Georgia Tech's Jordan sees his move to quarterback as a way to help team

ATLANTA -- It might have signaled a problem at Georgia Tech last week when backup quarterback Tim Byerly was injured in practice and ruled out for an undetermined time. Much anxiety has been sidestepped, however, by the way redshirt freshman Matthew Jordan handled himself in a reserve role a week ago.

Jordan had been moved to A-back during fall camp, since he wasn't going to get a chance to play quarterback. That changed when Byerly was hurt. Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson asked Jordan to move back to quarterback and a few days later he was playing -- and performing well -- in a game.

"It's definitely totally different, but like I told coach Johnson, I'm here to do whatever the team needs. I just want to play," Jordan said. "It was exciting to get out there and get my first reps at quarterback."

Jordan entered the game in the third quarter of the Tulane game. He completed the only pass he attempted for 35-yard touchdown to TaQuon Marshall. He ran three times for a team-leading 72 yards and scored on a 65-yard run.

"He probably leads the nation in quarterback rating," Johnson said.

The chance to play was bittersweet for Jordan, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from Jackson, Ala., since it was Byerly who was most instrumental in helping Jordan get acclimated to school.

"When I first got there, Tim put me under his wing," Jordan said. "He really taught me everything I know today about the offense."

Jordan said it also helped him become a better player by spending time at A-back.

"It makes all the offense come together and click," he said. "It shows you what it really is, how it really works."

Extra motivation for Skov

This won't be the first trip to Notre Dame for B-back Patrick Skov. Skov has played Notred Dame three times while at Stanford, two times in South Bend. Stanford was winless in those three games, all by close margins, including 17-14 in 2014.

"It's a fun environment to play in," he said. "I've got a bad taste in my mouth from last year. We had a rough one there. Last year is last year. I'm in a new program and hope we walk out of there with a win."

A year ago Stanford lost when Everett Golson (now the starting quarterback at Florida State) threw a touchdown pass on fourth-and-11 from the 23 with 61 seconds remaining.

The Van Gorder issue

Earlier this week Johnson downplayed any feud with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, who spent time as head coach at Georgia Southern (where Johnson won three national championships) and was defensive coordinator at Georgia.

"I don't even know Brian VanGorder," Johnson said. "I don't think we've ever had a conversation."

The smoke trail leads to 2006 when Georgia Southern fired Mike Sewak, Johnson's successor (and current offensive line coach at Georgia Tech) and hired VanGorder. Upon his hiring, VanGorder commented that he planned to bring Southern's offense (which Johnson installed) into the 21st century. Johnson's comment: "There's a record there. Shoot for it."

"I don't know him, he doesn't know me. That was it," Johnson said. "That was it and everybody wants to make a big deal out of it."

Quick hits

Georgia Tech needs 43 rushing yards to reach the 30,000 mark under coach Paul Johnson. No team has rushed for more than the 29,957 yards accumulated by the Yellow Jackets in the seven-plus years of the Johnson Era. This week's game matches two of the winningest active coaches. Notre Dame's Brian Kelly is No. 3 with 218 wins and Johnson is No. 8 with 167.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 8:02 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech's Jordan sees his move to quarterback as a way to help team ."