Joe Hamilton

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 14 days until kickoff in Boulder, today’s focus is on No. 14 Joe Hamilton, a quarterback from a small town in South Carolina that went on to become a legend on The Flats with his dynamic ability leading the Jackets’ offense in the late 1990s as he collected several prestigious honors and awards.

Hamilton caught the eye of the Georgia Tech coaching staff and then head coach George O’Leary as a standout player at Macedonia High in Alvin, S.C. in the mid-1990s, and after a steady recruiting process they were able to convince him to sign with the Jackets in the class of 1996.

Hamilton played in 10 games as a freshman in the fall of 1996 and had success as well as struggles durign that season, throwing for 1,342 yards on 108-of-188 passing with seven touchdowns and 13 interceptions while also rushing for 248 yards and three TDs. He was named ACC Rookie of the Week four times and also finished as runner-up in the ACC Rookie of the Year voting.

Hamilton took a big step forward as a sophomore, throwing for 2,314 yards on 173-of-268 attempts with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions over 11 games. He increased his rushing production as well with 478 yards and five touchdowns and finished the season strong by earning Carquest Bowl MVP honors in the Jackets’ 35-30 win over West Virginia.

The 1998 campaign was Hamilton’s true breakout season as he started to be noticed nationally thanks to a season in which he threw for 2,166 yards on 145-of-259 passes with 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions along with rushing for another 298 yards and four TDs. He helped Tech end a seven-game losing streak to rival Georgia with a 21-19 win in Athens, was named First-Team All-ACC and Co-MVP of the Jackets’ 35-28 win over Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl.

Hamilton saved his best season for his last on The Flats in 1999, helping lead Tech to an 8-4 season and a second straight win over Georgia while racking up 3,060 yards passing on 203-of-305 attempts with 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and also ran for a career-high 734 yards on 154 attempts (4.8 per) with six touchdowns. He was named First-Team All-ACC, consensus First-Team All-American, ACC Player of the Year and won the Davey O’Brien Award as the top college quarterback in the country. He finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting that season to Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne, a result many Tech fans talk about with passion to this day.

After earning his second straight Gator Bowl Co-MVP honor despite the Jackets falling to Miami in that game, Hamilton started preparing for the NFL Draft and was selected in the seventh round (234th overall) in the 2000 Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During that time, the Bucs sent him to NFL Europe to play for the Frankfurt Galaxy in 2002. He suffered a knee injury prior to the 2002 season with the Bucs that put him on the injured reserve, but he still received a Super Bowl ring as part of the franchise after their 48-21 win over the Oakland Raiders.

Hamilton spent part of the 2004 season with the Indianapolis Colts before being released and eventually playing for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League from 2004-2006, leading the team to the ArenaBowl in 2006 and being named Second Team All-Arena League.

Hamilton returned to Georgia Tech to complete his degree in History, Technology and Society in 2007 and has had two separate stints as part of the Jackets’ football staff in 2008 and 2013. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2009, the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023.

In recent years Hamilton has spent time as a local sports radio personality in Atlanta as well as being Tech’s color commentator on its football broadcasts up to the 2024 season.