When Georgia Tech takes the field against Air Force Monday night they will be missing seven players. Late Wednesday night it was reported that Georgia Tech was down four players for becoming academically ineligible:
Senior defensive end Robert Hall and senior linebacker Anthony Barnes are ineligible under NCAA academic guidelines. Sophomore wide receiver Stephen Hill and senior safety Mario Edwards, both listed as starters on the latest depth chart, are both ineligible for not meeting Georgia Tech's academic requirements.
Losing two starters is a big deal, and especially with recevier Stephen Hill who was Tech's leading receiver on the year with 15 receptions and three touchdowns. Those numbers are low, but Georgia Tech runs a triple option offense where passes are minimal. However, Hill was a deep threat for Tech by averaging just over 19 yards per reception.
Then today, it is being reported that Georgia Tech will be without three more players for the first half of the Independence Bowl for not following the curfew set by the team. The three suspended players are senior defensive end Anthony Egbuniwe, junior defensive back Michael Peterson and freshman defensive back Louis Young.
All three players played in 12 games this year, but Egbuniwe is the only starter in the latest group. The Tech defense is now weakened even more by missing two defensive starters in Egbuniwe and safety Mario Edwards plus key backups Robert Hall and Anthony Barnes. This will severely hurt the Georgia Tech defense when they lineup against a potent Air Force triple option attack since it is key to play disciplined football whenever taking on an option offense.