A game hung in the balance, and that was not a problem for the 20-year-old who was most responsible for determining its outcome.
On the sidelines, teammates were slapping Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas on the helmet, offering encouragement as the Yellow Jackets tried to recover from a 38-35 deficit against Georgia Southern with 4:12 to play Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Thomas didn’t need much of a boost, it turned out.
“I got this,” Thomas said, according to backup quarterback Tim Byerly. “We’re good.”
Thomas proved prophetic, propelling the Jackets on a 72-yard touchdown drive in which he converted two first downs with keepers and threw the game-winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds left. It was a singular play in which he spun away from a blitzing linebacker and found A-back Deon Hill for a 13-yard score. With the game-winning drive, Tech remained undefeated at 3-0 and avoided what would have been an embarrassing home loss, particularly given that the Jackets were ahead by 25 points at halftime. It was a glimpse of what Tech has in its quarterback, a sophomore from Prattville, Ala., whose quiet confidence and playmaking ability have earned him the team’s leadership.
Thomas typically is reserved, “but if you had seen him before that game-winning drive, he was almost like a completely different person,” Byerly said.
A week after leading his first fourth-quarter comeback in his third career start, Thomas takes another step in his development. On Saturday, the Jackets play rival Virginia Tech in chaotic Lane Stadium, a true crucible to test Thomas’ cool.
Said Thomas, “It should be fun.”
The player who will lead the Jackets in their ACC opener doesn’t give emotion-laden speeches or gravitate to the spotlight. But he has earned respect with the toughness required to play his position.
“I’d much rather have a guy that leads with his actions than with his words, because talk is cheap,” said safety Jamal Golden, who grew up in Alabama playing youth football against Thomas’ teams. “Justin’s a great example of that.”
Thomas’ father, Milton, shares a secret about his son. He’s actually not quiet at all. Within the security of family, Milton said, Justin is a clown — joking, dancing and singing. His family teases him that no one would believe it if they saw him acting that way.
“He just laughs and says, ‘Oh, well,’” Milton Thomas said.
But around others, particularly elders, Thomas keeps quiet and often to himself. In his bio in the Tech media guide, Thomas wrote that his favorite place to eat on campus was “my room.” After leading the comeback against Georgia Southern, Thomas didn’t celebrate with teammates after the game. He ate with his family at the Hard Rock Cafe and then went home to Prattville to unwind.
“Family’s everything,” Thomas said.
Teammates respect his embrace of Tech’s option offense, his willingness to fight for extra yards and the playmaking dimension that his speed and quickness bring to his position. His seemingly unshakable placidity has already served the team well.
“One thing I can tell you about Justin is he’s a really calm guy,” wide receiver DeAndre Smelter said. “You never see him too high, you never see him too low. I think that’s what you need out of the quarterback position because things don’t always go great in the game. You need that guy who’s going to settle you down, and I think he does a great job of that.”
His reticence seems only to make his words take greater effect.
“If I run a route wrong, he’s not going to call me out in front of the team,” A-back Charles Perkins said in the preseason. “He’ll just come and tell me, ‘Do that (correctly) next time and I’ll hit you (with a pass).’ That’s his type of leadership.”
Game days do bring him out more.
“If he makes a big play, he’s going to come to the O-line, like, ‘Good job. Y’all keep holding your blocks, I’m going to make something happen,’” guard Shaquille Mason said. “Stuff like that. That’s what you need out of your quarterback.”
It is a style that is entirely comfortable to Thomas.
“I like myself how I am,” he said. “I don’t want to change. This is how I’ve always been, and I have no reason to change.”
At his Tuesday news conference, coach Paul Johnson gave a lengthy treatise on leadership and how players will follow teammates who will help them achieve their goals and who play with selflessness.
“I want to see, if it’s on third down-and-short, if you’re willing to put your head down and go in there when I’m bloodying myself up trying to block the guy, or if you’re going to lay down on me,” Johnson said.
There will undoubtedly be bumps along the way, but Thomas has shown himself to be the former.
“It remains to be seen,” Johnson said. “But I think he’s shown some toughness. I think right now, guys believe in him, and they’ll follow him. But you do it by example. You don’t do it by talking.”
That’s OK with Thomas.
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