This is the fourth 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 1980s.
Willis Crockett
Crockett starred at linebacker for the Yellow Jackets and was an all-ACC selection in 1988. But as a freshman he started at safety, made 47 tackles, picked off two passes (returning one for a touchdown) and was named a freshman All-American.
A Coffee County High graduate, Crockett was part of a 1988 defense that allowed only 138.9 passing yards per game. He made 67 tackles and six sacks that season. Crockett was a fifth-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys and played 13 career games in the NFL.
John Davis
Nicknamed, “The Refrigerator Mover,” Davis began his Tech career in 1983 as a guard. He was named a freshman All-American and the following season earned his moniker for his blocking performance against Clemson’s William “The Refrigerator” Perry. Davis was named an All-American in 1985 and 1986 and is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
A football and basketball star at Gilmer County High, Davis was drafted by the Houston Oilers and spent two seasons there before playing six for the Buffalo Bills.
John Dewberry
As many familiar with the Tech-Georgia rivalry already know, Dewberry began his career at UGA. But the quarterback spent only one season with the Bulldogs before enrolling at Tech.
A standout quarterback at Milton High, Dewberry became the Jackets’ starter midway through the 1983 season and led Tech to a 6-4-1 1984 campaign – the biggest win that year was a 35-18 triumph over Georgia in Athens in which Tech players took home pieces of the Sanford Stadium hedges as souvenirs.
Dewberry threw for 4,193 yards and 22 touchdowns (to go with 630 rushing yards and nine TDs on the ground).
Credit: W.A. Bridges
Credit: W.A. Bridges
Riccardo Ingram
Ingram excelled in baseball in his professional life, but began by making a name for himself on the football field at Tech.
A defensive back, Ingram had 79 tackles in 1986 en route to becoming all-ACC. The ensuing spring he hit .426 with 17 home runs and was the ACC player of the year in baseball. Ingram also was given the ACC’s McKelvin Award for the league’s top male athlete.
Ingram, a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, was a minor league baseball coach for almost 20 years.
Robert Lavette
Tech’s all-time leading rusher with 4,066 yards, Lavette starred at running back for the Jackets from 1981-84. Lavette also holds the Tech record for career rushing attempts (914), career all-purpose yards (5,393) and career rushing touchdowns (45) and is one of four Jackets to catch at least 14 passes in a single game. In his first game at Tech, Lavette played a key role in the Jacket’s upset victory at No. 4 Alabama, which was Tech’s only victory that season.
Lavette, a Cartersville native, had 18 100-yard rushing games. He played four seasons in the NFL and is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame.
Credit: AJC file photos
Credit: AJC file photos
Jerry Mays
The all-time leading rusher at Thomson High, Mays became the 1985 ACC rookie of the year after hardly being recruited as a high school senior. He would go on to rush for 3,699 yards for Tech (second most all-time) and for 1,349 yards as a senior when he was named all-ACC.
Mays, who also had two 200-yard rushing games (one against Georgia in a 1989 victory) and 115 career receptions, is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Credit: AJC file photos
Credit: AJC file photos
Cleve Pounds
Part of Tech’s famous Black Watch defenses in the mid-1980s, Pounds made 19 tackles in a game against Auburn in 1984 and 19 tackles in a game against North Carolina State in 1984. He finished the ‘84 campaign with 114 stops.
The defensive back and punt returner was all-ACC in 1985 and was drafted by the New York Giants in 1986.
Ted Roof
Roof started three seasons at linebacker at Tech and was a freshman all-American in 1982. He made 25 tackles against Tennessee in 1985 and helped lead the Jackets to a 9-2-1 record that season and win over Michigan State in the All-American Bowl. Roof was an all-ACC selection in ‘85.
Following his playing career, Roof has been a long-time college coach, including Tech’s defensive coordinator from 1999-2003 and 2013-17.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Pat Swilling
Swilling is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and a former All-American linebacker at Tech. He had a record seven sacks in a 1985 game against North Carolina State and recorded 15 sacks in the ‘85 season. Swilling made 285 career tackles and 23 career sacks.
From Toccoa, Swilling was a third-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 1986 and would go on to play 12 NFL seasons, make five Pro Bowls and be named the 1991 NFL defensive player of the year. He also is a member of the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame, Georgia High School Hall of Fame and Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
Ken Whisenhunt
Whisenhunt played tight end and quarterback for the Jackets and will be inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
An all-ACC selection in 1984, Whisenhunt came off the bench in 1980 as a backup quarterback to salvage a 3-3 tie against undefeated and No. 1-ranked Notre Dame. His career after that as a tight end included 82 catches and 1,264 receiving yards.
An Augusta native, he was drafted by the Falcons and spent eight seasons in the NFL as a player before becoming a coach and winning Super Bowl XL with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006 as an assistant.
Credit: Bill Mahan
Credit: Bill Mahan
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