AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 16
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Assessing the Ball era
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Reggie Ball sets a Georgia Tech record on Saturday when he starts his 47th career game. It’s also his last game at Bobby Dodd Stadium. I bet Ball also has set a school record for most criticism absorbed (by a player, of course, not by a coach; a dozen years later people still moan and groan about Bill Lewis).
A Division I-A quarterback job is not for the thin-skinned, but I wonder what it’s like to hear what Ball has heard and read what Ball has read for four seasons. This guy has been chased and hit as much as any player who ever put on a Tech uniform. He has won 28 games. I don’t think it’s a reach to guess that he has given pretty much everything he has. He hasn’t had the extra couple of inches of height that would have let him see some of those open receivers so easy to spot from the stands and the press box, and he hasn’t had the accuracy to hit many of the open receivers he did see, and he didn’t used to have the experience and judgment to avoid throwing interceptions when his intended receiver was covered. But he has had plenty of determination and will, and he has put them on display every time he takes the field.
It will be interesting to see how much further they carry him and this Georgia Tech football team.
