Eddie McAshan Edward ' Eddie ' McAshan , III was born the son of a mortician in Gainesville , Florida . He was a successful college quarterback for Georgia Tech and became one of the most famous athletes in college football history for being the first African American to start at quarterback for a major Southeastern university . High school . Eddie began his football career as the first African American quarterback to play for predominantly white Gainesville High School . Over the years of 1966 - 1968 , he threw for 61 touchdowns ( top 20 all - time Florida career touchdowns ) . His high school quarterbacking was good enough to be noticed by Georgia Tech head coach Bud Carson . College . McAshan would become the first African American football player to start for Georgia Tech . Carson started McAshan in 1970 as a sophomore and McAshan would go on to set several career records for Georgia Tech ( which have since been broken by Shawn Jones and Joe Hamilton ) . McAshan ' s first career start was on September 12 , 1970 against South Carolina . His start marked the first time that an African American had ever started at quarterback for a major Southeastern university and McAshan did not disappoint . He rallied Tech with a fourth quarter deficit , defeating the Gamecocks 23 - 20 with two late touchdown drives . Over McAshan ' s career , he passed for 32 touchdowns . His most notable single game performance came against Rice in 1972 when he threw 5 touchdown passes . In this game he also threw five interceptions , so the game ended in a tie . Over the years of McAshan ' s quarterbacking , Georgia Tech would ramble and wreck off a 22 - 13 - 1 record . McAshan was the first scholarship African - American for Tech while the first walk - on African - American football player at Tech was defensive back / returner Karl " PeeWee " Barnes who lettered in 1971 - 72 . The second scholarship player was running back Greg Horne from Atlanta and the third was linebacker Joe Harris , an eventual NFL career player . Harris still holds the single season record for tackles in a season at 188 . McAshan was noted for feats of great athleticism and composure . In 1972 , Georgia Tech played Tennessee in Atlanta . McAshan had suffered a poor outing with 5 interceptions but one moment stood out in the game for Tech fans . Tech had finally put a drive together and made it to the UT 20 yard line . McAshan took the snap from center and dropped back to pass . As he was preparing to throw , a Tennessee defender pressed his throwing arm into his chest so McAshan switched the ball to his other hand and threw to an open tailback in the end zone . The tailback , who had given up on the play after seeing the almost sack , dropped the wide open touchdown . The game ended in a 17 - 6 loss for Georgia Tech . McAshan was also notorious for throwing interceptions setting a GT record of 51 career interceptions , which was not broken until 2006 by Reggie Ball . In 1972 , Bud Carson was fired from Georgia Tech and McAshan ' s relationship with new head coach Bill Fulcher was strained . The week before the 1972 Georgia game , McAshan asked Fulcher for four additional tickets so his family could attend the game in Athens . Fulcher denied the request so McAshan skipped the next practice in protest . Fulcher suspended McAshan for the next two games , which were the Georgia loss and the Liberty Bowl victory over Iowa State . During the Georgia game , McAshan sat in a white limousine with Jesse Hill right outside the stadium . McAshan was eventually kicked off the team by Fulcher and declared for the National Football League draft as a senior in 1972 . Eddie McAshan finished his Georgia Tech career with 4 , 262 yards of offense , 35 total touchdowns , a 62 . 5 % ( 20 - 12 - 1 ) winning percentage , two bowl game appearances , and a 1970 victory over archrival UGA . ( This last statement is false . McAshan did not play in the 1970 game in Athens , won by Georgia Tech by the score of 17 - 7 . Jack Williams started , and ended , the game for the Yellow Jackets . ) Professional . Eddie went on to be drafted by the New England Patriots in the 17th round as the 420th pick overall in the 1973 NFL Draft . He was eventually cut and attempted a stint with the Jacksonville Sharks of the World Football League and saw action in the 1974 - 1975 seasons until the WFL collapsed . Eddie returned to Georgia Tech and completed his degree in industrial management in 1979 .