During Georgia Tech’s preseason camp, coach Brent Key has brought in a series of motivational speakers, leaders and coaches to speak with the Yellow Jackets. This past week was no different as Key’s team listened to the testimony of Inky Johnson.
Johnson played football at Tennessee until 2006 when an injury permanently paralyzed his right arm. The Crim High graduate and is now a motivational speaker discussing, “leadership, teamwork, adversity, change, mental agility and perseverance,” according to his personal website.
Johnson visited Tech on Wednesday.
“That was a great talk,” Tech wide receiver Malik Rutherford said. “There were so many things he said that got to me. Some of the stuff I couldn’t even remember, I’m like in the moment. I’m just like, ‘Man, I don’t know how he do it with all these quotes and stuff.’ But it was great seeing him. He never disappoints. He’s great.”
Guest speakers during Tech’s preseason have included Johnson, former Falcons wide receiver Roddy White, Tech men’s basketball coach Damon Stoudamire, former Tech player and coach Bill Curry, former Connecticut basketball player Britt Hunter and former Tech football players Lou Young, Roddy Jones and Morgan Burnett.
Douse in your house
D’Quan Douse has been on television plenty of times before, what with being a Tech football player and all.
But Douse also can be seen on the screen in a different light. A junior from Savannah, Douse is in a Medicaid coverage for kids commercial, an opportunity that arose via a name, image and likeness deal, he said.
Douse said the commercial allows him to be an advocate for children in need of Medicaid, health care and health insurance. Does he have the acting bug now?
“Hopefully we can get something else going. It was definitely fun,” he said. “I’ve never done anything like that. It was fun for me.”
‘Freak’ is a good word
Each year, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic puts together a “Freaks List,” a tabulation of college football players, “whose athleticism blew the minds of folks inside their own college football programs.”
Tech was represented on the 2023 edition of the list in the form of Kenyatta Watson II.
Listed as a 6-foot-1, 195-pound cornerback, Watson reportedly has a vertical jump of 45 inches, has run at almost 23 mph, has recorded a 4.2 second 40-yard dash and has squatted 500 pounds. Watson began his career at Texas after graduating from Grayson High and has 16 career tackles in three active college seasons.
Watson’s father, Kenyatta Watson, is Tech’s director of scouting and was a star wide receiver and punt returner at Boston College.
Offensive line commit invited to All-America Game
Tech commit Santana Alo-Tupuola announced this week he will participate in the Under Armour All-America Game.
Alo-Tupuola is a three-star prospect who pledged to Tech in March. He’s a senior at IMG Academy and was part of the Polynesian Bowl East Coast National Combine and Showcase in April.
A 6-foot-1, 300-pound offensive lineman who also has played high school football in Indiana, Alo-Tupuola has scholarship offers from Florida, Tulane, Oregon, South Florida and Stanford, among others. He took an official visit to Tech the first weekend of June.
The Under Armour All-America Game is scheduled to played in January in Orlando, Florida.
Brooks on Bednarik Award watch list
Tech defensive back LaMiles Brooks was named to the official watch list for the 2023 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday. The Bednarik Award is presented annually to college football’s most outstanding defensive player.
Brooks racked up three interceptions, defended 10 passes and made 52 tackles in 2022. He was graded as the ACC’s No. 3-ranked safety by Pro Football Focus in his first season as a starter, earning All-American grades from PFF in both pass coverage (86.8) and overall defense (81.5).
Semifinalists for the 2023 Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 13 followed by the selection of three finalists Nov. 28. The winner will be announced Dec. 7.
