Matthew Jordan makes most of his chance at Georgia Tech

ATLANTA -- It could 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 preseason practice, since he wasn’t going to get a chance to play quarterback. That changed when Byerly was hurt. Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson asked Jordan to move back to quarterback, and a few days later was played -- and performed 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 a 35-yard touchdown to TaQuon Marshall. Jordan 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, Alabama, since it was Byerly who was most instrumental in helping Jordan get acclimated to the program.

“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 Notre Dame three times while at Stanford, two times in South Bend, Indiana. 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 1:01 remaining.

THE VANGORDER ISSUE

Earlier this week, Johnson downplayed any feud with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, who spent time as the head coach at Georgia Southern (where Johnson won two national championships) and was also 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 being hired, VanGorder commented that he planned to bring Georgia Southern’s offense (which Johnson installed) into the 21st century.

“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.”

ETC.

Georgia Tech needs 43 rushing yards to reach the 30,000 mark under Johnson. No team has rushed for more than the 29,957 yards accumulated by the Yellow Jackets in the seven-plus seasons of the Johnson era. ... This week’s game matches two of the winningest active coaches in the nation. 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 2:08 PM with the headline "Matthew Jordan makes most of his chance at Georgia Tech ."