THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508240666
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
The question Georgia Tech fans keep asking is what might have been if George O'Leary had been named head coach four years ago.
Many feel the program would not be where it is today - trying to recover from a winless ACC season in 1994.
It was only five years ago that the Yellow Jackets were ACC and national champions (in the UPI poll).
A year later, coach Bobby Ross resigned to coach San Diego in the NFL. He recommend that Tech hire O'Leary, his defensive coordinator.
Tech instead hired Bill Lewis from East Carolina and O'Leary traveled to San Diego with Ross. Tech brought O'Leary back last year as an assistant coach and gave him a guaranteed long-term contract.
When Lewis, with an 11-19 record, was relieved of command on Nov. 7, Tech gave O'Leary the job.
Nothing changed much in the final three games as Tech finished the year winless against Division I-A teams, but things have changed since. The griping that went on under Lewis is gone. O'Leary told players they could do things his way or hit the highway.
A few took the highway, but the ones that remain are committed and working harder than ever.
O'Leary said he noticed when he returned from San Diego that attitude and a shrinking work ethic were major problems.
``I asked six guys to move a piano and five of them reached for the bench,'' is how he puts it.
Another change affected quarterback Donnie Davis, who was ranked ahead of Heath Shuler and Eric Zeier coming out of high school in Burlington, N.C. Davis, who turned down Notre Dame and Miami to play at Tech, no longer was the No. 1 quarterback.
Despite having one of the school's best seasons as a passer in 1993, he played behind Tommy Luginbill last season and spent most of the time at wide receiver.
O'Leary, who has said personnel mismanagement was one of Lewis' faults, returned Davis to quarterback and Luginbill transferred to Eastern Kentucky at the end of spring practice.
Another of Lewis' problems was a failure to communicate with his players.
``I saw that,'' O'Leary said, ``and I went to Bill and told him we needed to sit down with those kids. I didn't see them being on the same page.''
Davis was the biggest victim of the poor communication.
He said Wednesday no one told him why he was not playing quarterback last season.
The low point came in the 21-13 loss to N.C. State. The game was in Raleigh and many of Davis' friends and relatives were there.
Late in the second quarter, Davis came off the bench and led Tech to a touchdown and a field goal for a 10-7 lead at halftime.
Davis never got in the game in the second half, and never played quarterback again in the final seven games.
``My family was more upset than I was,'' Davis said, ``and that was what hurt me. I hated seeing them that way. They hated seeing me the way I was.
``They asked me why I wasn't playing quarterback. I didn't have an answer. I asked that question twice a week to the coaches and no one would answer it.
``If anyone had said it was because I was a horrible quarterback, I could have lived with that better than them not saying anything.''
Davis is a red-shirt senior and thankful he has one more season to be a quarterback.
And he doesn't have to worry about not knowing where he stands with O'Leary.
``I am hard on players, but very fair,'' O'Leary said. ``As long as players know the direction a program is headed and what is expected, you usually don't have any problems.
``I told my coaches if a kid is not playing to make sure he is told why, and what he needs to do to get playing time.''
O'Leary inherited a shortage of experienced defensive players, but he doesn't think a lack of talent has been Tech's problem.
``We are not as far away from getting back in the ACC race as some people think,'' O'Leary said. ``We are really not.''
Davis agreed that ability was never the problem.
``What we needed was stability,'' the quarterback said.
``This team might not win nine or 10 games this year, but you can best believe on down the road with the leadership from coach O'Leary that it is going to be there soon.''
Davis and Tech fans can only wonder how much different things might be if someone had realized that four years ago. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Donnie Davis, a red-shirt senior, is back at quarterback for Georgia
Tech after mysteriously being displaced last season.
by CNB