A partial listing of the operatives in Georgia Tech’s upset of No. 14 Virginia Tech:
Center Kenny Cooper – first-year freshman making his first career start; mostly played defensive lineman in high school and an H-back on offense. Was flipped from his commitment to Western Kentucky.
Left tackle Jahaziel Lee – first-year freshman making the third start of his career, first on the road; like Cooper was a hig-school defensive lineman. Two-star prospect.
Quarterback Matthew Jordan – a sophomore making his first career start; in his most extensive action prior to Saturday, against Miami last season, fumbled six times.
B-back Marcus Marshall – a sophomore who had lost his starting job to freshman Dedrick Mills, who was serving the first half of a two-game suspension for violating team rules; gained four yards in four carries last year against the Hokies.
It was not a ballyhooed trio, but they helped the Yellow Jackets handled Virginia Tech in unexpected fashion. Georgia Tech’s 30 points were the most it has scored against the vaunted Hokies and esteemed defensive coordinator Bud Foster in coach Paul Johnson’s nine games in the series. Despite being decidedly one-dimensional – 58 rushes to seven pass attempts – the Jackets ran for 309 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
“We always joked about the offense, that you want to be good up the middle, and we were missing all three – the center, the quarterback and the B-back,” coach Paul Johnson said. “Those guys filled in.”
Cooper was playing for Freddie Burden, who was dressed but did not play with an upper-body injury suffered against North Carolina and ended a 35-game start streak. Jordan was in for Justin Thomas, who likewise dressed but didn’t play after also leaving the UNC game with an apparent jaw injury. Lee played his way back into the lineup after not starting against North Carolina.
Cooper had troubles with the snap, particularly in the second half, but held his own. On Marshall’s 56-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, a play that essentially closed the game down, Cooper turned aside defensive tackle Woody Baron to give Marshall a crease to speed through cleanly.
“It was a tough game, just because of the crowd noise,” Cooper said. “It was hard to hear the quarterback and hear the plays and all that, but I think I did fairly decent in this environment.”
Marshall ran 19 times for 143 yards, his second highest total against an FBS opponent. Given the opportunity to start with Mills out, Marshall ran for tough yards between the tackles. He also threw lead blocks on both of Jordan’s touchdown runs.
“I think Marcus showed up and played well,” Johnson said.
Jordan played with poise and grit, aggressively cutting upfield into the teeth of the Virginia Tech defense for short but meaningful gains. He ran 32 times for 121 yards, the most carries by a Jackets quarterback since Tevin Washington had the same number of carries against Maryland in 2011. His first touchdown, a 53-yarder, rocked the Hokies, putting them down 13-0. The second, at the end of the first half for a 20-0 lead, went a long way to putting the game out of reach.
While he practiced with the first team throughout the week of practice – starter Justin Thomas left the North Carolina game last Saturday with an injury, apparently to his jaw – Jordan didn’t know for sure that he would start until pre-game warmups, when Johnson deemed that Thomas shouldn’t play.
“I think I was a little nervous when we first started off,” he said. “What can you say? Playing in this environment, it’s so loud. But once the game went on, I think I settled down.”
Lee also contributed; he had a cut block that spun around a defensive back who was the last line of defense on Marshall’s touchdown. Georgia Tech also was without A-back J.J. Green, probably the best blocker at that position group, who missed his second game in a row after injuring his right leg against Duke. Left guard Parker Braun joined Lee and Cooper as first-year freshmen starting against possibly the best defense that the Jackets have played this season.
Johnson said he couldn’t remember ever starting three first-year freshman offensive lineman in his career.
“Somebody forgot to tell them they were freshmen,” he said. “They just kind of went out there and played.”
