ATLANTA (August 13) — Georgia Tech has senior Heisman Trophy candidate Joe Hamilton (Alvin, S.C.) at quarterback for the 1999 season, but the depth of the position should be improved as the Yellow Jackets’ two freshmen signal callers, Brian Camp (Dublin, Ohio) and Andy Hall (Cheraw, S.C.), have performed well through the first three practices.
Head coach George O’Leary said that he expected to name his backup quarterback behind Hamilton as early as Monday. He will select from a group that includes sophomore George Godsey (Tampa, Fla.) and redshirt freshman Jermaine Crenshaw (Greenville, Ala.) as well as Camp and Hall
Other than Hamilton, Godsey is the only Tech quarterback with game experience. The 6-2, 209-pounder saw action in six games last fall and completed eight of 19 passes for 89 yards.
“I think Godsey has done very well,” said O’Leary. “He’s doing what he needs to do, which is not make a lot of mistakes. He’s making the throws he needs to make.”
Among the two true freshmen, the 6-0, 216-pound Camp, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio, has the edge in experience because he enrolled in school last March and participated in spring drills with the Rambling Wreck. Hall, 6-2, 190, was rated the No. 9 prospect in South Carolina by SuperPrep.
“Both freshmen quarterbacks strong arms,” said O’Leary, whose 11th-ranked Yellow Jackets open the season Sept. 4 at Navy.
“Camp was here in the spring, but Hall is really catching on for a first-time freshman,” said O’Leary. “He’s done a lot of good things. Both have strong arms, and they just have to learn the installation.”
Tech’s quarterbacks throw to a receiving corps led by junior split end Dez White (Orange Park, Fla.), a Biletnikoff Award candidate who caught more than 30 percent of Tech’s pass completions last fall as he set a school record with 973 yards receiving on 46 catches, nine of them for touchdowns.
After White, the position is talented but inexperienced. The players expected to carry the rest of the loadredshirt freshman Kerry Watkins, sophomore Kelly Campbell (Atlanta, Ga.) and juniors Jon Muyres (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Brett Basquin (LaBelle, Fla.)have just 13 career receptions between them.
“What I see us doing is hanging on to balls that are near, which is the key to being a good receiver,” said O’Leary. “Not every pass is going to be perfect, but they’re making some tough catches. They’re following the flight of the ball and showing good concentration.
“It’s hard to judge without contact, but I think they’re doing the right things and running the right routes.”
