This is the third in a weeklong series of articles that looks at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s choices for the top 10 Georgia Tech football players in each decade since the 1950s. A panel of AJC voters selected our top 10 players per decade. We hope you’ll enjoy seeing our choices and reading about the players as much as we enjoyed the work to present them to you. Today: the 1970s.
Don Bessilieu
A defensive back who also scored 37 points as a kicker in 1975, Bessilieu was named an All-American in 1978. The Columbus product played in the 1978 East-West Shrine game and the 1979 Senior Bowl. He’s a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame and played seven seasons in the NFL. Bessilieu played in the 1984 Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Raiders.
Smylie Gebhart
Gebhart starred for Tech in the early years of the decade and led the Jackets to appearances in the 1970 Sun Bowl and 1971 Peach Bowl. Gebhart, who played in the 1972 Hula Bowl all-star game, was an All-American in 1971 and twice was named all-Southern Independent.
Also a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (he was a native of Meridian), Gebhart made 217 career tackles at defensive end for the Jackets and is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Gebhart also had a short career as a coach at Tech and Mississippi State.
Credit: Handout ph
Credit: Handout ph
Joe Harris
A Fayetteville, North Carolina native, Harris was one of the first Black football players to suit up for Tech. He made 415 career tackles from his linebacker position, including 188 in 1974. Harris made 19 tackles in a 1973 game against Tennessee.
A member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, Harris would play for the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV, part of a professional career that included stints with the Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Colts of the NFL, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and Washington Federals of the USFL.
Drew Hill
A wide receiver and native of Newnan, Hill was an all-purpose offensive weapon for the Jackets during the mid-1970s. In 1978 he caught 36 passes for 708 yards and scored four times while also leading the NCAA in kick return average at 30. Hill returned 98 kickoffs for 2,357 yards and took two kickoffs to the house.
He had a long NFL career playing for the Falcons, Los Angeles Rams and Houston Oilers. He made two Pro Bowls.
Kent Hill
Hill was a first-round draft pick in 1979 after a Tech career that landed him in the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. The offensive tackle was an honorable-mention All-American and helped lead Tech to the 1978 Peach Bowl.
In nine seasons in the NFL after that, Hill was named to five Pro Bowls during his career with the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Oilers.
The Americus native returned to Tech for 10 years to serve as the director of Student-Athlete Development.
Eddie Lee Ivery
Best known for rushing for 356 yards on 26 carries at the Air Force Academy in 1978, Ivery is a Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Famer who also holds the Tech record for rushing yards in a season in 1978 with 1,562. Ivery ran for 3,517 yards from 1975-78, ranking third in Tech history. Ivery was an All-American in 1978 and finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting that season.
Ivery, who graduated from Thomson High, played eight seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Eddie McAshan
In 1969, McAshan became the first Black football player at Tech to receive a scholarship, and he made his debut at quarterback in 1970. On Sept. 12 of that year he became the first Black player to start for the Jackets and led Tech to a comeback victory over South Carolina.
McAshen threw five touchdown passes in a game against Rice and finished his career with 4,080 passing yards and 32 touchdown passes.
The Gainesville, Florida native is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Randy Rhino
Rhino was a three-time All-American defensive back and punt returner. He came to Tech from Charlotte, North Carolina, and led the nation in punt return average (17.6) in 1972. His 96-yard return against South Carolina that season was a school record (he also made eight interceptions on defense).
Also a career .368 hitter for the Tech baseball team, Rhino would go on to win a Grey Cup in the CFL. He’s in the College Football Hall of Fame, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame, National Football Foundation Hall of Fame and Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Jimmy Robinson
A New York native who played high school ball at Ridgeview in Atlanta, Robinson was a wide receiver who made 101 career receptions for 1,633 yards and 13 touchdowns. He later played five seasons in the NFL and scored the first touchdown at Giants Stadium.
Robinson would become an assistant coach, first in college, and then in the NFL for more than two dozen years. He is a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Lucius Sanford
A Milledgeville native and the current executive director of the Letterwinner Association, Sanford was an All-American at linebacker. He made 433 career tackles, a number kickstarted by a 14-stop performance against Notre Dame in 1974.
Sanford, a 1978 Senior Bowl participant, played nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills and one more with the Cleveland Browns. He is a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Credit: Courtesy of Georgia Tech
Credit: Courtesy of Georgia Tech
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