Georgia Tech's 2007 starting quarterback isn't just leaving the Yellow Jackets, he's going to become a Bulldog and play for a Dooley.

Taylor Bennett said Monday he plans to play for Derek Dooley this fall at Louisiana Tech. Dooley's father, Vince, is the former Georgia coach and athletics director, and Louisiana Tech, like Georgia, calls its team the Bulldogs.

"It's weird," Bennett admitted. "The way I've come to rationalize it, [Derek Dooley] didn't go to Georgia. He played at Virginia. Whether I was playing for him or playing for here I was still going to play for a Georgia guy, being that [Tech quarterbacks coach Brian] Bohannon played at Georgia."

Bennett learned Friday that the NCAA had granted him a waiver allowing him to play this fall. Normally, football players have to sit out a season after transferring. Bennett said he was able to get the waiver because Georgia Tech doesn't offer the information systems security master's program he'll enroll in at Louisiana Tech.

Bennett threw for 2,136 yards as a junior, with seven touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 49.5 completion percentage. Louisiana Tech starter Zac Champion returns for his senior year after throwing for 2,221 yards, completing 57.5 percent of his passes and connecting on 13 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. The Bulldogs were 5-7; the Yellow Jackets 7-6.

"I'm not trying to be anybody's answer, any truth down there," Bennett said, but he also said he's better off competing for a job in Louisiana Tech's shotgun-oriented passing system than trying to run the offense coach Paul Johnson has brought to Georgia Tech.

Johnson agreed to release Bennett to any non-ACC school, Bennett said, and Bennett thanked Johnson for being honest about the new offense and cooperative in the transfer process.

On Thursday, Bennett hands in a project for a music class, the final assignment standing between him and a degree in international affairs. On Saturday, he heads to Ruston, La., after 4 1/2 years in Atlanta.

"I'm glad I got to come here," Bennett said. "I'm glad I got my education from Georgia Tech."