The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Walk-on makes most of first game
Georgia Tech center William Lay said he was not nervous when he was thrust into Saturday’s game against South Florida, though he had reason to be. For one thing, the sophomore was playing in his first college game.
Moreover, he was being called on to enter into a close game for starting center Kenny Cooper, who had left the game near the end of the first quarter with an injury.
“I was going ahead and preparing like I was playing, like I was going to start,” Lay said Wednesday. “We had no idea what was going to go down in the game, but my mindset, the way I was planning for the game, it was like I was going to start. Once I got in there, I was ready to go.”
It was not a flawless performance, but, considering the circumstances, Lay got the job done. Playing the final three quarters, Lay got his shotgun snaps back to the quarterbacks and he helped running back Jordan Mason run for a career-high 99 yards. On quarterback Tobias Oliver’s 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Lay got off the snap and then drove defensive tackle Blake Green about 20 feet down the line of scrimmage, opening a crease through which Oliver cut back for the score.
“Just being able to get in there and play fulfilled my dream,” Lay said. “It was amazing. I was really excited to get in there and play a lot of snaps.”
Watching from the Bobby Dodd Stadium stands, former Yellow Jackets defensive tackle Kyle Cerge-Henderson was happy for Lay and totally unsurprised to see him contribute. Cerge-Henderson and Lay sparred for two years when Lay was an offensive lineman on the scout team.
Cerge-Henderson said in one of his first practices with Lay, he figured he would run through him until Lay gave him a jolt to the chest that stopped him cold. Going against Lay in practice became a signal to buckle up the chinstrap.
“You’re not going to take that practice off, you’re not going to take that play off,” Cerge-Henderson said. “Will’s a baller.”
Lay, 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds, is effective at getting his hands into defensive linemen and stopping their pass-rush charge and also quick enough on his feet to mirror linemen, Cerge-Henderson said. It was also his opinion that Lay’s walk-on status may have limited his opportunities to play.
“Obviously, I’m not a scout or anything, but playing against him, I kind of got a feel for what kind of player he can be,” said Cerge-Henderson, now interning in Atlanta for a construction company. “If people can look past the fact that he’s a walk-on, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing on Sundays.”
With the status of Cooper and also guard Mikey Minihan uncertain for Saturday’s home game against The Citadel, it’s possible that Lay could start for the Jackets. Even if Cooper does return, it won’t be a surprise if Lay gets playing time. Lay said he is trying to focus on the game and not think about the bigger picture, “but I guess if (the start) happens, then I’ll look back on it after the game (and) it’d definitely be a monumental spot in my career.”
He has the confidence of offensive tackle Zach Quinney.
“I feel like Will gets better every single day,” Quinney said. “He’s somebody that you don’t have to worry about (whether) he’s going to make the call or not. He’s definitely going to make the right call. He’s going to communicate it across the offensive line and he’s definitely somebody we trust to be in there.”
Lay is about as unlikely a member of the Tech roster as there is. As a three-year letterman at Hart County High, Lay received recruiting interest from two schools, he said. One was at the NAIA level. The other was Tech, which offered him a preferred walk-on spot after he attended a camp and impressed then-line coach Mike Sewak.
Other than the NAIA school, Lay said, “this was the only college that was going to give me a spot on the team, so I was just like, yeah, I’m coming here.”
Coming to Tech at 260 pounds, Lay was on scout team for two seasons. The hire of coach Geoff Collins last December, he said, gave him renewed hope for playing time.
“(Collins) was like, this is an entitlement-free program,” Lay said. “I knew for sure, I was like, I’m definitely going to be able to prove myself.”