Two of the captains elected Wednesday by the team were not surprises – guard Shaquille Mason and linebacker Quayshawn Nealy.
Both are seniors. Mason is a three-year starter and the team’s best offensive lineman. Nealy is a four-year starter and the heart of the Yellow Jackets defense. But team members also chose quarterback Justin Thomas, even though he is just a sophomore and a first-year starter He’s believed to be Tech’s first freshman or sophomore captain since 1981.
Mason voted for Thomas and Nealy. He attested to the leadership that Thomas displayed during the Jackets’ fourth-quarter comeback against Virginia Tech Saturday. It was the second game in a row that the Jackets won on their final possession of the game.
“It’s just, he wanted that load,” Mason said. “I haven’t seen that in a while. When he came in the huddle, he was looking us all in the eyes. You could see it in his eyes, like, We’re not losing.”
Thomas led the Jackets to a game-tying drive by converting a fourth-and-15 with a 19-yard completion to wide receiver DeAndre Smelter and then threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Smelter to tie the game with 2:03 to play. After cornerback D.J. White’s interception, Thomas then led a 33-yard drive in the final 1:58 that culminated in the game-winning field goal in the 27-24 victory.
Mason said that, in the huddle, “he was like, Y’all boys just hold on. We’re going to make it out. We’re going to make it out. Just put it on me. I got y’all. That says a lot.”
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