Two Georgia Tech legends will be enshrined in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame this weekend. The late Demaryius Thomas, the All-American wide receiver who went on to earn four Pro Bowl selections, and Shawn Jones, who quarterbacked the Yellow Jackets to a share of the 1990 national championship, will be inducted at a ceremony Saturday evening in Macon.
Jones was chosen as part of the eight-member 2023 class in October. Thomas was selected to join the class in January as one of four legends to be inducted posthumously.
Coming to Tech after a standout career at Thomasville High, Jones was a four-year starter for the Jackets, the ACC rookie of the year in 1989 and a two-time All-ACC selection. He came to own numerous Tech records and and multiple ACC records. Most memorably, Jones led coach Bobby Ross’ team to the national title in 1990, winning game MVP honors in the Jackets’ 1991 Citrus Bowl win over Nebraska.
Thomas signed with Tech out of West Laurens High and became a driving force of coach Paul Johnson’s offense. In 2009, he averaged 25.1 yards per catch as the Jackets won the ACC championship and went on to be the Denver Broncos’ first-round pick. In a 10-year NFL career, he twice was named All-Pro, set numerous Broncos franchise records and played in two Super Bowls, winning one. He died in December 2021 at the age of 33.
Jones and Thomas join more than 50 inductees with a connection to Tech.
The other 10 inductees are former Atlanta Tipoff Club president Jackie Bradford, former Southwest DeKalb football coach Buck Godfrey, former Braves center fielder Andruw Jones, former Braves president Stan Kasten, former Georgia tennis player Al Parker, former Braves pitcher Ron Reed, former Georgia football coach Mark Richt, former Georgia Southern baseball coach Jack Stallings, former Georgia baseball coach Steve Webber and former Georgia Military College football coach Bert Williams.
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