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Will Georgia Tech see separation in the QB battle after tomorrow's scrimmage?

Originally posted on FanNation All Yellow Jackets
By Jackson Caudell | Last updated 8/11/23

The second week of fall camp for Georgia Tech will conclude tomorrow and it is an important day because the Yellow Jackets are set for a scrimmage.

With three weeks to go until Georgia Tech takes the field against Louisville, there is still an important decision to be made when it comes to the most important position on the field. Zach Pyron, Haynes King, and Zach Gibson have been competing since the spring to see who is going to lead the offense this fall, and a standout performance tomorrow could be a huge difference.

It won't be long until fall camp is over and GT must start preparing and devoting their attention to getting ready to face Louisville. While the battle itself might not be decided in tomorrow's scrimmage, it would be huge for the team if one of the players starts to separate themselves.

Even if one of the quarterbacks has a great performance tomorrow, don't expect any of the coaches to say much about it. Head coach Brent Key has been adamant since the start of camp that a decision is not coming anytime soon:

"With the quarterback situation, we have a great battle between three guys that have college experience, college game experience, big-time game experience. We are as fortunate as any team in the country in terms of the depth we have at that position and right now it is a lot of installation and a lot of routes on air, those kinds of things, getting timing down.

Like I have said before, it is different when you have the helmets on and the cleats as opposed in the summer and doing 7-on-7's. Every day is an evaluation of those guys, how they do in team periods, how they do off the field, how they transition from one play to the other. We have a good thing to have right now and that is experience and that is probably the same answer that I am going to give for the next three weeks. Don't plan on an announcement coming anytime soon"

Key is scheduled to speak to the media after tomorrow's scrimmage and I would expect a similar answer.

Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has echoed that sentiment:

"First of all, he has to be the toughest guy in the building. In this day and age with the media and everything else, you have a lot to handle. Tough, a great leader... the beautiful thing about Coach (Chris) Weinke and I, we see it the same way. We did not know each other seven months ago and then we talked about quarterbacks and it was spot on, so we are aligned as far as that goes.

As far as the race, we are going to have all three guys getting reps, all three are getting an opportunity to play and whoever come out on top, you guys will know when we know or maybe even the first play of the game, but we are in no hurry to announce it, that is for sure."

Both Faulkner and Key have made it clear that each quarterback is in the race and they are all embracing the competition as a group. King spoke about how the competition is driving each of them and making the group better as a whole:

"It is great. All of us, we are tight, closely bonded. All of the locker room, I feel like we can talk to anybody and have a conversation with anybody and that bond between all of us is really smooth. We are really close and that makes it better and just having a good QB room is going to upgrade and that competition level is just going to be out the roof and it makes everyone better, competition makes everybody better because you know you are going to get the best from them and they are going to get the best from you and then it just raises everybody else around you, with the receivers, with the tight ends, the running backs and heck even the defense because nobody wants to lose and we are trying to start that mentality here where we hate losing and that is the deal. So I feel like everything is improving in that direction"

Key has been working to instill competitiveness and a winning mentality in this program and each quarterback has embraced that. An example of that can be seen in Gibson. A lot of the focus has been on King and Pyron for the starting job and Gibson knows he is being counted out, but he is using that to give him an edge:

"It is definitely the driving force. I mean, I hear the narrative, it is hard not to hear it because my dad sends me something every two days. But it has driven me to work this offseason.

I am just trying to put last year in the past. It is what it is and I am just trying to focus on what is next and what is ahead and obviously I had some bad moments, some really bad moments and some really good moments but that's just with anything. The season is a long season, it's 12 games and all three quarterbacks are going to have an opportunity to play this year at some point"

Tomorrow has a chance to be a huge turning point for any of the quarterbacks, but it will be about more than just stats. Key, Faulkner, and quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke have stressed that the guy who does the little things right will give them the best chance to win the job. Pyron talked about this last week when asked what he needs to do to win the job:

"It's pushing us. You know, Coach (Chris) Weinke says the team goes as the quarterback goes and that room, we know that only one quarterback can play, so we all push each other to be better because we want this team to be the best it can be and only one quarterback can play, so we want the best quarterback out there so we are pushing each other and every day it is making me come out on top and come ready to practice and everything and you know just keep doing the small things.

It is the little things in the quarterback room, knowing how to operate the offense, how to conduct it, weed it, and master the offense is everything to be a better quarterback and that is what I have to do, knowing how to operate the offense and put everybody in the right place, make the throws when I need to make the throws and know what I am doing every play."

For one of the least talked about quarterback battles around the country, tomorrow is going to be a huge day. For Pyron, King, or Gibson, a huge opportunity awaits.

This article first appeared on FanNation All Yellow Jackets and was syndicated with permission.

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