Now That

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I think they called it blocking back or such. But the three single wing names i remember reading about were Bobby Dodd, who played tailback but was called QB as Oldgold says, Johnny Majors from Tennessee, a terrific back, and a fellow named **** Kasmier from Princeton of all places. All three played what today would be called tailback, and all three ran, pass and kickedd, and I think but I'm not sure, all three were All-Americans. And does Oldgold remember the Tennessee buck lateral? A wonderful play but if the line did not get their blocks the QB got smashed with his back turned. (Snap to fullback, fake dive handing off to the QB who has to face him and who then makes a long, hard laterakl toss to the tailback sweeping one of the ends. Get a fast tailbsck and there were fireworks.

We ran that play in HS, but we could never get it to work in the game. But, the reverse out of the single wing was deadly. Unfortunately, it had vanished from the college scene, by the time I was old enough to follow FB.

 

[GTFLETCH]

1. Shawn Jones....1990 National Championship
2. Joe Hamilton.... He set ACC career records for total offense (10,640 yards) and total touchdowns (83)
3. Justin Thomas......Orange Bowl Win (first win since 1952)
4. Joshua Nesbitt
5. George Godsey

 

[Skeptic]

We ran that play in HS, but we could never get it to work in the game. But, the reverse out of the single wing was deadly. Unfortunately, it had vanished from the college scene, by the time I was old enough to follow FB.

College coaches these days are making a rush to hire good HS coaches, not just for their recruiting connections in their area which are substantial -- the new guy at Texas hired three; Morris's first hire was a HS coach, and Swinney hired one from the Atlanta area last year -- but because supposedly "all the innovation is coming out of high schools" now. So it was they took the single wing and dressed it up to call it the spread but to run a whole bunch of single wing out of it., from the option to the reverse to the dive option. I would love to see some of Majors and Kazmier out of the wing. They were supposedly great athletes.

 

[PBR549]

College coaches these days are making a rush to hire good HS coaches, not just for their recruiting connections in their area which are substantial -- the new guy at Texas hired three; Morris's first hire was a HS coach, and Swinney hired one from the Atlanta area last year -- but because supposedly "all the innovation is coming out of high schools" now. So it was they took the single wing and dressed it up to call it the spread but to run a whole bunch of single wing out of it., from the option to the reverse to the dive option. I would love to see some of Majors and Kazmier out of the wing. They were supposedly great athletes.

There's nothing new scheme wise in football. It's all been done one way or the other. Watching the Johnny Major's film confirms that. Block down, kick out, wrap around. Same as the counter tre the Redskins reinvented and people run out of the shotgun today. Wedge block dive over the top on goaline. Pass after faking the counter. You can call it the single wing, spread, wishbone or whatever. It's all been done.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

I don't really love ranking guys in order. I prefer grouping them. JT is grouped in with the best QBs we have had at Tech. Was a joy to watch him play.

 

[MikeJackets]

I had forgotten that. And does anyone remember that in the days of Bear Bryant, Broadway Joe was an option QB? The guy Vince Lombardi once described as a "perfect passer", ran the option in college. I think Billy Martin and Ted Davis at DE at him up in the '62 game. Among the things that attracted Dodd to him was of all things his ability with a cue stick. Dodd played what was known as a "mean stick" and swore Lothridge was better. That urge to compete shows up everywhere.

Broadway Joe was a really mobile QB until he injured his knee in 1964

 

[Skeptic]

Broadway Joe was a really mobile QB until he injured his knee in 1964

Bear Bryant and Joe Namath in combo always puzzled me until I heard an exchange between a Babe Ruth baseball coach and an old hand HS (a couple of state championships) coach. In which the BR guy raged about one of the kids in the draft and his needing transportation and othere issues and saying that, "I ain't putting up with none of that." The old hand scoffed, threw in a couple of expletives for effect, and observed that "Blank blank blank... he can hit the ball you will."

 

[danny daniel]

Lothridge did not play defense at Tech. Don Toner played a wildcard position that replaced the QB on defense in the Lothridge years. It was Toner who made the game saving interception in the 7-6 win over Alabama in 1962.

Due to injuries I believe Lothridge once played some limited safety for the Falcons.

 

[MikeJackets]

Bear Bryant and Joe Namath in combo always puzzled me until I heard an exchange between a Babe Ruth baseball coach and an old hand HS (a couple of state championships) coach. In which the BR guy raged about one of the kids in the draft and his needing transportation and othere issues and saying that, "I ain't putting up with none of that." The old hand scoffed, threw in a couple of expletives for effect, and observed that "Blank blank blank... he can hit the ball you will."

Joe Namath was so poor in the classroom that the only two schools who recruited him were Alabama and Maryland.

 

[GTonTop88]

For me (Tech fan since 98) 1. Joe Hamilton 2. Justin Thomas 3. Josh Nesbitt 4. George Godsey 5. Tevin Washington

Became a fan about the same time and that would be my order as well except I would put Reggie 5th and Tevin 6th. I truly believe Byerly would have beaten Tevin had he not been behind Thomas.

 

[GTonTop88]

I was reminiscing on JeT's career and realized something: His career is eerily similar to Josh Nesbitt's. The order of their careers is a bit different, but their overall careers looks the same with a little variation .

