Countdown to Kickoff: No. 10

Shawn Jones

The countdown to kickoff is officially on as Georgia Tech‘s season-opening matchup at Colorado on Aug. 29 is less than 100 days away.

Until then JOL will be counting it down with one Jackets’ player daily that wore the corresponding number of days remaining until toe meets leather in Boulder.

With it now 10 days until kickoff in Boulder, today’s focus is on No. 10 Shawn Jones, who was a four-year starter at quarterback on The Flats from 1989-1992 and helped lead the Jackets to a share of the 1990 national championship.

Jones began his football journey in Thomasville, Georgia where he grew up and eventually was a multi-year starting quarterback for the tradition-rich Thomasville Bulldogs in the 1980s. After a career in which he helped Thomasville win 29 games in three years and a senior season in which he threw for 1,369 yards and 11 touchdowns and ran for another 677 yards and three touchdowns, Jones decided to continue his football career by signing with Georgia Tech over several other offers in the recruiting class of 1988.

Following a redshirt year in 1988, Jones earned the starting job under center for the Jackets for the 1989 season and played well enough to be named the ACC Rookie of the Year while leading the team to a 7-4 season and setting the table for what proved to be a special 1990 campaign. He threw for 1,748 yards and 12 touchdowns in 1989 to go with 330 yards and three TDs on the ground.

Jones remained steady as the leader at quarterback during the 11-0-1 national championship season in 1990, throwing for 2,008 yards on 142-of-245 attempts with 13 touchdowns and rushing for 277 yards and six touchdowns. He was named Citrus Bowl MVP after a 45-21 win over Nebraska to finish off the unbeaten season as he accounted for three touchdowns in victory.

Jones finished off his final two seasons at Tech with a 1991 season in which he threw or 2,288 yards and 11 touchdowns and ran for 361 yards and seven touchdowns and a 1992 season in which he threw for 2,397 yards and 15 touchdowns and ran for three touchdowns. He was a part of 31 wins during his four years as the starting QB on The Flats.

Jones is still second all-time in career passing yards at Georgia Tech with 8,441, trailing only Joe Hamilton. He is third all-time in program history in passing touchdowns (51), second in touchdowns responsible for (70), third in total offensive yards (9,296) and has two of the top seven single-season passing yardage totals in program history.

After college Jones briefly played for the Minnesota Vikings, appearing in one game as a safety in 1993. He later played quarterback, mostly as a backup, for the Birmingham Stallions in 1994 and 1995 in the Canadian Football League and was a part of the Stallions claiming the Grey Cup (CFL championship) in 1995 as the only American expansion team to ever win it.

Jones was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, the Thomasville-Thomas County Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.

Honorable Mention

–Synjyn Days (QB, A-Back and B-Back from 2010-2014; Started his college career as a QB before to running back for his final two seasons; Ran for 1,396 yards and seven touchdowns in his career; Best season came in 2014 when he ran or 924 yards on 157 carries (5.9 yard average) and nine touchdowns as well as having one TD reception when he was named All-ACC Honorable Mention; Had his career high in rushing yards with 171, rushing touchdowns with three and longest career rush of 69 in Tech’s 2014 Orange Bowl win over Mississippi State)