He was behind Joshua Nesbitt on Georgia Tech’s depth chart. But when Nesbitt was hurt, Shaw stepped in to lead the Jackets’ triple-option offense to 438 rushing yards (the most rushing yards by Tech in 30 years at that point) during a 38-7 regionally televised win over Mississippi State.
The next game, Shaw threw for 230 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in a win over Duke.
But Shaw suffered a concussion late in Duke game and did not play the next week against Gardner-Webb.
Then Nesbitt returned, and down the stretch Tech had big wins over Florida State and Georgia.
Shaw had limited opportunities the rest of his time with the Yellow Jackets.
But what if Shaw had been there when Nesbitt, a senior, broke his arm against Virginia Tech? Would Shaw have had a second chance at gaining valuable playing time during the final games of the regular season?