Jamal Golden tells a slightly embarrassing story, but there is a reason why. Golden played quarterback in high school, but Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson, in following his well-worn recruiting strategy, asked Golden to play defensive back once he arrived on campus. Golden said yes, turning down several scholarship offers to play quarterback somewhere else. All summer he worked hard at the basic fundamentals, foreign concepts such as backpedaling, transitioning and turning. He felt pretty OK when fall camp arrived. On the first day, Golden lined up for his first 7-on-7 drill, and wouldn’t you know it? He fell down backpedaling. “That’s how difficult it was for me,” he says with a laugh. The story serves to illustrate more than a newbie taking a hard fall. Making the transition from high school quarterback to another position is not something that comes easily or completely naturally. It takes time. In addition to learning the fundamentals, Golden had to adjust from being the person taking the hits to being the person laying down the hits. Johnson saw the potential early. Now, Golden is going into his senior season entrenched as a starting cornerback and return specialist – he was the 2012 ACC Special Teams Player of the Year, allowing him to at least have the ball in his hands some of the time. He is not the only one on his team who has made the successful transition. And that is all by design. Johnson has a specific way he recruits. He wants the best players. The best players on high school teams are generally the quarterbacks, but that does not necessarily mean they will ever play quarterback for Johnson. In his career, Johnson has transformed high school quarterbacks into receivers, A-backs, B-backs, defensive backs and even linebackers. His whole career has gone this way. When he was offensive coordinator at Hawaii, Johnson says one year all five of his skill players were former high school quarterbacks. The examples are everywhere. This year, 13 former high school quarterbacks are on the roster, including three starting defensive backs and starting linebacker Tyler Marcordes. Only four still play quarterback. “A lot of these guys want a chance to play quarterback and other schools are recruiting them as receivers and defensive backs,” Johnson said. “You go in and say, ‘Look, you can line up and play quarterback, but if it is looks you’re not going to play, then you’re still going to play receiver or DB or whatever. It’s been a pretty good set up for us in recruiting.” Take A-back Dennis Andrews. He played quarterback in high school in Tallahassee, Florida, and wanted an opportunity to stay at the position at Georgia Tech. Andrews figured he would redshirt his first season behind Tevin Washington and Vad Lee. Then he saw Justin Thomas arrive on campus in the summer of 2012. “When Justin got here, I was like, ‘There’s no way. One of us is going to be on the sideline,’” Andrews said. “It’s much better if we’re both on the field at the same time than one of us taking a back seat. That was one reason I chose to move. Now that I know the offense, I feel like I should have come here as an A-back. It just feels so natural now playing running back.” There is another reason. “I liked playing quarterback, but my dad played running back. My uncle played running back, and I always thought running back was a great position,” Andrews said. “Now when I catch the ball, when I take a pitch, I just feel like I should have been doing this.” This past February, Georgia Tech signed four quarterbacks. A.J. Gray, the Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Georgia, will play safety. “If you ask his coach, he was the best player on the team and they played him at quarterback because they needed him,” Johnson said. “If we sign three quarterbacks in a class, kids aren’t dumb. They go through practice and they say, ‘This guy’s better than me, and that guy’s better than me and we’re in the same class. Coach, can I go play safety or can I go play receiver or A-back?’” Because in the end, players want to get on the field. Take last year’s team. Synjyn Days arrived as a quarterback. He ended up rushing for 924 yards and nine touchdowns last season while starting the final seven games at B-back. David Sims, the starting A-back in 2013, led the team with 884 yards that season. “I just think Coach Johnson does a good job of knowing what fits players,” Golden said. “When he brings you in, he’ll give you a shot at what you want to play if he thinks it’s reasonable. If that’s working out for you, he’ll leave you there, but if it’s not working out for you, he puts you in position to get on the field as quick as you can. That’s a good job by Coach Johnson. He’s been doing it since I got here and for the players that came in after me. I feel that’s what he’s really good at.” Earlier this month, Johnson walked off the practice field with redshirt freshman Matthew Jordan, the No. 3 quarterback behind Thomas and Tim Byerly. Johnson turned to him and said, “Matthew, you’re one of the better athletes on the team.” “Absolutely, Coach,” Jordan replied. “Where do you want me? A-back? Receiver?” “I said, ‘You still need to be the third quarterback, but you can do that and play receiver,’ and he was excited about it,” Johnson said. “We’ll see in the fall when he gets back out there, but we’ve done that through the years. “That’s just the nature of what we do.”
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