After the luxury of a full spring practice and an offseason training with his teammates, Georgia Tech cornerback Tobias Oliver feels much better about his play going into his second season at the position.
Oliver came to Tech to play quarterback for coach Paul Johnson and shined as a redshirt freshman backup to TaQuon Marshall in 2018. He was the starting quarterback in the 2019 season opener, coach Geoff Collins’ debut, but moved to wide receiver midseason.
Oliver moved again after that season, this time to cornerback, but spring practice was cut short because of COVID-19. Then the pandemic prevented him from working with teammates in 7-on-7 drills and gaining more experience at a position he had never previously played. While he’s one of the top athletes on the team, it was an adventure at corner last season.
“Last year was definitely an eye-opener,” Oliver said Wednesday. “I wasn’t as ready as I thought I was.”
He called cornerback a “feel position,” and his growing knowledge of the defense, opposing offenses and the techniques required to play the position have helped his comfort and confidence level.
This year, with the experience of a season as a backup cornerback, followed by spring practice and then offseason work, “I feel very confident at the position,” he said.
Further, Oliver said, he feels the best he has felt physically in the past three years after recovering from two surgeries and other injuries. He has earned time with the first-string defense this season and figures to be part of the rotation at the position.
Said Oliver, “It’s to the point now where I can almost feel what they’re going to do (on offense).”
