Freshman quarterback Jeff Sims accounted for 173 yards of total offense and three touchdowns to highlight Georgia Tech football’s 2021 spring game on Friday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Sims ran for a 48-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the game and completed 9-of-10 passes for 125 yards and two scores in front of a large crowd of Georgia Tech season-ticket members and students that filled the vast majority of the available seats in lower bowl on the west and north sides of the stadium.

To help boost the entertainment value for the fans in attendance, Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins reset the score on occasion during the contest, including in the waning minutes, which set the stage for an exciting finish. First, an 11-yard touchdown run by true freshman quarterback Chayden Peery and subsequent two-point conversion by Ryan Lantz gave the “White” team a 25-24 lead with exactly two minutes to go in the third and final period of the game. On the ensuing series, Sims calmly led the “Gold” team on a four-play, 65-yard drive that took just 30 seconds off the clock and culminated with graduate transfer Kyric McGowan hauling in a 33-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the “winning” points.

In addition to the 48-yard scoring run and game-winning TD pass, Sims also tossed a 7-yard touchdown to sophomore tight end Dylan Leonard.

Sims’ showing headlined an impressive evening for the Yellow Jackets’ signal-callers. Playing in his first game in nearly 18 months due to the cancellation of his senior season of high school football in his native California, Peery completed 7-of-10 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown and ran four times for 26 yards and another score. Redshirt freshman Jordan Yates connected on 6-of-10 passes for 99 yards and a score.

Senior running back Bruce Jordan-Swilling and freshman wideout Nate McCollum hauled in touchdown receptions from Yates and Peery, respectively.

Defensively, the Yellow Jackets forced two turnovers, a fumble recovery by senior defensive lineman Antonneous Clayton and an interception by senior Tariq Carpenter. Carpenter’s INT came on a defense called by Georgia Tech men’s basketball head coach and honorary spring game defensive coach Josh Pastner (the offensive play — a throwback pass to QB Demetrius Knight — was called by GT women’s basketball head coach and honorary spring game offensive coach Nell Fortner).

Friday night’s game capped Georgia Tech’s spring season, which included 15 practices over a 24-day span that began on March 30. The Yellow Jackets now set their sights on the 2021 season opener versus Northern Illinois, which is set for Saturday, Sept. 4 at Bobby Dodd Stadium.