as penalites and mistakes and capitalizing on other teams' mistakes."

James Butler, Free Safety, Senior
"We lost some linebackers, but we have some big guys (to fill those holes). Gerris Wilkerson is returning and T. Anyansi is coming back, so we'll be good. Our defensive coordinator, Jon Tenuta, he does a great job, so we'll be fine."

OFFENSE - Returning Starters
QB Reggie Ball, So.
TB P.J. Daniels, Jr.
FB Jimmy Dixon, Sr.
WR Nate Curry, Sr.
T Kyle Wallace, Sr.
G Andy Tidwell-Neal, Sr.
G Brad Honeycutt, Jr.

OFFENSE - Starters Lost
WR Jonathan Smith (78 catches, 1138 yards)
TE John Paul Foschi (24 catches, 174 yards)
C Hugh Reilly (1st-team All-ACC)
T Nat Dorsey (2-time All-ACC tackle)

DEFENSE - Returning Starters
DE Eric Henderson, Jr.
DE Travis Parker, Jr.
DT Mansfield Wrotto, So.
LB Gerris Wilkinson, Jr.
CB Reuben Houston, Jr.
SS Dawan Landry, Jr.
FS James Butler, Sr.

DEFENSE - Starters Lost
LB Keyaron Fox (1st-team All-ACC, 155 tcks)
LB Daryl Smith (129 tackles, 4-year starter)
LB Ather Brown (12 starts in '03, 30 tackles)
CB Jonathan Cox (13 starts in '03, 66 tackles)