Tech’s Joshua Nesbitt: The most valuable collegiate player?
It takes at least four Hokies to handle Joshua Nesbitt. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Ankle surgery having precluded his participation in spring practice, Joshua Nesbitt had the chance to study Georgia Tech from the sideline. And what he saw, he said, was a team just as talented as last season’s ACC champs. Which is, not to put too fine a point on it, a big ol’ fib.
Because the Jackets with Nesbitt on the sideline aren’t one-tenth as impressive as Tech is when he’s on the field. He’s not quite the best player in college football, but no one means more to a program than this quarterback does to his.
Paul Johnson’s stylized option-based spread starts with Nesbitt, and often it ends there. He has to make every read, every pitch, every throw. He also has to take 30 hits a game, and therein lies the issue. With backup Jaybo Shaw having transferred to Georgia Southern, Tech can’t afford to lose Nesbitt for a single snap. But even a man as conspicuously robust as this — he appears bigger than his listed 217 pounds — is going to feel some pain.
The good news: Nesbitt said last week he feels better than he has “since high school.” The bad: Every Tech opponent won’t be so concerned with defending the option this season as with simply smacking Nesbitt.
But here’s the thing: Nesbitt is capable of smacking back. He has a linebacker’s approach to playing quarterback. If you come hard at him, he’ll come harder at you. Apologies in advance for again using the I-word — “indomitable” — but with Nesbitt no other adjective is half as applicable.
Said Nesbitt, speaking of Tech: “We understand what it means to fight until the clock says zero.”
Much of this comes from Pugnacious Paul, the head coach. Nearly as much emanates from the quarterback he inherited on arrival, a young man after PJ’s fighting heart.
And these Jackets, picked to finish third in the ACC Coastal Division, figure to need all the orneriness they can muster. They lost four gifted juniors to the NFL, and their road schedule — trips to Kansas, North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Georgia — is a fright. Or it would be, were Nesbitt the sort to get nettled.
“People are looking for us not to be the same team,” Nesbitt said. “We know we’ve got a bull’s eye on us. … We need to prove everybody wrong.”
Someone asked if Johnson imparts that very message to his players. “Only every time we talk,” Nesbitt said, and then he laughed.
Another source of some amusement: The two letters at the shank of his first name. He was born Joshua Leonard Nesbitt, but for 21 years he answered to Josh. He and his mother decided to ask Tech to list his name as Joshua for his senior season: “More businesslike,” he said.
Which isn’t to say everyone has gotten the memo. Heck, sometimes his mom even slips and forgets the “u” and the “a.” “It doesn’t faze me,” said Nesbitt, who isn’t easily fazed.
And what does Tech’s coach call his quarterback? “He can call me whatever he likes.”
We know Johnson has the utmost faith in his offense — he should; he designed the thing — but even a man as proud as PJ will acknowledge that an option cannot run itself. Somebody has to take the ball from center and send it the right way and absorb those hits, and there’s nobody on Tech’s campus who can do it the way Nesbitt does.
Still, the cult of Joshua hasn’t yet found national traction. We saw it again this week when the assembled ACC media voted him sixth in its preseason player-of-the-year balloting. Yeah, that’s part of being an option quarterback in 21st century football, but still … sixth!
Maybe his low standing had something to do with Nesbitt skipping the ACC’s media days in Greensboro. Both Tech and conference officials implored him to come, but he was adamant. He had to attend a family reunion in Miami. (And no, it wasn’t an agent-funded soiree.)
And there’s just another reason to like Joshua Nesbitt. In an age where hype knows no restraints — hello, LeBron James — the most valuable Jacket had better things to do than talk about himself. Talk about a throwback.
