Everything about it still says “old school”: The minimal use of shotgun, the lack of passing, even the Russell Athletic logo on the jerseys that seems straight out of the ’90s. Talking about Georgia Tech’s under-center triple-option style of football requires delving into a lot of fact vs. perception, but in terms of appearances, at least, it has the look of a bygone era.
Naturally, that leaves head coach Paul Johnson to continue fighting those perceptions, to prove that his brand of triple option that has largely been phased out nationally, outside of the military academies, remains viable, not antiquated.
“Here’s another misnomer, that once teams see [the option] three or four years, teams they figure it out,” Johnson said. “Hell, what is there to figure out? It’s like, OK, I’ve seen the iso play for a hundred years, but it doesn’t mean you’ve figured it out. You still gotta beat a block and make a play. … How many times in football have people seen a curl out? But they still throw them. Or the off-tackle power play. But people still run ’em. It’s not like, ‘OK well now that we’ve seen that we’ve got that figured out, so you’ve gotta try something else.’
Photo: USA Today Sports
Leave a Reply