The gates opened on Georgia Tech’s three-way quarterback derby Monday, when the Yellow Jackets began spring practice on a clear afternoon. In reality, the competition between starter Tevin Washington and backups Synjyn Days and Vad Lee to be the starting quarterback in the 2012 season began weeks earlier.
“You could feel it even when we were just throwing, not even at practice, but in the offseason,” Days said, referring to unsupervised workouts for quarterbacks, A-backs and wide receivers.
Washington returns as the starter of Tech’s past 17 games with a 9-8 record, a capable player with exceptional leadership qualities. Days backed him last season as a redshirt freshman, flashing his powerful running style but also his habit of surrendering the ball. Lee so mesmerized coaches in the preseason with his passing arm and capacity to soak up the offense that he practiced with the first- and second-string offenses during the season and wasn’t relegated to the scout team.
Perhaps the coach with the easiest job this spring is quarterbacks and B-backs coach Brian Bohannon, who has players jockeying for playing time at both positions.
“It’s the best thing you’ve got as a coach if you have competition,” he said.
Washington, Days and Lee start the spring in that order, the same rank that they held through last season.
“Obviously, right now, Tevin’s the starter, and there’s a lot of competition with Vad and Synjyn for that next spot,” Bohannon said. “I just want to see some guys compete and see somebody step up, kind of take hold of the thing.”
With Washington having accumulated a significant bank of practice and game snaps, Days and Lee will receive a larger share of practice reps this spring, particularly in scrimmage situations. For Days, improving ball security will be a priority. For Lee, it’s increasing his familiarity with coach Paul Johnson’s spread-option offense. Lee studies the game well, but now will have to apply his knowledge.
“They’ve all got things they’ve got to get better at, every single one of them,” Johnson said.
Wide receiver Darren Waller calls Washington “a run-pass kind of guy” and a leader. He deems Days as probably the most athletic of the three. With his experience in a spread offense in high school, Lee “is a real good thrower,” Waller said.
The quarterbacks, along with early enrollee Dennis Andrews, will be evaluated daily by Bohannon and Johnson. Changes won’t be made overnight, but if one quarterback continually outperforms another, he’ll receive a promotion.
“It’s about performance on the field, whether it’s making reads, taking care of the ball, completing passes,” Bohannon said. “Just playing the position.”
Days has anticipated this moment. He increased his maximum bench press to 365 pounds, 20 pounds shy of the quarterback record held by Joshua Nesbitt, an improvement of about 30 pounds from a year ago. He did that despite a wrist injury, since healed, that he suffered while lifting. In addition, he participated in the passing sessions and watched game video on his own.
“I’m just trying to work real hard on everything,” he said.
He could say the same of his competitors.
“You can just see the intensity in everybody’s eyes when they’re dropping back” to pass, Days said. “I think sometimes last year, maybe people would go through things nonchalant. But people are really concentrating this offseason and going through every little detail.”
Days made it a point to clarify that the three quarterbacks get along well and take time to coach each other.
“There’s no hatred or animosity,” he said. “There’s none of that.”
No animosity, just a cauldron that figures to bubble into preseason practice and perhaps into the season.
“You’d better maximize your opportunities and be productive when you get out there,” Johnson said.
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