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555 comments Add your comment
P City
July 28th, 2010
2:38 pm
When you’re 2-5 in Bowl games, you might need to learn how to throw a little better than #119 in the country to get some offensive balance, instead of getting blown out. Pathetic.
supersize that order, mutt
July 28th, 2010
2:38 pm
Well, there are an awful lot of lies and damn lies posted on this blog, and all of them could be resolved by just a little bit of research into statistics. Some people, however, are happy posting what they want to believe, even if it’s not true, thinking in their puny little minds, that everybody else is stupid enough to believe it. Take P City, for instance.
kevin
July 28th, 2010
2:40 pm
Ed,
In 2009 UGA out-rushed GT 339 to 205. Who are you calling an idiot?
POAD
July 28th, 2010
2:40 pm
If every play were perfectly executed would it be a Score or a No Gain on the Play?
I really don’t think the Dawgs FORGOT how to Tackle in the second half. Maybe CPJ and Nesbitt made the right call and got the ball to the right player going against the right player.
r
July 28th, 2010
2:41 pm
what happen to all the dawg fans that wanted the Tech people “off ” their blogs? why are you here?
GIVE ME A BREAK
July 28th, 2010
2:41 pm
Joshua is the “MAN.” There’s not a single dawg in Athens that can handle him one on one. GO JACKETS !!!! THWG.
OSCAR
July 28th, 2010
2:41 pm
Josh B’Gosh!!!!!
supersize that order, mutt
July 28th, 2010
2:42 pm
P City, the only team to blow us out last year was Miami. Iowa was probably the best team we faced, but even then Tech was still in it until the last 4 minutes. It might come as a suprise to you too, P City, to know that Tech once had a 7-0 streak in bowl game wins in consecutive years, and of those 7, 6 were major bowls. Of course, that’s past history, and it doesn’t mean anything to day. But UGAG has never had a streak like that, at least not that many majors in a row.
Gburdell
July 28th, 2010
2:42 pm
Kevin..”1952 don’t really count by most college football fans/ experts.” Actually check out this website # 16th best team ….where is UGA on this chart and how many times?
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/varsity-numbers/2010/top-100-college-football-teams-last-100-years-part-v
P City
July 28th, 2010
2:43 pm
Perhaps Mr. Bradley had a typo and meant to type ‘LEAST valuable player for Nesbitt?
After all, Ga Tech last season was ranked:
#119 in pass completion accuracy
#116 in passing yards per game
#106 in passing td’s
#119 in pass completions per game
Certainly, Ga Tech’s QB could be called the WORST in the nation with those kind of dismal stats.
George Stein
July 28th, 2010
2:43 pm
It’s kind of a joke, Jay Dawg. But I wonder why your name is JayDawg. Very original.
P city – it’s not about completion percentage. It’s about yards per attempt and passing efficiency.
JayDawg
July 28th, 2010
2:44 pm
r… you r an idiot
William Casey
July 28th, 2010
2:45 pm
SABAN’S comments on what constitutes a “real fan” are well reasoned. He would continue to be a real UGA fan even if he moved to Mongolia. One doesn’t have to be a UGA grad to be a real fan. That being said, UGA has a lot of “fans,” people who have pulled for the Dawgs for 20 years whom I call “flukes of geography fans.” Were they to move to Los Angeles, they would be Southern Cal “fans” within a year. For them, it’s all about fitting in with the crowd at the local hang-out.
SnakeNation
July 28th, 2010
2:47 pm
The greatest thing about the so called bulldog nation is the fact they all SUCK. Thank you for your continued support.
P City
July 28th, 2010
2:47 pm
When you’re at the bottom of the nearly every passing category, I’d say Nesbitt is easily the LEAST VALUABLE player to any team.
JayDawg
July 28th, 2010
2:47 pm
Yeah you are a joke George that’s for sure we all knew that. Jay is my name so yeah I use my name and not one of someone I don’t even know like you.
StankDawg
July 28th, 2010
2:47 pm
JayDawg – as head idiot, you would know.
supersize that order, mutt
July 28th, 2010
2:48 pm
Great link, Gburdell. Isn’t it interesting to note that the team (Michigan State) to whom the AP GAVE their NC, even though they only played 9 games and no bowl game, is not even mentioned there. I also found it interesting that the 1962 Bama team was ranked 8th, and Tech beat them 7-6 that year.
