Countdown to Kickoff: No. 40

Eddie Lee Ivery

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 40 days until kickoff in Boulder, today’s focus is on No. 40 Eddie Lee Ivery, who came to The Flats in the mid-1970s and ran his way into the history books as one of the best running backs ever at Georgia Tech, still holding NCAA and Jackets’ records to this day.

Ivery chose Georgia Tech for his college destination after a stellar career on the high school level at Thomson High (Ga.) and gradually worked his way into the rotation at running back for the Jackets, playing in 11 games as a freshman and rushing for 301 yards and one touchdown in 1975.

The 6-foot, 210-pound rusher saw his role increase the following season as he ran for 754 yards on 146 carries with six touchdowns, and in 1977 he had similar success with 900 yards on 153 carries with three touchdowns along with one receiving touchdown.

All that over his first three years at Tech set the table for what proved to be an incredible and record-breaking senior campaign in 1978 as he exploded for 1,562 yards on 267 carries with nine touchdowns as he led all of NCAA Division-I Independents. He also had 20 catches for 238 yards and one touchdown en route to finishing eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting that season as well as being named a Second-Team All-American by both the AP and UPI.

Ivery’s 1,562 yards is still the top mark for a single season in Georgia Tech history, and he also holds the NCAA record for highest single-game rushing total with 356 yards against Air Force in November of 1978 as well as single-game highest average per rush in that same game with 13.7 yards per attempt. He is third in Jackets’ history in career rushing yards with 3,517, fourth in career all-purpose yards with 4,324 and tied for 10th in career touchdowns with 22.

After his time on The Flats were complete, Ivery was selected by the Green Bay Packers 15th overall in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft and went on to play eight seasons there before injuries forced him to retire after the 1986 season. In all for his pro career, he played in 72 games with 50 starts and racked up 2,933 rushing yards on 667 attempts, 23 rushing touchdowns, 1,612 receiving yards on 162 receptions and seven receiving touchdowns. He won the George Halas Award in 1983 voted on by the Pro Football Writers of American (PFWA) which is given to a player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed.

Ivery was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. He returned to Tech to complete his degree in 1992 and has also with the McDuffie County Board of Education and as a coach at his alma mater Thomson High. Ivery returned to Georgia Tech in 2000 to serve as strength coach for Jackets Athletics, primarily working with the football team.

Honorable Mention

–Julian Burnett (Linebacker from Westside High in Macon who played at GT from 2009-2011, recorded 250 career tackles with 128 solo, 14 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception and three passes defended)

–Paul (PJ) Davis (Linebacker from Cairo High who played at GT from 2013-2016, 2014 All-ACC Honorable Mention by the ACSMA, recorded 272 career tackles with 166 solo, 17 tackles-for-loss, six sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception and one defensive touchdown)