Countdown to Kickoff: No. 18

Billy Lothridge

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 18 days until kickoff in Boulder, today’s focus is on the legendary No. 18 Billy Lothridge, who was one of the greats at quarterback for Tech, finishing as a Heisman runner-up in 1963 while playing for the legend Bobby Dodd.

Lothridge came to Georgia Tech after a stellar high school career at Gainesville (Ga.) where was an All-State quarterback selection and was synonymous with another Jackets’ great, Billy Martin, as the close friends decided to remain teammates on the college level.

Lothridge earned his way onto the field as the Jackets’ starting quarterback as a sophomore in 1961 and proceeded to hold the job through his senior season in 1963. He steadily increased his passing totals each season, going from 371 yards in 1961 to 1,006 in 1962 and eventually 1,017 in 1963. He had 10 touchdown passes in his final season to push his career total to 18.

Lothridge also used his legs a good bit while playing QB for Tech, as he was described by teammate Martin in a feature article for the Gainesville Times several years ago as “playing the position with a linebacker mentality.” He ran for 746 yards in total over his three seasons on 298 attempts with 15 touchdowns.

Lothridge also used his talents on special teams from time to time and averaged 40.8 yards per punt during his 1963 senior season in which he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Navy quarterback Roger Staubach. Lothridge finished eighth in the voting the previous season.

Other accolades during his college career included Lothridge being named a First-Team All-American and the SEC Back of the Year in 1963 and two-time First-Team All-SEC in 1962 and 1963.

Lothridge went on to be drafted in the NFL and AFL Drafts in 1964 as he went in the sixth round to the Dallas Cowboys and in the 12th round to the Oakland Raiders, respectively. He chose to sign with the Cowboys but only spent one season there as he was traded in 1965 to the Baltimore Colts, then released and signed with the Los Angeles Rams.

Lothridge came back closer to home following the 1965 season as he signed as one of the original players for the Atlanta Falcons. He played with the Falcons from 1966-1971, spending most of his time at punter but also seeing some reps at safety. He played his final NFL season with the Miami Dolphins in 1972 and was a part of the team’s perfect 14-0 season and Super Bowl Championship.

Over nine total seasons in the NFL, Lothridge played in 104 games (including his seven starts at safety in 1968) and punted 532 times for 21,792 yards (41 yards per attempt). He also completed four passes in his 12 attempts and recorded three interceptions and two fumble recoveries while playing defense.

Lothridge was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1969, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame in 2023. He passed away in 1996 due to heart problems.

Honorable Mention

–Kim King (Quarterback from 1965-1967; threw for 2,763 yards and 14 TDs in his career; ran for 506 yards and 7 TDs; was the GT football color commentator alongside Al Ciraldo and eventually Wes Durham from 1974 to the early 2000s; he passed away after his battle with Leukemia in 2004)