Committing to Georgia Tech in 2012, the Jackets stole four star recruit Justin Thomas away from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide from right in their own back yard.
Having committed to Bama without assurance he’d be playing his preferred position of quarterback, the Prattville native and lifelong Tide fan had to reconsider his future in football, and Paul Johnson’s offense offered him much more of a clear path to living his dream.
His flipped commitment may have gone largely unpublicized, but Justin Michael Bryant Thomas’ decision not to play for the Alabama program he’d always loved, sparked a revitalization of the Paul Johnson era in Atlanta.