Your First GT QB

[5277hike]

I thought it was 6 TDS and 6 interceptions against Rice?

It was 5 and 5. It was my freshman year of 1972. The first Tech QB I saw play was Billy the kid in 1962.

 

[presjacket]

Todd Rampley

 

[pinglett]

Dewberry was my first tech QB I remember following. Shawn Jones was the first that I idolized. I was playing in HS and going to QB camps, and Jones was the standard for me. His internal clock was so amazing, it looked like he had eyes in the back of his head.

 

[Sheboygan]

Lothridge maybe ? But the name that stands out most is Kim King....."the young lefthander", as Al Ciraldo called him.

 

[Yoda]

Dewberry was "my first" GT QB I remember playing in the yard as.

 

[iopjacket]

Larry Good in 1968.

 

[bobongo]

Calvin’s NC State catch

Saw that one in Carter-Finley. I was amazed he actually caught that thing.

Calvin Johnson - "The Catch" - YouTube

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

So, I had started a thread within a thread about everyone’s first Tech game and I noticed a few Billy Lothridge mentions.

For another thread, how about your first GT QB when you started following Tech and what was your favorite memory/play/game?

all I have to say is: The Goose.
its insane that I remember him when I was so young. I grew up with Reggie and I will always have his back. He loves Tech. Of course - Calvin’s NC State catch

what say you?

First quarterback? Lothridge. It wasn't that Billy was a great runner, he wasn't, or a great passer, he wasn't, he just had a knack for winning football games. It helped that Tech had Billy Martin and Ted Davis at end and Rufus Guthrie at guard but ultimately it was Lothridge doing whatever needed to be done: Need a field goal? He got it with that strange head down kick, Need a first down to win a game? He would get it. Need a run for a first down? He got that. Pass to Martin or Davis he could do that. Punt inside the ten, no problem. Most of all, he did not make mistakes because he knew Tech had a very good defense. That said, my all time favorite quarterback was Joe Hamilton. To him, a football game was nothing more than playing a pick up game back home in Alva, South Carolina with his cousin Harvey Middleton and some friends. No pressure.

 

[DeepSnap]

It was 5 and 5. It was my freshman year of 1972.

In the 36-36 tie with Rice. Happened to be sitting next to the former INT record-holder (5) in the Upper West, Jerry Priestley, as we had a ton of recruits in town.

That "tie was a win" as Jim Owings & Jimmy Robinson made "instant Replay" catches for the tieing TD & 2 point conversion.... don't ask me who did which. Up big early to down late to tied.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

wade mitchell; 1956 tech won 10 games!

He was a good enough athlete to play defense if needed.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Jimmy Southard (Tech Hall of Fame). Saw him play when I was a kid. Against Auburn as I recall.

He was the quarterback when my dad was in school circa late 1940s to about 1950.

 

[TechBurn]

Eddie McAshan,,,,, As a freshman in1970, he was the man!! Great athlete, & great potential,,,
Does anyone remember Charlie Dudish, recruited about the same time? One of the top recruited QBs in the nation. Was going to be a superstar QB, but could never get it going?

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Rudy Allen.

Jasper Thanks is my favorite all time play. Close in the running are Calvin’s catch, Goose is Loose, Nesbit gimme dat, Dwyer’s broke that *****’s ankles followed by Roddy Jones tiptoeing on the sidelines, then there’s the Kick and Pick and the Miracle at Techwood. I picked Jasper Thanks because I believe it was the first most amazing GT football play I ever witnessed. I didn’t select any plays where I was not at the game. Been fortunate to see some great ones.

Edit: Oops I was in error- missed the Kick and Pick game

The funny thing about "Jasper Thanks" game was that when it went into overtime. Joe Ham was out on the field with the officials and Georgia's captain Quincy Carter. Joe was dancing around after the coin toss taunting Carter: "What ya gonna do Q, what cha gonna do"? It was never in doubt. Hamilton was loose and ready to play some ball, Georgia was tight as a drum.

 

[DeepSnap]

First QB(s): Stan Gann, Bruce Fischer, and then some SOPH named Lothridge

Most memorable play: Jack Williams for the sneak to go ahead of UGag 6-0 in 1969



Followed by this catch by Mike Wysong in 1970 between the damned weeds....

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Eddie McAshan,,,,, As a freshman in1970, he was the man!! Great athlete, & great potential,,,
Does anyone remember Charlie Dudish, recruited about the same time? One of the top recruited QBs in the nation. Was going to be a superstar QB, but could never get it going?

Dudish was the equivalent of a five star quarterback back in the day. Multi year all state player out of Avondale. Big for the time and could hit a softball over the fence. He just could not handle the pressure of literally having the fate of an entire program on his shoulders. One play I saw illustrated how much potential he had as an athlete. Tech was playing SMU and had scored a TD and I think was going for two to win with only seconds to play. Dudish got the snap and dropped the ball it bounced back into his hands and he simply jumped over the line and carried SMU players into the end zone for the two point conversion. After the game, the SMU players said they had never seen anything quite like it. Semi tragic what happened to him and perhaps he did not get the best coaching and guidance for being a major college quarterback. Opps! Tech was going for the go ahead TD late in the game against SMU not a two point conversion. Seems like SMU was ahead and Tech had to score a TD. Dudish got it.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Eddie McAshan,,,,, As a freshman in1970, he was the man!! Great athlete, & great potential,,,
Does anyone remember Charlie Dudish, recruited about the same time? One of the top recruited QBs in the nation. Was going to be a superstar QB, but could never get it going?

I remember Dudish well. 60 Minutes had a segment on the number one football recruit (not just QB) in the nation. Had over 200 college offers. His best game was against #1 ranked undefeated USC. Tech led late and could have pulled off the upset of the century but for a blown defensive play.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Eddie McAshan,,,,, As a freshman in1970, he was the man!! Great athlete, & great potential,,,
Does anyone remember Charlie Dudish, recruited about the same time? One of the top recruited QBs in the nation. Was going to be a superstar QB, but could never get it going?

Eddie made it look easy with those ever so soft and accurate throws to Steve Harkey and Jimmy Robinson.

 

[DeepSnap]

Eddie McAshan,,,,, As a freshman in1970, he was the man!! Great athlete, & great potential,,,
Does anyone remember Charlie Dudish, recruited about the same time? One of the top recruited QBs in the nation. Was going to be a superstar QB, but could never get it going?

1970 was Skip's SOPH (albeit his first varsity season - FR weren't eligible, yet) season.

"The Dude" played our FR team season in '68 & about half the 1969 varsity season... had his best game vs USC, then flopped in NOLA the next week vs Tulane. Didn't make the 10PM team bus from the French Quarter to the airport and was gone.... from the team and school..... by 1PM Monday afternoon. He eventually got his life straightened out, dried out, and played some low Minor League Baseball for the Giants' organization IIRC. Last I heard. has/had a roofing business out in Dekalb or Gwinnett.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Who did Lenny Snow play with? Was it King, Williams, or Lothridge?
I think that was my earliest memory.

I thought it was Lothridge, but I checked, and it was apparently Kim King.

 

[DeepSnap]

Dudish........ He just could not handle the pressure of literally having the fate of an entire program on his shoulders.

Charlie also had the pressure of the original helicopter dad, Andy, who was at every practice & gave Charlie his own critiques.

Our FR OC was Jimmy Brown, the former GT RB & Punt Returner out of Chattanooga, whose main job was to keep Andy Dudish away from our head FR coach, Jerry Glanville.

Andy evidently also wasn't shy about showing up in Carson's office & giving him critiques about how to better use Charlie.