Finally in center state, Ga. Tech's Choice is flourishing

Georgia Tech RB Tashard Choice had a brilliant, 73-yard TD run against Samford. AP

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ATLANTA -- Tashard Choice knows of patience. He's waited through a redshirt season, two years as a backup at two different schools and a year in which he led the ACC in rushing but still wasn't the main attraction in Georgia Tech's offense.

But now, Choice is finally having his moment. It's his No. 22 jersey hanging on the racks in the bookstore and on the backs of fans filtering into Bobby Dodd Stadium and those lining Yellow Jacket Alley during the player's walk. But in seizing the spotlight, he's still displaying that same patience, just in a different and more devastating way.

During Saturday's rout of I-AA Samford, with the ball resting on the Yellow Jackets' 27-yard-line, Choice took the handoff from Taylor Bennett and put his calculated running style on display. He immediately cut left, waited for fullback Mike Cox to set a block, cut back right and then darted up the middle before heading toward the left sideline. With a pair of Samford defenders closing in, Choice pulled up on the Bulldogs' 30, faked a move inside and waited for wide receivers Greg Smith and Demaryius Thomas to close off a lane, then darted back down the sideline for a 73-yard touchdown.

"I've said it all along: He has great vision," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "He's like a point guard, he knows where the other 21 guys are. He knows where his guys are going to be and how they should block him and has a great feel for where the crease is going to be."

Gailey, who coached the Dallas Cowboys in 1998-99, says that ability is eerily reminiscent of another No. 22: "Emmitt [Smith] was exactly the same way."

Cox, the fullback who paves the way for Choice, complements Gailey's evaluation. "He's just natural in setting up my blocks," Cox said. "He'll dip in [and] make the guy go in, so I just have to get on him, then he goes outside, that's probably what he's the best at. That's just natural, God-given right there and it definitely makes my job easier."

Praise is coming more often these days for Choice. Behind a veteran offensive line that features four players in their third straight year together, Choice opened the season with 196 yards and two touchdowns against Notre Dame, then ran for 110 yards and two score in less than a quarter of work during the win over Samford.

For Choice, it's a starring role that seemed a world away when he was barely playing while behind freshman Adrian Peterson at Oklahoma in 2004. Choice carried the ball just 22 times for 100 yards as a redshirt freshman for the Sooners. With the future looking bleak behind the Heisman runner-up, Choice, a native of Atlanta suburb Lovejoy, Ga., transferred home to be closer to his mother, who suffered a foot injury. He received a family hardship waiver from the NCAA, allowing him to play right away, and totaled 513 yards on 117 carries while backing up P.J. Daniels in '05.

Last season, Choice finally received the bulk of the carries, but not the bulk of the attention. The cornerstone of the offense was All-America wide receiver and Biletnikoff winner Calvin Johnson. Again toiling in the shadows, Choice led the ACC with 1,473 yards and had 12 touchdowns on 297 carries. At season's end, he didn't even make the conference's first-team, honors that instead went to Clemson's James Davis and Virginia Tech's Branden Ore (Choice was relegated to the second-team).

"That's like a kick in the face," Choice said. "James Davis and Branden Ore are good running backs, but I led the conference in rushing, so I've got a chip on my shoulder. I want to go out and really prove myself."

So far he's doing exactly that. Choice is consistent (Saturday marked his ninth straight 100-yard game) and a workhorse (only five backs carried the ball more than him in '06). The one real knock on Choice coming into the season was a lack of game-changing speed with his 4.57 time in the 40-yard dash and a career-long run of 46 yards. He worked to change that in the offseason, though, and showed he has the ability to break the big one with his long touchdown run against Samford.

"They knew I could catch the football [and] run between the tackles, [but] they wanted to see me break longer runs," Choice said. "So in the summer, that's really what I emphasized on -- working on speed, making sure I'm conditioned to break longer runs."

Choice possesses a skills set that makes him one of the nation's best all-around running backs, but his name rarely fits in with the likes of Arkansas' Darren McFadden, Michigan's Mike Hart, West Virginia's Steve Slaton or Rutgers' Ray Rice when debating the top runners. He has a solution that would most certainly solidify his place in the conversation: a 2,000-yard season.

"[Getting] 1,800 yards is what my linemen told me [was the goal]," Choice said. "My coach told me if I get 1,800 I might as well get 2,000, so I'm on the pace."

But is it a realistic goal considering that five of the Yellow Jackets' opponents have rush defenses that were ranked 27th or higher last season? "Absolutely," Choice responds with unwavering confidence. "This year, I figure with me being the focal point of our offense, I have it easy."

Yards won't be easy to come by on Saturday night, when the 15th-ranked Yellow Jackets host No. 21 Boston College. The Eagles, who are allowing 1.2 yards per carry, gave up just two yards on the ground in the season opener against Wake Forest and then yielded 56 to North Carolina State last weekend. Paltry numbers, but Choice simply sees it as an enticing challenge.

"That lights me up. That would light anybody up," he said. "We're going to try to run the football, we're going to try and pass and we're going to try and win."

With his day long over in last Saturday's easy win over Samford, Choice was cheerily bouncing up and down the Georgia Tech sideline. With a gray towel draped around his neck, he stopped to joke with teammates, a trainer and even a pair of Georgia State Troops. "His mouth never stops," Cox said.

You'll have to forgive Choice for his enthusiasm. After years of patiently waiting to be the focal and vocal point of the team, he's taking his opportunity and role as a leader to heart.

"Everybody wants to be somewhere where they're known and can really help the team and have their teammates really depend on them," he said. "That's one thing that's really important, so I just really wanted to be ready to go. Having that responsibility this year is exciting."