ACC Preview: Virginia at Georgia Tech
Published 12:00 am Friday, October 24, 2008
Associated Press
ATLANTA ó Demaryius Thomas wondered if he should start looking for another school.
After all, what receiver wants to play for a team that’s going to the “spread option?” He knew that was just a fancy way of saying Georgia Tech’s playbook would be changing to run, run ó and run some more.
“At first, I was worried,” Thomas said. “When I heard who was coming, I was thinking about leaving.”
Now, he couldn’t be happier with the offense brought in by the Yellow Jackets’ first-year coach, Paul Johnson.
While Thomas doesn’t get a ton of balls thrown his way, he’s sure making the most of the chances he does get. And No. 21 Georgia Tech is off to its best start since 1990, cracking the national rankings for the first time this season and grabbing the lead in the ACC’s Coastal Division.
The Yellow Jackets (6-1, 3-1 ACC) face a crucial game today, hosting one of the hottest teams in the country. Virginia (4-3, 2-1) has bounced back from a dismal start, winning three straight after losing three of its first four games by an average margin of 36 points.
While Georgia Tech will surely run more than it throws ó the stat sheet shows 348 rushing attempts, compared with only 83 passes ó the Cavaliers would be well advised to keep an eye on Thomas, the best receiver in these parts since Calvin Johnson.
The 6-foot-3, 229-pound Thomas, only a sophomore, was on the receiving end of all nine passes the Yellow Jackets completed against Duke, accounting for 230 yards in the second-best day in school history. to
“I tried it, and I liked it,” he said of Johnson’s offense.