Mills suspended for next two games over team rules

Georgia Tech will be without leading rusher Dedrick Mills for the second time this season because of a suspension.

The freshman from Waycross has been ruled out for two games because of a violation of team rules. He will miss this week’s game against Virginia Tech and next week’s final home game against Virginia.

Mills sat out the Mercer game because of a one-game suspension earlier this season. He has rushed 114 times for 578 yards and 10 touchdowns and has twice been named the ACC’s Rookie of the Week. He ran for 132 yards last week against North Carolina.

“It’s never good to play without a starter, but it is what it is,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “It’s the next man up. Marcus Marshall is back healthy, so it is good to have him back.”

Marshall missed last week’s game against North Carolina with an injury. The sophomore has carried 52 times for 299 yards and one touchdown. He also has two receptions, one for an 81-yard touchdown.

He will be backed up by senior Marcus Allen, with redshirt freshman Quaide Weimerskirch moving up to third team. Both have appeared in five games. Allen has rushed nine times for 36 yards and Weimerskirch has one carry for no gain. Allen ran for a touchdown against Virginia Tech last year.

Virginia Tech’s dangerous duo

Maybe one day the Georgia Tech defense will get a chance to play against an inferior quarterback. It won’t happen this week. Virginia Tech’s Jerrod Evans is one of the up-and-comers in the ACC.

Evans, a junior from Dallas, has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 2,203 yards and 21 touchdowns, with only two of his 253 passes being intercepted. He ranks second in the ACC with a 160.6 passer ranking.

“They’ve got a lot of players,” Johnson said. “They’ve got some guys on offense. They spread you out a little more than maybe they used to and take a few more chances than maybe they used to.”

Evans’ favorite target is Isaiah Ford, who has caught 50 passes for a 14.2-yard average and six touchdowns. Ford needs only three catches to become the school’s all-time leading receiver.

Especially challenging for Georgia Tech will be the ability of Virginia Tech to score in the red zone. The Hokies have come away with points 87.2 percent of the time they reach the 20 yards line.

Hokies without a top defender

Virginia Tech will be without starting rover Terrell Edmunds for the first half on Saturday. He is completing a suspension for the targeting penalty he received last week against Duke. Coach Justin Fuente said he understood the call, but that the hit was not malicious and was just a case of Edmunds colliding with a running back who lowered his shoulders in an attempt to get additional yardage. Edmunds has the fourth-most tackles on the team (61) and has three interceptions and three breakups.

Extra points

Ricky Jeune’s 40-yard pass reception against North Carolina has been changed to a lateral rather than a forward pass. Jeune leads the team with 20 receptions for 326 yards, a 16.3-yard average, and one touchdown. … Virginia Tech is the fourth ranked team the Yellow Jackets have played this year. Georgia Tech has lost the previous three games by an average of 20.3 points. The Yellow Jackets are 1-5 against ranked teams over the last two seasons, that coming in the 22-16 win over Florida State in 2014.

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Mills suspended for next two games over team rules."