Justin Thomas

Techster

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18,218
Passing: 1719 yard, 18 TDs, 6 INTs, 51.3% completion %
Rushing: 1086 yards rushing, 8 TDs

Remember, CPJ was using Byerly on goal line situations earlier in the year and it "took" some of JT's TD opportunities away.

In our offense, I would take those stats all year, every year. I think he will improve on those numbers if he can stay healthy.
 

ybeenormal

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
426
Without looking it up, I think Byerly had 5 or 6 rushing tds. It seems to me that it didn't even phase JT though. True team player
 

RLR

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
355
JeT took his game to a whole new level against FSU. I was so excited to watch him play in the OB, and somehow, he exceeded my expectations.

That juke on the TD run? That other TD run where he lasered focused on that pylon at ungodly speed? I knew that TD pass was TD before the camera switched angles just by the way he released the ball. The way he carried himself in the 2nd half reminded me of the swag Devin Hester has when he comes on to the field for a punt return...Just a player who knows that if there's a seam, he'll score.

Remember the look on JeT's face after the pump fake fumble against UGA? I think that was a defining moment for him. Ever since that play, JeT has played at a Heisman level. Really, we might have the best player in college football at QB - as you guys said - for the next 2 years.
 

worthco jacket

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
79
Location
Albany, Georgia
We still have this kid for two more years, and he is only going to get better : )

That is all.
You know, its funny but I have had for quite some time now a strange flashback when I see JT run the triple option. In the clouded mists of time, I see Jamal (spelling?) Holloway running the Oklahoma wishbone with a hard running fullback named Steve Owens and a pair of fast as lightning halfbacks. Then it goes away and I realize what we have here is far better.
 

gtrower

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,877
JeT took his game to a whole new level against FSU. I was so excited to watch him play in the OB, and somehow, he exceeded my expectations.

That juke on the TD run? That other TD run where he lasered focused on that pylon at ungodly speed? I knew that TD pass was TD before the camera switched angles just by the way he released the ball. The way he carried himself in the 2nd half reminded me of the swag Devin Hester has when he comes on to the field for a punt return...Just a player who knows that if there's a seam, he'll score.

Remember the look on JeT's face after the pump fake fumble against UGA? I think that was a defining moment for him. Ever since that play, JeT has played at a Heisman level. Really, we might have the best player in college football at QB - as you guys said - for the next 2 years.

In terms of adjusted QBR JT's performance in the Orange Bowl was the 3rd best game of any FBS QB this season. He had 4 of the Top 100 overall performances (FSU, Clemson, Pitt). He finished 3rd overall for the season.

http://espn.go.com/ncf/qbr/_/type/player-game
 

Eastman

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Columbia, SC
The most important may have been the last touchdown against southern. I really don't think any other qb that we have had under CPJ gets away from the linebacker and without that, we could have ultimately lost. He escaped pressure so many times, with ease, on major plays, buying enough time to hit the open man or run. That is one of my favorite. dimensions that isn't talked about as much
 

Skeptic

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6,372
Eulogy to follow.
But seriously, there is no question that of the four QBs running this offense, Thomas stands head and shoulders above the rest. Probably a different thread, but I think the one area Johnson can fairly be blamed for in his first six years was an inability to recruit a QB to run his offense. (What else he could have done on defense baffles me.)

But here is something I wish Boomer or another of the real football guys on the board would address: I think this year, from the mid-point on anyway, Thomas was entrusted with some serious variations to past QB play, whether it was counters, his footwork, the freeze option, that nifty little fake to one passing back and quick handoff to the other side in a kind of counter move, it was stuff I don't recall ever seeing before, at GT or Navy. Maybe with Tracy Ham at Georgia Southern, but I didn't see any of that. Am I imagining things? Or drinking too much Thomas koolaid?
 

Boomergump

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The most important may have been the last touchdown against southern. I really don't think any other qb that we have had under CPJ gets away from the linebacker and without that, we could have ultimately lost. He escaped pressure so many times, with ease, on major plays, buying enough time to hit the open man or run. That is one of my favorite. dimensions that isn't talked about as much
He looked like Superman on that play. That move happened so quickly it decieves the human eye. I wish we could slow down the film to a hundreth of a second at a time just so we could appreciate the magnitude of it. I am not sure there is another QB in the country that evades the sack right there. I meant it.
 

wxl

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
23
I think he hurt his ankle the first time in the VT game and then it was aggravated by the dirty Duke play. I don't think he got back to near 100% until the FSU game. Until then he learned to manage the TO and make it a well oiled machine. Then when he had some rest before the OB, he got back to full speed and you saw the results when he got that extra gear back. I think the period when he was hurt was actually a blessing in that he learned to manage the offense and fully utilize the players around him and made them a team. Couple that with his amazing abilities when he is healthy makes for a unstoppable offense. This summer when he has a chance to refine his passing timing with his new receivers, this offense will be something else next year.
 

Boomergump

Helluva Engineer
Featured Member
Messages
3,280
But seriously, there is no question that of the four QBs running this offense, Thomas stands head and shoulders above the rest. Probably a different thread, but I think the one area Johnson can fairly be blamed for in his first six years was an inability to recruit a QB to run his offense. (What else he could have done on defense baffles me.)

But here is something I wish Boomer or another of the real football guys on the board would address: I think this year, from the mid-point on anyway, Thomas was entrusted with some serious variations to past QB play, whether it was counters, his footwork, the freeze option, that nifty little fake to one passing back and quick handoff to the other side in a kind of counter move, it was stuff I don't recall ever seeing before, at GT or Navy. Maybe with Tracy Ham at Georgia Southern, but I didn't see any of that. Am I imagining things? Or drinking too much Thomas koolaid?
The only thing I can remember seeing this year for the first time ever was the QB reverse, or counter QB draw, or whatever you want to call it. I think the others have been tried at different times, even if not sustained with regularity. We used to run a counter draw with the handoff going to Dwyer because he was the better runner (between he and Nesbitt). In this case, JT is the better runner (between he and any of our BBs) so he gets to keep the draw play. It is not that huge of a variation.

With all this said, I think you are right, JT has been trusted with a lot. We have seen a lot of plays return under him this last half of the season.
 
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