GT starting QB transfers to La Tech

After talk with new coach, Bennett leaves Georgia Tech
ESPN.com news services

ATLANTA -- Taylor Bennett, Georgia Tech's starting quarterback in 2007, will transfer to Louisiana Tech and will be eligible for the 2008 season.

Bennett decided he wouldn't return for his senior season at Georgia Tech after meeting with new coach Paul Johnson, who is installing a spread option attack.

He said he plans to enroll at Louisiana Tech for summer semester and pursue a master's degree.

Normally, a student-athlete transferring from one Division I-A program to another would have to sit out a year, but Louisiana Tech has a graduate-school major that Georgia Tech does not, so the NCAA approved Bennett's eligibility request on academic grounds.

At Louisiana Tech, Bennett will play for Derek Dooley, the son of former longtime Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley.

Bennett said he hasn't been promised a starting job by Dooley.

"Coach Dooley said he wants to win," Bennett said, adding Dooley said the starter will be "whoever the best guy is coming out of camp."

Bennett completed 162 of 327 passes for 2,136 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2007.