Akron quarterback Zach Gibson transferring to Georgia Tech

Needing depth at quarterback, Georgia Tech received a commitment from a transfer who has demonstrated accuracy and sound decision-making. Akron quarterback Zach Gibson, who threw 157 passes this season without an interception, announced his commitment to Tech on Saturday.

Gibson is a graduate of Johns Creek High and the older brother of Tyler Gibson, an offensive lineman who signed with the Yellow Jackets in December. He started 14 games for the Zips across three seasons and has proved himself as a proficient passer.

Gibson had received interest from several power-conference schools, including LSU, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Indiana and Arizona State. Tech’s strong interest from the time he entered the transfer portal and the opportunities it offered to play close to home, be teammates with his brother and earn a degree from a prestigious institution were too much.

“Everything just kind of fell into place,” Gibson said in a phone call Saturday with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It checked all the boxes.”

Tech direly needs experience and depth at the position. Coach Geoff Collins lost the three scholarship quarterbacks behind starter Jeff Sims after the season, as Jordan Yates and Chayden Peery went into the transfer portal and Trad Beatty decided to make this season his last. Gibson, 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds, will join Sims and signee Zach Pyron among scholarship players. Gibson has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

“I know what I’m walking into,” Gibson said. “Jeff, he’s a great player, he’s a great quarterback and he’s done really good things there at Tech. I think he’s going to continue to do great things at Tech. But the coaches, they told me when they were recruiting me, you’re coming in to compete, and we’ve got to get better in the quarterback room.”

The prospect of playing with his brother was enticing. Gibson said that when he was being recruited out of Johns Creek at a level lower than he believed he deserved, he and Tyler had conversations about how, wherever he went, “I’m going to go crazy, and then I’m going to hit the portal and we’re going to go to school together. It’s funny; it actually worked out just like that.”

At Akron, Gibson started two games in 2019 in his first season and then all six games in 2020. In 2021, Gibson began the season as a backup and then was elevated through injuries into the starting lineup. He started the final six Akron games and completed 109 of 157 passes (69.4%) for 1,262 yards, with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions. In FBS, no quarterback threw more passes than Gibson with no interceptions, or even one interception.

Gibson acknowledged that “there was a couple turnover-worthy plays” that did not result in interceptions, but credited the offseason work he did to improve and understand the offense.

“I just felt like the game had slowed down so much for me,” he said. “I knew what I was doing before every snap. Like, every play, I knew where I was going to go with the ball. I just tried not to overthink, because our offense was West Coast and it was very complicated. I just tried not to overthink it.”

Had he thrown enough passes to qualify for ranking, Gibson would have led the MAC in completion percentage and ranked second in passing efficiency. Following the season, in which Akron finished 2-10 and coach Tom Arth was fired with three games remaining in the season, Gibson announced his decision to go into the transfer portal.

“Even though Tech hasn’t had a lot of success over the last coupe of years, I want to change that,” Gibson said. “I want to be a part of something great and just do it for the city. That was just the main thing. I feel like Atlanta’s a great city, and I want to be able to put Georgia Tech in as one of those top teams in Georgia. Like, when people think about Georgia sports, they think about Georgia Tech football.”