Nesbitt
2008: Helped CPJ establish his offense. Beat UGA. Took us to a New Year's Eve bowl. Finished 9-4
2009: Won ACC. Orange Bowl appearance. Finished 10-3.
2010: Injured for 2nd half of season. Team finished 6-7.

JeT
2014: QB that helped CJP re-introduce "Flex option" football after going away from it a bit in 2013. Beat UGA. Went to ACC Championship Game. Won Orange Bowl. Team finished 11-3.
2015: Had to deal with a surreal amount of injuries to players on offense and youth. Worst season since early 1990's. Team finished 3-9.
2016: Beat UGA. Took us to NY Eve Bowl. Team finished 9-4.

One thing Nesbitt was able to do over JeT is win an ACCCG. (Of course, it's more than just Nesbitt and JeT when it comes to that). JeT was able to win a major bowl game (OB in 2014) and went 2-1 against UGA.

As you can see, both had outstanding careers for GT. No doubt JeT (and Nesbitt) will go down as one of the greats to play the position for us.

The ACC wasn't very good during Nesbitts reign. Now you can make a case for it being the best conference.

 

[Skeptic]

The ACC wasn't very good during Nesbitts reign. Now you can make a case for it being the best conference.

Now they are belatedly making that case, based on head to head and on bowl records and coaching hires. Add that to an excellent NFL draft record and it gets tilted toward ACC pretty severely. Who would have thought it?

 

[MikeJackets]

The ACC wasn't very good during Nesbitts reign. Now you can make a case for it being the best conference.

Nesbitt will always be great to me because he helped GT win an ACC Championship.

 

[Techster]

The ACC wasn't very good during Nesbitts reign. Now you can make a case for it being the best conference.

Still doesn't diminish what Nesbitt (and the team) did. I get that it's more impressive to win the ACC these days, but a conference championship no matter when is still impressive. We still had to beat VT when they were actually good, and we beat a VERY talented Clemson team TWICE.

 

[AE 87]

Became a fan about the same time and that would be my order as well except I would put Reggie 5th and Tevin 6th. I truly believe Byerly would have beaten Tevin had he not been behind Thomas.

TB didn't beat out Bad who didn't beat out Devin but ok

 

[dressedcheeseside]

TB didn't beat out Bad who didn't beat out Devin but ok

Thought you were talking about Taylor Bennett for a minute...

 

[AE 87]

TB didn't beat out Bad who didn't beat out Devin but ok

Dang It. I typed Vad

 

[Jacket4Life9]

In the CPJ era:
1. Justin Thomas
2. Josh Nesbitt
3. Tevin Washington
4. Vad Lee

JT - 3 seasons as starter: 11-3 (Orange Bowl win), 3-9, 9-4 (Taxslayer Bowl win)
2 out of 3 vs. Georgia
Passing: 4788 yds, 40 TDs, 18 INT, 48.8% pct
Rushing: 2409 yds, 4.8 ypc, 22 TDs
Comments: JT was far and away the best passer we have had under CPJ. His arm strength was above average and his accuracy was underrated. We will miss his ability to hit receivers on comeback routes and back-shoulder throws. His completion percentage is badly skewed by the abysmal 2015 season in which our offensive line was historically incapable. He was our fastest QB as well. Though he lacked the power that JfN displayed, he had game changing speed and was very effective as a runner. JT may not have always made the right reads, but his pitching ability, which is very important in our offense, was also the best out of the QBs that CPJ has fielded.

JfN - 2.5 seasons as starter: 9-4, 11-3 (Lost Orange Bowl), 5-4
1-1 vs Georgia as starter - the 2009 loss was unacceptable and is a black mark on an otherwise incredible season
Passing: 3276 yds, 20TD, 16 INT, 42.7% pct
Rushing: 2806 yds, 4.2 ypc, 35 TDs
Josh was a warrior. His strength and ability to get key yardage on 3rd and 4th down was unbelievable. He also had a very strong arm, but lacked the tough and accuracy that JT displayed. One thing, however, that hurt Josh was our ABs inability to catch the ball during his tenure. Embry, Roddy, Orwin, and the other ABs were not near the pass-catchers that Searcy, Lynch, and the 2014 AB crew were/are. With that being said, JT did not have the luxury of having Demaryius Thomas, who Josh hit on many deep throws and jump-balls. Demaryius was a freak talent, and while Smelter and Waller were great receivers, JT did not have a guy like that.

Tevin: Let's be honest, Tevin's arm was weak. I never felt confident when we needed 13-15 yards on 3rd down. He was a capable runner with below average speed who made his living off of making good reads and managing the game. I loved Tevin's work ethic and he is a great man who I am thrilled to see back on the Tech sidelines. He was a solid QB, but lacked the athleticism that JT and JfN had that made them so effective.

Vad: Meh. Vad never bloomed, it's no secret. He had so much hype, but never really fit in the offense. He had some great moments, and flashed his passing ability on several occasions. I was never crazy about the way he ran the offense. It just wasn't a great fit, plain and simple. Still thankful for his time.

 

[Yjacket82]

Dang It. I typed Vad

Unfortunately, we knew what you meant. LOL

 

[SteamWhistle]

Gotta be Top 5 QB of all time.