QB Reggie Ball will spilt the snaps with Damarius Bilbo Tuesday. (AP)
NCF Sun, Dec 19, 2004
Tech using bowl game as QB experiment?
Andrew Folkes
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach Chan Gailey doesn?t seem very interested in winning Tuesday?s Champ Sports Bowl.
Jackets starting quarterback Reggie Ball will split time under center with sophomore Damarius Bilbo who, at best, is an untested and unproven pivot.
?It?s not a move, it?s not a complete move. It?s options,? Bilbo told the Gwinnett Daily Post. ?The same as running back. We use Chris Woods. We use Rashaun (Grant). We use Ace (Eziemefe). We use P.J. Daniels. At quarterback we use myself and Reggie. That?s how it is.?
Bilbo has spent the past two seasons at wide receiver, but began his football career as a quarterback. He enjoyed success as the pivot for Mississippi High School?s wide open offense, earning Player of the Year honors as a senior.
However, accuracy became a big problem for Bilbo when he reached the college ranks. After a lackluster 2002 season, he was intercepted four times in a 30-21 loss to Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Classic, which prompted Tech to move him to wideout in the spring of 2003.
Ball did a stellar job replacing Bilbo, winning the ACC?s Rookie of the Year Award that year. However, the Stone Mountain native has had a rough sophomore season, averaging just 194 passing yards per game. He completed less than 48 percent of his passes and notched a miserable 14-to-17 TD-to interception ratio. As a result, Gailey has said he?ll reopen the position to competition in 2005.
Despite Ball?s struggles, a bowl game seems a strange time to be experimenting with a quarterback tandem, especially considering the lack of in-game experience Bilbo has had under center this year.
Between Weeks 1 and 13, Bilbo attempted two passes, neither of which were completed. He split time with Ball in the Tech?s final regular-season game against Georgia, but connected on just 3-of-13 tosses for a grand total of 29 yards. The Yellow Jackets were defeated 19-13, but covered the number as 15-point dogs.
Despite the questionable move, Gailey told the Augusta Chronicle that he isn?t using the game to gauge his quarterbacks for next season and has every intention of leaving Orlando with a bowl game victory.
?The plans right now are to do what it takes to win this ball game,? Gailey said. ?What happens this week won't have any bearing on what happens eight months from now.?
Oddsmakers are favoring the Yellow Jackets by 4 ?. The total?s set at 44.
NCF Sun, Dec 19, 2004
Tech using bowl game as QB experiment?
Andrew Folkes
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach Chan Gailey doesn?t seem very interested in winning Tuesday?s Champ Sports Bowl.
Jackets starting quarterback Reggie Ball will split time under center with sophomore Damarius Bilbo who, at best, is an untested and unproven pivot.
?It?s not a move, it?s not a complete move. It?s options,? Bilbo told the Gwinnett Daily Post. ?The same as running back. We use Chris Woods. We use Rashaun (Grant). We use Ace (Eziemefe). We use P.J. Daniels. At quarterback we use myself and Reggie. That?s how it is.?
Bilbo has spent the past two seasons at wide receiver, but began his football career as a quarterback. He enjoyed success as the pivot for Mississippi High School?s wide open offense, earning Player of the Year honors as a senior.
However, accuracy became a big problem for Bilbo when he reached the college ranks. After a lackluster 2002 season, he was intercepted four times in a 30-21 loss to Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Classic, which prompted Tech to move him to wideout in the spring of 2003.
Ball did a stellar job replacing Bilbo, winning the ACC?s Rookie of the Year Award that year. However, the Stone Mountain native has had a rough sophomore season, averaging just 194 passing yards per game. He completed less than 48 percent of his passes and notched a miserable 14-to-17 TD-to interception ratio. As a result, Gailey has said he?ll reopen the position to competition in 2005.
Despite Ball?s struggles, a bowl game seems a strange time to be experimenting with a quarterback tandem, especially considering the lack of in-game experience Bilbo has had under center this year.
Between Weeks 1 and 13, Bilbo attempted two passes, neither of which were completed. He split time with Ball in the Tech?s final regular-season game against Georgia, but connected on just 3-of-13 tosses for a grand total of 29 yards. The Yellow Jackets were defeated 19-13, but covered the number as 15-point dogs.
Despite the questionable move, Gailey told the Augusta Chronicle that he isn?t using the game to gauge his quarterbacks for next season and has every intention of leaving Orlando with a bowl game victory.
?The plans right now are to do what it takes to win this ball game,? Gailey said. ?What happens this week won't have any bearing on what happens eight months from now.?
Oddsmakers are favoring the Yellow Jackets by 4 ?. The total?s set at 44.
