Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat

FSU coach Norvell tests positive for virus before Miami

Associated PressSep 19, 2020, 5:30 PM EDT
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Florida State coach Mike Norvell has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not coach the Seminoles in-person this week as they prepare for Miami.

Norvell released a statement Saturday saying he tested positive a day earlier but is feeling fine. He said his wife and daughter tested negative Saturday.

Florida State athletic director David Coburn said Norvell is isolating, which lasts a minimum of 10 days.

“We will continue to test staff and student-athletes as we have been,” Coburn said in a statement. “We have communicated with Commissioner John Swofford and Miami athletic director Blake James. At this point, based on our testing this week, we have no reason to believe that the Miami game is in jeopardy.”

While that game is still on, COVID-19 complications caused more schedule rearrangement Saturday.

Memphis announced that it needed another week off to get through its issues and canceled its nonconference game against Texas-San Antonio that was scheduled for Friday. The Tigers were supposed to play Houston this weekend but that game was postponed after a COVID-19 outbreak among Memphis’ players.

“While we project our quarantine and isolation numbers to improve next week, we felt it was in the best interest of the health and safety of our student-athletes to make this decision now,” Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch said in a statement.

Memphis announced it added FCS Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 21 and UTSA said instead of the Tigers it will play Middle Tennessee in a Conference USA game on Friday.

In Tallahassee, Florida, deputy head coach Chris Thomsen is taking over Norvell’s duties, but the first-year Florida State head coach said he still intends to contribute.

“I will remain involved remotely as much as possible to help our team continue to prepare,” Norvell said. “I’m grateful to the administration, players and staff for their commitment to the protocols we have in place, which have helped us limit contact with others and allowed us to continue moving forward.”

Thomsen has 24 years of college coaching experience and was head coach at Division II Abilene Christian from 2005-11, where he went 51-21.

Florida State lost its season opener at home to Georgia Tech last week and was off Saturday. The Seminoles play at the rival Hurricanes next Saturday.

Norvell, who came to Florida State from Memphis after last regular season, is the first major college football coach known to have tested positive for the coronavirus in season.

Toledo coach Jason Candle and UCLA coach Chip Kelly tested positive earlier this year.

Georgia Tech mum on name of Yellow Jackets’ starting QB

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Associated PressSep 9, 2020, 4:57 PM EDT
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ATLANTA — Georgia Tech has finally decided on a starting quarterback.

But the Yellow Jackets aren’t publicly saying who earned the nod until this weekend’s season opener at Florida State.

“We have named the Q,” offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude said. “You guys will find out Saturday who it is.”

James Graham, a sophomore, and Jeff Sims, a freshman, appear to be the leading candidates with Jordan Yates and Tucker Gleason filling in the depth chart behind them.

Graham started the final eight games last season, but completed just 45.1% of his passes, last in the Atlantic Coast Conference among quarterbacks with at least 40 attempts.

Even so, Patenaude, who also is Georgia Tech’s quarterbacks coach, was effusive when asked to describe how much Graham has grown entering his second full season.

“The thing that’s really been encouraging is that his understanding is so much higher,” Patenaude said. “He knows where to go with the ball and when you know where to go with the ball, you play with so much confidence. He made a couple of throws (this week) that he never would’ve made last year just because he understood where to go with the ball, the timing of the throw and the coverage.

“He stung a couple of balls in there that he physically could always do, but just mentally didn’t understand enough and the football piece wasn’t high enough where he knew where to go with the ball. Now he does and he’s playing at really high level.”

Sims, in his first summer camp, has impressed with his arm strength. He was recruited out of Sandalwood High in Jacksonville, Florida.

“When it all goes the right way, he looks as good as anybody in the country,” Patenaude said before adding that when “he throws with good balance and really understands where the ball should go, the ball comes out of his hands and it looks really, really good.”

Patenaude has no immediate plans to use two quarterbacks against Florida State unless the starter gets rattled and needs some time to settle down on the sideline.

“The plan would be to go in and let the starter roll and hopefully he’s flying around and making plays,” he said. “But I would certainly not be against taking a guy out and putting a guy in and letting somebody settle down or see something different.”

