Georgia Tech notes: Patrick Skov makes immediate impact
ATLANTA -- Patrick Skov, a graduate senior transfer from Stanford, didn't take long to make his presence known. The B-back took a handoff and powered up the middle on his first run and gained 7 yards.
That was just a taste of what was awaiting. Before the first half was over Skov already had rushed for more yards than he had during his career at Stanford.
His totals in the first half on Thursday: nine carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns, the first on a 3-yard run which saw him carry three defenders into the end zone, the other on a 21-yard carry.
His career rushing totals at Stanford: 14 carries for 25 yards and four touchdowns.
Debuts
Freshman A.J. Gray from Washington County had a tackle on Alcorn State's kickoff return.
Gray has been a special teams star and also got playing time at safety. Gray recovered a fumble midway in the second period after it had been stripped by KeShun Freeman. Clinton Lynch, a redshirt freshman from Norcross, gained 10 yards on his first career rush.
He also caught the first pass thrown his way for 11 yards. Freshman A-back TaQuon Marshall (Harris County) caught a 24-yard pass the first time he touched the ball. Freshman B-back Marcus Marshall broke a 49-yard touchdown run on his first career carry. He later fumbled after a 20-yard run when hit from behind.
First play magic?
Georgia Tech's Broderick Snoddy gained 8 yards on its first play from scrimmage. The senior A-back took a pitch around the right side before he was knocked out of bounds.
The Yellow Jackets have enjoyed a high success rate on the first play of the season since Paul Johnson became head coach. In 2011 Orwin Smith scored a touchdown on a 5-yard run and in 2009 Jonathan Dwyer scored on a 74-yard run.
In 2014 the season started on a 21-yard pass from Justin Thomas to DeAndre Smelter.
Shaken up
Senior B-back Marcus Allen suffered a slight injury to his right leg midway in the second quarter. Allen was able to walk off the field on his own power.
Quick hits
Georgia Tech senior Jabari Hunt-Days has dropped the hyphenated part of his name. The nose tackle is now going by the name Jabari Days. Georgia Tech's Lawrence Austin, a sophomore from Lamar County, started at nickel in place of junior Chase Alford at linebacker. Pat Gamble got the start at defensive end over fellow junior Rod Rook-Chungong. Captains for the opening game were Chris Milton, Domonique Noble, Bryan Chamberlain and Sean Tobin. There were only two Georgians on the Alcorn State roster: redshirt freshman Darius Dean a running back from Covington and freshman Davonte Hill, a 6-2, 238-pound defensive end from Roswell.
This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech notes: Patrick Skov makes immediate impact ."