McCollum faces an old friend

Georgia Tech assistant coach Andy McCollum has never had to face a team he used to work for. He’ll do it twice this season. The first game comes against N.C. State at noon on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. McCollum was the Wolfpack’s linebackers coach for the previous three seasons until Tech coach Paul Johnson hired him to coach the defensive line this season. Before that, his previous collegiate job was as head coach at Middle Tennessee State (1999-2005), which Tech will host on Oct. 16. “I knew this week was coming,” McCollum said. “No one in the country has as much respect for Tom O’Brien and North Carolina State and those players, the ones I coached or the ones I recruited, and their staff. My three years were great. I know how good they are. The thing about North Carolina State was we played a lot of young kids when Coach O’Brien got there. They’ve been through the fire. People say they’re playing a lot better. Well, you p...