Georgia Tech Errin Joe would like the world to know: He is not a knucklehead.
Joe, whose unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with 57 seconds to play in the Yellow Jackets’ 23-21 loss to Virginia Tech last Thursday was a critical mistake, said Monday he was trying to defend quarterback Justin Thomas.
“The guy was reaching for the ball, so I’m thinking it’s live,” Joe said. “I’m playing to the echo of the whistle, so I’m making sure, of course, that he’s not getting messed with and I’m seeing the ball’s getting pulled out, so that’s the first thing I’m doing.”
On the play, a second-and-5 from the Hokies 39-yard line, with Tech likely needing a few more yards to get into range for a game-winning field-goal try, Thomas ran for no gain. As the whistle blew, Thomas was on his back when Hokies rover back Chuck Clark, astride Thomas, yanked the ball out of his grasp. Thomas had already been the target of a late hit earlier in the drive.
Joe shoved Clark as he made an attempt to go after the ball after it fell to the ground, prompting penalty flags from two separate officials.
“I really thought it was on the other guy, to be honest, because he was on top of Justin and trying to get the ball while he was down,” Joe said.
Tech was penalized 15 yards and a loss of down. Rather than facing a third-and-5 from the Hokies 39-yard line with 57 seconds remaining and needing perhaps four more yards to get into kicker Harrison Butker’s range, the Jackets instead had a third-and-20 from their own 46. Thomas was sacked on third down and then threw incomplete on fourth-and-27, effectively ending the game.
Joe insisted it was not a case of him losing his cool.
“If it was something with me being a knucklehead, I could definitely understand, but that’s not the way I roll,” he said.
Coach Paul Johnson called Joe’s reaction disappointing but said it wasn’t the reason the Jackets lost.
“I think on his behalf, he was trying to defend the quarterback,” Johnson said. “What is on the (coaches) film is (Thomas) is laying on the ground with people on top of him pawing at the ball, punching the ball and him laying on his back, and I think he just overreacted to it. He was trying to protect the guy and used poor judgement.”
It was consistent with the way that the Jackets’ season has transpired.
“It seems like whatever we have to do to derail something, we manage to do, whether it’s a penalty or fumble the ball or whatever,” Johnson said. “Last year, we weren’t doing those things.”
It hasn’t been the ideal senior season for Joe, who has been a part of an underperforming line and has been moved from right tackle to guard. Joe isn’t complaining. He still intends to seek an additional year of eligibility as he missed a year as a redshirt and then another due to injury.
“We know that the outcome’s not what we wanted it to be, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than with these guys right here,” Joe said.
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