If Saturday's Virginia-Georgia Tech football game goes down to the wire, the last player Cavaliers fans will want to see with the ball is Jonathan Smith.
Smith, a 5'10", 189-pound senior wide receiver from Clinch County High School in Argyle, Ga., has evolved into Georgia Tech's big-play threat this season. Smith's playmaking ability is a big reason for the Ramblin' Wreck's surprising 6-4, 4-3 ACC record.
Smith has 57 receptions for 925 yards on the season, an average of 16.2 yards per catch. He has added four touchdowns, including a season-high 65-yard catch in a 24-7 October victory over Wake Forest.
Smith's success is unexpected when taking into account his statistics from seasons past, as he had a total of 96 catches for 1,100 yards in his first three seasons. Smith's stellar play has helped ease the transition of true freshman quarterback Reggie Ball, as over half of Ball's passing yards this season have gone to Smith (925 of 1,743).
As a true freshman in 2000, Smith worked his way into the wide receiver corps in mid-season after starting out on special teams on kickoff coverage.
Smith first became a primary receiving target in 2001, placing second on the team with 53 catches for 590 yards and four touchdowns. Smith hurt Virginia with a then-career-high eight catches for 89 yards in a losing effort, 39-38, in Charlottesville.
Smith's statistics fell off in 2002, as he dropped to third in receptions on the Yellow Jackets. He had only 36 catches for 430 yards and three scores, but also contributed by returning punts and taking snaps at quarterback and at tailback.
In last Saturday's home date with North Carolina, Smith showed his versatility as he broke open the game in the fourth quarter. With the the Yellow Jackets holding a slim 20-17 lead, Smith received the handoff on a reverse and threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to wideout Nate Curry.
"The reverse pass was pretty big," Smith said. "I'd never thrown a touchdown before."
North Carolina quickly responded with a touchdown, cutting the Tech lead back down to three. However, Smith continued to set the tone with his stellar play and caught a 30-yard touchdown pass on the next drive, restoring the ten-point margin. Smith then iced the game by returning a punt 73 yards for a score, providing the final margin of 41-24.
"My role is to make plays when I'm called on to make them, and to be a leader a little bit, to go out there and show the younger guys the ropes," Smith said.
Despite the fact that Georgia Tech became bowl eligible with the North Carolina victory, Smith is not looking past Saturday's game.
"I'm just going to go out and play hard and do whatever it takes to win the game," Smith said. "It's an important game."
Smith acknowledged the challenge that the Virginia defense will present.
"We haven't won [in Charlottesville] since 1990," Smith said. "They're going to be fired up and we have to match their emotion. The tougher team is going to win. We have to go up there and execute and stay away from penalties and mistakes."
Virginia coach Al Groh recognized Smith as one of the strengths of the Yellow Jacket offense.
"[They have] a relentless runner, high-energy quarterback, [and] speed receiver," Groh said.
Smith will be looking to showcase that speed on Saturday and lead the Yellow Jackets to their seventh victory this season.
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