Countdown to Kickoff: No. 59
Jim Breland
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 59 days until kickoff in Boulder, today’s focus is on No. 59 Jim Breland, who started his college career at The Naval Academy before transferring to Georgia Tech where he was a vital part of the Jackets’ offensive line in 1965 and 1966 and helped the team to appearances in the Gator Bowl and Orange Bowl to end those two campaigns.
Breland who was from Atlanta chose to attend the United States Naval Academy starting in 1962 and eventually worked his way onto the field as a linebacker in 1963 for the Midshipmen as a sophomore and playing in the Cotton Bowl following that season.
After his sophomore season, Breland chose to transfer back closer to home in 1964 and continue his career at Georgia Tech. He sat out the following season due to transfer rules but quickly became a big part of Bobby Dodd’s teams in 1965 and 1966 as the starting center on the offensive line. He helped the Jackets go 7-3-1 in 1965, including a win over Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl and followed that up with a 1966 season in which he was named a First-Team All-American for the Jackets that went 9-2 and played in the Orange Bowl.
Breland was actually a consensus All-American for that 1966 season as he was named to the First Team by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Associated Press (AP), the Central Press Association, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, the United Press International and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He was also named the Southeastern Area Lineman of the Year in 1966 by the Atlanta Touchdown Club, and Dodd once called Breland the best offensive center he ever had at Georgia Tech.
Along with his accomplishments on the field, Breland was a great student in the classroom, being named an Academic All-American in 1966.
Breland was chosen in the 17th round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers but chose not to pursue a career in professional football.
Breland was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
