Georgia Tech notebook

ORLANDO, Fla. - Damarius Bilbo claims he can still throw a football 90 yards.

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And that's on the fly, no roll or bounce. And don't ask him if he needs a running start to build momentum.

"Look, I can throw it 50 yards on my knees," he said. "You can figure out the rest."

Bilbo is back in Georgia Tech's quarterback equation for the Champs Sports Bowl. He'll split time at the position with starter Reggie Ball, whose talents forced Bilbo to move to wide receiver before the start of the 2003 season.

Head coach Chan Gailey won't disclose how many series or snaps Bilbo will spend at quarterback, saying only that the junior will play both quarterback and wide receiver in the bowl game.

He's content at either position, something he couldn't say a year ago. The national player of the year as a quarterback coming out of Mississippi's Moss Point High School, he envisioned himself as an NFL quarterback some day.

So he didn't accept his move to wide receiver well. He caught two passes in 2003 and was so far down the depth chart he didn't play in four games.

He dedicated himself to his new position last spring, however, and now says the move helped him grow as a person.

"Everybody sets goals, but you have to get your priorities straight," Bilbo said. "I'm not trying to get all spiritual, but everything happens for a reason. "

He could end up back at his old position next season. Gailey will open up the quarterback competition in the spring, and Bilbo will get a chance to beat out Ball and redshirt freshman Taylor Bennett.

Bilbo's play in Tuesday's game against Syracuse - good or bad - won't affect his future as Georgia Tech's quarterback, though.

"The plans right now are to do what it takes to win this ball game," Gailey said. "What happens this week won't have any bearing on what happens eight months from now."

MISSING YELLOW JACKETS: Punt returner Patrick Carter quit the team this week and is expected to transfer, and he wasn't the only Yellow Jacket absent when the team opened practice in Orlando on Saturday.

Two other players didn't make the trip, Gailey said. The coach would not reveal who has yet to arrive.

Gailey does expect the two missing Yellow Jackets to play in Tuesday's game. He said one remained in Atlanta because of a medical issue while the other was dealing with personal business.