Georgia Tech not releasing starting QB or depth chart for Clemson game

CLEMSON — Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude has his plan in place for the quarterback position for Saturday’s matchup at Clemson.

But Patenaude and the Yellow Jackets are not releasing any information before the game.

Patenaude spoke with the media Tuesday afternoon and did not offer any tips about who the starting quarterback will be.

Jeff Sims started at QB in all 10 games last year and started the season opener against Northern Illinois before going down with an injury. Redshirt freshman Jordan Yates finished the game against Northern Illinois and started last week against Kennesaw State as well. Sims was available last week but only in an emergency situation.

Yates has been impressive while filling in for Sims as he is 29-for-41 passing for 389 yards and five touchdowns. Sims is only 4-of-9 passing for 23 yards so far this season but passed for 1,881 yards and 13 scores a year ago. He’s also a dynamic runner.

“I know what we’re doing at Q. I’m not telling anybody else what we’re doing at Q,” Patenaude said. “Coach [Geoff] Collins knows. The quarterbacks know. We’re very fortunate that we have two guys that can play.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s take

Tigers coach Dabo Swinney was asked about the Georgia Tech quarterback situation during his weekly press conference Tuesday morning and admitted that it’s hard to game plan without knowing who the starting quarterback is.

“I mean obviously we’ve played against Sims, so we definitely have some video and things like that. But with him getting hurt we don’t really know where he’s at. You have to prepare, though,” Swinney said. “We don’t know if he’s going to play or not. If y’all’ve got any intel, go ahead and let me know. I’ll take it. We don’t know if he’s going to play.”

Swinney added that Sims was very impressive last year and Yates has played well this year. Sims is a little bit better runner, but they both are tough to play against, Swinney said.

“Yates is a winner. He’s a good player. He’s a very good player. He can throw the football. He can run. I think they went into the season believing in both of those guys,” Swinney said. “Sims is maybe a little better runner, a little more explosive in that part of the game. And he’s a gunslinger too, now. He can rip it. We just have to prepare for what they do and adjust if we need to.”

Not only is Georgia Tech declining to reveal its plans at quarterback. The Yellow Jackets also don’t provide a depth chart heading into the game.

Clemson’s game notes state that: “Georgia Tech Head Coach Geoff Collins elects not to furnish a depth chart and instead produces an “Above The Line” list. Please see Georgia Tech’s game notes for additional details and insight on team personnel.”

Swinney feels that not having a depth chart isn’t a big deal at this point in the season.

“We’ve got tape,” Swinney said. “It’s real hard on an opener, that’s for sure. You just don’t know. But thankfully we do have two games, so we’ve got a pretty good idea. We know who was there last year and who’s not. Two games in you pretty much have an identity of who they are and what their personnel is.”