Inside Slant

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October 30, 2018 at 9:46 pm.

Oliver’s performance leaves Yellow Jackets with options

Redshirt freshman quarterback Tobias Oliver stepped into the starting role last week and engineered Georgia Tech to a dominating road win against Virginia Tech.

Now the question becomes: Will Oliver remain the starting quarterback?

The same situation arose two years ago when backup Matthew Jordan took over for Justin Thomas and led the Yellow Jackets to a win at Blacksburg. But Thomas was back in the lineup and Jordan on the bench the next week.

This decision may not be so simple.

Oliver ran 40 times –he said the most carries of his life –for 226 yards and three touchdowns in the 49-28 win over Virginia Tech. The performance was similar to No. 1 quarterback TaQuon Marshall’s debut last year against Tennessee, when he rushed 44 times for 249 yards.

“TaQuon has had two weeks off,” Oliver said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he went back. He’s a senior. He’s earned it. I want TaQuon to know, you don’t need to kill yourself. If you need to come out for a couple of drives, then I’ve got him. He’s got my help.”

Oliver continues to run a simplified version of the offense. B-back Jordan Mason said the team only ran four or five basic plays –because there was no reason to do more.

“I thought he played with a lot of poise and took care of the ball and did what he needed to do,” coach Paul Johnson said. “We’re a decent team when we don’t turn the ball over and have penalties. I thought he played well.”

But well enough to keep the job? Too early to tell, but probably not.

“We’ll see if TaQuon gets healthy. He was the starter for a reason,” Johnson said. “He didn’t practice. He had one practice last week. My way of thinking is it’s not fair to the guy who practices all the time to not let him play.”

Marshall was very supportive of his understudy all night, talking him up and encouraging him on the sideline.

“TaQuon has been there, he’s seen a lot,” Oliver said. “He kept telling me to stick with it. I may not have a 60-yard run, but 10 yards, 10 yards … stick with that. TaQuon was positive the whole game.”

This season Marshall has rushed for 598 yards and nine touchdowns, giving him 1,816 yards and 27 touchdowns for his career. Oliver has rushed for 662 and 10 touchdowns in seven games this season.

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