When Aaron Philo left the field closer to Friday morning than Thursday night, the Georgia Tech students who remained in the stands to celebrate Tech’s 30-29 epic win over visiting North Carolina State began to chant “Phi-lo! Phi-lo!”
“It’s obviously a good feeling,” Philo said about hearing the echoes of his name as he made his way toward the team tunnel at Bobby Dodd Stadium. “But that doesn’t happen without the rest of the team. We don’t win without the rest of the team. The defense went out there, they did their job. And the offense, as a whole, went out there and did their job. I can’t take credit for that because it was, really, truly a team effort.”
Philo’s words have merit, but it was he, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound freshman, who made the heroic plays that saved the Yellow Jackets (7-4) from a demoralizing collapse in the team’s home finale.
Tech trailed 29-23 with only 90 seconds on the clock and the ball resting at the Tech 25. The air had just been sucked out of the building because of Hollywood Smothers’ 53-yard touchdown run that gave N.C. State its first lead of the night and completed a 22-7 run by the Wolfpack.
The Jackets turned to Philo, a freshman who had made his debut in a blowout win over Virginia Military Institute on Sept. 14, came off the bench in a 21-6 loss at Virginia Tech on Oct. 26 and who was a major part of the team’s 28-23 upset of then-No. 4 Miami on Nov. 9. But this circumstance was much, much different.
“It’s kinda ironic because he’s wearing the same number as (Tom) Brady,” Tech running back Jamal Haynes said. “But I looked at him and I said, ‘It’s your time.’ He said, ‘Let’s do it.’
“Right there, as a true freshman, just having that confidence to come in and absolutely just take it over, it’s just one of those things that you just wanna know: We got a guy. We got a guy that can absolutely step in, that can absolutely play. Man, I’m just so proud of that kid. He just keeps his head down, keeps working, doesn’t complain, doesn’t argue, just comes to work every day and it showed off, paid off tonight.”
Philo began the drive with a 6-yard completion to wide receiver Chase Lane, then found Haynes for a 2-yard gain that suddenly presented Tech with a third-and-2. The next play won’t be recalled as much when the tales of the drive are recounted, but Philo’s 6-yard run to move the ball out to the Tech 39 and give the Jackets a first down was just as vital as the rest of the plays.
The next two plays were passes from Philo to Haynes that totaled 25 yards and got the ball to the N.C. State 36. Philo said he began to recognize that the Wolfpack defenders were playing man coverage, sprinting down the field with Tech receivers and turning their backs to the line of scrimmage, leaving the middle of the field wide open.
So on second down at the 36, after an injury timeout, Philo dropped back to pass, scanned the field and saw nothing but green in front of him — he took off running and gained 18 yards to the 18. State called timeout to catch its breath and reset. Only 26 seconds remained at that point.
“We do some form of a situational two-minute (drill) every single day‚” Key said about Philo’s, and Tech’s, composure on the winning drive. “Every single day, whether it’s two-minute before the half, two-minute end of game, last play, ‘gotta have it,’ ‘gotta have its’ on different areas of the field. We do it every day.
“It’s something we work all the time because you get those once every four or five games, maybe twice a season. There has to be a calmness to ‘em.
“They can’t feel like it’s the first time. We have one timeout there, and we had a long way to go. The quarterback understanding when to be able to get the ball out of bounds, when to get down after he got the first, throwing the ball in the outs and the flats and the sideline to get the ball out of bounds to stop the clock — we do those things a lot so that they do have the preparation behind them.”
Out of the timeout, Philo lined up behind center in the shotgun with Haynes flanked to his left, a single receiver to his left and two receivers and a tight end split to his right. N.C. State rushed three linemen and brought a linebacker on a blitz who curled around right tackle. Tech tight tackle Jordan Williams got just enough of a block on that linebacker to allow Philo, with his right foot planted at his own 28, to step up and take off up the middle of the field.
Philo alluded a defender at the 20 and spotted another heading straight for him when he reached the 10. Philo veered left, avoided an arm tackle at the 3 and lunged for the goal line at the 2 before rolling into the end zone.
“Look, he’s proven himself in practice,” Key said about trusting Philo in that situation. “We all know practice is a lot different than games. It’s different throwing routes on air than it is when you got three or four guys bearing down on you. You gotta move your feet, you gotta void the rush, different arm angles with guys coming in your face. So he’s proven it in practice. He throws a good ball. He’s got a good rapport with the receivers. And he’s only gonna continue to get better.”
At the season’s outset, it was unlikely that Philo would see the field in 2024. Not for lack of talent or preparation, but because Tech had returning starter Haynes King and returning backup Zach Pyron on the roster. But King sustained a shoulder injury in a win at North Carolina on Oct. 12, and Pyron left the loss at Virginia Tech with an undisclosed injury and has not returned to game action since.
In its past two wins, Tech has deployed a two-quarterback system, with King and Philo alternating, at times from snap to snap, to keep defenses off-balance. That plan worked brilliantly in the win over Miami but wasn’t as fruitful against the Wolfpack — which Key said he and his staff knew was likely to happen going into the latter matchup.
It would be safe to assume that Tech will continue to play Philo and King on Friday when the Jackets enter Sanford Stadium to face bitter rival and 10th-ranked Georgia. Philo, of course, will be familiar with the venue, having played his high school ball 20 minutes down the road at Prince Avenue Christian in Bogart.
And now less than 12 months from playing his final high school game, he will have the opportunity to play his first at UGA.
“Kid’s very humble. That should be the first thing that I feel like y’all should know,” Haynes said. “Very humble kid, absolutely comes in to work. Just his demeanor when he gets in the pocket, he knows how to control the game, knows how to run the offense, and that’s exactly what you look for in a freshman or anybody who can really come in at QB.
“To come in with that confidence and demeanor that you’re talking about, he’s a confident player. He can throw any ball on the field. And just to back him up, the O-line and the wide receiver have full confidence in him, too. He’s gonna have that confidence, and when he plays with confidence, kid can go.”
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