football

New face in a new place: With kickoff game days away, Georgia Tech's starting QB still unnamed

Patrick Conarro

Patrick Conarro

— 1 min read

Georgia Tech opens its 2017 season Monday night against the University of Tennessee at the brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Tech will feature its signature option offense, including a new face at quarterback. Exactly which new face is not clear at this juncture, and Coach Paul Johnson isn’t giving any strong clues.

He notes that Matthew Jordan is most familiar with the offense, having led the team to a big upset road win over Virginia Tech last year (in which he notched 155 total yards and two touchdowns). Johnson adds that “maybe all four will play” in Monday night’s game. TaQuon Marshall, a junior, has seen game action as an A-back. The other two quarterbacks, redshirt freshmen Lucas Johnson and Jay Jones, have had their bright moments in camp, though neither has game experience.

“Our guys know who’s going to play, and I probably know who’s going to play,” Johnson noted in this week’s press conference. “We’ll get through a couple more practices, and it’ll be one of these four guys, I promise.”

Here’s a look at the team’s depth chart, which lists all four quarterbacks as potential starters:

The B-back position will also feature a new face, as sophomore KirVonte Benson steps into the starting role following the dismissal of 2016 starter (and leading rusher) Dedrick Mills 2 weeks ago.

The Yellow Jackets have experienced players returning at A-back and at wide receiver positions, which should help the new quarterback, whoever that might turn out to be.

Below: Matthew Jordan’s short-and-sweet interview after last year’s win at Virginia Tech

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