While listening to Wes Durham call the game winning touchdown catch by Correy Earls on Saturday night, the thought occurred to me: well, it's about time someone else on this team stepped up in a big way. The 2010 Yellow Jackets have been inconsistent on both sides of the ball, with the only exception being the golden foot of Scott Blair. Joshua Nesbitt is the unequivocal leader on the squad. Take him away, and the men wearing white tops and gold hats are like a car with no engine.
Tyler Melton and Correy Earls had big grabs in last weekend's stomach-achingly tough to watch win, but there will always be players who have a big memorable moment, and then fade away. When someone says Roddy Jones, the first thing that comes to mind is the 2008 UGA game where, as a freshman, he ran for his life and was an indispensable asset to the option attack in that game. I selectively forget the Roddy Jones that has 101 yards rushing through 5 games this year to look at his 214 yard single game 2 years ago. Leadership is based on consistency, and that is something that this year's team lacks.
Think about the big programs in the nation right now. Anyone in the country that even passively listens to college football can tell you who Denard Robinson is. The same can be said for Mark Ingram, Kellen Moore, Ryan Mallett, and so on. Granted, these are all Heisman Trophy candidates, so I will go on a smaller level. Ask your buddy who his favorite running back for Georgia Tech is. If the answer is Joshua Nesbitt, Jonathan Dwyer, or Calvin Johnson, they have answered incorrectly and need to mail their fan card back to Midtown.
My intention with this post is to propose the question "what happens next year?" Sure, leaders always emerge from a crowd; they cannot come to this school with a crown on their head like a big star in the NFL can come to a new team as the de facto leader. However, going into the 6th game of the season, I'm having an awfully tough time seeing the person that will become the face of the 2011 Yellow Jacket squad. What do y'all think? Ponder this question for awhile, and then wholeheartedly devote yourselves back into enjoying the 2010 team, who have an interesting game this weekend at home.