Josh Nesbitt sits out Monday practice

Coming in for the starting quarterback and leading the team to victory has its own rewards, Georgia Tech backup quarterback Jaybo Shaw can attest.

“I walk into class, I can tell people look at me and (think), ‘Hey, that was No. 11 out there,’ ” Shaw said. “It’s a little bit different, but I try not to let that stuff get to me.”

With starter Josh Nesbitt having sat out Monday’s practice with a strained hamstring, Shaw is one day closer to being the starter for Tech’s game against Duke Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

After having no game Saturday, the Jackets (3-1 overall, 1-1 ACC) began in earnest to prepare for the Blue Devils (3-1, 1-0) Monday.

“I’m just playing it by ear,” Shaw said. “If Josh is ready to go, then Josh is the man.”

Nesbitt sustained the injury in the Sept. 20 win over Mississippi State and has not practiced yet. Coach Paul Johnson said Nesbitt is “day to day.”

Said Johnson, “We probably won’t know until the end of the week.”

On top of being recognized in class, Shaw said he’s been getting eight or nine Facebook friend requests daily from students at Tech and Shaw’s alma mater, Flowery Branch High School.

“It’s crazy,” Shaw said.

Johnson and quarterbacks coach Brian Bohannon are ensuring that the Facebook requests are not going to his head. Shaw had initially wanted to catch a replay of Tech’s 38-7 win over Mississippi State, but then watched the game film with Johnson and Bohannon.

After the film review, “All I could see was the bad stuff I was doing,” Shaw said with a laugh. “I didn’t even watch [the replay]. I was just glad to come out of there with a win.”

Voss, Smith, Earls return

Offensive linemen A.J. Smith and Dan Voss and wide receiver Correy Earls returned to practice Monday. Voss is returning from a shoulder injury, Smith from a dislocated elbow and Earls with a hamstring injury.

Voss hurt his shoulder against Mississippi State. Earls has been out since August. Smith played in the opener against Jacksonville State, but the next week came down with a 103 degree fever and was diagnosed with tonsillitis, an illness that caused him to lose 20 pounds.

He missed the Boston College game and then the next week injured the same elbow he dislocated last year.

“I tell you what — I kind of got a string of bad luck,” said Smith, a senior.

Voss is the only starter of the three.

Linebacker Brad Jefferson, who has been out with a dislocated wrist, practiced on a limited basis. Cornerback Martin Frierson, wide receiver Andrew Smith and Nesbitt all did not practice.

Factoids

Over the past seven seasons, Johnson’s teams are 20-8 when they have more than seven days to prepare. … Georgia Tech is outscoring opponents 38-3 in the first quarter and has not allowed a first-quarter touchdown since Oct. 20 of last year, a run of nine games. … If Shaw starts, he will be Tech’s first true freshman to start at quarterback since Reggie Ball in 2003. Prior to that, the last true freshman starting quarterback was Mike Kelley in 1978.