Injuries force Georgia Tech to shuffle offensive line

A week into spring practice and Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said the offensive line remains a work in progress.

With center Freddie Burden out this spring with a thumb injury, Michael Muns is getting a crack to play. Muns, a 6-4, 278-pound redshirt senior, has played only two games in his career, the first two games in 2015.

“He’s going to have to play,” Johnson said. “He’s worked hard, gotten stronger.”

Muns is getting a chance because Johnson wants to see junior Andrew Marshall, a 6-4, 282-pount junior from West Forsyth (Ga.) High have the opportunity to play left guard. Marshall was Burden’s backup last year and played in 12 games. He played 10 games as a true fresman in 2014.

Chris Griffin, a junior from Panacea, Fla., is the man at right guard. Griffin sat out the 2015 season following ACL surgery after playing 14 games, including seven starts, in 2014. He’s being moved from tackle.

“He’s gotten bigger,” Johnson said. “He hasn’t played in a year and a half and has to play back into it. He’s got good feet and is a tough kid. Hopefully he can help us in there. He’s going to have to.”

Johnson said the two returning tackles, Will Bryan and Trey Klock, need to play better. “They played last year and they should be playing faster than those other guys.”

First day in full pads

The Yellow Jackets practiced in full pads for the first time on Saturday. Johnson’s main complaint the afterward was the lack of ball security.

“We did some good things and some bad things,” he said. “The ball is way too loose. You can’t turn the ball over … it’s more interceptions than fumbles. That’s disappointing. Got to learn how to play faster.

“Right now kids are trying to think and figure out which way to go. It always happens when you put all the pads on and all of a sudden all you thought you knew goes right out the window.”

Johnson blamed the turnovers on poor routes that were run by the receivers, poor decisions by the quarterbacks and some poor throws.

Quarterback Justin Thomas said, “We’re just trying to get better every day. On the offensive side, try to limit turnovers as much as possible — we had a few out there today — and try to correct something every day. Just make progress.”

Simmons, Marvin off spring roster

Defensive end Antonio Simmons is not with the team this spring. Simmons, a 6-foot-3, 235 pound junior from Jacksonville, is not in school this semester. He is expected to be back in school and eligible again in the fall.

Simmons played 11 games and started three in 2015. He had 13 tackles, three for loss, and one sack. He recorded two hurries, forced a fumble and broke up a pass.

Defensive back John Marvin was dismissed from the team for a violation of rules. A junior from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Marvin played eight games in 2014 and seven in 2015 and did not record any stats.

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Injuries force Georgia Tech to shuffle offensive line."