Yes, the system has something to do with it.
Georgia Tech's spread-option offense does make it easier for a certain player to stand out.
Yes, he's one of the best in the country at his position. Top 10, actually.
No, we're not talking about Jonathan Dwyer.
While Dwyer remains the reigning ACC's player of the year, this season wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, known to most everyone as Bay-Bay, is making his pitch, or catch as it were, for the 2009 award.
Thomas is scorching defenses for an ACC-best 107.2 yards per game this season, which ranks 15th in the nation. His 503 receiving yards put him at No. 10. He'll get a chance to add to those totals when the No. 22 Yellow Jackets play Florida State Saturday in Tallahassee.
"I never thought I'd catch more than six balls in a game," Thomas said, who has now done so three times, most recently in a eight-reception night against Mississippi State last weekend . "It's been great."
Tech coach Paul Johnson said it wouldn't matter what offense Thomas plays in. He'd excel. But his offense does give Thomas a few advantages:
* Thomas rarely sees double-coverage because everyone on the defense has responsibilities for the option, the foundation of Tech's offense. That helps explain why he's caught 73 percent of Josh Nesbitt's completions this season (24 of 33).
* Because Tech runs the ball an average of four plays to every pass, when Johnson calls for play-action, Thomas can be sometimes found running alone downfield because the defensive back has been lulled into thinking it's another running play.
* At 6-3, 229 pounds, Thomas is bigger than most defensive backs, not to mention a few linebackers.
"If you're a great player, it's a great offense to be in," Johnson said "Can you imagine what Calvin Johnson would have done in this offense, with only one guy on him and play action? That's what Bay-Bay's done."
A play in the 42-31 win against Mississippi State illustrates all three points. Facing third and goal from the 23-yard line, Nesbitt turned to his left and faked a handoff to Dwyer. Nesbitt then rolled to his right and threw a strike toward Thomas who had started his route running toward the post before cutting back out toward the corner. He had man-to-man coverage because the safeties and linebackers were sucked in to the play-action.
The defensive back covering Thomas thought he was about to make an interception -- the ball appeared to be headed straight for his gut -- until Thomas popped his hands in and used his strength to snatch it away and walked into the end zone before the defender realized what happened. ("I thought he had it," Thomas admitted later). MSU eventually used double-coverage against him in the second half, the first time he's been double-teamed this season.
"You've got to try to stay on him tight and not go to sleep," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. "If you go to sleep, he'll score."
That play against the Bulldogs, and the many others Thomas has made, almost didn't happen, according to his former high school coach at West Laurens, John Pate.
Johnson was announced as Tech's new coach the same weekend as the 2007 high school football semifinals at the Georgia Dome. A few minutes after the news broke, Thomas, who had just completed his freshman season, said his phone lit up with calls from friends, family and others asking him what he was going to do. He immediately called Pate, who was at the Dome and shared his concerns about this new run-heavy offense that was coming to The Flats.
Pate picked him up at the dorm and he, his wife and Thomas sat down and went through the scenarios of transferring or staying. Toward the end of their conversation, Pate reminded Thomas that if he stayed and graduated, he would be set for life. An uncle of Thomas' had said the same.
Around the same time, Giff Smith, Tech's recruiting coordinator who personally recruited Thomas, sat down with him and explained that the offense wasn't what he thought it was going to be. He and Johnson showed Thomas how he would get one-on-one coverage and told him that he'd likely catch as many passes as he would have had Chan Gailey and his pro-style offense remained.
Thomas, who says there was about a 30 percent chance that he was going to leave, stuck it out through spring ball. Johnson proved prescient. Thomas caught 35 passes in Gailey's last year and 39 last season in Johnson's first.
"Now, I'd venture to say he's extremely happy," Smith said.
Thomas said the hardest part was learning to be patient. He wanted to catch more passes. Then a light went on after he caught nine balls for 230 yards against Duke last season.
"I know I'll get my chances," Thomas. "So I'll just be patient and wait and make the best of it when I do get them."
CHART
Demaryius Thomas' statistics season by season
Sesason/Rec/Yards per rec/ TDs/Longest
2009 24 536 22.3 3 65
2008 39 627 16.1 3 88
2007 35 558 15.9 4 56
About the Author
