Tech's star juniors talk about NFL

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

MIAMI -- Derrick Morgan and Demaryius Thomas said Georgia Tech's 24-14 loss to Iowa in the Orange Bowl won't factor into the decisions whether to leave for the NFL. Jonathan Dwyer said he wasn't sure if it would make up his mind.

"I hate losing," Dwyer said. "It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don't know if I'll ever get it out. It may influence me to come back. We'll see."

Underclassmen have until Jan. 15 to declare.

"Look at the whole scheme of things, we still had a successful year," Morgan said. "This is a little bit of a damper to end things."

According to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper, Morgan would be the No. 1 defensive end selected. He lists Dwyer as the No. 4 junior running back and Thomas as the No. 4 junior wide receiver.

Scouts, Inc. lists Dwyer as No. 30 overall and the third-best running back, and Thomas as No. 50 overall and and the fifth-best wide receiver.

It was the last bowl game for several Tech seniors, including starting outside linebacker Sedric Griffin, starting tackle Brad Sellers, and starting guard Cord Howard.

Thousand-yard duo

Quarterback Josh Nesbitt got his nine yards rushing early on to give Georgia Tech the first set of 1,000-yard rushers in school history.

Dwyer finished with 1,395 yards and Nesbitt with 1,037. They are the only Tech duo to combine for 2,000 yards in one season and they've done it back-to-back years.

It was also the first time an ACC school produced an 1,000-yard tandem since North Carolina's Leon Johnson and Curtis Johnson did it in 1993.

With four yards, Nesbitt also passed William Bell (1989-93) and moved into the top 10 among the school's career rushersi.

Nesbitt entered the game with 991 rushing yards and passing 1,689 yards. He had scored 28 touchdowns.

He trailed Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler by 40 yards for the most ground yards by an ACC quarterback in a season.

Nesbitt needed six points to set Tech's single-season scoring record (114), set by Robert Lavette in 1982.

Where's the offense?

Tech was shut out in the second quarter for just the eighth time in 55 quarters this season, including the overtime period against Wake Forest. The 32 yards of offense was the fewest in a first half in at least 20 years.

New uniforms

Tech wore new uniforms for the Orange Bowl that were designed by Russell, the school's official supplier.

The white jerseys featured blue numbers and letters with three stripes on the sleeves to symbolize the triple-option aspect of Tech's spread-option offense.

They also included a blue swatch along the sides.

Weather

Temperatures throughout the week were in the 60s, unseasonably cool for Miami this time of the year, but warmer than the rest of the country, which was dealing with a record cold temperatures.

At kickoff, temperature was 48 degrees. It was the coldest Orange Bowl ever, breaking the record of 57 degrees set last year. It was 4 degrees in Iowa at kickoff and 28 in Atlanta.

Monken's swan song

Jeff Monken coached his last game as a member of Tech's staff. He accepted the head coaching position with Georgia Southern last month, but stayed with the Yellow Jackets through the postseason.

He has been a member of Johnson's staffs since 1997, when he coached the A-backs at Georgia Southern. He followed Johnson to Navy in 2002 and then to Tech in 2008, where he was special teams coordinator and A-backs coach this season.

Rubber match

The ACC and Big Ten were each 3-3 in bowl games this season, with Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin winning for the Big Ten, and Clemson, Florida State and Virginia Tech winning for the ACC.

Ticket sales

Tech sold approximately 11,000 of its 17,500-ticket allotment, while Iowa sold 16,500. Nevertheless, Hawkeyes fans owned the parking lot outside Land Shark Stadium with black-and-gold evident all around the complex.

History

Tech has now played in the Orange Bowl six times. It's history in previous games:

1967 Florida 27, Georgia Tech 12

1952 Georgia Tech 17, Baylor 14

1948 Georgia Tech 20, Kansas 14

1945 Tulsa 26, Georgia Tech 12

1942 Georgia Tech 21, Missouri 7

Overall, Tech was 22-15 in bowl games before Tuesday's contest.

Officials

The officials for the game were an SEC crew, led by referee Steve Shaw.