After spending spring practice in a gold (non-contact) jersey, Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas will be afforded no such protection when the Yellow Jackets begin full-pads practice Wednesday.
It goes against the grain for college football, which is nothing new for coach Paul Johnson. Typically, teams keep quarterbacks in non-contact jerseys to try to ensure their health for games; Thomas did it even in high school. In the spring, Johnson made the highly unusual (for him) decision to put Thomas in gold to help him make it through the practices unscathed.
Such is the value that Johnson places on his All-ACC quarterback, who has been named to four different preseason watch lists and is critical to the Jackets’ pursuit of an ACC championship.
“I know he’s tough,” Johnson said then. “I watched him play 14 games.”
However, when the pads come on, Johnson will revert to standard procedure and make Thomas fair game.
“Now, we’ll have to hit him a little bit,” Johnson said Tuesday, following the fourth practice of camp. “I don’t want him to go into the first game without being hit.”
While the practice runs counter to convention, Johnson has had his starting quarterback in the season opener miss games twice in seven seasons at Tech, both Joshua Nesbitt. One was due to a non-contact injury and the other when he broke his arm making a tackle after an interception.
The contact will have its limits. Once the offense begins practicing against a scout team in preparation for the Jackets’ first opponent – Alcorn State on Sept. 3 – coaches will manage the contact level.
“He’s going to have to take some contact before we play, but we’re going to try to be smart and not knock him around a lot,” Johnson said.
Monday, Thomas said he had no idea what the coaches’ plans were.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s up to the coach.”
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