Either quarterback must help the Yellow Jackets, who finished 3-9 last season, get off to good start. Last year’s unit finished worst in the red zone, fourth-worst in average total yards, sixth-worst in third-down percentage and seventh-worst in passing among 130 FBS schools.

“The starter is getting the majority of the reps and the second and third guys are kind of splitting the rest of them,” Patenaude said. “I’m really happy with their development, and I’m really excited to see this dude play Saturday and I think you guys will be excited, too.”

Georgia Tech still undecided on a starting quarterback

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Associated PressAug 19, 2020, 4:53 PM EDT
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ATLANTA — Georgia Tech is taking its time deciding on a starting quarterback.

Coming off a tumultuous year on offense, the Yellow Jackets are still young and uncertain as they consider sophomore incumbent James Graham and three others for the job.

Maybe it’s wise to avoid making an early declaration amid the coronavirus pandemic. With the scheduled season opener over three weeks away at Florida State and after the team’s first padded practice Wednesday, Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins is in no hurry to finalize the depth chart coming off a 3-9 debut season.

“They’ve got a good relationship with each other, but you know they’re really fighting and really trying to position themselves in a spot where they can lead this program,” Collins said. “Been really proud of all of them and excited to see in the next week and a half this thing unfold.”

Redshirt freshman Jordan Yates and true freshmen Tucker Gleason and Jeff Sims are Graham’s competition, but Graham, who started the final eight games last year, has the edge in experience as the team prepares for its first scrimmage later this week.

Regardless who starts at quarterback, Georgia Tech’s offense has nowhere to go but up.

Among 130 FBS schools, the Yellow Jackets ranked worst in the red zone, fourth-worst in average total yards, sixth-worst in third-down percentage and seventh-worst in passing. They had two playmakers – running back Jordan Mason and slot receiver Ahmarean Brown – who made a difference, but Graham otherwise had limited options.

Graham completed just 45.1% of his passes, last in the Atlantic Coast Conference for QBs with at least 40 attempts. He still has plenty to work on.

“Transitioning in the pocket and my feet and just being on time with my throws, being able to read defenses and rotations,” Graham said. “Just the fronts and being able to check to the run game or the pass game, learning from my mistakes. I believe my biggest downfall is my footwork and I’ve been working on that all summer. You guys will see.”

Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude praised Yates’ smarts and the way Gleason (6-foot-3, 225) and Sims move as big men (6-3, 215).

“The weaknesses for all of the guys is that they’re young,” Patenaude said. “Even James … is a young guy. From a football standpoint, he was a redshirt freshman last year who had never run that type of offense and had a huge learning curve and just happened to get thrown out there against really, really good ACC teams and figure it out on the fly.”

Wideout Jalen Camp returns from surgery that ended his season after four games. Receivers Malachi Carter and Adonicas Sanders are back after earning starts last year, but sophomore Marquez Ezzard, a transfer from Miami, figures to earn plenty of snaps, too.

“He can be an unbelievable player for us on the outside,” receivers coach Kerry Dixon said. “He has great ball skills. His initial quickness is like no other. He’s studying the game. He’s starting to take from teaching and show it on the field.”

Brown, who tied Calvin Johnson’s school record with seven touchdown catches by a freshman, has added muscle to his 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame and worked to add strength to his hands. His 21 catches covered a robust 18.9 yards.

“I’ve put on a good amount of weight to feel comfortable going across the middle catching things and playing a bigger role in this offense,” Brown said.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, a freshman from Dalton, Georgia., and the star of the most recent recruiting class, is the new, exciting name. Patenaude told an anecdote about Gibbs running a sideline route in a recent practice, jumping over a defender and keeping his foot in bounds.

“That guy’s a special player now,” Patenaude said. “He brings a different dynamic to that set. He’s very dynamic out of the backfield.”

Patenaude plans to find plenty of ways to get the ball into Gibbs’ hands.

“We are extremely lucky to have him here, and he’s going to bring a dynamic piece of the offense that we didn’t necessarily have last year,” Patenaude said.