(Editor's note: Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. For more on the Yellow Jackets, visit the FANSonly Georgia Tech team page. For more on the ACC, visit the conference's official site at theacc.com.)

Sept. 22, 1999

With no game this week, I will probably spend the weekend checking out all the games that I can check out. Just relaxing on Saturday and watching a lot of college football. There's nothing better than watching your peers play games on TV.

	Hamilton passed for 2,166 yards in 1998, leading Tech to a 10-2 record.

Last Saturday we played at night, so I had a chance to watch the Penn State-Miami (Fla.) game briefly. My cousin, (Penn State defensive end) Courtney Brown, came out of there with a lot of enthusiasm, making the first hit of the game and just playing with all of his heart and never giving up.

I love it when he goes out there and does that. But the thing I love the most is at the beginning of the game, when they put his name up there as starting, and you look down and you see Alvin, S.C. That feels real good.

This year I was a Grand Marshall for the Fourth of July Parade in Alvin. I'm 22 years old, and I've probably been to that parade 22 times. But this year, I was sitting in a convertible and waving. But when I'm in Alvin, I'm just "Little Joe."

We have great coaches at Georgia Tech. Coach (George) O'Leary is just an honest man. He's hardworking and down to earth. He wants things done right. That's the bottom line. He's going to work you hard to get things done and you respect that.

On the other hand, he respects you when you work hard, do things right and when you're able to be successful. Coach O'Leary and his staff are nothing but honesty and willingness to work and get better.

	THE FULL DOSE OF DIARIES
	ASU's J.R. Redmond: Coming up swinging
	USC's Travis Claridge: Pancakes and a Pac-10 opener
	UCLA's Danny Farmer: Pac-10 parity
	Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops: Playing to your potential
	Oregon State's Ken Simonton: One goal down, two to go
	Ole Miss' Todd Wade: Moving on

(Offensive coordinator Ralph) Friedgen instills confidence. He's a guy who has won everywhere he has been, and he brings that to the table. It's not a question of is this going to work or is that going to work, or are you going to believe in him. You know he knows what he is doing and you are going to follow him.

He's such a perfectionist. He works you hard, hard, hard during practice. You really appreciate that when you get on the field and you know that you are prepared for anything the defense can give you. He can break down defenses. He knows where to put players and who to put in certain situations. He can identify talent really well and he is able to put people in position to make plays. That's what his offense is all about, making plays.

One of his sayings is that, "You're never as good as you think you are, and you're never as bad as you think you are." That has always stuck with me. It also goes for other people. You're never as good as they think you are, and you're never as bad as they think you are.

Coming into this season, I thought I needed to work on reading coverage and throwing the long ball down the field and hitting those at a higher percentage. I just need to make plays. You want to work on all aspects of your game in the offseason, but reading coverages and throwing the long ball more consistently are definitely things that I worked on.

Now I know how defenses try to get you. You try to bluff me and I kind of know. Three years ago when you bluffed me you would get an interception or something like that. But now I am getting to know some finer things that let me know how to get them back. Those are the type of things that I've learned, like how to be poised back there when they are coming at you.

Coach Friedgen told me that I was going to come to love when they blitz. I really feel comfortable and everyone else is comfortable knowing what is going on. You never really like to get blitzed. They come at you from all angles and sometimes you get hit. But a lot of big plays are designed for when you get blitzed.

We have a great offensive line. I think those guys are really good role players. They know their role and they know their job. They are ready to go out there and fight. Give credit where credit is due. You probably won't see it in the papers, but we always tell them, "Good job, you really opened up the holes."

The offensive line is a unit and they are veterans. They know what it takes to practice, they know what it takes to play and they know what it takes to win.