Tech Topics - Spring 2009 - (Page 42) YELLOW JACKETS ‘Grayshirt’ May Forgo Black Tie By Van Jensen N orth Clayton High School’s prom is coming up soon, and Emanuel Dieke should be searching for a tuxedo to fit around his 6-foot-6-inch, 220-pound frame. After leading North Clayton to the second round of the state playoffs in the fall, Dieke, a star defensive end and top college prospect, told his girlfriend he’ll probably skip the night of teenage fun and frivolity. While that seems like a serious snub, the 18-yearold Dieke has a good reason for passing on North Clayton’s prom: He’s no longer a student there. Dieke instead is in his first semester as a biomedical engineering major at Georgia Tech. He’s among a minority of college football players who “grayshirt” — a catchall term for athletes who enroll either a semester early or late. That allows NCAA football coaches to work around a rule that allows only 25 scholarships per recruiting class; grayshirt players don’t count as part of the class. Taking extra high school classes online, Dieke graduated from North Clayton in December and enrolled right away at Tech. For him and other players who start a semester early, the draw of grayshirting is to acclimate to the college environment and begin learning the ropes of college football. “Everybody wants to stick in high school for that last semester,” Dieke said, fittingly clad in a gray “I wanted to start early to get a chance to play, to learn the system and work with the team.” Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and the 12,000 calories he consumes a day during competitions. “Every day, like four or five huge meals,” Dieke said. As big as the jump has been from high school to college football, where “everybody’s bigger, faster and stronger,” Dieke said the academic leap is just as steep. “It hasn’t been terrible yet, but I can feel it coming,” he said, noting that he had to go back to his dorm and do “a lot of reading.” As sure as Dieke was about leaving high school early, he said a lot of his friends tried to talk him out of it, saying how fun their last semester would be. He also had been a star basketball player, and his coach urged him to stick around as well. “I’m not second-guessing it,” Dieke said, laughing. “You have freedom in college. It’s going well so far.” The only thing he’s uncertain about is prom. “I’m still undecided,” he said. “My girl wants me to go. I told her I’m going to try.” VAN JENSEN Emanuel Dieke is one of a handful of college football players to enroll early and get a jump start on the season. sweatshirt. “I wanted to start early to get a chance to play, to learn the system and work with the team.” With three of Tech’s top defensive linemen of this past season graduating, Dieke knew while making his decision that he had an opening to get playing time in the fall. The spring semester was just under way, and he’d already begun weight training with Tech strength coaches and, maybe even more importantly, had his meals planned out by Tech’s trainers after the football coaches told him he needed to gain 25 pounds. Dieke said he feels like he’s eating circles around Coach Proud of Super Bowl Effort While Ken Whisenhunt no doubt would have preferred to come away from Tampa with a Super Bowl trophy, the Arizona Cardinals coach and Tech graduate still accomplished plenty in his second year with the club. The franchise had never played in a Super Bowl before falling 27-23 to the largely favored Pittsburgh Steelers on Feb. 1. “They played very hard in circumstances where nobody believed in them but themselves,” Whisenhunt, CE 90, said of his players. “I think it’s a great message that if you believe together as a group you can accomplish things and be successful. “This is a group of men that I’m really proud of.” Whisenhunt, who previously was an assistant coach for Pittsburgh, played nine seasons in the NFL with the Falcons and other teams. At Tech, he was best known as a standout tight end. His senior year, he helped the Jackets to a win over Georgia. Another Tech connection in the Super Bowl was former Yellow Jacket Keyaron Fox, Cls 04, now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fox, a linebacker, played in the big game on Pittsburgh’s special teams. prospects, who will help offset the loss of both 2008 starting offensive tackles, Andrew Gardner and David Brown. The class features quarterbacks Jordan Luallen of Greenwood, Ind., and David Sims of St. Matthews, S.C. It also includes a pair of A-backs and two wide receivers. “This is a talented group,” Johnson said. Hockey Club Wins One for Stathis Playing for the first time in the Savannah Hockey Classic without longtime coach Greg Stathis, who died last March from complications of a kidney transplant, the Yellow Jackets hockey club dominated both games to claim the Thrasher Cup. The Jackets won 7-1 over Georgia and 14-2 over Florida State in the classic, held in January at the Savannah Civic Center. Stathis started the hockey club at Tech and was a pioneer for the sport in the South. He coached Tech to 348 wins over 17 seasons. Tech’s goaltender, Maxx Lucas, was named MVP of the tournament. That award has been renamed the Stathis Trophy. COURTESY ARIZONA CARDINALS Ken Whisenhunt, CE 90, led the Arizona Cardinals to the most successful season in the team’s history. Johnson Signs 21 to Recruiting Class In his first recruiting season, Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson put together a strong class of 21 42 incoming freshmen, including 14 from Georgia. “I am very pleased with this group,” Johnson said. “I think we addressed some needs on the line and added a number of skill players who will be solid contributors.” The defensive line was a focus for Johnson, as the Jackets lost three All-ACC players. Four-star defensive tackle J.C. Lanier of Stillmore, Ga., will be key to replacing last year’s line. The Jackets also signed four offensive line Tonya Johnson Named Volleyball Coach One of the best recruiters in college volleyball signed on in January as the new head coach of the TechTopics | Spring 2009
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