Joshua Nesbitt to be inducted into ACC Legends Class
By Phillip B. Hubbard
On Sept. 27, the inductees for the 2018 Atlantic Coastal Conference Legends Class were announced. Bobby Bowden, Ed Reed and Steve Spurrier were among the names announced, but Joshua Nesbitt, a former Greene County football player was also announced as part of the group.
“It’s a huge honor for me to be inducted,” Nesbitt said. “Not only to be recognized by my peers, but also by the school and the ACC. This induction leaves my name with some great players and I’m very honored.”
Nesbitt currently serves as the Greene County Tigers’ quarterbacks coach. He said that coaching has been quite an experience.
“I love coaching,” Nesbitt said. “I look forward to it every day. Just having the opportunity to share my knowledge with a high school quarterback is special. I love it.”
This season is Nesbitt’s first official return to the Tigers football program since graduating from Greene County High School in 2007.
He played for the Greene County Tigers from 2003 to 2007 under head coach Larry Milligan. Though Nesbitt started every game in his freshman season, Milligan and his coaching staff didn’t see Nesbitt take a huge step in his progression until his second season as quarterback.
“It was during his sophomore year is when he stepped up and shined on all things he could do,” Milligan said. “[He] demonstrated that he was one of those leaders that are quiet and he leads by example.”
And, during his high school career, Nesbitt developed quite a resume.
Nesbitt was a two-time first-team all-state selection and the Class AA Offensive Player of the Year during his junior year. Also during his junior year, Nesbitt passed for 2,833 yards with 31 touchdowns and rushed for 1,252 yards with 22 touchdowns. As a senior, he passed for 2,256 yards with 32 touchdowns and rushed for 493 yards and eight touchdowns.
“In the few years you get to coach, you only get to coach a few special athletes, and Josh has been one elite player I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to coach,” Milligan said.
Now, 11 years later, Nesbitt is being recognized for his collegiate success, which was as successful as his high school career.
Nesbitt played for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 2007 to 2010. He became the starter in 2008 and remained the starter until Nov. 4, 2010, when he broke his arm against Virginia Tech.
“The reason why I ended up going to Georgia Tech because I wanted to prove that I could be a quarterback,” Nesbitt said.
Though Nesbitt was recruited by Chan Gailey, Tech made a coaching change going into Nesbitt’s sophomore year. Tech hired head coach Paul Johnson and Johnson said that it didn’t take him long to see that Nesbitt would be a special player.
“Josh was always a hard worker,” Johnson said. “I noticed that about him early on and I’m glad I got to coach him. I’m also proud of his induction.”
During his collegiate career, Nesbitt broke multiple records, both for the ACC and at Georgia Tech. He tallied 2,806 yards rushing, the most career rushing yards for a quarterback in the ACC and at Tech. In 2009 alone, he rushed for 1,037 yards, which is the most rushing yards in a season for a Tech quarterback.
He also threw for 1,701 yards in the same season. He accounted for 65 total touchdowns while starting as a quarterback, too.
As far as accolades are concerned, Nesbitt collected quite a few. He was voted first-team All-ACC in 2009, 2010 preseason first-team All-ACC and 2010 preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Nesbitt’s record as a starter was 23–11.
A few featured wins were when the Yellow Jackets defeated Florida State in 2008, which ended Bowden’s undefeated record against Tech. Then, they defeated then-№4 Virginia Tech in 2009, which was Georgia Tech’s first win against a top-five team at Bobby Dodd Stadium in the previous 18 attempts. Then, Nesbitt led the Yellow Jackets to end a seven-game losing streak to Georgia after defeating the Bulldogs 45–42 in 2008. Finally, in 2009, Nesbitt led Tech to the ACC Championship, where the Yellow Jackets defeated Clemson, 39–34. (The win was later vacated due to NCAA violations)
Nesbitt experienced a lot of success while heading up Johnson’s offense, but he still couldn’t pinpoint one particular experience as his favorite.
“My favorite experience at Georgia Tech was just going out there and playing football,” he said. “Just being able to play with the teammates I had was great.”
One of those teammates was Jaybo Shaw. Shaw was Nesbitt’s backup quarterback during the 2008 season. Shaw noticed a lot about Nesbitt during their one season together.
“Josh had a will to win,” Shaw said. “He had a ‘never give in’ mentality. It was a special experience for me to watch his drive, preparation and will to win.”
That will to win led Nesbitt to be inducted into ACC Legends Class on Nov. 30 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The induction ceremony will take place at the Charlotte Convention Center and the class will be recognized during the ACC Championship on Dec. 1.
Though Nesbitt has acknowledged this induction as an honor, his goal was never to be inducted into the ACC Legends Class. His goal, however, was a lot simpler.
“I just wanted people to know who I was and where I came from,” Nesbitt said.
And with this prestigious induction, Nesbitt will accomplish his goal.
This story was published in The Herald Journal on Dec. 2, 2018
