MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Josh Nesbitt (9) pitches to Jonathan Dwyer, the 2008 ACC player of the year, in Saturday's 28-23 win over Virginia Tech.

After Josh Nesbitt led his team to a home upset of Virginia Tech, he went from being the focus of the Hokie defense to the focus of jubilant Georgia Tech fans.

Students rushed the field last Saturday night, tearing down a goal post and swarming the Yellow Jackets. They wanted to congratulate Nesbitt, touch him, get a photo of him.

Fortunately for Nesbitt, he's gotten pretty good at finding openings. He spied a small hole in the crowd and made his way off the field.

"I luckily got out," he recalled with a chuckle this week.

Nesbitt could make some more good moves Saturday, when the No. 11 Yellow Jackets (6-1, 4-1 ACC) will try to win at Virginia for the first time in 19 years.

He was overshadowed last year by Yellow Jackets fullback Jonathan Dwyer, the 2008 ACC player of the year. But Nesbitt has emerged as a contender for that award this year.

The junior signal-caller has rushed for a team-high 625 yards and nine touchdowns on 151 carries and has thrown for 894 yards and four TDs. He has already passed for more yards than he did last year (808) and has almost as many rushing yards as he did last season (693).

In his team's triple-option offense, it is up to Nesbitt on many plays to decide whether he wants to keep the ball, pitch it or give it to Dwyer.

"The game has slowed down so much for him because he has a better understanding of what we're trying to do," quarterbacks coach Brian Bohannon said. "A year ago, I don't think he did.

"Getting comfortable with reading the option and knowing how to run it and where people are, ... the more reps you get, the better you get at it."

The 6-foot-1, 214-pound Nesbitt isn't easy to tackle. He has averaged 237.2 yards of total offense, including 103 ypg rushing, during Georgia Tech's current four-game winning streak. Last week, he became the first Georgia Tech QB to ever rush for 100 yards in back-to-back games.

Two weeks ago, he led the Yellow Jackets to their first win at Florida State. He ran for 140 yards and three TDs and threw for 131 yards and one TD -- just the sixth time in Yellow Jackets history that a QB has run for 100 yards and passed for 100 yards in the same game.

But his signature play of that game came when, following a fumble by teammate Roddy Jones, he ripped the ball away from FSU linebacker Nigel Carr to keep a touchdown drive alive.

Last weekend against the Hokies, he ran for 122 yards and three TDs to lead the Jackets to their first home win over a top-5 team since 1962.

Nesbitt said he has approached the game differently in recent weeks.

"I was too serious [before]," Nesbitt said. "When you're trying to play football, you need to loosen up and just try to have fun."

Last year, Nesbitt missed two games and parts of others with ankle and hamstring injuries. Being healthy has enabled him to be a better runner this year, said Nesbitt.

Nesbitt is the third-leading rusher in the ACC (89.3 ypg), behind Virginia Tech running backs Ryan Williams and Boston College's Montel Harris. Nationally, he ranks second among QBs in rushing behind UAB's Joe Webb.

"More people are zeroed in on trying to take Jon out of the game, and that opens some things up for Josh," Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. "He's embraced the role of running the ball, and he's clearly a better runner than he was a year ago."

Nesbitt was a shotgun quarterback as a high school player in Greensboro, Ga. Georgia Tech used him for a change of pace when he was a true freshman in 2007, having him run the ball out of a shotgun set when he came off the bench. He ran for 339 yards that year.

When Johnson replaced Chan Gailey last year and installed the triple option, Nesbitt not only had to learn a new offense but get used to playing up behind the center.

"I put in all the hard work to get through it," he said.

Last year, Nesbitt helped the Yellow Jackets to a surprising 9-4 record. But he completed just 54 of 123 passes (43.9 percent).

Nesbitt remains a work in progress as a passer -- not that passing is all that important in Georgia Tech's offense. He is 38-of-80 (47.5 percent) with four TD passes and three interceptions this season. He was 11-of-14 for 266 yards in an Oct. 3 win at Mississippi State, but he was just 1-of-7 with one interception last weekend -- although the one completion, for 51 yards, did set up a TD.

"I'm not really focused in on just trying to improve as a passer," he said. "I'm just trying to improve as a player."