Georgia Tech has attempted more onside kicks than it would like in coach Geoff Collins’ tenure, but at least the Yellow Jackets have shown considerable proficiency at performing the specialized play.
When Tech wide receiver Malachi Carter secured kicker Jude Kelley’s high-bouncing kick Saturday in the final seconds of the Jackets’ 14-8 loss to then-No. 6 Clemson, it was their fourth successful onside kick out of seven attempts in Collins’ tenure. Onside kicks are generally are successful about a quarter of the time.
“Special teams is always first priority in this organization,” Carter said Wednesday. “That was the first time we got to do hands team this season. That was my first time really going for the ball in a game. It was just a crazy experience to actually recover it in a game like that, against Clemson when we’re trying to come back and win the game.”
On the kick, Kelley hit a grounder to his right that took a high hop, allowing Carter to position himself to secure it in his hands as Clemson’s Ajou Ajou tried to swat it out of bounds. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney called it “the perfect, perfect onside kick.” In all the times that Tech had practiced the kick in practice, the ball had never bounced as high as it did Saturday night, Carter said.
“I don’t know if it’s maybe because we do it on the (artificial) turf, but on the grass, that thing popped up,” Carter said. “I think Juanyeh (Thomas) jumped as high as he could, and the ball was still, like, three feet from his fingertips. At that point, when I saw how high it was, I’m, like, OK, I don’t think it would make sense to jump up there. So I just tried to follow it down, track it down to my hands. That was the right decision.”
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