EXCLUSIVE: Former Akron QB Zach Gibson set to transfer to GT

Georgia Tech will no longer be going into spring football with two scholarship QB's.

On Saturday, just hours into the New Year, former Akron QB Zach Gibson announced his decision to transfer to Georgia Tech for his final three years of eligibility.

Gibson had offers and interest from other schools such as Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Indiana among others.

"This was simply an opportunity I couldn't pass up," said Gibson about his decision to transfer to GT.

He went in-depth with JOL on his decision in an exclusive interview below.

ON HIS DECISION TO LEAVE AKRON: "I originally wasn't going to hit the transfer portal the day I did. I had been in communication with the administration at the school about everything, and they said that the new head coach would be announced that day. In my head, I'm thinking cool, I can see what the deal is with the new coach and if he calls, I'll see what he's about and go from there.

I woke up that Monday, and I had a lot of my coaches from high school asking me about my plan, and if I was going to enter the portal. At that point, Akron still hadn't named a coach, and there was a lot of uncertainty around the program.

Nothing against my teammates, my dogs up there, but the atmosphere up there isn't great."

HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAME TOGETHER WITH GT: "It was a day or two after Jordan (Yates) hit the transfer portal that I first heard from them. He hit the portal a day after I did. I put things in God's hands when I entered (the transfer portal) and this is how it ended up.

I think this past year at Akron I played pretty well, particularly with the hand I was dealt. The film speaks for itself.

My conversations with Coach Collins were great. Really a cool coach unlike many of the others I have been around at this level, you can tell he gets fired up. He texted me earlier this week when we were talking about going public with everything, and he was fired up sending GIF's and everything.

The main conversation I had with him was when I was in his office on the visit that Saturday before the dead period. He (Collins) is about business, but he feels like he is on the cusp of something great.

He sees it, and I see it too. I'm bought in with him, his process, and honestly just ready to get to work. I committed to him when I was there on the visit, but had to wait until I was accepted into the school and everything before I could actually go public with it. Originally I had planned to do it on Christmas, but everything wasn't finalized at that point."

ON HIS CONVERSATIONS WITH OC CHIP LONG, AND HIS RESEARCH ON THE OC: "Coach Long told me that he sees a lot of Ian Book in my game. Book was one of his guys back when he was at Notre Dame.

The offense at GT is going to be a lot easier to grasp than the previous offense I was running at Akron. Up there, we were running a West Coast scheme.

At GT they are going to run more of a spread, with hand-signals and the ability to run with or without tempo. I'm excited to get there, and to learn everything, I've seen the numbers that Long's offenses have put up the last few years and going all the way back to his time in Memphis.

He and I haven't had a ton of conversations yet, but the ones we did have definitely aided me in making my decision.

I see Coach Long's vision for the offense and what he is looking to do. I want to be a part of that vision, whether it be as the starting quarterback or on the sidelines, I want to be a part of his vision.

I see where his quarterbacks have been and what they have been able to accomplish in his offense, and I feel like with him I could be one step closer to the next level while getting a great degree.

Once you factor the proximity to home along with the scheme and the degree, you start to understand why this was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up."

THE LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT TO PLAY WITH HIS BROTHER TYLER AGAIN: "Me and my brother (four-star OL signee Tyler Gibson) we would always talk about this, being able to go to college together and play on the field at the same time.

Whenever I would be talking to any of the other schools that were interested in me after I hit the transfer portal, Tyler would always tell me to do whatever I wanted to do, but that he knows what I would do to him and GT if I went to one of those schools.

He said he would much rather see it in practice and in the white, navy, and gold than see it on an opposing sideline. (laughs) He was more excited about my decision than I was!

This is an opportunity I have dreamed of."

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY OVERALL: "They are all super excited. My mom and dad are both extremely happy. Moving forward they won't have to go to two different places to watch us play. My mom is moving to Florida after Tyler finishes up at JC, but my dad will still be in Atlanta a lot.

No longer will they have to flip flop, taking turns going to each of the different places each weekend like they would have had I stayed at Akron or went somewhere else.

My dad was at every single game when I was at Akron. My dad would go to Tyler's game at Johns Creek or on the road on Friday night, and then get up as early as he needed to, get on a plane, and watch me and my teammates no matter where we were playing. Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, wherever it was, he was there.

My uncle has season tickets. When I told him, he was SUPER excited. He wants to come to every game."

ON HIS MENTALITY GOING INTO SPRING FOOTBALL: "It is a Power Five program, so of course there is going to be competition. I know what I am walking to with regards to that. Jeff (Sims) is a great player, and a great quarterback. He has done a lot of good things for them in the last couple of years.

Coach Long told me that I would have the opportunity to come in and compete right away, and that's exactly what I plan to do.

At Akron, I really felt like we had one of the better position rooms in the MAC. We had five guys that were taking quality reps. The competition between us took place daily. This is what I mean when I say I am not afraid of any competition. I am honestly worried about it at all. I was in the heat of it there, and ended up winning what was a three-man competition. There was smoke everyday.

Going all the way back to HS, I have always felt like I had a chip on my shoulder. I go back to being under-recruited in high school and being told I was too slow or not good enough by different coaches. I'm here now, and I am ready to embrace the opportunity in-front of me."