Scott W.
July 28th, 2010
2:49 pm
This is a Mark Bradley post and therefore is not GT nor UGA affiliated.
kevin
July 28th, 2010
2:49 pm
GBurdell,
Nice link. Point taken.
George Stein
July 28th, 2010
2:49 pm
Yeah, you’re right, P City. Since we agree with you, would you please leave?
StankDawg
July 28th, 2010
2:51 pm
William Casey is “point on”.
Stephen
July 28th, 2010
2:51 pm
MB, thanks for the article.
Am I the only one who thought this article was kind of a backhanded compliment to Tech? “This one guy… whose health and performance will make the difference between a two-loss and a six-loss season… and whose departure next season will undoubtedly wreck the program… is really really really important in intangible ways.”
That’s gotta be a little disconcerting if you’re a GT fan.
And enough about the intangibles. How about some stats? Was he even the most valuable QB (he didn’t qualify for ESPN’s passer rating stats because he didn’t have enough passing attempts)? How was he rushing compared to other QBs? “Performing a lot in a complicated system” cannot be the sole criteria.
This article also kinda sidestepped the usual debates about MVP that come up in the baseball voting. Is it “player whose absence would most screw their team” or “player who does the most on a team that is competing for championships”? I, and the article, always agreed with the former. But would we be reading the same article if Nesbitt had a halfway decent backup (something that he has no control over)? Probably not.
A cool next article would be “FUBAR: Who’s JN’s backup and what happens if JN is hurt?”
… that is, if you’re done writing “Mrs. Mark Bradley Nesbitt” with little hearts and flowers all over your Geometry notebook.
(jk about the last part, dug the article).
Herschel Talker
July 28th, 2010
2:52 pm
HedgeHumper:
“Headiin to Shreveport!”
You lost to the team heading to Shreveport. Who’s worse: the team in Shreveport or the team that lost to the team in Shreveport?
HT
Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired
July 28th, 2010
2:52 pm
The UGA fans have nothing else to get excited about except for trying to hate on Tech since UGA is not showing up in any of the preseason college football team rankings higher than 25th…..now….those are some powerhouse rankings……NOT!!!!!
Mark PRicht
July 28th, 2010
2:52 pm
c’mon you guys, you know if Nesbitt had went to UGA he could have been someboby by now….somebody with a record both on and off the field….thwg
CATERDAWG
July 28th, 2010
2:52 pm
Nesbitt is a joke and TECH still sucks!!! 30-24HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Mark PRicht
July 28th, 2010
2:54 pm
p city….you are the most valuable idiot
POAD
July 28th, 2010
2:55 pm
A past friend was that Dawg you speak of. In High School he was a BAMA fan. He got married and his wife’s parents were Tech Grads so he became a Tech fan. After the Divorce he became a Dawg fan. Brian K K if you are reading this who are you a fan of now? How is Jake?
Bruce
July 28th, 2010
2:57 pm
Anyone know where Mark Bradley graduated from–it wasn’t Ga Tech, was it? Not Jeff Schultz too, is that possible? No way!
JayDawg
July 28th, 2010
2:57 pm
P city don’t pick on George he can’t take the heat he’ll pee his pants and go to the corner and want you to go away
HugoStiglitz
July 28th, 2010
3:00 pm
Hey P City,
GT was 1st in the nation in yards per attempt and 12th in QB rating. Sounds good huh? Manipulating statistics for my own enjoyment is fun.
CPJ Disciple
July 28th, 2010
3:00 pm
Mich St. wasn’t allowed to compete in any post season games in 1952. Know your history. But as a Tech fan, I’ll take the title anyways.
POAD
July 28th, 2010
3:00 pm
Jay P Dawg City Now that really sounds like a UGA players name. At least you can spell it and it is not some fake african type name.
