ATLANTA - In college football, there are few givens when it comes to playing time, but a handful of former Cobb County standouts are taking their shot at playing for Georgia Tech.

For former Hillgrove standout Synjyn Days, that means a chance to unseat Tevin Washington for the starting job at quarterback. After sitting out as a redshirt freshman last season, Days has moved up the depth chart and will challenge the incumbent Washington, a rising junior who served as a starter for the Yellow Jackets' final four games last season -?including the Independence Bowl - after Joshua Nesbitt suffered a broken arm.

"This is the first time, actually, since the fall camp that (Days) has had the chance to run the offense other than in bowl preparation," Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. "He's learning every day. Tevin is ahead of him, as you would expect, but he's learning and making progress. He has a lot of tools, and he's a good athlete."

Even if Days loses the battle to Washington, chances are he will see playing time this season, if the last two seasons are any indication. In the last three seasons, only 2009 - the year Georgia Tech won the ACC championship - saw a quarterback start every game during the regular season.

"It feels great just to have the opportunity to play football," Days said. "To be able to have the chance to start for a Division I football team is a blessing in itself. I'm just really fortunate to play with a great group of guys like Jay Finch and Robbie Godhigh representing Cobb County."

Along with the chance to play quarterback this season, Days will have a chance to play alongside his brother, Jabari Hunt-Days, who will join the Yellow Jackets' roster as a freshman linebacker in the fall. The Days brothers have not played together on the same team since Synjyn's senior season at Hillgrove in 2009.

"Overall, he is doing pretty good," Synjyn said of his brother. "He actually lost a little bit of weight and gained some muscle. I'm excited to play with him again. He's not up here yet, but he's been up here occasionally. To see my brother is always a good thing."

Outside of the Days brothers, former Kennesaw Mountain standout Finch will likely see significant playing time, as he is slated to start at center. Finch will be replacing all-Atlantic Coast Conference center Sean Bedford, who he played next to at times last season.

Finch played center in high school, and was recruited to play at the same position in college, but at Kennesaw Mountain he snapped mostly out of the shotgun, a far cry from Tech's triple-option offense.

"Right now, Jay is playing center," Johnson said. "He played a lot at guard last year, so he's played some. He was the backup center as well. He's got a lot of ability, but we just have to maximize his potential because he is a talented guy."

There are few other opportunities for three other Cobb alumni to see the field, not including Hunt-Days and North Cobb product Darren Waller, who will enroll in the fall.

Godhigh, a former Harrison star, stands out as having the best chance among the rest to see the playing field. As a walk-on running back, Godhigh saw playing time against North Carolina last season, though he did not register a single carry last year. Regardless, it was still an experience to play football in his freshman season.

"It was definitely a learning experience going from high school to college and being a freshman," Godhigh said. "It was a good experience, and Roddy Jones helped me out a lot on knowing where to go. It was just fun being out there."

In a crowded backfield filled with scholarship players, Godhigh may find difficulty maneuvering his way onto the field again this year, but that hasn't stopped him from working for the chance this spring.

If Godhigh is able to do so, then the Tech offense could theoretically have a very familiar look to it with Finch snapping the ball to Days, who could then pitch the ball off to Godhigh.

"That would be pretty cool to see on film," Godhigh said, "seeing all of us from the same town and stuff playing together."

Georgia Tech also has two other walk-ons from Cobb: linebacker Ryan Sparlin (Harrison) and defensive back Coray Carlson (Lassiter).