Georgia Tech Football: Position Previews - Quarterback

Come August 29, as Geoff Collins and Co. travel to Clemson to take on the presumably top-ranked Tigers, Georgia Tech will be featuring a new offense that will look quite a bit different from the Paul Johnson era. One of the biggest differences is that quarterbacks will be relied on for more consistent passing throughout the game.

With former starting quarterback TaQuon Marshall now graduated, the job is wide open, and there are a number of candidates who could step into this job. I talked a lot about the quarterback position battle a couple weeks ago, so I’ll try not to repeat myself too much.

Looking at the roster, I know a couple things for sure. Chief among those is that we will continue to see more than one quarterback within a game, just like we did during the Johnson era (especially towards the end). I don’t think this is due to a lack of talent in any of Tech’s quarterbacks, but rather they have different aspects where each is superior.

To elaborate, Lucas Johnson is the best passer of the bunch. Tobias Oliver, the only returning quarterback with in-game experience, is the best with the ball in his hands. Outside of those two, James Graham and incoming freshman Jordan Yates are also in the picture as the two with the highest ceilings of the bunch, Personally, I’d give the edge to Yates over Graham.

Who will start this year? As I mentioned in that position battles article, I mentioned that I think Johnson will be the guy. Geoff Collins is doing something a little different though. In lieu of providing a full depth chart, Georgia Tech will be listing guys who are “Above the Line,” meaning those who are high enough on the depth chart that they will be used during the game, though they will be listed in alphabetical order.

To start the season, I think Tech will have two quarterbacks ATL: Johnson and Oliver. That’s not a knock on Graham. Moreso, I think he is still a bit behind the other two in terms of quarterback development. By the end of the season, I think there’s a chance that Graham and Yates both move ATL.

Whatever happens, I think it’ll be a fun quarterback competition to watch throughout the season.

What do you think happens at quarterback this season?