HedgeHumper
July 28th, 2010
3:00 pm
Herschel 5 personalities – What’s better. Being ranked at the end of the season or not ranked. Now take your argument to the year before, You know 45-42. Smoke on that. And YOU’RE FIRED!
wxwax
July 28th, 2010
3:01 pm
I sure do admire the way Nesbitt goes about his business.
Recruited by Chan Gailey and no doubt dreaming about a pro career, Nesbitt has embraced an offense that guarantees he won’t be drafted as a QB. He probably won’t be drafted at all. He absorbs an amazing amount of punishment every game. He’s not held in particularly high esteem by his own conference and despite winning the ACC Championship he’s anonymous nationally.
Not exactly what he signed up for. Yet he’s a bulldog of a player, tenacious and tough.
You have to admire that kind of strength of character. My hat’s off to you, Joshua Nesbitt.
dawgcrzy
July 28th, 2010
3:02 pm
Oh my god, another NERD blog with 3 pages. Very slow day at the paper
ArkyTech
July 28th, 2010
3:03 pm
P City, Tech was 2nd in the ACC and 12th in the nation in passing effeciency. It’s not that we CAN’T pass, it’s that we don’t pass. And usually don’t need to pass.
P City
July 28th, 2010
3:03 pm
I guess, since Bradley think Nesbitt is “MVP’, finishing nearly last in so many passing categories
Bradley must think Willie Martinez was Coach of the Year last year.
Makes sense to me.
Scott W.
July 28th, 2010
3:05 pm
Why would you take that one CPJ Disciple? 1917 is the only one you don’t share.
POAD
July 28th, 2010
3:05 pm
wxwax Hines Ward played a few different positions and made it to the pros. I think Nesbitt can make it to the NFL. He is a PLAYER no matter what.
JayDawg
July 28th, 2010
3:06 pm
Hey hedgehumper the 45-42 doesn’t bother us since we beat you last remember 24-30 and since your talking about scores from 2 years ago how about 38-3 you know it… LSU 38 GT 3. Really 3 points that’s all you could get at least make it a close game this year in your bowl game
ArkyTech
July 28th, 2010
3:06 pm
Seriously, the Mutts had 339 rushing yards and 76 passing yards against Tech, yet they are lecturing about balance? REALLY?
Eaasssy
July 28th, 2010
3:07 pm
Has he won a bowl game yet? Didn’t think so.
JayDawg
July 28th, 2010
3:09 pm
POAD… Is that your world of war craft name or your zelda xbox 360 on line name
supersize that order, mutt
July 28th, 2010
3:10 pm
CPJ Disciple, why wasn’t Mich State allowed to go to a bowl game in 1952? If they were on some kind of probabtion, or if they didn’t win the Big10 outright, then why should they even have been considered for NC?
supersize that order, mutt
July 28th, 2010
3:13 pm
Gburdell, did you read all the way through that list of the best 100 college football teams in the past 100 years. Did you notice that Tech is in there 3 times, at number 16 (1952), number 50 (1956), and number 66 (1955). Did you also notice that UGAG is not listed there at all, including 1980 and 1981.
supersize that order, mutt
July 28th, 2010
3:14 pm
by the way, if any of you missed that link and are interested, it’s
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/varsity-numbers/2010/top-100-college-football-teams-last-100-years-part-v
JayDawg
July 28th, 2010
3:15 pm
Its ok we all know you play games like that you don’t have to lie POAD… What a douche bag name
JacketFan86
July 28th, 2010
3:18 pm
GREAT read mark! Nesbitt is the HEART and SOUL of the team! He is PJ on the field. and he knows the ins and outs of the offense. HE knows what reads to make and when, precisely. I wonder how PJ would rank Nesbitt among his QBs hes had all time. Man if nesbitt doesnt scream “warrior” “indomitable” and all the above….great stuff! love that all the UGAGers are SCARED or they wouldnt be here. WHAT HAS MURRAY Done??? oh yeah thats right NOTHING!! just yall wait he will slip up…and im thinking itll be game 2!! GO JACKETS!! THWG!!!! bring on the pigskin