Friday, May 11, 2012

Auburn lineman to Georgia Tech ‘not a done deal’ yet

The father of Pope grad and now former Auburn guard Thomas O’Reilly said Tuesday that a transfer to Georgia Tech is “not a done deal yet. We think it’s an option, but it’s not a done deal at this point.” Shaun O’Reilly said that there has been conversation between his son and Tech since he decided to transfer, but asserted that no decision had been made.

“We’ve talked,” he said. “We know the school very well from when he was recruited as a [high-school prospect]. It’s a great school and it has a ton to offer.”

During his high school recruitment, Tech was the first school to offer O’Reilly, listed in his Auburn bio at 6-foot-3, 325 pounds, and he made multiple visits to the school during his recruitment.

O’Reilly redshirted this past season and, assuming he transfers to another FBS-level school, will have to sit out another year and would have three years of eligibility. A highly-regarded high school prospect, ESPN ranked him the No. 145 player nationally in the class of 2011 and Rivals named him the No. 19 offensive guard.

Shaun O’Reilly said the decision to transfer was based on opportunities to play and the Tigers’ scheme change, as well as academics. Coach Gene Chizik hired Scot Loeffler to replace Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator in January after Malzahn left to become head coach at Arkansas State.

by Ken Sugiura

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