By Matthew Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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If Tech fans were happy about the signing of Vad Lee, there might not be words to describe how thrilled they are with the commitment of Justin Thomas.

The passion of college football fans is one of the many things that make it the best sport in the world. However, one of the drawbacks of having fans that are so passionate and fanatical about their program is the lofty expectations that are frequently placed on young prospects that have never actually proven themselves on the college level.
For Georgia Tech, a recent victim of these high expectations was true freshman quarterback Vad Lee.

Lee was a high three-star recruit coming out of Hillside High School in Durham, North Carolina. Excelling as both a runner and a passer at the high school level, Lee quickly earned scholarship offers from many of the top programs in the ACC and SEC, including Auburn and South Carolina.

When Lee committed to the Yellow Jackets on August 19, 2010, many Tech fans believed that they had their quarterback for the future. Not only was Lee going to be a three or four-year starter, but, in the minds of Tech fans, he was going to be the dynamic, do-it-all quarterback that Paul Johnson’s offense thrives under.

As expected, Lee took a redshirt season this year.

However, that did not keep the Tech faithful from continuing to rave about his potential, even though few had actually seen him play a snap in a Yellow Jacket uniform.

While Mr. Lee has been subjected to unrealistic expectations that would certainly not make any prospect envious, it does appear that his time as the so-called “future of the Georgia Tech program” is close to an end.

Tuesday evening, the Yellow Jacket coaches received word that four-star athlete Justin Thomas had decommitted from the University of Alabama and was pledging his services to Georgia Tech.

Thomas – who received offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State and LSU – was committed to the Crimson Tide as a wide receiver, but supposedly wanted to play quarterback in college, which ultimately led to his commitment to Georgia Tech.

If Tech fans were happy about the signing of Vad Lee, there might not be words to describe how thrilled they are with the commitment of Justin Thomas.

Thomas is easily one of the top athletes nationally in the entire 2012 class. On multiple occasions he has been timed at a sub-4.3 in the forty-yard dash. He was also a very solid high school quarterback as a passer. In fact, the reason that many schools wished to move him to wide receiver was that he is only 5-11.

Although nothing is guaranteed in the world of football, it certainly appears that the Yellow Jackets have landed their prized offensive recruit that they have been searching for under Paul Johnson.

Thomas has all of the tools to become a game-changing quarterback, easily capable of breaking a long touchdown run at any given time.

Many people have argued that Georgia Tech will never be able to sign elite prospects on the offensive side of the ball due to the fact that the triple option does not allow a player to showcase his skills to the NFL.

While we all can likely agree that it is much more difficult for the Yellow Jackets to land players of this caliber at the offensive skill positions, this just goes to show that it can be done.

For now, the Yellow Jackets have their quarterback of the future. All that is left to do is to wait and see how it pans out.