Shaw impressive for Tech in first start

Making his first start, freshman quarterback Jaybo Shaw was nervous.

How nervous?

“Well,” said coach Paul Johson, “I’m sure you couldn’t have driven a straight pin up his tail with a sledgehammer.”

Shaw didn’t deny he was nervous after the game, admitting to a sleepless Friday night. In the first half, Shaw fumbled twice, losing one to stop the opening drive, and struggled running the offense.

Tech finished the half leading 3-0 despite gaining 215 yards.

“As a quarterback, you’ve got to be calm,” Shaw said. “Maybe my nerves were just flying around the place.”

Shaw recovered, leading the Jackets to three touchdowns in their first five possessions in the second half, including his 88-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas.

Shaw’s 230 passing yards were the most ever for a Tech quarterback in his first start.

“I’m proud of him,” Johnson said. “There’s not a lot of teams that are going to take a guy that showed up in August and go out there and have 480 yards (actually, 454) and 27 points, now. He did some good things.”

Shaw may well get a second start. Johnson said that Nesbitt, out with a hamstring strain, will probably practice next week in advance of the Gardner-Webb game but “I don’t know if we’ll play him in the next game. I want to make sure he’s healed before we bring him back.”