ATLANTA — Phil Steele loved Georgia Tech's defensive linemen entering the season. Now the college football guru says he underestimated them.
When Steele releases his midseason All-ACC team next week, Tech's entire front four will be on it: end Michael Johnson and tackle Vance Walker on the first team, end Derrick Morgan and tackle Darryl Richard on the second team.
 CURTIS COMPTON/Cox News Service Georgia Tech defensive end #93 Michael Johnson knocks Mississippi State quarterback #16 Tyson Lee to the turf forcing an incomplete pass during action at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta Sept. 20. For a larger, high resolution image, click HERE |
"I had that D-line ranked 17th in the country before the season, but they've actually been more impressive than that," Steele said Tuesday. "They've been dominating."
Steele's current top five are LSU, Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas. Tech deserves to be in the No. 6 to No. 8 range, he said.
Led by that veteran unit — Morgan, a sophomore, is the only non-senior — Tech is allowing 11.4 points per game, tied for fourth nationally.
The Jackets rank first in the ACC and are tied for third nationally in pass defense (144.4 yards a game). Their sack total — a respectable 13 — doesn't begin to measure the line's impact.
"The defensive front is where it all starts," said Duke coach David Cutcliffe, whose team gained 1.8 yards per carry and 3.3 yards per pass attempt while being shut out 27-0 Saturday.
"Morgan and Walker and Richard and Johnson are all tremendous players. They've got big, strong people everywhere."
Tech's line affects teams before kickoff. Opponents change protection schemes, use more three-step drops and run shorter routes. They know Tech doesn't need to blitz to harass the quarterback.
Duke kept more backs in to chip block than they normally do, according to coach Paul Johnson.
"They're changing what they do offensively, and that plays into our hands," Richard said. "You've got teams that like to do five- and seven-step drops, develop big plays, but for the most part we're not allowing that to happen. That's not a stat you can keep."
While the starting four get all the attention, they're quick to credit a rotation that goes eight to 10 deep. Elris Anyaibe, Robert Hall, Jason Peters and Ben Anderson have played valuable snaps.
It's a far cry, Richard said, from the five-man rotation Tech used when he arrived.
Offensive tackle Andrew Gardner, a fifth-year senior, said the best D-line he has faced belonged to North Carolina State, which had three first-round NFL draft picks in 2006: Mario Williams, Manny Lawson and John McCargo. Two other D-linemen on that team, Tank Tyler and DeMario Pressley, later went to the NFL.
"I think our D-line compares favorably with that one," Gardner said. "You've got three guys who have played a lot of football in Darryl, Vance and Mike; you have to focus on them, and it's hard to stop any of them with one guy.
"That leaves Derrick Morgan with a lot of one-on-one blocking, and he's too good of a defensive end to constantly do that."
As the most experienced unit on a young team, the D-line sets an example. Johnson and defensive line coach Giff Smith noted none of the linemen cares about stats.
Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said he didn't know how to interpret how quiet the D-linemen were before the Duke game. Turned out they were just focused.
"Hooping and hollering and drawing attention to ourselves, that's not what we're about," Richard said. "We tell the young guys if you want to do that, go play somewhere else."
Larry Hartstein writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: lhartstein AT ajc.com.
