A panel of AJC voters chose these players as the top 10 Georgia Tech football players of the decade from 2000-09. The players are listed alphabetically.
Kelly Campbell
One of Atlanta’s own, Campbell graduated from Mays High School and would put together a Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame career as a wide receiver for the Yellow Jackets.
Campbell thrice was an all-ACC selection and shares the program’s single-game record for receptions with 14 (against Clemson in 2000) and career record with 195 catches. His 2,907 career receiving yards are only 20 yards short of Calvin Johnson’s school record.
Campbell would go on to have a decade-long career in both the NFL and Canadian Football League.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Tashard Choice
Choice led the ACC in rushing in 2006 (1,473 yards) and 2007 (1,379 yards), the only back in Tech history to lead the ACC in consecutive seasons. A Lovejoy High graduate, Choice began his college career at Oklahoma before transferring to Tech in 2005. He totaled 3,365 rushing yards and scored 28 touchdowns.
Choice is one of three Jackets to post two 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He was a two-time all-ACC pick, an honorable mention All-American and is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Choice spent six seasons as a player in the NFL and since has been an assistant coach in the college ranks.
Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC
Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC
P.J. Daniels
Daniels had one of the more impressive single seasons in Tech history when he ran for 1,447 yards in 2003, a campaign capped by a 307-yard performance in the Humanitarian Bowl (an NCAA bowl record). The Houston native would run for 3,346 yards (fourth all-time), total 16 100-yard games, become one of only two Yellow Jackets with two 200-yard games and score 23 rushing touchdowns.
Daniels was twice an all-ACC selection and is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Jonathan Dwyer
Dwyer made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2007 when he ran for 436 yards and scored nine touchdowns earning him a spot on the ACC’s all-freshman team. As a sophomore he was named the ACC player of the year and an All-American after a 1,395-yard season.
A Kell High School graduate, Dwyer rushed for that same total in 2009 and finished his career sixth on Tech’s all-time rushing list with 3,226 yards in only three seasons.
Dwyer spent five seasons in the NFL.
Credit: Johnny Crawford
Credit: Johnny Crawford
Greg Gathers
Gathers finished his Tech career with 31 sacks, a program record broken a decade later by Jeremiah Attaochu who totaled 31.5. Gathers may have been able to rack up more if not for a kidney disorder that altered his play during his senior season of 2002.
A Louisiana native, Gathers twice was an all-ACC selection as a defensive end. His 13 sacks in 2000 is second-most all-time at Tech, as are his 57 career tackles for loss.
Credit: Handout photo
Credit: Handout photo
Calvin Johnson
Known to many as, “Megatron,” Johnson became one of the best wide receivers in Tech history before going on to a professional career with the Detroit Lions that landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Johnson played just three seasons for the Jackets but was twice an All-American and won the 2006 Biletnikoff Award. His 1,202 receiving yards in the 2006 season, 2,927 career receiving yards and 28 career receiving touchdowns are all program records.
Johnson is also a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame and Pride of the Lions.
Credit: Pouya Dianat / pdianat@ajc.com
Credit: Pouya Dianat / pdianat@ajc.com
Michael Johnson
At Dallas County High School in Alabama, Johnson starred at tight end and defensive end while also averaging a double-double on the basketball court. He would follow that with a Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame career at Tech where he made 107 tackles (30.5 for a loss) and 19 sacks from 2005-08.
Johnson was named an All-American as a senior and was an all-ACC pick that year, too. He was a third-round NFL draft pick in 2009 and would play 10 seasons in the NFL.
Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC
Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC
Derrick Morgan
The ACC player of the year in 2009, Morgan made 19.5 sacks (eighth all-time in Tech history) and 29.5 tackles for loss from 2007-09. The Pennsylvania native made 12.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss as a junior and was an All-American that season. The 12.5 sacks in ‘09 is still an ACC single-season record.
Morgan, a two-time all-ACC selection, was the 16th pick by Tennessee in the 2010 NFL draft. He spent nine seasons with the Titans.
Credit: Johnny Crawford
Credit: Johnny Crawford
Joshua Nesbitt
Nesbitt helped Tech lose out the decade on a high note with his superb play at quarterback. A Greene County High School graduate, Nesbitt led the Jackets to the 2009 ACC title and three bowl games as starting QB.
Nesbitt’s 2,806 rushing yards remains the most ever by a Tech quarterback and rank seventh overall by a Jacket. He was an all-ACC selection in 2009 and a season-ending injury cut his career short in 2010.
Nesbitt was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
Credit: Associated Press
Credit: Associated Press
Demaryius Thomas
Thomas totaled 2,135 yards for the Jackets in only three seasons and was twice an All-Pro before his death in 2021. Thomas was a three-sport star at West Laurens High School, but he redshirted in 2006. He would total 113 receptions and 13 touchdowns over the next three seasons and averaged 25.1 yards per catch in 2009.
After being named an All-American in 2009, Thomas was selected as the No. 22 overall pick in 2010 by Denver. He spent more than eight seasons with the Broncos.
Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC
Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC
About the Author
