Now, Brooks and his defensive teammates are under the direction of Tyler Santucci, who was brought in this offseason to rebuild the Tech defense culturally, not necessarily schematically. Santucci's 4-2-5 basic system produced quality results at Texas A&M and then Duke. On Saturday at 1 p.m., Tech fans will get their first look at how things will work at the start of the game.
“Maybe it's not so much what we do, but how we do business, how we go about our business, how we go to meetings, and those things. “I think it's the intent when we work on it. The intent when we cross the line, how we play together, how we flock to the football,” Santucci said earlier this spring. “I think these things are fundamentally very important. I think that's where we have to start our defense. First, it's like how we do business, and secondly, It's like, 'This is what we're doing and this is why we're doing it.' Therefore, the most important thing for me now is how to practice and how to pay attention in meetings. I think how we communicate with each other both visually and verbally is very important. ”
Santucci's defense won't get a break Saturday at 1 p.m., and will be facing a Tech offense that returns from a 2023 squad that virtually all scored a ton of points. Quarterback Haynes King (and backup Zach Pyron), running backs Jamal Haynes and Trey Cooley, four of the team's top five wide receivers, and four of the five starting offensive linemen. was able to see the field on Saturday.
“I expect us to go out there and compete and be ourselves and do what we did last year, which is score a lot of points,” receiver Malik Rutherford said of Saturday's matchup. .
For Saturday's scrimmage, the Jackets will be split into Team Swarm and Team Rec 'Em, allowing the quarterback to play in both. Both teams will play two 12-minute quarters on a standard clock before an eight-minute halftime. The game ends with two 15-minute periods with a running clock.
All offensive players (except the quarterback) wear white jerseys and all defensive players wear gold jerseys. The lineup for Saturday's scrimmage was announced Friday, with Haynes, receivers Eric Singleton and Malik Rutherford playing for Team Swarm, and defensive end Eddie Kelly and linebacker Jackson Hamilton playing for Team Rec-M. became a member of
“I'm happy. I'm not happy by any means, but I'm happy for the players that come to work every day,” Tech coach Brent Key told radio station 680 The Fan on Friday. . “I think we're getting better every day. And what I encouraged them to do is take it one week at a time, go to a team meeting on Monday and then work seven days. Let's do it the next Monday.''Let's say everyone has grown as players, individually, as positions, as individual soccer teams, and as a team. I think we've made progress and I'm happy with that. ”
