Georgia Tech’s spring caravan will ramble into town Tuesday and the popular Paul Johnson will be headliner in the Yellow Jackets’ on-the-road contingent.

Why? Johnson, the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, is currently the man who has rejuvenated Tech’s football program, creating a renewed excitement about the team and a reason for visiting Bobby Dodd Stadium while having a better-than-average expectation of seeing the Yellow Jackets win the game.

In Johnson’s first season at Tech, the Jackets went 9-4 overall, and finished 5-3 and in second place with Virginia Tech (also 5-3) in the Coastal Division because the Hokies beat the Yellow Jackets during the season.

Oh, and by the way, the Jackets defeated Georgia, 45-42, in the regular-season finale and that’s a free pass for Johnson until the two bitter rivals play on Nov. 28 this season. The excitement of that victory was strongly muffled, however, when LSU thumped the Yellow Jackets, 38-3, in the Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome.

Also along for the ride to The Farm in Rocky Face, where the caravan event will take place, will be athletic director Dan Radakovich, women’s basketball coach MaChelle Joseph, baseball coach Danny Hall — he’s filling in for basketball coach Paul Hewitt — and Wes Durham, the voice of the Jackets.

The stop at The Farm, scheduled for 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., is the fourth of five on the caravan schedule this spring and is free, but fans are asked to register online at www.ramblinwreck.-com/caravan. Each coach on the schedule will speak and take questions from the audience.

The caravan has previously stopped in Atlanta, Macon and Duluth. The final destination is in Peachtree City at the Dolce Hotel and Resort on June 2. As you can see, the caravan sticks pretty close to Tech’s base of operations in Atlanta.

On Tuesday, there’s no question that Johnson will command a huge chunk of the spotlight.

The Yellow Jackets finished 22nd in both polls after the 2008 season and they return nine offensive starters and eight on defense. In all, Tech has 61 returning lettermen and will welcome 20 scholarship freshmen in August.

Every skill position player on offense will be back for the Jackets’ Sept. 5 season opener against Jacksonville State. Junior running back Jonathan Dwyer, the 2008 ACC Player of the Year, headlines that group. Dwyer led the ACC in rushing with 1,395 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

Junior Josh Nesbitt, one of the ACC’s top dual-threat quarterbacks is back healthy after playing through nagging ankle and hamstring injuries in 2008. Sophomore Jaybo Shaw and redshirt freshman Tevin Washington provide solid depth behind Nesbitt.

One area Johnson is concerned about is the defensive line, where three-fourths of the starters — Darryl Richard, Vance Walker and Michael Johnson — have moved on. That’s a sizable loss too. Those three players combined for 100 career starts and 100 tackles-for-loss in their careers.

Considering their 2009 schedule, the Yellow Jackets have to answer all the questions surrounding this year’s squad, which features only six scholarship seniors on the roster.

Tech opens with two games — Jacksonville State and Clemson — in a five-day span. Throw in a second ACC tussle at Miami on Sept. 17, the Jackets will play three games in 12 days. The Clemson and Miami games are Thursday night ESPN contests and gives Tech an ESPN Thursday night game for the 17th consecutive season.

And the Jackets better be in top-notch condition for the grind of the upcoming season. They play 11 consecutive games before getting an open date prior to the Georgia game in Atlanta.