The Best of: Quarterback

g0lftime

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I was in grad school in 1973 and played on a basketball team at the Y in Buckhead. Lothridge was on the team. He had been cut as the Dolphins punter (memory may have that wrong) but he was trying to stay in shape in case he got called back to an NFL team. There were several guys that hung out at that Y that had been cut by the Falcons and were working out in case they got called back. Billy was a nice guy and decent basketball player.I don't think he ever got back to the NFL. I never saw him play at GT but supposedly was one of Dodd's favorites of all time. He probably was one of the most versatile players GT has ever had--passing, kicking, and punting. He was a really great punter.
 

alagold

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Whiskey_Clear said:
I think the only thing Lothridge never did at Tech was throw a pass to himself.....I could be wrong there though.
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JT made a great fake in OB for TD but Lothridge optioned a guy in a game in which he was no more than 2 feet from his face then cut up field from a dead stop for 10 yds,it was the coolest option I may have ever seen
 
chewybaka

chewybaka

Ramblin' Wreck
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909
Techster said:
1. Shawn Jones. Will always be "the guy" who I credit for not only getting me on the GT lifetime sports train, but love for sports overall. Can't tell you how many Shawn Jones patented rollouts I did as kid in my parent's backyard. Interesting sidenote to Shawn Jones: I was watching an NFL segment on black QBs and how some past QBs were overlooked in the NFL because they "didn't fit the mold". Tony Dungy specifically said Shawn Jones was a QB who he thought would have been a really good NFL QB, but because he was athletic and black, he never got a shot to play QB. Minnesota did give him an opportunity to play DB.

2. Tevin is the most recent one that comes to mind. He just had the unfortunate timing of 1. Playing with some of the worst defenses in modern GT history and 2. Playing at the same time as the Vad Lee hype train. If Tevin has a half decent defense during his years, GT wins 10+ games in 2011 and 2012. BTW...he was the starting QB that broke CPJ's winless bowl streak against USC. Boomer mentioned this, but Donnie Davis probably would be a legend right now if he played for the OC who he signed to play with: Ralph Friedgen. Davis was the 2nd Overall ranked QB in that class (behind UGA's Eric Zeier...whom as fate would have it, Donnie worked for at Bank of America). The guy was a decade before his time. He was DeShaun Watson before DeShaun Watson...and GT had him. The thing was, Friedgen was making use of dual threat QBs and teaching them NFL passing concepts at the same time. We saw it with Shawn Jones and Joe Hamilton. It's a shame Davis never got that opportunity because Friedgen would have made him a star.

3. Too many to mention. My favorite individual QB performance was Joe Hamilton's game against #1 FSU in 1999. That team was LOADED defensively, and they were trying to take his head off at every chance. Joe just got up and made more big plays after every hit. One of the finest QB performances I can remember...and not only GT, but in college football. Lil' Joe put us on his shoulders that game and won it for us.

4. Woody Dantzler. Hamilton and Dantzler had some crazy games against each other. Those two guys were the precurser to dual threat QBs of this era. Dantzler seemed like he was unstoppable at times both through the air and using his legs. I was glad to seem him exhaust his eligibility.
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elwoodgt

elwoodgt

Jolly Good Fellow
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1. Joe Hamilton, hands down. Five foot nuthin', hundred and nuthin'... The kid was just a baller. Had eyes in the back of his head. Saw open receivers streaking every time. Just a joy to watch.
2. Most underrated was Godsey in 2000. He didn't lock up the starting job till the third game of the season, when he darn near pulled off the upset against FSU at home. If not for a bogus PI non-call he might have done it.
I remember him being interviewed, and they asked about him being "less athletic" than Joe Ham. He was like, "I'm not sure what that means. I throw a 94 mph fastball. I was all-state in basketball. What more do you want?"
3. Best individual performance has to be Joe Ham, 1999 at FSU. 22-25 for like 300 yards, and clutch all game. Kelly Campbell catching touchdowns with a broken jaw. Helluva game.
4. Any Virginia QB in Charlottesville.
 
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