Georgia Tech receiver Demaryius Thomas does not get to sit around all during practice, sip a glass of iced tea, and wonder what life in a passing offense would be like.

Correy Earls actually has to put in his time, too. Same with Andrew Smith and Zach Fisher.

In other words, yes, the Georgia Tech wide receivers have plenty to do during preseason practices. And come Aug. 28, they'll have plenty to do in games, too.

"Oh, we're going to throw more than people think," quarterback Josh Nesbitt said after the team's first practice last week."

When pressed what that meant: "Eight or 10 times a game," he guessed.

Not exactly Texas Tech's offense, but how well Thomas, Earls and the rest of the receiving corps pick up the offense and learn their roles and how well they block, run with the ball and catch it over the middle will have a big impact on the success of Paul Johnson's inaugural season.

On Thursday's first play of 11-on-11s, Nesbitt handed the ball off for a 22-yard gain — not to an A-Back or a B-Back, but to Thomas, on an end-around reverse.

"Yeah, we don't usually do that play, but we worked it in," Thomas said, grinning ear to ear.

Thomas, a 6-3, 230-pound sophomore, clearly is the class of the receiver group and is the only sure starter. Earls, a sophomore, and Tyler Melton, a freshman, were competing for starting jobs, but neither has practiced the past couple of days with nagging injuries.

That void has created an opportunity for two players who didn't necessarily expect to contribute a lot early. Freshman Zach Fisher and sophomore Kevin Cone got a lot of reps with the No. 1 and No. 2 offense. Thomas said both can flourish.

"It's a little frustrating that we've got some guys out, but Kevin is a going to be a good one, and I've been trying to teach Zach some things. I think they both can contribute this year."

Thomas said his first inclination was to just accept this offense and make the best out of it. After studying it and watching film, he has become genuinely excited about it.

"I was going to listen, then go along with whatever the coach said and just do my best," he said. "But then I started seeing how often receivers scored when the touched the ball. In this offense, we can get open. We'll have a lot of man-to-man coverage and watching the films, those guys scored a lot when they got the ball."

But as you'd expect, in an offense that is built around a quarterback running or handing off, or pitching the ball, blocking is something every receiver is having to work on. Initial blocks on the corners, for an A-Back or B-Back can make the difference in a play that's a bust or a big gainer.

"I have to come out with intensity and work on my blocking if I expect to play a lot," Cone said. "If you can't block, you can't play, simple as that."

Thomas echoed the sentiment.

"I've got to keep working on routes, but also blocking. Kevin and Zach, they've got to work on blocking. That's what we spend a lot of our time in practice doing."

Receiver coach Al "Buzz" Preston is delighted when he hears his guys talking about hitting someone.

"There are a lot of misconceptions about this offense," he said. "It's a physical, tough offense, and if we have 11 guys playing that way, doing the dirty work, supporting the other guys, we can be successful."

Johnson and Preston both said they look forward to seeing Earls and Melton back on the field.

"We've seen some good things from the ones who have worked hard and are out there," Johnson said. "We need Greg [Smith, an A-Back] and Corey and Tyler to be healthy. It's important."