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Football: Georgia Tech QB Matthew Jordan to miss remainder of spring practice with foot injury

This is probably the worst injury-related news that could have come out of the Yellow Jackets’ spring practice.

By Joey Weaver
NCAA Football: Georgia Tech at North Carolina James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

With spring practice in full swing on the Flats, the Yellow Jackets had their first full scrimmage on Saturday. With less than two weeks remaining until the end of spring practice (the “Friday Night on the Flats” Spring Game on Friday, April 21), the Jackets have gotten some of the worst injury news imaginable as they look to replace the departed Justin Thomas as their starting QB:

On Monday afternoon, insider Kelly Quinlan of JacketsOnline.com confirmed on Twitter that the injury was of the non-contact variety. As for the severity, Quinlan went on to mention that head coach Paul Johnson expects Jordan to play this year.

The injury is a major problem for Georgia Tech, for two reasons:

  1. Matthew Jordan was the presumed starter for the Jackets coming into spring practice, and thought to be Thomas’s most likely successor to start the 2017 season. Part of the reason for that was...
  2. As a rising junior, Jordan was the only player on the depth chart with any sort of meaningful in-game experience under center.

With Jordan out for the remainder of spring practice, the Jackets will see the trio of TaQuon Marshall, Jay Jones, and Lucas Johnson battle for position on the depth chart as the opportunity for taking snaps has suddenly increased considerably. Marshall holds the edge over the other two (both of whom will be redshirt freshmen this fall) in terms of experience in the offense and in facing live game situations, having played significant time two years ago as an A-Back before playing sparingly as a quarterback in 2016. That said, the opportunity has clearly presented itself for one of those three to step up and stake their claim to the backup spot, or become this fall’s starting quarterback altogether.

Needless to say, this injury is very much a significant one in terms of the outlook on Georgia Tech’s 2017 season. You’ll definitely want to keep a close eye on the three quarterbacks that rotate during the upcoming Spring Game. In the mean time, we’ll keep you updated with any developments on Jordan’s health as they’re made public.