Hot or not — and it was quite warm as Georgia Tech began practicing for its first season under football coach Paul Johnson — Josh Nesbitt appeared cool as a cucumber Wednesday afternoon. He even laughed.

That was different.

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The sophomore widely presumed to be the Yellow Jackets' starting quarterback wasn't buoyant last season in the shadow of departed starter Taylor Bennett.

Shy. Withdrawn. Soft-spoken. He was parts of each.

It was too early for a coming-out party Wednesday. Yet he acquitted himself well on the field, and like a veteran off of it.

That might be a window into his psyche, possibly a big part of his potential move into the Jackets' No. 1 chair.

"We'd like to see Josh come out and take the job," Johnson said. "I think athletically he fits what you're looking for, but he's still got to do it."

It might seem a small part of the process, but Nesbitt's mind-set can work for or against him as he continues learning an offense unlike what he was in last year, and high school in Greensboro.

Last year, he seemed suspicious of questions, perhaps uncomfortable with expectations.

So it was interesting when the questions came after Wednesday's practice:

Will he miss passing the ball like he did in high school? "No."

You did pass quite a bit in high school, right? "I threw like 35 or 45 times a game."

That probably won't happen in this offense, eh?

"No. I doubt that."

Then came a genuine laugh, Nesbitt mindfully playing off the media's tendency to overblow the fact that coach Johnson has shown a strong preference for running the ball as a head coach.

And he continued, "It just depends on what kind of defense we face. No, I just want to be on the field."

Nesbitt can run. He rushed for 339 yards on 53 carries last season, a team-high average of 6.4 yards per pop.

So he completed a mere 5 of 13 passes for 93 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Bear in mind the package prepared for him by former coach Chan Gailey and offensive coordinator John Bond was limited.

"I keep telling everybody, in the perfect world ... Josh Nesbitt would be a redshirt freshman," Johnson said. "He played a few snaps last year where they snapped him the ball [directly] and he ran. It doesn't matter what system you're playing, he's got to learn to play quarterback. He's had eight practices. I think he's doing remarkably well."

Nesbitt was slowed by a groin pull in the spring, when he had issues with ball security. He has worked with teammates since spring practice on pitches, which begs a question: does he have more to learn mentally or physically in re-training himself and his muscle memories? "It's more mental," he said.

There is a significant physical component, too.

This is a young quarterback who has taken scant few snaps under center.

"We were in the shotgun probably 95 percent of the time, maybe more [in high school]," Nesbitt said. "It's harder [under center] because you're not used to it and sometimes you'll be standing too high. It just takes practice."

And practice is under way.