Monday Reading Room -- Georgia Tech's QB, RB, WR of the decade will all play in Orange Bowl

Coley Harvey of the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph has assembled an All-Decade team for Georgia Tech.

All-world defensive end Derrick Morgan of the 2009 Yellow Jackets didn't make it. But quarterback Josh Nesbitt, running back Jonathan Dwyer and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas did.

Those are what are known as skill-position players.

Here's what Harvey said about each:

Once a true blue passing quarterback in high school, Nesbitt turned into an option-based, run-driven signal-caller. Constantly getting hit, the junior this season found a way to often dig past the pain and lead the Yellow Jackets to several key late victories, dramatically aiding their run to an ACC title.

Dwyer stands in position to wind down his days at Georgia Tech following Jan. 5's Orange Bowl in Miami. A junior with high draft potential, the B-back has already left an indelible mark on the program as its first featured back under the Paul Johnson coaching era. In addition to his nine 100-yard rushing games as a sophomore last season, Dwyer had 1,395 rushing yards. He already has another 1,000 yards this year.

A junior who is getting the most acclaim for a Yellow Jackets receiver since (Calvin) Johnson, this standout has the chance to go to the NFL following this season. Nicknamed “BeBe,” the West Laurens product was also an Middle Georgia High School All-Decade nominee. Although featured in a run-dominated offense, Thomas has an opportunity to rank high on several school receiving lists.

Highlight: Thomas' big moment came in 2008 when, with starting quarterback Nesbitt out, he came away with nine catches for 230 yards - all from backup Jaybo Shaw. Under Johnson's run-based spread option offense, the receiving performance ranks as the second-best in school history.

Current Jacket safety Morgan Burnett is also on that all-decade squad.

Speaking of all-decade, College Football News.com had its Top 10 college coaches of the decade. Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson is No. 9. At No. 5, Ohio State's Jim Tressel is the only Big Ten coach on the list.

Sports Illustrated's Web site had what I thought was an interesting piece comparing recruiting rankings to performance. It listed Rivals.com's Top 100 recruits of the four years between 2006 and 2009 to see how many of those players were contributors this season.

Only three Iowa players are among those 400 players. Cornerback Jordan Bernstine was the No. 51-ranked player in 2007. Offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga was No. 70 that year. In 2006, linebacker Jeremiha Hunter was No. 78.

So, not a Top 50 recruit in any of those four years for Iowa. Supposedly.

Georgia Tech, which is 11-2 this season (Iowa is 10-2), has just two of those 400 blue-chippers in Morgan (No. 76 in 2007) and Burnett (No. 84 in 2007).

Where was Dwyer? Where was Thomas? Where were Iowa's Adrian Clayborn and Tyler Sash, for that matter?

The Indianapolis Star recently had a nice piece on Greenwood, Ind., native and Iowa linebacker A.J. Edds. An excerpt:

A.J. Edds, then a sophomore linebacker for the Hawkeyes, remembers coach Kirk

Ferentz promising the players, before they left for Christmas break, that offseason workouts would be tougher than anything they had ever experienced.

"He told us if you weren't all in, you're not going to make it," said the former Greenwood High School standout.

Edds also got a message from Iowa linebackers coach Darrell Wilson.

"He told me, 'You're a guy that has played for a couple of years,' " Edds said. " 'You might not think so, but you're one of leaders of this team. You're going to be one of the guys on the team the other guys look to for leadership.' "

Since that brutal offseason, the Hawkeyes have gone 19-6.

Elsewhere in football country, Curt McKeever of the Lincoln Journal Star doesn't think much of what the Big 12 will have for bowl-affiliations starting next year. They include the Yankee Bowl in New York City and the EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C. McKeever wrote:

Instead of packing your bags for El Paso, Texas; Jacksonville, Fla.; or Shreveport, La.; how does a late-December, early-January trip to New York City sound?

No? Well, how about Washington, D.C.?

Not so affordable or balmy, huh? . . .

I can already see a lot of potential for bulletin-board material in the locker room. Under pictures of Yankees Stadium and RFK, a caption reads: “Do you really want to wind up here?”

Take a look at who had nine blocked shots in an NBA D-League game Saturday night. None other than former Hawkeye Kurt Looby, now in his second season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Finally, the following video is for entertainment purposes only. It comes to us from the Wiz of Odds, who have been on to this Oregon Ducks fan for quite some time. I can't explain it.

It's strange. It's curious.

But mostly, it's luxurious.