Georgia Tech's Justin Thomas hopes supporting steps up in 2016

As Georgia Tech worked its way through fall camp a year ago, Paul Johnson was concerned about Justin Thomas’ supporting cast. The veterans who had led the Yellow Jackets to an Orange Bowl win a year earlier were gone, and the young kids -- much like many Georgia Tech fans -- were often so much in awe of their athletic QB that they assumed he could overcome any mistake and still turn it into a big play.

It turned out to be a prescient worry. As the season wore on, the schedule got tough and injuries piled up, Thomas was left as the only functional part on an offense otherwise held together with duct tape. Not that Johnson is looking for excuses.

“Nobody wants to hear the labor pains, they just…